<—Part 2
Humidity followed Amy through the front door of Pompeii’s Periodical. Or rather, it stalked and clung to her dark curls. What had been defined, soft bouncy hair an hour ago had gradually transformed into Satan’s cotton ball. Amy loved just about everything in the world. Everything but the humidity.
She still loved the friends she worked with, even if they no longer trusted her. Not that she blamed them. Guiltily, she wondered why she still clung to the job, since her presence made her former friends uncomfortable. If she were a better person, she would have resigned months ago.
Chimes clinked cheerfully against the top of the door, announcing her arrival. A few months ago she would have beamed at the bells and waved to her coworkers. A lot could change in a few months.
Terra was at the front counter of the little bookstore, awkwardly looking everywhere but at Amy. Her sleek blonde hair hung loose down her back, enhancing the initial impression Amy had had of her; a displaced gypsy princess. Or rather, the Barbie version of one. Special Edition, even. Her skirt could almost pass for the usual neo-hippie style, but there was a wispiness to it that seemed ethereal.
Amy would bet her signed Oracle deck that dulcet, fairy-like bells would ring with every step Terra took. Not because Terra was that beautiful—she was—but because Amy knew her. Or had known her. Before. Terra always wore an anklet dripping with tiny silver bells.
Amy looked away, her carefully maintained shield crumbling a little more. Her attempted smile was just a bit more brittle than the day before. Julie was the only one who seemed to understand what had happened. That Amy hadn’t meant any harm. Amy was grateful since it was Julie’s decision to keep her on as an employee.
Making her way to the backroom to punch in her timesheet, Amy ducked her head as she passed Raven at the coffee counter. While Raven didn’t seem to treat her any differently than before, Amy was acutely aware of the distance between herself and her former friends. Raven and Terra were too close for Raven to have not shifted her perception of Amy.
Holding her breath in anticipation, Amy pushed open the worn, scratched door and braced herself. The weekly schedule was posted on the cork board above the side table. A mix of disappointment and relief washed through, leaving her weak. She looked through her scheduled hours. On the days her schedule overlapped with Violet’s, she saw the little CU initials next to her name. Clean Up. In fact, she only had two days this coming week where she was scheduled to work the store at all. The rest of her time was allotted to cleaning out the old trunks and junk from the space next door.
Trying to muster up some positive thoughts, Amy made herself smile. Someone else might see it as punishment, and to be fair, she had initially volunteered out of a sense of contrition and need to punish herself. While she still partially felt that way, her thought process had shifted a little after the first day. The junk clean-up was turning out to be kind of fun. Like a treasure hunt through history. Even better, a treasure hunt through paranormal history. If she got lucky, maybe she could use it as part of a paper for her Ghost Studies program at the community college. Maybe she could even write a book on it.
As quickly as the book concept flashed through her mind, she winced. Paranormal book writers were what led her down the path to her biggest mistake ever. It’s what lost her all her friends. But maybe that was the universe’s harsh way of showing her a path. How many other lives had been negatively effected by that fake writer? Maybe that experience was a way to remind her that the world needed reputable authors in the new age world.
She rechecked the schedule and the corners of her mouth tugged upward in a smile. Today was one of those CU days. The sign-in clipboard was next to the cork board schedule. Grabbing the pen dangling from the clipboard, she scrawled her initials in the check-in box, and walked out, carefully shutting the door behind her.
It was early still, and not a lot of customers were milling about yet. A quick glance showed her that Terra was still leaning at the check-out counter, her body language a study in boredom. Raven, still at the coffee counter, looked mildly disgusted as she cleaned out a blender.
Amy walked passed, heading to the tapestry draped side wall that separated Pompeii’s Periodical from the unoccupied building space next door. Lifting the edge away, she revealed a battered wooden door. It had been hastily installed after the owner had purchased the space next to Pompeii, and allowed easy access from inside Pompeii’s Periodical. It also meant that no one had to worry about unlocking or locking up the outside of the newly acquired space until after renovations were underway.