Petit Romance

Poppy Kai felt despair creep over her bones, a stress signal for the oncoming tears that sprung to her blue eyes. She wiped them quickly with the back of her hand, biting down on her bottom lip with that same determined, prideful look in her eyes that many admire. She was not giving up so easily.

“I'm sure there's something in the paper,” she whispered to herself wistfully as she opened up the folded newspaper. She located the job openings section and searched for any restaurant related jobs that weren't marked off.

“Ah!” she cried out in relief, already walking towards the address.

I knew it, she thought, squeezing by an elderly couple to cross the street. I just have to keep looking.

Poppy had just gotten fired from another job once again. It always seemed to happen this way as well. Usually the people that'd fire her had the decency to make up an excuse to fire her, like her insubordination or bad attitude, as it had been with her last four jobs. But this time the man had just fired her right after she had strongly refused to be anywhere near him, and with not even an excuse.

“I'm tired of seeing your freak face,” he'd said with such venom in his eyes that no one could mistake for anything else but what it was. He hated that she refused to sleep with him, so he'd fired her.

Typical, Poppy thought, transfixed by the sound of her stomping boots on the sidewalk. What's so freaky about being Asian and having blue eyes anyway?

It didn't matter anymore, anyway. She was on her way to her new job, and perhaps she would get fired from this one too for not sleeping with the sleazebag manager, but the possibility would not keep her from trying. She was at the edge of losing the crap-hole of an apartment that she had. She was lucky to have found it, she couldn't lose it. Then she would have nowhere else to go.

Her thoughts caved in on themselves as she felt her body make connection with soft fabric that hid a hard structure. It sent her reeling backwards, her arms flailing to keep her balance. Her arms were useless, though, because the person who had almost sent her flying on her butt had a tight grip on her waist. She realized this a second before the stranger spoke.

“Are you alright?” the stranger─a man─asked softly, more shock rather than concern in his voice.

Poppy blinked mutely for a minute.

It felt as if she'd hit a wall! What kind of freak muscles did this dude have anyway? she thought as her head tilted upward to look at the face of the man she'd bumped into.

Her soft pink lips formed an O of surprise.

[The first shock: his eyes were oval and dark brown.

“Hello? Are you alright?”

The second shock: he was a whole chest taller than her.

“...are you blind and deaf? Hello?”

The third and most teeth-rattling shock: he was Asian.

“Excuse me!”

Poppy jumped, snapping out of her trance.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking... about something.”
“I hope this something is going back home and get a good sleep,” the man said to her, eying her with an expression she couldn't quite pin down.

Poppy blinked at him.

“Excuse me?”

He arched an eyebrow at her and patted her shoulder.

“Better watch where you're going next time, for the next person you bump into might not be as generous,” was all he said as he brushed past her.

Poppy whirled around to watch him go, her eyebrows furrowing deeply over her eyes. She watched him stride in the opposite direction, walking past other people swiftly and agilely. He couldn't have avoided almost knocking her off her feet, but he could do that?

Tsk, she went, and shoved her hands in her hoodie.

“What a prick.”