with love, always, michael clifford

the shaved ice shop

( Asteria Clifford,

June 4th, 1:28 PM )

I ran down the stairs fast with my keys in one hand and my phone in the other. I had on black jeans that cut at the knee and a tank top that said HAWAII on it in small, bold letters. My nametag on the left side of the tank top.

"I'm gonna be late," I shouted, grabbing my tote bag from the coat hanger.

"Woah—"

I looked up mid frantic and saw my dad and my brother staring at me like I was crazy. "What?" I said quickly.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

I brought together my eyebrows and squinted at them. "Work, where else on a Saturday?"

I continued putting on my tough converse and tied them whilst kneeled on the ground. "Don't get snappy, Asteria."

"Sorry," I murmured silently and finished tying my shoes. I stood straight up again, threw my tote bag over my shoulder and grinned at my brother. "Bye, I'll be home by 9."

"Woah, woah. 9?"

I rolled my eyes before turning back around, "Yes, 9. My shift ends at 8:30."

My dad put his hands on his hips. "You better not be lying."

"Dad, I love you, but I seriously need to go. I promise I'm not lying. But I am supposed to be on the clock at one forty and it's one thirty." I said with begging in my tone.

"Fine."

I frantically ran out of the door and into my car and started it fast. I swung my tote bag over my body and into the passenger seat and backed out of my driveway.

Luckily, I made it to work on time sparing one minute and ran inside like my life depended on it, scaring some of my co-workers.

"Asteria! God, you nearly jumped my soul out of my body by running in here like that." Bliar exclaimed as I ran into the back office. "Why were you—" She paused to look at her watch, "One minute late?"

I walked back into the main area with sweat dripping down my back and an exhausted look on my face. "I took a nap and forgot to set an alarm. You're lucky my uncle woke me up."

Blair only rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Asteria. You dork."

"Has it been busy?" I asked, coming up next to her and leaning on the counter.

"Yes." She carried out, "We're a shaved ice shop in the beginning of summer during tourist season. Of-freaking-course we're busy, Asteria."

I threw my hands up in defense and laughed. "Excuse me!"

For the next 10 minutes, we took a ton of orders and served a ton of customers until it was 2 pm. I had noticed one of our co-workers hadn't come in yet, so I turned to Blair and asked. "Where's Ella?"

"She quit."

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Why?!"

Blair shrugged. "I don't know. Didn't like the bitch, though, she was annoying. Did you see how she tried to run the place and become manager? Even though I'm the manager?"

I tilted my head to the right. "I'm out of the loop. Anywho, has anyone interviewed for her spot yet?"

"One guy." Blair said, "His name is Henry."

"Hm," I hummed. "Henry. Lovely name."

"He definitely looks like a Henry. He wears brown glasses, has hazel eyes, and has blonde hair that flops around. His style is cool, too." Blair laughed.

"Woah, my kind of man!" I joked. "Hazel eyes? Glasses? Does he have dimples?"

"Unfortunately not. If that's a dealbreaker for ya, I'll take 'em!"

We joked around about this Henry guy until it was nearly 6 pm. Of course, we hadn't joked around the entire time about him but made jokes along the way.

"Alright well," Blair took down her hair. "My shift has ended. Shiloh's coming in for a little to help for the next 3 and a half hours, so you won't be totally alone."

"Thank god." I thanked, "See you at school on Monday, Blair."

"See ya, gorgeous."

And with that, she strolled her way right out of the shop. I watched her for a moment until I noticed a blonde haired guy who looked awfully like a Henry walked into the shop.

"Hello, welcome in." I smiled.

"Hi," He spoke. "I'm Henry."

Oh my god it's the Henry. And he's got a British accent. The hot kind. "Oh, right." I laughed nervously. "You interviewed to work here, correct?"

"Yep." He nodded. "I did," He took one look at my name tag. "Asteria? What a unique name. I like it."

I smiled. "Thank you, Henry."

"Anytime, Asteria." He smiled more. "Oh! I was here to see if I got the job. You see, my phone is broken and I haven't been able to check my email quite yet."

"Oh, right." I nodded, "Come with me to the back. We can check there."

During the hours of 6-9, our shop gets more down since it's getting a little colder. It's a nice quiet time after the awful rush we've had.

I logged into the computer and checked the recent emails. He leaned over the back of me and pointed to an email containing his email.

I examined the screen. "Well, Henry, looks like we're gonna be working together." I turned the chair and saw a grin on his face. "Welcome."

"Thank you, Asteria." He thanked me and followed me to the front. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow, It's shitty, I know. Oh— wait, I'm sorry, can I swear?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you can."

"Perfect. Tomorrow is your first day. I know, shitty, but we are very busy a lot of the time. Luckily, you will be seeing me tomorrow from 6 am to 3 pm. Is that okay?" I asked.

"Always."

"Perfect."

I watched as he left and nearly jumped up and down. Blair was right, he did look like a Henry. And he was gorgeous.

"What are you all happy about?" Shiloh asked as he walked in. "Oh my god, what happened?"

Shiloh has labeled himself my 'gay dad' since we met in 8th grade. He said he'd be my father since mine was awful and it's stuck ever since.

"We have a new employee! Ella quit, did you know?" I smiled.

"Thank god!" Shiloh set down his bag. "Who is this employee?"

"Henry is his name. He's gorgeous, Shiloh, my god." I blushed. "And he's got a British accent. I'm gonna be swooning over him too much."

"That's so exciting. I love a man with an accent," Shiloh smiled. "Alright, let's work now. I have so much to tell you, kiddo."