Zoe sat behind the counter off her parent’s corner convenience store. She was working the late shift since her older brother was out of town doing God knows what. No one had come into the store for what seemed like ages, so she pulled her old gray Game Boy from her bag and clicked it on. The familiar music of Tetris and her childhood filled the empty store, as the twenty-three-year-old redhead tried to kill some time. Her deep green eyes focused on the falling blocks, trying to find the best ways to stick them together.

“Today is the day,” she told herself. “Today I’ll beat my old score.” Zoe had set her high score back when she had been six or seven. She still remembered when her dad had brought home the old handheld, and how she was blown away that she had a video game in the palm of her hands. Tetris was the only game she ever had for it, and it was also the only video game she ever played. Zoe never understood how her brother could sit for hours in front of the computer screen, or how a few of her guy friends could spend hours in front of the TV. Though, if no one comes into the store tonight, she will play her game for hours. Or until she gets frustrated and turns it off, which is almost always what happens.

Jordan sat in his car outside of the little corner convenience store. Mind you, he was not right outside the store, no, he had parked a little way down the street. He had gone to the store every night for the past week, and every night she had been working. His best friend Mike was there with for moral support but had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Jordan watched as a dollop of drool slowly slid down Mike’s chin, about to splatter on his shirt. Jordan replayed the conversation he had had with his friend over and over in his head, trying to work up the courage to leave the car.

“Just go in and talk to her. It’s not that hard, trust me.” Mike had said, taking another long drag of his cigarette.

“But what if she thinks I’m a creep?” Jordan asked, wide eyed. “Shit man, I’ve been coming here all week. Sometimes I can’t even get out of the damn car, let alone go in and talk to her. And if I do go in, all I can ever buy is gum.”

“It’s easy for you to say,” Jordan said looking straight out the windshield. “She is so pretty, like too pretty; I can’t do it dude. Let’s just go home, this was a bad idea. I can’t do it. Besides, girls like her always have a boyfriend; it’s just how the world works.”

“You don’t know that for sure, and you can’t know that for sure unless you talk to her. So, pick your testicles off the ground and use them. If you don’t go in there, I’m going to make you walk home. Yes, I know this is your car, so you can wipe that smirk off your face. Now stop being a little kid and go talk to her. You got this, my man.”

That had been an hour ago, and instead of going in to talk to her, Jordan had sat in the car while his friend drooled and mumbled in his sleep.

“Man,” Jordan whispered to himself, “I’m pathetic.”

Zoe had failed to beat her high score a couple times, and after uttering more than a few obscene words, she shut the game off in frustration. She checked the clock, and sighed at the fact that it was only midnight. Only two more hours, and she could head home. Interrupting her mindless staring at the clock was the familiar hum of her phone vibrating in the depths of her bag.

“Did Mr. Blond hair and brown eyes come in yet? TELL ME!” Her friend Megan’s message jumped off the screen of Zoe’s old phone in a faint and sickly green glow.

“Not yet,” Zoe typed, “I doubt he is going to come in anyway. He probably only needed all that gum because he’s quitting smoking or something.”

“Oh, I bet. I’ve quite smoking dozens of times, and gum never helps.”

“But you never really quit, so how can you say gum doesn’t help?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Whatever. Text me when he comes in and tell me what happens!”

“Nothing is going to happen.”

“Not with that attitude, it’s not. When he comes in, just make a move or something. Guys are oblivious when it comes to girls. You HAVE to make the first move.”

“Nothing is going to happen,” Zoe typed and snapped the phone shut, putting it on silent. She didn’t want to deal with Megan’s advice again. Last time she had listened to her friend, she had ended up on a blind date with some guy who thought he was a dragon reborn as a human. It had been one of the longest nights of her twenty-three-years.

“What does Megan know anyway?” Zoe asked her phone, “It’s not like she has ever had a successful relationship.”

Mike twitched himself awake and was confused as to why he was sitting in an empty car in the middle of the night. It took him a good couple of minutes to remember why he was in this situation; he remembered that he had gone along with his good friend to support him on his endeavour to talk to the cute girl who works at the corner store. Mike was certain the Jordan had finally found the courage to go in and talk to her; why else would he be all alone in his friend’s car? At least he hoped Jordan was talking to her, and not looking at the magazine rack again like a dolt.

Jordan mindlessly looked over the magazines. He had found the courage to get out of the car, walk to the store, and walked inside. But his courage had failed him the moment he walked through the door and laid eyes on her. Now he was stuck at the magazine rack like always, his legs glued to the floor.

‘I have to grab something, or else I’ll look like an idiot for just standing here.’ Jordan thought as he nervously scratched his arm. ‘What to pick? It needs to be something manly, but not covered in half naked chicks.’ He stopped monetarily on the newest issue of GQ adorned with some model, half naked as usual. ‘Something not covered in half naked women. Oh man, I have to grab something soon or I’ll really look like an idiot’. He grabbed a copy of some fishing magazine after what seemed like hours, and rationalized to himself that fishing was the height of manliness.

‘Now I need something else, no one walks into a store just to buy a magazine.’ Jordan looked around the store, ‘chips. Everyone goes to the store to buy chips: nothing strange, or creepy, or weird about chips.’

