That Summer (WhiteLily and Raddum

[WhiteLily]

The humidity was stifling, and Leah felt like every breath she took was drowning her. Why her mother had sent her to this place was still a mystery to Leah... Okay, that was a lie. Leah's mother had remarried after ten years of divorce and was currently on her honeymoon, but Leah was old enough to stay alone for a month! She had just graduated high school for crying out loud! Sure she hadn't yet turned 18, but that was a technicality. Now she sat, drumming her fingers on a worn counter in the auto parts store that her father owned. Yesterday when she'd arrived Daniel Richards, Leah's father, had made it abundantly clear that his daughter would be working that summer in his shop as a cashier. The stinking place wasn't even air conditioned! Leah sighed and leaned her head on the counter, trying to find a cold spot, praying that this hellish first shift would end soon.

[Raddum]

Today wasn't the best day for Matthew, as he drove his car slowly, but surely, down the road. His windshield wipers were missing, and the reason for that was just because some of 'The guys' thought it'd be funny to snap them into smaller pieces and use them as damn toothpicks. He was always considered a loser in school, decent grades, called a nerd even though he was very outgoing and loved the sun, and summer. Getting messed with in school was one thing, but when it effected his everyday life it became irritating and enough to make the usually calm boy angry. "Alright... Alright, calm down Matthew. Situate yourself, man." He said, slowing down and turning left into a small place for parking on the street. He unbuckled himself and got out of the car, rubbing a hand through his hair and looking at the store that was just past the other side of his car. This was a usual thing, he had been here more than once to get new windshield wipers and it was practically eating his money weekly. He slammed his car door shut and walked around his car, and into the store.

Once inside, he noticed it was actually probably hotter in here than it was outside, he didn't expect anything less. The air was stale, and made him cough. He walked over and stared at the few different choices for windshield wipers before grabbing a set. He didn't even care anymore what they were like, as long as they worked. He walked up to the cash register and laid the sole item he was buying on the counter. He looked at the girl standing there, she seemed like she disliked her job, but he wouldn't comment on it. Instead he'd go with a common question. "Rough day?" He asked, waiting to hear the usual sound the register made, he heard it pretty much every week, so it was kind of charming in a way.

[WhiteLily]

The sound of the door opening made Leah groan and stand up, it was a Herculean effort on her part. The air was so hot Leah wanted to cry, it was nothing like the nice weather of Leah's hometown... And she was also craving some sort of aircon.
"Rough day?"
A male voice broke through Leah's daydreaming and she looked over at the waiting customer, waiting for her to ring up the set of wipers.
"Yep, it's just a bit hot in this hell hole, I have no idea how you all do it."
Leah sighed, pressing buttons on the register, praying that one of them was the correct button. After a moment the cash drawer finally popped open, with an excited smile Leah looked at the guy in front of her,
"Eight bucks, please."

[Raddum]

Matthew nodded to the girl, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans to pull out his wallet. As he opened it up and pulled out a five dollar bill and three one dollar bills, he gave them to her and offered a small smile, seeing as she must've been new to the area. "Hah, well, you get used to it." He said, thinking of an example. "Like... Like how they get used to the cold in Antarctica." He felt like that was a good enough example, as he put his wallet back into his pocket. Upon closer observation, the girl was kinda' cute. Of course, giving the nerd status, school never was much for him in the romance department. If anything, the girls had beat him up more than guys did. The worst part was they used whatever they could get their hands on. He cringed, remembering getting whacked over the head by a rather large history book. He never liked the subject since. But that was enough thinking about the past, he was here for the windshield wipers, and he figured that was all. Although this girl did seem pretty lonely here... And it was pretty terrible, the working conditions. Maybe he'd strike up a small conversation, it's not like he was going to be doing anything important.

"But, uh, anyways... So your new around here?"

