Again, he stood outside the jewelry store. His mother had seen the purse he’d gotten Mica and decided that she had to have one herself, so she’d sent him back with more money.
She’d been too busy working extra shifts to pay for her most recent shopping spree to go herself, and she hadn’t wanted his father to find out that she was buying more stuff.
Their family wasn’t particurly well off in the first pce, but after they’d started receiving payments from Mica’s father, her shopping addiction had gotten even worse. The promise of extra money made it easier to give in to her desires, and this had put an even greater strain on their financial situation.
His father tried to turn a blind eye to it as much as possible, but that only put more pressure on Deru to keep up the current retionship with Mica.
He entered the small store and headed straight to the purse section. A vast variety of purses hung in front of him of all different colors, shapes, sizes, and materials. He quickly picked out the one he wanted and headed to the checkout counter, where Yande stood.
“Another purse?”
“Yeah.”
“Who’s it for?”
“My mom. She saw the st one I got, and well… It happens a lot. She sees something and just has to get it, or she won’t be able to get it out of her mind.”
“Wait, then who was the st one for?”
“Um, a… cssmate. I was invited to their birthday.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You have a lot of purses for a jewelry shop.”
“Well, the owner likes purses a lot, and she says that we should sell something to carry the jewelry in, so we ended up like this.
“Hmm…”
“Your cssmate, did she like the purse?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Is it someone you're interested in?” “What? Um, no, not really. Our parents make us spend time together sometimes is all. What about you?” “There’s no way I could have a boyfriend right now, not with my family,’ she said, turning away slightly.
…
Back again, he looked through the bracelet section trying to find a match for the broken bracelet in his hand. It was his mother’s, and she’d sent him out to get a new one since she was currently in trouble for spending too much again. His father was starting to get fed up with her habitual spending sprees.
“Looking for something specific?” Yande said from right behind him. “Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m looking for a match to this bracelet. I promise I didn’t break it, it was my mom’s and she wanted me to find a repcement, so I brought it here.”
“I believe you. I don’t know if we have any of those left, but I’ll help you look if you want.”
“Thanks.”
“She really is nice.”
“You’re not wearing any jewelry yourself though, for someone who works at a pce like this.”
“I couldn’t- I mean I just don’t see anything that would suit me.”
“I don’t know, I think most of this stuff would look good on you.”
“Only most of it?”
“Well, there’s some stuff in here that’s not very attractive.”
“I can’t believe you'd say that in front of someone who works here.”
“What, do you think all the jewelry here looks attractive?”
“Well no, some of it is kind of ugly, but…”
They never found a repcement for the bracelet, but ended up talking for a while before he left.
***
“Have ya been experiencing pain anywhere?”
“No.”
“How about exercise, have ya been stayin’ active?”
“Probably not as much as I should have.”
“Ok, keep on top of that, and be careful on yer hoverbike. Ya really shouldn’t be ridin’ one of those ‘til yer a bit older, but if yer parents say it’s ok, then just try ta be safe.”
“Ok. What about Mica? Is she still doing ok?”
“Mmh, she’s still fine. Ya don’t have to worry.”
“Ok, thanks.”
Deru got up and exited the room, leaving Andun McGreen sitting in his chair holding his clipboard. Mica was waiting outside, already done with her examination. The pair left the doctor’s office and got on Deru’s hoverbike.
A minute ter, Landen walked in and sat down where Deru had been. It’d only been a week since he and Andun had met, but after sharing a few drinks they’d quickly become friends. This would be Landen’s first visit since he’d moved here, and since it was also the st one for Andun that day, the two of them ended up spending a good chunk of time chatting about various things.
“I can’t believe ya already secured a job at the new spaceport, though.”
“Well, they don’t exactly have a lot of pilots around here, but it’s helpful to have at least one that lives nearby. And it’s a good thing that I live alone, so I don’t have to worry about leaving home for several days at a time.”
“So what’ll happen if ya get a wife?”
“Hmm… I don’t know if I’ll meet anyone in this town that would marry me, and I might move out in a couple years anyway.”
“Well, the boy who just left already has a fiance, so it’s not impossible, ya know?”
“He looked kind of young. Was it the girl with him?”
“Yeah, the daughter of one of the richest guys in town too. Too bad she lost her mother just st year when the Seynian’s arrived.”
“Why was that?”
“Ah, you don’t know about their family yet, do ya? I’ll tell ya since it’s common knowledge. Members of that family usually lose their sanity before the age of thirty, so I bet her father wants to see his grandchildren before it’s too te.”
“And he’s using his money to arrange it?”
“Seems like it.”
“That seems kind of cruel.”
“Yeah, well he said he’s not bein’ forced into it, but either way, it’s not a situation that can end happily.”
“How much longer does the girl have?”
“Should be at least ten years, unless somethin’ happens that really shakes her up.”
