World of Endless Days

The shop was busy for the first time all week. People rushed around, picking items off racks, then putting them back, deciding that mustard coloured jeans might be on trend and in season, but they might make your thighs look fat. In the rush, things were strewn across the floor that customers had either dropped in their haste to join the never ending queue whilst it was short, or they'd simply tossed the item away, deciding that it was a much easier motion, than walking all the way back to the designated shelf or rack and placing it back.

Nick was currently standing in the middle of the Saturday afternoon bustle. He was looking through a rack of brightly coloured shirts, not that he wanted an aqua blue vest or anything, he just needed to look like he was busy. He had to bump into the mystery window dresser girl by accident, rather than make it look like he'd made the effort to come to the shopping centre just to see her.

When he'd arrived, the window was dressed to perfection. Every mannequin was dressed in this weeks fashion trends, against a very simplistic white backdrop. So, thumbing through the rack of shirts, he had no idea if she'd actually be working today, since he'd only ever seen her in the window and her job was done, it seemed pointless for her to be here, but he'd thought he'd give it a shot. It was better than giving up.

"Why are we here again?" John asked, tapping away on his phone. He'd decided to accompany Nick and Eric again today, having nothing better to do.

"Because Nick's in love with window dresser girl," Eric snorted, "I happen to think she looks a little plain, dull and boring, but of course Nick thinks its love at first sight."

"Ah," John nodded, pushing his phone into the pocket of his overly tight jeans. "So if she dresses the window, why are we inside the shop, looking at horrid shirts?"

Nick shook his head, keeping his eyes on the coat hangers on the rack they were standing around. "Because - " he faltered, changing his path, "John did you know Eric bought Twilight yesterday? Yeah, he almost bought your CD, but he got Twilight instead."

John's eyes narrowed and he turned to glare at Eric. "What?"

Before Nick could listen to Eric defend his case, he took their petty argument as a chance to escape, and so he ducked away, joining the mass crowds invading the shop. He strolled around idly, sometimes stopping to look at something brightly coloured or strange. It was when he was looking at a neon green beaded necklace that he saw her.

She was dressing a mannequin in the shop. She was kneeling on the floor, putting a heeled shoe on the mannequin's foot. Nick smiled to himself as the mannequin's arm fell from it's torso, hitting the floor. She huffed in frustration. He drifted across to her and smiled, watching her pick up the arm and straighten up. She jumped and gasped at the sight of him.

"Talk about giving me a fright!" She smiled, pushing the mannequin arm into his hands, "hold this a second." She adjusted the mannequin onto it's side and took the arm from him, re-attaching it.

"Well done, doctor, I honestly think she's going to live," he smiled down at her. She nodded in agreement.

"So what do I owe this pleasure then? Do I have a stalker at work now?" She asked, looking up at him and raising an eyebrow.

He folded his arms loosely across his chest. "No. I'm just - I don't know. It's not stalking, though, I swear."

She smiled as she arranged a long necklace around the mannequin's neck. "So why do you keep coming back and seeing me?"

"Well, in all honesty, something about you just interests me. I mean, I don't even know your name or anything, but - "

"It's Charlotte. Well, Charlotte but Charley."

He nodded, it suited her. Charlotte seemed to formal, so it seemed fitting that it was shortened. "Well, Charlotte but Charley, I'm Nick. And I really came here to ask you if you'd spare me some of your precious mannequin dressing time to just talk, you know, like where we left off yesterday."

"I've got five more minutes till my dinner hour starts. So you're in luck."

"Okay, well I'm gonna go make sure Eric and John haven't killed each other and I'll be back," he turned and walked off into the direction he came, disappearing into the crowd.

***

Charley smiled to herself. Nick really was something. She wasn't used to strangers making polite, nice, conversation with her. Usually, they ignored her, or saw her as an inconvenience that got in the way of their shopping time.

She took a small step back and admired her own work. Finally happy with the mannequin she'd spent the past hour or so dressing, she walked off towards the staff room to collect her bag, she had a spring in her step as she walked. She tapped in the code, and a frown creased her forehead when access was denied.

"What the - " she mumbled, trying again. The same thing happened. She glared at Chuck, who was currently serving a customer, a disgustingly bright, chipper smile on his unattractive face. "Chuck! What the hell? Did you change the fucking code again?"

He looked at her and sneered. "Charlotte, it's eight, nine, zero, one, did you forget?" His tone was sickly sweet, with a cyanide undercoat.

"Fucking arsehole," she stated, loud and clear, not caring who heard.

Chuck gasped and raised an eyebrow, looking past Charley. She followed his gaze and spun around to see a forty something woman standing before her, dressed in business attire, a clipboard in her hand. "Charlotte Hart?"

Charley swallowed hard and nodded.

"Lovely window display, I have to compliment you on that. But, as I am the senior manager, I'm going to have to suspend you for a while."

Charley's jaw dropped open slightly. "Why?"

"Abusive language towards colleagues, and you did it in front of customers," she motioned towards the queue, who had all turned to stare at the scene unfolding before them.

Charley felt tears stinging her eyes. A million sarcastic comebacks rolled through her mind, but she held her tongue, shaking her head. "For how long?"

"Let's not do this here, I'll contact you in the morning about it. So for now, I think it's best you collect your things and leave."

Charley tapped in the code Chuck had told her and retrieved her jacket and bag from the staff room. She raced past the mile long queue who had all seen her almost lose her job, she kept her head low, her eyes on the ground. Nick fell into step beside her. "So, John didn't kill Eric."

"Oh," she looked up at him.

"How long you got for dinner? An hour?"

"Um, I think we could be spending a lot more time than an hour with each other, Nick," she linked her arm through his and dragged him out of the shop, filling him in the latest happenings as they walked.