Chapter Text
Shoot shoot shootshootshoot-. Ryland knew he forgot something at home but why could he only remember 5 minutes before school? Thankfully the grocery store is right across the street from the school so no big deal. he can run in, get the gum he needed for a demonstration, and run back out. No biggie as long as he concentrated. As soon as Ryland ran in to the store his eyes focused onto the gum section. Thankfully the store had not changed drastically in the week he hadn't gone in. As he browsed the gum options for the chewiest with the most likelyhood of making a bubble, he noticed a shift out of the corner of his eye. The cashiers were switching out, Jack was leaving the store as a new person entered the stall. Huh, he hadn't realized there was a new comer to the town. Although Ryland Grace was notoriously bad at knowing anything that happened in the townthat didn't focus on his kids. Shoot his kids! Grabbing the gum he was deliberating on Ryland ran to the cashier to pay for the gum so he could sprint into the school before the bell rang. The new cashier, Simon on his nametag, rang the gum up. "That'd be 1.75" Simon said. Ryland knew he had some crumpled dollar bills on the bottom of his bag. as he rifled through his bag he figured he'd try to get to know the new guy as theres barely ever new people in town, last time that had happened Ava had come in looking rough and found herself at home with the Yao's as a barista. "I haven't seen you around, are you new?" he semi mumbled as he tried to reach the dollar bill that was just out of reach. "Yeah, I got here a week ago." Simon answered. Ryland finally wrangled both dollar bills and slapped them onto the till. "Here you go! keep the change!" he rushed out while grabbing the gum and running out of the store. He could see while Simon just looked baffled at the speed Ryland had left. Only then did he notice that the cashier was missing an arm. But that thought flew out of his head as he entered the office with seconds to spare and got to his classroom just as the bell rang.
Simon had just arrived for his first shift of a hopefully new life. Ava seemed really happy here, something he had never seen before in the 20 years he'd known her. He wanted a clean slate and a nowhere town with people who minded their own business seemed like his best shot. After taking over the till from his new coworker Simon looked around the store to see if there was anything he could fix. Mrs. Yao, the store owner, had taught him how to space different items on the shelves so everything looked clean. It was hard with one arm but Simon enjoyed the easy mindless work, especially when Mrs. Yao patted his head and told him he did good. He spotted a customer squatted in the candy aisle, staring intensely at a pack of gum as if it had somehow wronged him. The man looked young, maybe late 20s early 30s? He was dressed in a polo and jeans with a green lanyard dangling from his neck. Suddenly the man jumped up and hurried to the other side of the till Simon was standing at and slapped the gum on the counter. Simon dutifully rand it up and told the man how much it cost. He noticed the lanyard had the name of the elementary school right across the street. The badge showed the man's photo with the name 'Ryland Grace' printed below it.
"I haven't seen you around. Are you new?"
Simon's train of thought broke as he heard the man, Ryland, speak. He had expected this question so his response was automatic. "Yeah. I just got here a week ago." Simple, easy answer that nobody could refute unless you were the doctor that treated him in the hospital, or the Yaos, but they would never tell. As soon as Ryland fished out the second dollar he practically threw both at Simon and sprinted out of the store. Simon was about to protest but he heard a hurried "keep the change!" And decided to let it go. He finished the transaction and put the bills away congratulating himself for his first successful customer interaction at work.