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“Are you two okay back there?” Emilia asks, pulling our attention back towards them. Bex is standing beside her, holding open the heavy metal door to the school with an impatient look on her face.
“Guess we better hurry up,” King murmurs.
Once we cross the threshold into the school, I glance around at the bright colors and artwork hung everywhere. There’s an open cafeteria immediately to the right where bustling people are moving like a conveyor belt. Someone wheels a large cart full of closed boxes to the end of a long cafeteria table with little stools no one is using as they stand around. Immediately someone cuts open the box with a knife, flips open the lids, and begins pulling out food and passing it along to the people with open plastic sacks. A person on the far end of the table is opening those same plastic sacks and checking them for holes before passing them towards the others. On the back wall is a stage where boxes are being broken down and stacked onto pallets. It’s a well oiled machine we’re about to delve into.
“Bex!” A man shouts, waving a tan arm in the air to gain our group’s attention. He looks around our age, with a blue polo and khakis on. He’s a little softer in the stomach than King and I are, but I have a feeling it’s because he’s a teacher based on the lanyard around his neck and doesn’t get the opportunity to go into the gym for hours on end like we do. “So glad you could make it.”
“Hey, Freddy.” Bex smiles warmly at him. “I’m just going to station this group and then I can come help.”
“Awesome.” Freddy offers us a polite smile before sauntering a few steps back to whatever table he’s diligently working at.
Emilia clears her throat. “He seems nice.” She lifts a dark eyebrow up while looking at Bex.
For a moment, I hold my breath, waiting to hearwhatfrom her, I don’t know. Something that settles this irritation growing in my stomach and loosening the muscles in my chest.What the fuck is happening to me?
“He’s great,” Bex absentmindedly says as she glances around the room. “He helps coordinate the setup here so everything runs smoothly.” She turns to look back at Emilia. “How about you jump into either checking the bags so they don’t have holes or loading up the sacks?”
Emilia grins, turns and gives King a quick peck on the cheek, before immersing herself into the line closest to us and happily chatting away with some of the elderly women who are showing her how to bag items so they don’t create tears.
“Alright, King and Thorin,” Bex turns her attention to us, “do you want to unload boxes or tear them down?”
“What are you doing?” King asks her instead of replying.
Bex doesn’t miss a beat. “I’ll be transferring the finished bags to and from the back of the kitchen. We refrigerate them until it’s time for the kids to take them home so no one ends up with lukewarm milk or juice. If you want, you can do that.”
“Why not mention it first?”
Bex huffs at him. “Because you don’t know where the kitchen is? Because they only need a few runners to and from the cafeteria to the seating area?” She gestures towards a long hallway. “The kitchen is actually down that way, if you’re wondering. It’s not connected. There’s a cutout in the cinderblocks where the kids pick up their tray and walk all the way down here to eat.”
King blinks several times at her. “I’m going to go break down boxes.”
Once he’s gone, Bex turns her glare towards me, her hands on her slim hips. “And what about you? Do you want to ask me questions too before jumping in?”
I raise my hands in a surrendering position. “Nope. I’ll be here.” I point towards where the cardboard is being broken down and sorted. “I’ll help King.”
Bex’s shoulders deflate. “Great.” She nibbles on her lower lip for a brief second. “If you notice any of the ladies having difficulty loading or unloading the boxes with food, could you jump in and help? I don’t always notice if they’re struggling with the weight. Usually they’re fine in the beginning, but struggle later on.”
Smiling softly at her, I nod. “Of course. I’ll keep an eye out on them and jump in to help. If I see anyone having difficulty, I’ll see if they want to trade jobs with King or me to make it easier.” I pause before turning to follow King. “Thank you for letting me be here.”
“Do I have a choice?” Bex quips, but she offers a polite smile to lessen the blow her words have. “You’re doing something good for others, Thorin. Sorry, this whole thing is a little stressful on me.”
Her words cause me to frown. “I’m not trying to complicate your life, Bex.”
“Aren’t you?” She sticks her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and sways awkwardly in front of me. “I don’t know how to act. Usually I’m focused and come in here to do my job, but it feels like I have to watch over you guys and ensure you’re having a good time since part of this is for publicity. And then there’syou. It’s weird being in the same space. I always pictured that if I saw you again I would stomp on your foot and call you a coward. And instead…I’m being polite.”
“Would it make you feel better if I let you stomp on my foot?”
A ghost of a smile caresses her lips. “Maybe.”
“I get it,” I tell her gently. “The weirdness of us interacting. I always thought you might break down and cry and scream at me. And that I wouldn’t know what to say so I’d stand there like a dumbass while you told me how horrible of a human being I am.”
“You’re not horrible. You’re just…”
“A coward?” I prompt her. Bex’s eyes widen at me for saying her words back to her. I shrug nonchalantly. “What? You can say it. It’s true. I was a coward and didn’t want to be mean to Jessica or you and ended up being the largest dick on the planet instead of being honest.”
“This.” She waves her hand to gesture to all of me. “I don’t know how to deal with this. It’s like my heart says act one way and then you’re not acting like a dick so my brain says to be nice. It’s emotionally confusing.”
At least we’re both in the same state emotionally then. Confused is an apt term for this entire situation. “I am sorry for putting you in this situation. And the one before.” No need to clarify what situation I’m referring to now.
