"You're early again, Cici," Max greeted me with a warm smile as I stepped into the store.
"Hey, Max," I replied. "Lots of customers today?"
"Yeah, a bit more than usual," he said, glancing toward the busy aisles. "You can wait in the staff room if you want."
I shook my head. "No, it's okay. I can get changed and help you out."
I headed toward the back to change into my uniform, mentally preparing for another shift.
"Wait, Cici, I forgot to tell you—" Max's warning came a second too late.
Just as I was about to pull the door handle, it flew open, slamming right into my face with a solid thud.
I immediately winced, clutching the spot where the door had hit me, and a string of curses escaped my lips."Ow! Damn it!" I muttered, rubbing the sore area.
Max rushed over, his face full of concern. "I'm so sorry! I was 'going to warn you that Xavier was already inside."
He looked apologetic, but there was also a hint of amusement in his eyes. "You okay?"
"Do I look like I'm okay?" With my nose and mouth pressed together, I slowly looked up at the person who had caused my current predicament. My face, contorted in a mix of anger and pain, was met with a tall figure standing in the doorway, unfazed by the chaos they had just caused.
'This is Xavier?'
He looked down at me, his expression unreadable, but there was an odd calmness in his eyes that made me wonder if he even cared.
"Watch where you're going next time," he said casually, as if he hadn't just slammed a door into my face.
I glared at him through my fingers, still holding my nose. "Watch where I'm going? You're the one who—"
Before I could finish, Max chimed in, trying to ease the tension. "Alright, alright, let's not start a fight here, there are many customers watching." He looked at Xavier with a hint of frustration. "You could've at least apologized."
Xavier shrugged, unfazed. "Sorry," His apology was so flat that it didn't feel like one at all.
I sighed, too tired to argue further. I dropped my hands, wincing slightly as the pain throbbed in my nose. This was definitely not the best way to start my shift.
I tried to hide my anger with a forced smile, "It's alright. I only had a bad timing opening the door ha-ha," even though it was really his fault. When I stood up, he was tall, almost the same height with Kristoff.
"You're Xavier right? My name's Cici and I'll be-"
Drip.
'Huh?'
I touched my nose and when I look at my finger, it was blood. I tried pressing my nose thinking that it was only a normal nosebleed but to my surprise it won't stop. The blood continued to gush as if my nose was a bloody faucet!
"Ah, fuck," I muttered before the world around me tilted and everything went dark. This is all because of that guy's fault!
When I finally regained consciousness, I felt the cool, hard surface beneath me. The faint buzz of fluorescent lights hummed overhead, and as my senses slowly returned, I realized I wasn't at home or in the store's main area anymore. My body felt heavy, and there was a dull ache in my nose.
"Cici?" A familiar voice broke through the fog. It was Max, his voice full of concern.
I blinked slowly, trying to focus on him. "What... happened?"
"You blacked out," Max explained. "You were bleeding a lot, and we freaked out. Xavier carried you here to rest. We thought about taking you to the hospital but the bleeding stopped after a few minutes."
"How long was I out?"
"About twenty minutes," He looked at his watch, "I should get going now, I still have another job to attend to. By the way, Xavier is outside mopping, uhh, the stain on the floor."
I only nodded at him.
He started packing his things but before he could leave the door, "I'll leave you with Xavier now, bye Cici."
"Bye, Max," I waved at him then looked at my bloodied shirt.
As I pulled off the bloodied shirt and started rummaging through my bag for a spare, I couldn't help but sigh.
'Seriously, what a disaster,' I thought. My first meeting with Xavier had been nothing short of a mess—literally. Blood everywhere, a door to the face, and I passed out like some fragile character in a bad drama.
I glanced at my reflection in the small mirror by the locker. My face looked a little pale, but at least the bleeding had stopped. 'What should I even wear later?' I groaned internally. I hadn't exactly planned for a wardrobe change at work, and now I was stuck figuring out what to do after my shift.