"She's cute!" Pratik said. Because of course, why wouldn't he keep embarrassing himself in this interaction? "And, uh... I mean, I think she'd look good in the red, but the blue is nice, too." He spun the rack around. "We also have this one."
He grabbed a black one with gold crescent moons and a little charm. He held it out to her on a single finger, then shrugged. "Or, like, whatever."
Spoiler! :
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lillian took the black collar from him eagerly. "Ooh, she would love this one!" She only hesitated for half a moment before adding teasingly, "Yeah, but like, totally whatevs."
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
Pratik laughed a bit. Lillian was endearing, he'd give her that. He smirked. "Happy to appease the Goddess Pandora."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Yeah, well, if you don't hurry up with checking out the pet food and this collar for me, Goddess Pandora might smite you with her wrath." Lillian smiled warmly and tossed the collar on top of the pile of pet food.
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
"Hah! Wouldn't want that." Pratik finished the tally. "Total's $31.42."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Thank you!" Lillian said, paying with a credit card and scooping the animal food -- plus collar -- towards her. "See y... I mean, I might be seeing you around?"
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
"Uhhh, yeah! I mean... heh, not around school." Pratik smirked at his own joke, then sobered. "But I'll likely be the one working when you come to pick up the skunk food, so... yeah."
He was making it awkward. Did she even want to be seeing him around? She seemed more relaxed now, but he couldn't get a read on how she actually felt about him.
"Do you uh...?" He gestured vaguely at the mountain of different types of food she was pulling towards herself. "Want some help? That's a lot..."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"I mean, unless you're interested in a 20 minute walk to the pet shelter, I can manage on my own." She wasn't entirely sure how true that statement was, but Pratik probably wanted to end this encounter sooner than later, and she didn't want to bother him anymore. She hefted two bags of food into her arms and smiled cheerfully at him.
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
"I mean... I really wouldn't mind helping. Twenty minutes is a long time for you to have to carry all of this..." Pratik looked at her skeptically. He couldn't say he particularly blamed her for being stubborn. But it still seemed like a bad plan. "But it's up to you."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lillian looked around uncertainly. "Are you the only one working right now? You can't just desert the store for 40 minutes." The offer was tempting, though.
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
"The owner's upstairs," Pratik said with a shrug. "She wouldn't mind coming down to watch the shop for a bit so I could help... might even let me stay on the clock. She's big on customer service and all that, you know?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lillian squinted. She couldn't be bothered to try to find any more excuses -- and besides, she was not looking forward to carrying all these slippery, heavy bags to the shelter. On her own she might even need to make a couple trips. Bleh.
"Well, if you're sure it would be fine, I guess I wouldn't totally mind a bit of help." She hugged the two bags of food tighter, getting suddenly shy again. She had literally known this guy for less than an hour -- minus the bump-in at school -- and now he was helping her carry stuff??
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
Pratik was a bit surprised that she actually relented. But he nodded. "Yeah! Just give me a minute!"
He ran upstairs and explained the situation to the owner, then came back down and scooped up the remaining bags of food as an old lady hobbled up behind the counter. "Special order for skunk food, eh?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Oh gosh, not the skunk food again. "I -- yeah, we've got a family of skunks staying at the animal shelter." Lillian delivered this explanation as quickly as possible.
She glanced at Pratik and then back at the old lady, who gave her a wrinkly smile. "Thank you for, um, lending me Pratik. We'll be nice and quick."
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.
Pratik burst out laughing. He wasn't sure why it struck him as funny as it did, but he was thoroughly amused. "Welcome to Rent-A-Pratik."
He hefted the big bags of pet food onto either shoulder.
"Muscle for hire... well, loan." He grinned, then sobered when he realized he was being stupid. He still had a slight, stupid smirk on his face though.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
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