He walked past the counter and tried to lift his eyes from the floor and muster a smile, but he couldn’t do it. Instead, he marched right to the chip isle and was faced with another dilemma.

‘But what chips do I want? I don’t even want chips, but I need to get them now.” Jordan peered over his shoulder to the counter and caught the eye of the girl sitting there. ‘Oh no, she’s watching me,” his mind raced as he snapped his head back to the assortment of flavoured potato slices. ‘Shit, shit, shit. Now I have to get chips. If I don’t, she is going to think I’m some creepy guy who just goes into stores to wander around, and who likes fishing. What if she hates fishing? Oh man, I need to put this back and get something else, but then she’ll think I’m crazy for carrying around a magazine only to change my mind.’

Jordan grabbed a random bag of chips and started to walk to the counter. It felt like he was walking through water, and that time itself had slowed to a crawl. Yet at the same time, it moved all too fast, and he wasn’t nearly ready to talk to her when he finally got to the counter.

“Just this for you?” She asked, not looking at him.

“Yup,” Jordan managed to get out. He was going to ask her how her night was going, but she already rang his stuff through and told him how much it came to; eight dollars and sixty-four cents.

Jordan reached into his back pocket, expecting to find his wallet. Instead, he was greeted by nothing, but his jean covered butt cheek. He laughed a little to himself and checked his other pocket feeling his face start to heat up. It wasn’t there either. His panic levelling was skyrocketing as he checked the front pockets of his jeans, the pockets on his sweater, his coat pockets, and anyplace else you might keep a wallet. The grim realization that he had left his wallet in the car washed over him.

“Shit,” he mumbled under his breath. “I forgot my wallet in my car. Give me like three minutes to run and get it. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a smile. “It’s only eight dollars,” she laughed. “I doubt my parents are going to miss eight dollars.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Jordan stammered. “I’ll be right back. My car is right around the corner.”

“No, no, no, it’s okay,” Zoe said with a slight smile. “Like I said, I doubt my folks are going to miss a bag of chips and a fishing magazine.”

“Oh, well, thanks.” Jordan gave her an embarrassed smile while he grabbed his bag. “Have a good night,” he said and hurried out of the store.

“You too,” she said as she hurried to write down what she owed her parents, averting her eyes again.

Zoe pulled out her phone and stared at it for a minute. She wanted to text Megan and tell her that nothing had happened. ‘Right? Nothing had happened,’ she thought to herself. ‘He just came in to get a fishing magazine and some garlic and onion chips.’

“He came in to get a magazine and a bag of chips, that’s it.” Zoe clicked on the keys and sent it to her friend. The reply came back seconds later.

“How long did he look at the magazines?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Trust me, it matters a ton. If he was quick, that means he knew what he was looking for. If he was slow, he was trying to work up the courage to talk to you.”

“What if he didn’t know what he wanted?”

“Trust me, I bet he took just as long looking at the chips. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Maybe...”

“Maybe my ass. And what did I tell you about using ellipses all the time? It’s annoying.”

“Well, he didn’t even try and get my number or anything. He just came in and left.”

“Because he’s a guy! They’re chicken shit when it comes to us ladies.”

“Maybe...”

Mike watched Jordan walk back to the car, his head down and shoulders slumped. He hoped his friend was just messing with him, and that he was going to find out that Jordan had finally got the girl’s number, or email, or Facebook, or anything. Jordan opened the door and flopped into the seat with a heavy sigh. Mike saw how deflated his friend looked, it was like someone had poked him with a pin and let all the air out.

“Did you talk to her? How did it go?” Mike asked, stifling a yawn, even though he already knew the answer.

“I didn’t talk to her...”

“What?! Why not? Did she blow you off or something?”

“No man, nothing happened. I forgot my wallet, and she told me not to worry about it. Nothing major,” Jordan threw his bag in the backseat, and put his head on the steering wheel. “Let’s just go home.”

“Are you stupid? Like honestly, are you stupid?” Mike asked, disappointment oozing from his eyes. “No girl ever does shit like that unless she is somewhat into the guy. Christ dude, you really are dense sometimes, do you know that?”

“Nothing happened man, trust me. I would know if something happened.”

“Like hell you would.” Mike said rolling his eyes as he opened the car door.

“Where are you going?” Jordan asked leaning across the seat, chasing his friend’s voice.

“I’m going to get you a phone number. Since you couldn’t do it, I’ll do it for you,” Mike said with a smile and slammed the door behind him. Jordan watched as his friend walked down the street towards the store, a cold sweat inching its way down his back. He felt the anxiety start to flow through his veins, energizing him with a concoction of crippling fear and self-loathing.

‘‘What is he going to do?

‘Why is he doing this to me?

‘Why does he feel the need to do this?

‘I don’t even want a girlfriend, oh man.

‘I should just leave; he can walk home. It’s not that far, right?

‘Oh god, he’s coming back.’

“Here,” Mike said as he opened the door and slammed a small piece of paper down on the dash. “From what I saw, she is about as spineless as you.” Jordan was stunned at what his friend had got. It was a small piece of ripped paper, with a number scrawled in blue ink across most of it.

“Thanks man,” was all Jordan was able to get out.

“Don’t mention it, what are friends for anyway?” Mike buckled his seat belt and smiled at his hopeless friend. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to be up in like five hours for work, and I hear my bed calling my name.”