Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance by Bryan W. Alaspa Read Free Book Online Page A

Jimmy tried
to talk to him or joke with him, George remained silent.  He would mumble
something, grunt, or make sounds to indicate he had heard, but he did not join
in the conversation.
    Jimmy and George
had been working at Shop Smart since it opened.  The store was gleaming white
and had an open ceiling where you could see the steel beams that held up the
roof.  The aisles were packed with goods at discount prices.  There was a kind
of ordered chaos to the whole affair that Jimmy liked.  They had been all of
about sixteen years old when the store had opened, and they had immediately
signed up to stock shelves some evenings and most weekends during the school
year.  During the summers, they worked there all day, every day.  The pay
wasn’t great, but it was better than not having money.
    Most of the time,
Jimmy actually liked stocking on weekends.  George and Jimmy had   the trust of
the management and they were left pretty much alone.  They would often find a
relatively secluded spot and then goof around.  They got their work done, but
they had fun while doing it.  They would quote Monty Python and other
English comedians to one another.  They would talk about the last movie they
had seen, but since they had very different likes and dislikes when it came to
movies, they would often argue.  Every Saturday night they would hang out,
sometimes watch a movie, and pretend like they had lives outside of work and
school.
    The fact that it
seemed that Jimmy might now actually have a life outside of school and work
seemed to be making George just a little bit testy.  Whenever he looked over at
George, the young man was scowling.  Why did everyone around him seem to want
him to stay away from Sapphire and why was everyone reacting to her like she
was poison?
    “You ready for
lunch?” Jimmy asked.
    George nodded and
shrugged at the same time.  “I guess.”
    They finished
pushing the pallets and boxes out of the way of the customers and then headed
for the back of the store.  They both stopped at the fridge in the break room
and removed their paper bags. Then they bypassed the tables in the break room
and headed for the picnic table behind the building near the alley.  Not far
away, a truck had backed up to a loading dock and a couple of other workers
were moving boxes into the stockroom. 
    George sat down
opposite Jimmy and immediately opened the brown bag he had placed in front of
himself.  He pulled out the sandwich and began eating without saying a word. 
The sandwich looked like ham and cheese to Jimmy, which normally would have
produced a bout of complaining from George, who preferred turkey.  This time,
unlike most of the lunches they had shared, George lowered his head and seemed
entirely focused on devouring the ham and cheese.
    “OK,” Jimmy said
after a couple bites of his tuna sandwich. “Are you going to tell me what’s
bugging you?  I thought you talked too damn much until you decided not to talk
to me, and then I found out that was even more annoying.”
    George threw down
his sandwich and glared at Jimmy.  “I’m annoying?  Did you just say that I’m
the one who’s annoying?  How dare you!”
    The vehemence and
vitriol with which George shouted took Jimmy aback.  “What the hell did I do?”
    “Are you
completely stupid?” George said. His voice was rising.  Jimmy looked back and
saw that the guys on the loading dock had stopped to look at them.  Jimmy felt
the blood rising up his neck to his face.  “Did last night not happen in your
world?  Did you not completely ignore me and the rest of Knorr High School to
dance with some mysterious chick we met on the side of the road who, for
reasons that make zero sense to anyone with a brain, then had us drop her off
in the same place and vanished beneath the bridge?  Have you not been walking
around moon-eyed all damn day as if all of your prayers have been answered,
even though you know that most of the football team is going