how did this happen. . ?

02 - late encounters

A couple more days have passed, and it was your first weekend as a college student. And what were you doing?

Working!

You had gotten a job!

At a gas station!

As one of the only night shift workers!

What could possibly go wrong?

Now while this was very shady and quite possibly very dangerous, this was the only one who had answered your job application and you didn't have time to wait for a better job opportunity to come up.

Money is money.

Besides, you have your pepper spray that your mom had got you before you moved out. So, you weren't defenseless!

Thankfully, this gas station is very unpopular so not many people come to it. Just a few customers that come and buy a drink or a late-night coffee.

It was around midnight when a guy with dark hair and a blue mask that covered his face completely walked in. You had barely noticed as you were in the middle of solving a couple of math problems for homework.

The guy raised his eyebrow(?) at you as he watched you hunched over your laptop. Simultaneously typing on the laptop, punching in numbers on the calculator, and writing down notes. He watched you for a bit as he pretended to be picking a snack from the aisle.

Finally, you had solved the problem that you and been stuck on for a while and cheered softly before going onto the next problem.

Having enough, the man grabbed a honeybun and a water and walked to the counter. He cleared his throat softly and watched carefully as you sat up straight immediately.

"Oh! Hello! So sorry about that, I didn't even notice you coming in."

He hummed. "Homework?"

You scanned the back of the honeybun and placed it into the plastic bag before doing the same with the water. You turned back to see your homework still shining on your laptop.

"Ah- yeah. I am really not supposed to be doing it right now since I am working but I got bored."

He hummed again. "What is it? Math?"

"Finance. So, yeah math." You rang up his total as he handed you a five-dollar bill. "It's not too bad. My professor doesn't explain things very well, so I am trying to teach myself the lessons before class. That way I can follow along."

"You sound like a good student."

You laughed slightly. "I wouldn't say that. I just try not to procrastinate often. My parents made sure I never got in that habit, and I don't want to break it now." You gave him his change and then his bag. "Plus, it is just the first week of school. Got to stay on top of it, y'know?" He nodded. Been there, done that. "Well, that's everything! Have a good night!" You waved as the man walked out. Turning around on your stool, you went back to doing some finance.

Weird. The man thought. Did she not see the blood stain on my pants? Did the mask not freak her out? He walked across the street into the woods.

He walked through the woods listening to the sounds of leaves and sticks breaking under his boots. The sound of a stick breaking behind him lead to a raspy voice.

"Jack."

He turned around to see his co-worker. White hoodie now covered in dark red.

"Jeff."

"Whatcha got there?"

"Water." Turning his body around to face him fully, he held up the bag. Looked at it and then back at the hoodie man. "And a honeybun for Sally." He grinned as Jeff deflated at the fact that the snack is not for him.