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Here’s what’s inside Amelia’s fridge.
Three perfectly clean shelves separated enough that it’s not cramped. Below those are two sliding drawers for raw meats and dairy. The door of her fridge also has multiple holders on it, maybe for drinks or sauces. It’s a perfect size for her one-bedroom apartment.
The problem is that’s all that’s in her fridge.
Amelia closes the door and leans heavily against it until her cheek hurts. She groans and sinks slowly to the floor. She has the childish urge to curl up there. Her arms fall limp into her lap. The sleeves of her sweater pajamas remind her it’s 1 AM and nothing is open. She thumps her head against the fridge.
“Stupid.” She scolds herself, feeling a thousand times more tired than before. The long day of studying had caught up with her. She’d planned on grabbing some food and then getting a few hours of sleep before her shift. “This sucks.”
Her stomach agrees with a rumble that makes her cringe. Sleeping on an empty stomach sounded awful.
What the heck even delivers this late? Amelia pulls up her phone. She winces at the bright light from her screen. She squints at the results. Close, Closed, Closed-
Oh.
“Oh no.” Amelia thumps her head against the fridge again. She does it once more for good measure. “You’re so stupid, don’t you dare.”
TakoEats cheerfully informs her it's 24 hours. It’s all colorful stickers about how great it is and how cheap it is and blah blah blah. Amelia scowls, ready to swipe it away and deal with an empty stomach. The only thing stopping her is the all-nighter waiting for her if she does. Her shift is going to kill her. If she survives, her classes are going to finish her off.
Amelia eyes the call button with trepidation, “Am I really…”
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It started like this.
Ina is the picture-perfect example of a sweet and dainty delivery girl. She drove her little scooter up to the target house and made her delivery in the dark, all the while wearing a shining customer service smile. She’s soft-spoken and courteous, which earns her an upstanding reputation.
Enter sleep-deprived Amelia.
The very same location had also made an order from Amezon. She drives a truck, which is nice because she can get comfy and not have to deal with the frigid night air. The problem is she can get too comfy. It’s not her fault she nods off. It was only a second.
Her truck hits Ina’s scooter.
It jars Amelia awake into frantically slamming the brakes. She swerves too hard and knocks out the target's mailbox. Ina herself had been walking back from the delivery and had gotten a whole view of the incident. So had the owners of the house. The faces they were making had Amelia shrinking behind the steering wheel.
It was the worst night ever for Amelia.
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Currently, Amelia is wondering if this night is going to beat records.
She’d chickened out of ordering on the phone and had ordered through the website. A little Takodachi on her phone was happily bobbing to some elevator music as it told her order is on the way! It was horrifying. Amelia curled up on her couch, a pillow as her only shield.
“Be a different driver,” She begs quietly, “Please be someone different.”
There’s a knock at her door. Amelia jumps like a startled cat, instantly raising her pillow up in defense. She places it over her head and peeks over the couch. Her front door gave her no answers. She felt an absurd urge to yell who is it?
Another knock. Amelia scurries off the couch, keeping low to the ground. She almost slips and falls a few times while trying to keep her footing because of her socks. She tiptoes to her door. Pressing her ear to it doesn’t give her any clue of who is behind it. She has to cover her mouth to stop from screaming when they knock a third time. It’s softer than before, almost reluctant.
Just rip it off like a bandaid, Amelia grimaces, reaching for her doorknob. It mocks her, unmoving. A bad scenario runs through her head. She almost curls up on the floor right there and accepts her fate as the queen of all-nighters.
She opens the door.
Ina steps back, her eyes going wide. She drew her hand to her chest like she was about to knock again. She looks two seconds away from bolting like a frightened deer. Amelia doesn’t blame her. She kinda wants to shut the door and scream. As it stands, she hides as best as she can behind it. She’s too embarrassed to open it anymore that she has to.
“Oh, um,” Ina holds the takeout bags closer like it’s her comfort, “it’s you…”
Amelia resists thumping her head against the door. She manages out, “Uh… did you, um, you have… a, uh…” Sorry for crashing your scooter is buried somewhere in her chest. She can’t force it out, not when her face is starting to burn from embarrassment. She whines and turns her head away, “Uhhh how much is it all?”
“Huh?” Ina blinks at her with huge eyes. She looks down at the food in her hands like she can’t believe she’s holding it, “Oh, right, um, well.” She’s holding it out for Amelia to take. Amelia hesitates, not wanting to leave her cover, but with Ina awkwardly holding it out it’s putting her on the spot. Reluctantly, Amelia reaches out and takes the food.
“Thank you.”
“Ah, mhm.” Ina fidgets, her gaze skittering all over the place. “Um…”
Amelia stutters, “Change, uh, cash. Here. Sec.”
“R-Right…”
Amelia slowly closes the door. She presses her forehead against it and silently screams. What was that?! Do you have a balloon for a brain, you moron?! The smell of yummy food has her stomach growling louder. She quickly grabs her wallet and runs back to the door. Her socks lose traction and she ends up smacking her nose against it. She opens the door, hiding half her face with her sleeve. She really can’t do anything about her watery eyes.
Ina is looking at her like she just escaped an asylum, “Um-”
“Keep the change.” Amelia rushes out, handing over a bill. Ina takes it, her mouth parting in surprise. “Thanks, have a good night.”
