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“A little late for a morning text :K.”
Isla looked at her screen for a second, and then her heart sank to the bottom of her chest.
What was I thinking? Kade is probably making fun of me right now. Why do I have to be such a loser?
She quickly typed up another text to try to make up for the one she had sent before.
“I got a job at Layers, the town’s small bakery.” I start at 3, but you can come by and see me if you want.
Isla threw her phone on the carpeted floor like it was on fire after she hit send. She buried her face in her pillow and waited for the dreaded ding that meant he had replied. When her phone rang a few minutes later, Isla slowly lifted her face from her pillow and looked over her bed. She was afraid to see the message. Finally, she picked up her phone and forced herself to read it.
“Congratulations, baby. I’ll try to stop by after work.
Isla screamed as she read and reread the blue words. “He’s coming to see me!”
She picked up the book she had forgotten about in the middle of her excitement. She smiled as she flipped through the pages. She could read a little more since she wouldn’t be leaving for another hour.
Her favourite book, “Marcellus,” quickly drew her in and kept her entertained. Time flew by as it always did when she was reading, and she was sad to have to leave her secret world of fantasy.
Isla closed the book and looked in the mirror. She gave herself another pep talk while she looked at her outfit for her first day of work. She was wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and a burgundy overall dress over it. Her pale legs were covered by black suede thigh-high boots, which kept her soft skin safe from the harsh fall winds.
Isla looked up at her head, where her messy bun was still there. Blonde strands of hair framed her face, and she took a breath before going downstairs.
It was just after two o’clock, and the bakery was about ten minutes away from the grocery store, which meant a long thirty-minute walk. Isla didn’t mind, though; she liked having some time to herself and the beautiful fall scenery. She grabbed a light coat from the rack and yelled a quick goodbye to Clarice before heading off to a new chapter in her life.
*****
Isla got to the bakery with fifteen minutes to spare. She was a little late because she couldn’t focus for very long, but she made it.
She looked inside the shop and was amazed by the number of people talking at small tables. Most of them had a coffee cup in one hand and a baked good of some kind in the other. Isla’s mouth dropped open in awe, and she wished she could talk like that, as if it were second nature.
One of the cashiers saw the girl with blue eyes looking into the store. She stopped talking to her coworker and said, “I’ll be right back,” then walked towards the door.
“How can I help you?”
Isla jumped at the voice because she didn’t think she would be caught, even though she was standing so close to the edge in the small store. She looked up at the stranger with wide eyes.
“Excuse me?”
The woman asked her question again, and Isla stammered out an answer.
“I’m the new baker here.” Clarice, my carer, told me that Mrs. Langford was waiting for me at 3.
The stranger raised their eyebrows in surprise. They weren’t expecting the delicate girl who looked like she had just graduated from high school to be their new full-time baker. Still, the woman in her twenties welcomed the shaking girl inside and led her to the back room.
“Hello, I’m Brynn.” It’s nice to meet you, but Mrs. Langford is out today.
Brynn held out her hand to shake Isla’s, and the little girl shook it back with a shaky smile.
“During the week, I’m usually on cash, but on the weekends, I help out in the back. I can see that you’re nervous, but don’t be. The old baker we had was a jerk who would yell at customers a lot when they complained about his pastries. You don’t seem like the type to yell, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Isla’s eyes widened at the bad words that seemed to flow out of this woman’s mouth like water. She knew what they meant, but they were words she had been told not to use, and she was a good girl. She realised that the old baker wasn’t very good and ignored the rude comments. Then she went up to introduce herself.
“Well, I’m Isla.”
Brynn was confused as to why Mrs. Langford would make the 5’2″ girl the head baker of her business. It looked like the girl could barely put together a few words to say her name. She smiled at Isla and quickly listed the recipes for the few pastries and cakes they made at the bakery before taking her to the prep room.
“So, this is where you should bake everything. I don’t really know my way around here; when Toby was here, I usually cracked the eggs or took the finished product out of the oven. It’s not too complicated: four ovens, a prep table, two fridges, and two freezers. If you need help with anything, just come to the front and I’ll be there. We don’t have many chocolate chip cookies or lemon bars right now, so you can start with constituting that. I’ll come back every so often to tell you what we need to restock, but other than platitudes desperately need to go.
Brynn patted Isla on the back and walked to the front of the bakery, where the bell was ringing. She took her place at the cash register.
Isla looked around after Brynn left. The kitchen was five times bigger than the one at the orphanage, and the countertops and extra-large fridges made her feel small. She was still thinking about what Brynn had told her as she got the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies and lemon bars.
After a while, Isla realised that having a job wasn’t so bad if she didn’t have to deal with people. She was fine working in the kitchen alone, making a baker’s dozen of the low-spot of the store. Sometimes, she had to face people when she brought out the food, but that was only for a second before she left the room.
*************
Isla was so busy mixing, cracking, and pouring that she almost missed the sound of her name being called.
“Isla, someone is here to see you.”
When Brynn said that, Isla looked up at her and pouted.
“Someone’s come to see me?”Isla put extra emphasis on the last word of her sentence. She couldn’t think of anyone who would be there to see her, other than Clarice, of course, but she knew the middle-aged woman was too busy running an orphanage to come to Layers.
“Yes. He looks pretty big and scary, but he’s also hot. Do tattoos, big muscles, or blue eyes sound familiar?”
Isla’s eyes lit up right away when she heard about her only friend. She had forgotten that she had invited him to the bakery just a few hours before, but she was more surprised that he actually came.
“H-he’s here?”U-um, well I don’t want to keep him waiting…Would he be allowed back here for a bit? I swear he won’t touch anything.
Brynn’s eyebrows shot up in shock when she found out that this small, sweet girl was with a man who was as scary and hot as the one at the front of the bakery. The cashier felt jealous, but she tried to hide it and stammer out a response.
“Oh, sure. In any case, your shift is over for today. We don’t need to make anything right now because the crowd gets quiet around 7.