Henry noticed Marley staring at the new guy. “You better watch out, Marley. That guy is no good.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Don’t you know who that is?” Henry asked, surprised.
“No, should I?”
“He’s Trevor Branson, the son of Super Stock’s CEO.”
“How would I know that? It’s not like I’ve seen him before. I can’t even tell you what the CEO of Super Stock looks like. So, there’s no way I’d no his son.” Marley laughed lightly,“How you know who he is, is beyond me.”
“Do you live under a rock?”
“No, I just don’t know who he is, that’s all.”
“Everyone around here knows Trevor. He’s a huge screw up. Parties too much and always gets away with it because his daddy is rich and has connections.” Henry said with disdain.
“Give him a chance. You don’t actually know him. People aren’t always what they seem to be, Henry. And look at him. He looked like a nervous wreck earlier. How bad can he be?”
“He’s probably going through withdrawal.”
“He does drugs?” Marley asked surprised.
“Probably. Trevor’s the kind of guy who screws up his life in every way possible, but never takes responsibility. His dad probably got fed up and sent him here so that we have to deal with the arrogant prick.”
“Come on, H. You haven’t even met him. Plus, people here like to gossip. Half the stuff you’ve heard probably isn’t even true.”
“His name’s Trevor. Have you ever met a Trevor who isn’t an asshole?”
“Well, I haven’t met many Trevors, but I’m sure plenty of them are perfectly nice people.”
“This Trevor just seems like trouble, Marl. Just be careful.” Henry said gently.
“I will, but you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I know that you can take care of yourself, but I also know that I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He reached for Marley’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze so that neither a customer nor a fellow employee would see the gesture. Henry sighed, “We better get back to work or else we’ll be fired.”
Marley nodded. “You’re right as usual, Henry.” She said sarcastically.
Henry just gave Marley a smirk and shooed her away with hands, pointing to the cart full of stuff that Marley had yet to stock. Henry was in charge of the front end. So, he often directed Marley around, being bossy. Marley didn’t like that her boyfriend, well, sort of boyfriend, was her boss, but it was something that she was getting used to. If she wanted their relationship to work, she’d have to.
Marley flipped the switch behind the checkout counter and the light bulb above flickered off so that the number three was no longer illuminated. Marley went back to the stocking that she had been doing. She smiled to herself. Working at Super Stock wasn’t as bad as Marley had thought that it was going to be. She actually liked her coworkers, Henry especially, and the customers weren’t as unruly as she had expected. Nothing about the Super Stock had been what Marley had expected, but then Trevor came along and shook everything up. He was rumored to be trouble, but there was more to him than a spoiled rich kid who always got his way. Trevor seemed more complex than that. To everyone at the store, Trevor was merely a compilation of many rumors, but no one knew what Trevor was really like. They only knew his reputation. While Marley didn’t think that Trevor was a bad guy, she would heed Henry’s advice; she’d be careful. Because as much as Marley wanted to give Trevor the benefit of the doubt, she didn’t actually know him. No one did.
That next Thursday, Trevor was assigned to be a bag boy at Marley’s checkout. This made Marley a little uneasy. She had yet to decipher Trevor, but if the rumors were right, then, Trevor would probably be more of a nuisance to Marley than a help. Marley had enough to do without some new employee slowing her down. Though, Marley was still fairly new to the job herself. So, she was willing to give Trevor some leeway. After all, Marley knew how it felt to be the newbie.
So, later that day, Marley was checking out the groceries of an old woman and Trevor was packing them into a bag. Marley was quick and proficient at her job, but Trevor served as a distraction. He wasn’t purposely trying to do his job poorly; so, Marley wasn’t mad. Still, he sucked at his job. Marley could tell that Trevor was actually trying, but nevertheless, he was also epically failing. Marley tried not to laugh as she watched Trevor trying to squeeze things into the plastic bag, ripping the bag in the process.
It was at that point that the old lady spoke up, “Young man, I’d actually prefer if you used paper bags.” Trevor sighed, obliging, but defeated. The request was just another obstacle for him to face. Most stores didn’t even offer paper bags anymore, but Super Stock would still use them upon request, but they were more inconvenient than plastic bags. With quite a bit of concentration and a little bit of error, Trevor finally got all the groceries bagged. After giving Marley a stack of coupons, the old lady paid the bill and shuffled her way out of the store. Once the lady was out of sight, Marley burst out laughing. “How hard is it to put stuff in a bag?” She asked goodheartedly.
At first Trevor blushed a little bit, but to his credit, he took the jaunt gracefully. Instead of trying to answer the question though, Trevor just began laughing. Marley and Trevor laughed unreservedly, unable to control their giggles. It hadn’t been that funny, but they couldn’t stop laughing, not until a customer came into the line and gave them a disapproving look. As Marley checked out the guy’s merchandise, she watched Trevor once again attempt to pack the groceries, willing herself not to let a stray giggle escape. They had made a connection that day and from that point on, it was hard for Marley not to smile when Trevor was around.
Marley began to talk to Trevor more and more. At first, their conversations had been limited to simple greetings and salutations that were mandated by social code. Marley tried to make them into something more, but Trevor didn’t seem to use more than one word responses. Marley was sure that this wasn’t out of rudeness. More so, Trevor seemed kind of shy. It was odd. Sometimes, he seemed so confident, but other times he seemed so bashful. As they began to know each other more, Trevor slowly became more communitive. Every day, Trevor seemed to add a little bit more to their conversation. So, their relationship didn’t feel hasty. No, it was like fine wine, aged to perfection. Though the process was slow, Trevor became a completely different person than he had been when Marley had first met him. He became more confident and bold, but not arrogant.
Trevor was actually really fun to be around. He wasn’t roll-on-the-floor laughing hilarious like Henry was, but Trevor had a quick wit and was very thoughtful. Trevor was definitely not the partying type. In fact, he seemed to be more of the bookish type than anything else. Everything that Trevor was rumored to be, seemed to be untrue. Therefore, Marley had trouble reconciling the rumors she had heard about him with the actual Trevor. Still, she easily became friends with him. Well, work friends. Though, Marley wanted to know him better. Trevor was interesting, a mystery that she wanted to crack. Trevor made work a little less drab and for that, Marley was thankful. On occasion, Marley had to remind herself that Trevor and she were only friends. Because though Marley liked Trevor, she hardly knew him. Not the real him, anyways. Besides, she was still seeing Henry. Though they weren’t officially a couple yet, Marley didn’t feel right thinking about other guys romantically. Her attention should be on Henry, her (almost) boyfriend.