“Wait, wait,” Ina steps forward. Amelia freezes on the spot, her door cracked to just a sliver. There was a weird note in Ina’s voice. “Um, we didn’t really...get a chance to talk…”
Oh god. Amelia resists sinking to the floor. She grips the doorknob like she’s dying. It’s the one thing keeping her from straight-up groveling. Instead, it all rushes out in a mess, “Oh my god I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going that one time and you had to wait for a cab and all your orders got messed up and man that couple was pissed and I fricked up the front tire on my truck and-”
“No, no, um!” Ina nervously waves her hands, then seems to be aware she’s flailing around and shyly brushes back her bangs, “It’s… company scooter, it wasn’t a big deal-”
“Yes, it was!” Amelia opens the door a bit, “Wait, you seriously can’t tell me you’re not a little mad right now?”
Ina stares at her, “...should I be?”
Amelia wants to yell yes but what comes out is a squeak. She hides behind the door again. Door is good. She doesn’t have to see Ina’s hopeful blue eyes. Why is the delivery girl still at her door? She wants more money. That has to be it. Amelia is halfway reaching for her wallet when purple painted nails wrap around the door and prop it open a bit. Amelia gapes uncomprehendingly as Ina leans forward just enough to peek at her behind the door.
“Sorry.” She whispers like this is a secret hiding spot and she’s trying not to upset anything. “I just, um, wanted to know your name.”
Amelia picks her jaw off the floor, “My name?”
“Mm.” Ina glances down nervously, “Sorry if that’s, weird.”
“I hit your scooter.”
“That’s a strange name.” Ina smiles at her and Amelia has to physically back away from it, her heart tearing itself to shreds with warring emotions. She accidentally bumps the door and it closes against Ina’s head. The delivery girl yelps, draping her arms over her head.
Amelia panics, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”
“It’s okay!” Ina rubs her head, “I’m kinda invading your home.”
Amelia doesn’t know how to react to that. All scenarios in her heart have her heart spiraling out of her throat. She weakly says, “I crashed your scooter.”
Ina purses her lips. She looks at Amelia searchingly before saying, “Okay. Then I’d like compensation.”
Right. Money. Amelia is back to reaching for her wallet. She pauses when Ina adds on, “By telling me your name.”
Amelia’s brain flatlines. My name, she wants my name? Hello? She holds up her wallet and says, “I have twenty dollars.”
Ina blinks, “What?”
“Uh.” Amelia hides her wallet. She wishes she still had her pillow. Anything to hide behind would be great right now. She ducks behind her bangs and murmurs, “...Amelia. Just call me Ame.”
“Ame.” Ina gives her that pretty smile. “Does that name come with a phone number?”
Amelia stares. Ina holds her smile for three seconds before she looks anxious, “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked, was that weird? That was weird, I’m sorry-”
“I crashed your scooter.” Amelia echoes airly.
Ina looks even more panicked, “It’s okay, really! I didn’t break you. Are you okay? This is fine, I’m delivering. It’s okay. Are you satisfied? You can rate me. On the website. I’m good.” She covers her face with her hands, “I’m so sorry.”
Amelia stares vacantly at the spot above her head, “I crashed your scooter and you want my number .”
“I’ll go!” Ina squeaks, ducking behind the door. Amelia’s brain buzzes to life. She scrambles after her, grabbing her sleeve before she can bolt away from her door.
“Wait, wait.” Amelia pauses. Ina is looking at her with those eyes again. She has to fight to remember her words, “Um...are you free tomorrow night?”
“Huh?” Ina lists like she’s about to faint.
Amelia panics, “Or not! Forget I said that, completely forget that!”
“Are you…” Ina grips the door for support. Her face is red and she’s looking at Amelia with awe, “Are you asking me on a date?”
“After crashing your scooter?” Amelia runs her hand down her face, “...yes.”
They stand in silence. Amelia lets Ina’s sleeve go, scandalized by herself. She’s ready to close the door and not get any sleep at all as her brain beats her to death with anxiety. Ina grabs her hand before she can retreat. The shock of it startles Amelia into bumping into her door. It swings open and bangs against the wall. Both girls shriek in surprise.
“I’m sorry!”
“No, that was my fault!”
“I crashed your scooter!” Amelia wails in a panic.
“It was cute!” Ina says frantically.
They both clam up. Amelia is painfully aware of how clammy her hand is with Ina’s fingers wrapped around it. She tries to disappear into her sweater. Anything to hide from how embarrassing this is. Ina looks like she’s trying to evaporate on the spot.
She stutters, “S-So, um…about that number?”
Amelia thinks what the heck as she reaches for her phone, “Coming right up.”
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When Amelia next opens her fridge, she grabs a sandwich.
A little note is scrawled beside it. Made with love! it says, with a bunch of hearts around the words. Amelia closes her fridge and pockets the note. She’ll tease Ina about it later when she’s off her shift. Right now she’s touched and grateful that she has anything to eat at all. She remedies this by sending a bunch of heart emojis to her. It’s nearly midnight, meaning Ina is still on shift herself. She's going to be tired when she gets home.
“I’ll make her some food too,” Amelia mutters. “Top that, Ina.”
Ina replies with a scooter.
Amelia laughs.
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