Free Colorblind by Siera Maley Page A

I assured her. “Just… be careful. No skydiving before I see you again, okay?”
    “I can’t promise that,” she joked. “Text me, alright?”
    “Yep.”             
    She leaned in before I could react and kissed me on the cheek, then took a couple steps back, grinning, before she turned away and descended the porch steps. I sighed and leaned against the doorframe, watching her go and, at last, turned to go inside and closed the front door behind me.
    Dad was watching me from the living room, an eyebrow raised. I colored instantaneously and he asked, “Just friends, huh?”
    “That looked worse than it was,” I mumbled.
    “I’ll let you off the hook,” he acquiesced, “if you tell me what you genuinely thought of Deborah last night.”
    I shrugged my shoulders. “Not much to think. She tried kind of hard, didn’t she?”
    “Because it’s important to her that you approve.” He folded his arms across his chest, looking concerned. “It’s important to me, too.”
    “Well… maybe she and I are just meant to coexist,” I suggested, turning away from him. “We don’t have to be best friends.”
    He let out a sigh. “I didn’t say you did, Harper. Just… promise me you’ll give her a chance, alright? You hardly spoke to her last night.”
    “I’ll give her a chance,” I agreed quietly, and then mumbled, “It’s not like I have much of a choice, anyway.”
     
    * * *
     
    “Welcome to Daily Fries. What can I get for you?”
    The man in front of me took his time with the menu on the wall. It was Three Burgers again, back for his daily meal with a 45 still on his forehead. I felt physical pain as I watched him speak. “ How are you this stupid?” I wanted to ask. “There are people who care about you and you’re literally killing yourself.”
    He stopped speaking. Now he was staring at me. I realized I’d completely spaced out while I was supposed to be taking his order. “I’m sorry, sir, could you repeat that?”
    “I just spent an entire minute giving you my order,” he shot back, appalled. “You didn’t get any of it?”
    I bit my lip to stop myself from being rude. A hand on my shoulder saved me. Robbie, of course. He looked out for me far more than I deserved. “Sorry about that, sir. I’ll take your order and we’ll throw in a free large fry; how does that sound?” He gave me a look that told me to scram, and I rolled my eyes and left to go on break.
    When I was outside alone, I sat down on the ground, my back to the wall that was still covered in cigarette burns, and pulled my knees up to my chest. I rested my forehead on my knees and closed my eyes, willing my shift to be over soon. This was a waste of time. I could’ve been with Chloe all day instead.
    Robbie came around a few minutes later. I heard his footsteps and the click of his lighter before he spoke, but when he did, it was with a sigh. “You could ask George if he’ll give you the rest of the day off,” he suggested.
    I lifted my head to look up at him. “I’m thinking about quitting.”
    “Since when?”
    “Since a few weeks ago,” I admitted. “I hate it here.”
    “Well, no one likes it here.”
    “Yeah, but…” I trailed off and then muttered, “I hate being around people.”
    “Me too,” he agreed quietly. “This job gets morbid sometimes.”
    “I need something where I never see anyone,” I decided. “Like a data entry clerk job or something. With a desk in a back room. And the only person that ever comes in is my boss, who has super healthy eating habits and will live into his hundreds. I’m so sick of being reminded that we’re all going to die one day.”
    “Well, hook me up when you find a job like that.” He exhaled a cloud of smoke and I pressed my nose into my sleeve. “I’ll tell George you aren’t feeling well, okay? Go see Chloe.”
    “What’s the point?” I mumbled, only half meaning it.
    He studied me for a moment. The cigarette between his fingers