[WhiteLily]

"Is it that obvious?"
Leah asked, bagging the wipers and placing the receipt in with them. Placing the bag on the counter a deep voice called from the back of the store,
"Leah! It's break time, go do something! Be back in an hour!"
"Yes! Finally!"
Leah cried and hurried around the counter, joining the guy on the other side happy to be free for a while, even if she had to come back to the sauna that was the shop. Up close Matthew could see Leah had one brown eye and one blue eye,
"So where is somewhere good to get something to eat? Daniel has been a slave driver since I got here yesterday and I don't know where I am."

[Raddum]

Matthew blinked, hearing a voice from the back of the store telling the girl she was on break, which she seemed more than happy to take. Break time wasn't surprising, but the fact she came around the counter and looked at him was actually more shocking than the rest of this eventful day had. "Well... Aah..." He took a moment to respond, and before he did, he noticed her eyes. One was brown, the other blue. Although that was kind of weird, he wasn't going to be rude and point it out. For all he knew she could feel strongly about it, and the last thing he wanted to do was be like the other guys. "There's a nice little sandwich shop not too far from here, actually. Got everything you'd ever want." He looked back towards the door, then to the girl. He extended his hand to her politely. "Names' Matthew, I have nowhere to be, and if you want, I could give you a ride." He glanced down as he heard his stomach let out a mellow growl, and he laughed. "Haha, well..." He seemed a tad embarrassed. "I could go for a bite to eat too, actually." He realized his offer was kind of sudden, and he bit the inside of his cheek. "Of course, if you've got transportation, I could just give you directions."

[WhiteLily]

The guy, Matthew, was funny, tripping over his words, it was kind of cute. Leah took the offered hand, giving it a little shake, smiling up at Matthew,
"I'm Leah, Daniel is my father."
She clarified, trying to explain the voice in the back. Daniel could be abrasive and blunt, but he was generally an okay guy. He had promised Leah that he would get her a car to use soon for the summer, but at the moment he was the only transportation she had.
"You don't have to give me a ride,"
Leah said, grateful for the offer, but she didn't even know Matthew. How did she know he wasn't some ax murderer waiting for a victim?
"If there's a place nearby I can just pick up something."

[Raddum]

Matthew figured the response, the offer was rather out of the blue, and he didn't expect anything less. It was actually a smart move, and he respected that. "Alright." He glanced back at the door, thinking about the distance from here to the place he had been speaking of. After a moment of thought, he figured it out. "Well, once you go out the doors, turn left, the place I'm talking about is about four blocks up. Closest place I know of, but there could be something else around closer." He picked up his bagged windshield wipers and gave her a nod, walking off towards the door. "Don't know of anywhere better, though. Hope you adapt." He said as friendly as possible as he pushed the doors open and walked out, actually enjoying the air. It was much cooler than it was inside the shop.

He went over to his car and pulled the windshield wipers out of the bag, throwing the bag and receipt in the car. He popped them open out of their plastic box and laid them on the hood as he threw the plastic box in his car to throw away the next time he had the chance. He quickly went to work to start getting the new windshield wipers in properly.

[WhiteLily]

Freedom was just a few steps away! Leah swung her suede bag over her shoulder and jogged out of the store, breathing in the fresh air, she would have to convince Daniel to at least let her buy a fan for the store. If she could, then maybe she'd be able to make him believe that actually central air would bring in more customers. The old man was so stubborn, thinking having air would detract from the "old town feel". Leah rolled her eyes and pushed the door open,
"See you later!"
She called to Matthew, waving as she jogged past, going the direction Matthew had indicated. Once about a block away Leah slowed her steps to stroll along the street, looking at the shops around her.

[Raddum]

Matthew had put the second windshield wiper into place as he heard Leah and looked up, watching her jog down the street and returning the wave. "Yeah, see you." He said as he went ahead and hopped in his car, hungry and ready to go get his personal favorite from the shop he had spoke of, they're roast beef sandwiches were the best around, but he heard the best was really in Boston. With a sigh, he started the car and the engine roared to life, pulling out in reverse due to a car being in front of him. After getting onto the street properly, and shifting gears, he just pressed barely down on the gas and went down the road, a few moments later seeing Leah. She was pretty quick.

It made him feel kind of bad for driving, but he couldn't just leave his car, could he? He stopped at a red light, tapping a finger on the steering wheel.