Alice found herself looking at the clock on the wall before tapping her fingers at the end of the countertop as she decided to let them have their break early. It wouldn't hurt anyone considering that there was no one in the store to hurt their feelings at the fact there would be only a five-second wait for someone to get over to the cashier's desk.
Normally, they would always have someone at the register, but her parents told her that it was fine to leave it unattended for the thirty minutes of rest that they could do their work. Alice stood up from her stool and stretched before kicking the legs of his stool ever so slightly to get his attention without detrimentally messing up any of his work.
He turned over his shoulder. "What?"
"Let's take our break," Alice said.
"I'm surprised that the shift itself isn't a break."
She knew that he wasn't trying to dig at her or the store, so she let him off since he was just stating a fact that he had gathered. "Don't underestimate the work that goes on behind the scenes. Also, as I have mentioned, today is one of the only consistently slow days, so we do get quite busy hence the need to hire. If there's no demand, it wouldn't make sense to supply, no?"
Noah nodded as he grabbed his items from the countertop and followed her to the back. Alice dodged underneath his arm to place the small sign that was tucked underneath the register on the register counter that read to ring the bell for assistance. Pushing the bell into an eye zone, she went back over to the employee room to close the door and crack the door open behind them.
The sofa was already claimed when she went inside the room, so she decided to sit across from him on one of the white fluffy ottomans that had been with the shop forever. They placed out their spread again on the table before them, and Noah tilted his head to the side as he asked his question. "How long are the breaks?"
"Thirty minutes," Alice answered as she took out a lavender pen to correct her work. "You can choose to do whatever you want during this time."
"I'm fine," Noah said, reaching over to her.
She lifted her arm in response, wondering what he wanted. He raised an eyebrow. "Can you hand me your textbook?"
Alice nudged her textbook over to him. "Go for it."
He flipped it so that it was facing him, and eyes flicked up and down the pages. She brought a hand up to her chin. "What are you looking for?"
"Did you go over the exam questions yet?"
"I did," Alice said easily, not wanting to give out the fact that she was nervous about the upcoming exams that the academy hosted.
The academy was known for its frequent exams which spurred competition among peers. It wasn't the best place to attend for those who didn't do well in a testing environment which often set back many who excelled in so many ways but didn't have the chance to showcase such matters in test format.
She prepared hard for the exams that were around the corner since she didn't want to let her efforts go to waste considering she was so sure that she had done everything that she could. She stayed up late to go over previous materials that were found on the exams for those classes, emailing and speaking to teachers for more information, and she didn't want it to go to waste.
Alice leaned over with her hands on the table. "You're reading my secrets right there for free you know."
Noah lifted his eyes while running his hands down the extensive notes that she had covering each page with its own scripture. "I can see how hard you study, Alice."
She smiled sadly. "I don't need any recognition for any of that."
He immediately caught onto the shift of the mood. "Then why do you put so much pressure to be number one?"
Alice pressed her fingers into the table, keeping her thoughts in check. "I mean, who wouldn't like to be in the first place?"
"You say that as if you're under pressure?"
"And you aren't?"
"Alice," Noah said slowly. "Don't beat around the bush."
She averted her eyes and swallowed. "I could say the same for you. I feel like I've been asking that question to you for years now."
"Maybe internally, but not externally. Tell me, how would I know if you never tell me?"
Alice brought a shoulder up to say as if she didn't know. The most words that she had ever exchanged with him were only from this year combined in a few months versus the couple of years that she had known him. To put it in perspective, they were never on any terms to be speaking about that.
Maybe it was her own fault that she brought it upon herself Noah never thought of her as one to compete with. She ran a hand through her hair in an effort to look poised but knew that outwardly, she likely looked agitated. "I mean, did you ever feel worried at all that I could take the first place?"
She bit down on her lip and watched Noah carefully for a response. She knew that to some, the little game that had on between them may be trivial, but it had surrounded Alice for a little too long for comfort. She would rather take a step back from all of it, but it would be a sign of surrender.
Noah smiled, one that made Alice more confused than she already was. "From day one. Why wouldn't I be? But there's a reason why you never surpassed me."
His words caused Alice to roll her eyes so hard she was surprised that they didn't get lodged into her head. But they warmed her nonetheless. That statement she had waited for a long time entailed confirmation that her efforts were seen. Despite not wanting to admit that she wanted to be seen, she sighed a long breath and leveled a glare over to her dear rival.
"Hmmm, let's see how long you keep the crown."