Falling for Autumn

Chapter 3

I walked over and extended my hand. "Hi I'm Autumn."

"Oh god it's farm girl!" Teigan of course. "Poor Henry. You have to spend a day with that."

"Honey you do realize what you look like right?" Darcy helpfully added.

They both of course looked like they had walked straight out of a photo shoot. Teigan was tall with long blond hair and blue eyes. Darcy had carmel colored skin and brown hair and brown eyes. They both started working here our sophomore year. They both worked in the general store so luckily I rarely saw them.

Henry and Sam stood there confused and then looked me over.

Is it acceptable to crawl under a table? No you say. Well I currently wish I could. I can feel my face getting redder by the second.

"I know you came from a farm, but you could at least attempt not to look like an animal." Teigan's eyes stopped at my boots. "Those are also a crime against humanity. Why would you ever buy those?"

Brain work. Need more coffee. Like a whole pot of coffee. Zero comebacks came to me.

"I guess she only can speak with animals as well. Good luck Henry. Try making animal noises. Maybe then you'll get a response. See you at lunch." The three friends walked off leaving Henry and I standing there.

"So you lived on a farm?" Henry asked looking confused and obviously feeling awkward after what just happened.

"Nope."

Utter confusion passed over Henry's face.

"It looks like we are suppose to start training in the store,so we'll head over there."

Work. That's something I can focus on. Not an expert on awkward social interactions regularly, but this early in the morning I'm more awkward than usual.

This seemed like the beginning of a long day.

...

Henry actually didn't seem too bad. He seemed to have a good sense of humor. As I walked him through the tasks throughout the orchard, he gave the impression of a hard worker. We finished with our morning schedule and headed over to the picnic area where the Everly's had set up a cookout for the employees.

"So we've established you didn't grow up on a farm. So where did you grow up? You don't give off a city vibe." Henry smiled over at me.

"I actually lived in Chicago until I was 14. Then we moved to a small town about three hours South of here."

"Wait seriously! YOU lived in Chicago!"
Not sure how I'm suppose to take this response. I'm currently wondering what vibe I give off.  I think my face showed my displeasure because he looked over and his eyes got big.

"No offense. Oh shit. Sorry. Seriously I didn't mean anything bad by that. I was just surprised. You seem to be able to handle yourself in a rural area or whatever." He seemed to be fumbling for words. It was kind of cute. "Also I'm from Chicago and I was excited to meet a fellow Chicagoan."

"Oh seriously. That's cool. I miss the city. I haven't been back since we moved. What part of town are you from?"

"We lived in Logan Square before we moved to Roger's Park. How about you?"

"We lived in Lincoln Park. We weren't super far from the zoo and we'd walk through in the late evenings. That's where my love for animals came from."

"Wow. Great location. Why'd you guys move?"

My face must have deceived me because he quickly added that I didn't need to answer.

"It's fine. My grandmother got sick. So my parents decided we'd move in with her to help take care of her. She passed away the summer before my senior year. My parents wanted me to finish high school there. I think they might like the slow pace a small town offers at least for now."