I was done with my shopping and went over to the checkout counter.
Finally, the cashier was back, a pretty young lady, who was about known age or a little bit older, named Julia.
"Hello, Julia," I greeted the cashier.
She was back now from who knows where.
Julia smiled and adjusted her glasses.
"Hello, Dee."
"You remember my name. Hmm, that's cool though."
She chuckled with her hand slightly over her mouth.
"Of course. I make an effort to, especially if they are regular customers. It's part of my job."
"That's cool. How do you do that?"
I was quite curious about how she could recall her customers' names. This was the largest and only convenience store inside the Academy and if she based it on who was regular, that is still a lot of people.
I couldn't sense any mana from her. So, her memory was not supernatural.
She leaned forward, adjusted her glasses and smiled.
"I watch and I listen. It's really not hard for me, you see," she replied as she started to check my goods in for packaging.
"...maybe because I'm used to it already, I guess."
She had a point.
"Must be it then," I replied.
I've seen Julia a few times since I started coming to the store but we've never really talked. It was just business with us.
But today, we developed quite the rapport, discussing the weather, the academy and how shitty academic life was, and so much more.
We chatted about pretty much everything and laughed.
Our personas shone even more as we talked to each other.
I liked her.
No. No. Not that kind of like... come on!
I liked the aura around Julia. It was friendly and welcoming.
...
...
...
Jasmine stood by one of the aisles, her heart pounding in her chest, as she watched Dickens engage in a friendly conversation with the cashier of the convenience store, Julia
The lights overhead illuminated Dickens' radiant smile, making him even more captivating in Jasmine's eyes and she couldn't help but keep her eyes on them.
Dickens and Julia seemed to be engrossed in their conversation, and Jasmine couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
She had been secretly watching him from afar and now he was talking and laughing with someone else.
Jasmine scoffed.
"Such a flirt," she said bitterly.
She shook her head. "Why are you even bothered, Jas?"
Jasmine's fingers curled around the handle of her shopping basket, and she discreetly adjusted her hair, trying to appear nonchalant.
She strained to hear their conversation over the background noise of the store but she couldn't make out what they were laughing about.
How could she? At that distance?
Pfft! Only a supernatural level of hearing would cut it.
Jasmine's jealous-driven attempts were becoming laughable.
His voice was smooth and warm as he asked Julia about her day, and Julia responded with a sweet giggle.
Jasmine's jealousy grew with every passing second of watching them.
She couldn't bear it.
She gritted her teeth. "Scum."
...
...
...
Summoning all her courage, Jasmine decided it was time to make her presence known.
She took a deep breath, adjusted her ripped bum shorts jeans and walked towards Dee and Julia.
Her footsteps echoed in the aisle, catching Dee's attention.
His eyes met Jasmine's, and for a brief moment, she felt a flicker of hope.
"Hey, Dee," Jasmine said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably as her voice quivered. "Fancy seeing you here... again."
Dickens smiled warmly at her, his eyes still holding a hint of friendliness.
"Hey, Jasmine! This is Julia, by the way. She's accountant her."
Julia chuckled. "Cashier," she said, correcting him.
"Sorry about that, cashier."
Jasmine forced a smile and nodded at Julia. "Hi, Julia. Nice to meet you."
Julia greeted her with a friendly smile, seemingly unaware of Jasmine's inner turmoil.
"Nice to meet you too, Jasmine. We were just talking about life in the academy and books."
Julia put her hand by the side of her mouth in a way that it blocked Dickens from seeing her mouth and she whispered to Jasmine, "He really hated this place."
Jealousy surged through Jasmine.
Books? Dee was discussing books with Julia?
That was something they could have bonded over, something Jasmine could have done with him.
She tried to maintain her composure, but her envy was becoming increasingly obvious.
"That's cool," Jasmine replied, her words sounding forced.
"I love books too, actually. Maybe we can all chat about them sometime."
Dickens' eyes sparkled with genuine interest, but Jasmine couldn't help but feel that her interruption had disrupted their connection.
"Sure, that sounds great," Dickens said.
As the three of them continued to talk, Jasmine felt like an outsider in her own conversation.
She watched Dickens and Julia talk on and on with no room for her to chip in, and her jealousy continued to simmer.
To Jasmine, it was clear that Dickens and Julia had a connection, and she couldn't shake the feeling of being left out.
Eventually, the conversation came to an end, and Dickens and Julia said their goodbyes.
Dickens turned to Jasmine with a warm smile.
"It was really nice running into you, Jasmine. We'll definitely have to talk books soon."
Jasmine managed a small smile in return, though her heart ached with jealousy. "Yeah, definitely."
...
...
...
As Dickens walked away, Jasmine couldn't help but replay the scene in her mind.
"Am I growing jealous?" she asked herself.
Jasmine shook her head, rejecting such an emotion.
"No, it can't be. I can't be jealous of her and the creep."
She had finally approached Dickens, but instead of drawing him closer, her jealousy had pushed him further away.
She realized that this new feeling in her always pushed her to try and win Dickens over.
Her face flushed whenever she saw Dee or knew she was close by.
She needed to find a way to conquer this sudden infantile feeling that was growing faster than she wished. In fact, she didn't wish for it to grow at all but she couldn't help it.
She needed to conquer her jealousy and be more confident in herself.
She needed to understand what was stirring all these up within her.
She dropped her basket in front of Julia, who took it and began to unload what she had purchased for checking and costing.
As Julia did her thing, Jasmine peered beyond the glass door of the store, staring at Dickens as he walked away.