***
Deru stopped his hoverbike in front of Mica’s house and waited while she climbed off.
“You should come inside. I have some new clothes I’ve been wanting to show you.”
“Ah, sorry, I have to do a bit of shopping. I’ll see you tomorrow though.”
“Oh, I see. Thanks for the ride. See you.”
She turned and walked through the gate to her house as Deru turned the hoverbike in the direction of the shopping district.
“I feel a little bad for lying, but I can’t tell her I just want to go see another girl, can I?”
“Back again?” Yande said as soon as she saw him. He’d been making increasingly frequent visits to the small store since then. He’d also expined his situation in greater detail, painting it as nothing more than an arrangement by their parents. Part of him hoped she’d realize why he was being so indecisive.
“Yep, I’m just here to browse a bit.”
“Not to buy anything, then.”
“Not unless you think there’s something that’d look good on me.”
“How about this?”
She held up a chunky pink neckce.
“Hmm, I don’t know… how about you try it on first?”
“Alright,” she said, putting it on.
“Oh, it actually matches your hair and eye color.”
“I see, well I don’t like it.”
Deru watched her take it off and put it back.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Anyway, what about this one?”
She put on a different neckce, this one with a thin silver chain and a single red jewel as a centerpiece.
“That looks expensive, Are you sure you should be trying it on?”
“It’s fine, the manager isn’t here right now, and I’m pretty careful.”
“Mmh, yeah, it looks good on you.”
She smiled slightly.
“But if the manager isn’t here, shouldn’t you be at the counter?”
“We don’t have any other customers right now, so it’s fine.”
“Are you the only other person that works here?”
“Yeah, this shop is small enough that it only needs one person at a time,” Yande said, ying the neckce back on the dispy.
“Have you been here for long?”
“Only a few months.”
“I’m surprised she hired someone so young. Is there a reason you need money?”
“Ah, not really…”
She averted her eyes.
“Maybe I should get a job too, in case I decide to end that retionship at some point.”
“Why? Is it not working out?”
“No, but if I fell for another girl, it wouldn’t be fair to keep leading her on, would it?” “I guess not… wait, do you already have someone in mind?”
“...Yeah, I actually like you, Yande.”
“Hwa?!”
This unexpected confession had taken her off guard, and for a moment, she couldn’t think of what to say next.
“You like me?! …Um, w-well I probably need some time to think about it-”
“Crap, it just seemed like a good opportunity to confess, but that was probably way too soon! I might’ve just ruined our retionship.”
She took a step backwards and accidentally bumped into a shelf. Deru reached out to stabilize it as she reflexively stumbled away from it, and the two of them collided.
“Ow,” she held her hand to her left cheek as she stepped back.
“Ah, sorry! Did I hurt you?”
“No, it wasn’t you.”
“The way you just said that…did someone hit you?”
“No! I fell yesterday, that’s all. Sorry, I should go.”
“...Okay. See you.”
“Mmh. I’ll decide by the next time we meet.”
…
Yande left the store after dark and began walking back to her house. Occasionally stopping, she made her way into the more derelict part of town, often gncing around her. She eventually stopped before a run down house at the edge of town and reluctantly crossed the unkempt ground in front of it, bathed in the dim yellow light that poured from the windows.
The door creaked as she opened it, and suddenly a rge man in his thirties appeared in the entrance, holding a beer bottle in one hand.
Yande tried to step back, but he grabbed her shirt and yanked her towards his angry face. He was wearing a sweaty and slightly dirty tank top and shorts. His breath stunk, mostly of alcohol, and his eyes were dited.
“Yer back too te again!”
“Sorry.”
“Then get back when I tell ya to! Forget it, just stay inside.”
He let go of her shirt and she stumbled to the side as he pushed past her. She stepped inside while he walked out into the yard, taking a swig from his beer.
“Damn it.”
It was nearly empty.
“So this is where she lives,” Deru said quietly, stepping out from behind a tree. He watched the man pull down his shorts and take a piss at the edge of the forest no more than twenty feet away.
When he was finished, he drained the st of the beer and turned to head back inside.
“Are you Yande’s father?” a voice asked from somewhere nearby, startling him.
He peered into the darkness for a few seconds before spotting Deru, who was standing partially concealed just inside the forest’s edge.
“Who the hell’re you? Don’t startle me like that, ya little creep!”
He tossed the empty bottle at Deru, and it shattered on the roots of the tree next to him.
“You know Yande? Whatever, I don't care. Get out of here!”
“Alright.”
Deru turned and disappeared into the forest, his form quickly lost in the shadows. He ran through the trees, then the backstreets that ran between the houses, winding his way towards his own house.
If anyone had seen the expression on his face as he ran that night, they surely would’ve felt a chill.
“No one should treat a girl like that. He shouldn’t treat her like that. He won’t get away with treating Yande like that.”
