Cara drove along the highway to the campus. Aunt Maggie had woken Cara up early that morning, cooking her a big breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Cara had eaten until she thought she was going to pop. But the food was good.
She pulled into the parking lot of the college and got out, grabbing her purse and a list of books she needed. She saw a sign that pointed to the bookstore and headed off in that direction. She found that it was a small cottage-like building, that reminded her of the playhouse she once had as a little girl. There was a small sign on the door, giving information about the job. The discount on books was about 50%, the pay about one hundred dollars a week. Not bad, she thought. She opened the door and stepped inside.
There were books everywhere. The place was a mess. No wonder they need help. There was a boy at the counter with long blond hair, that was pulled back into a ponytail. He was reading a book about Roman architecture. It was one that Cara had already read three times before, that she had enjoyed immensely. She walked over to the counter.
"That's a really good book you're reading," she said, trying to strike up a conversation. The boy kept reading. "Excuse me?" She cleared her throat loudly. He jumped and looked up, startled.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't hear you." He had deep brown eyes, and a gorgeous smile. "May I help you?"
"Yes, I'm here for some books that I need, and to inquire about the job," she said. Something about him seemed so familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Well, you're the only one so far...I was almost ready to give up. No one around here really wants to work in a bookstore. Of course, most people at this school don't even know there even is one on campus. What's your name?" the boy asked.
"Cara Ellis. I just moved here," she replied.
"Well, I'm Zac." He shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you Zac." Suddenly she realized who she was shaking hands with. Zac Hanson! She took a deep breath. She looked him over. Yeah, that's him.
"Yes, I am Zac Hanson," he said, quietly.
"How did you know what I was thinking?" Cara asked.
"You looked like you were about to explode with excitement or something. I'd know that look anywhere...I get it from everyone," he answered.
"I'm sorry," she said blushing. "I'm just a really big fan of yours. Of you and your brothers that is. I never expected to meet one of the Hanson's in a place like this though."
"Most people don't. I work here to help pay my tuition and to cut down on the price of my books," he said. "Actually, I'm the manager here."
"That's cool. What are you majoring in?" Cara asked.
"Architecture," Zac replied, holding up the book he had been reading.
"Me, too," she said. "Well...about the job...do you need me to fill out an application or something?"
"Well...considering you're the only person that's applied, and you're Hanson fan...you're hired," Zac said, smiling. "I really need the help."
"Yeah, I noticed. This place is a mess," Cara responded.
"Well, what books do you need?" he asked. "We should probably do that first before you start getting acquainted with this place."
"Here's the list," she said. He looked it over.
"Looks like we'll be in a lot of the same classes," he said. "I know where all these books are...I pulled most of them out for myself yesterday. C'mon." He led her to the back of the store, to where the architecture textbooks were. "Ok, here." He handed her a thick volume of Italian Renaissance architecture. "And here...oh, here's another one." Books were starting to pile up in her arms. "And here's the last one." He noticed that she was about to drop them all. "Want me to take some?"
"Oh, please do. These are heavy," she said. He took all of them out of her hands. "You must have a lot of muscle to carry those," she said, as they walked back up to the front.
"Are you kidding me? These are light compared to some of the other books we have in here," Zac responded. He grunted as he placed them in a chair by the cash register. He took the list and started ringing up the total. "Eight hundred dollars...divided by half for an employee discount...that's four hundred dollars."
"Alright," she said, pulling her checkbook out of her purse. She wrote out a check for that amount and handed it to him.
"Girl, you must be rich," he said, opening the cash register door and putting the check inside. "I could never pay for all those at once...Mom and Dad would have to help me pay."
"Well, I'm not really rich. I had a very rich uncle who died and left me all his money, for me to use for college," she said. She saw the look of disbelief on his face. "I'm serious! He did. He put it all in a checking account for me to use. And once I'm out of college and working, I can use whatever is left to my hearts content. I'll probably use it on my wedding, if I ever get married." He smiled at her.
"So, let's get going. You have a lot to learn, and lots I need you to do," Zac said. He led her to the mess of books at the front of the store. "Ok...I need you to put these up. Their labeled on the binding as to which topical area of the shelves they belong."
"Ok...sounds easy," Cara said.
"Not exactly. The trick is finding the shelf it belongs on, because none of the shelves are labeled," Zac said.
"What? Then how do you know where everything is?" Cara asked.
"I don't. I usually have to hunt for stuff. I just know where the architecture books are because I use them," Zac said. "After you put all those books up, I need you to label the shelves. I have the labels already made, you just have to find the right shelf."
"And what are you going to be doing while I do all this?" Cara asked.
"Bills, and invoices for ordering more books," Zac replied. "Look, what I have to do is no more fun than what you have to do. I suck at math, unless its geometry. That's why I hate doing the bills and stuff. Well, good luck."
"Yeah, you too," she responded. He walked over and sat down behind the counter. Cara picked up a book. The Fundamentals of Elementary Education was written on the binding of the book. Below it was a label with EDU written on it.
"Alright, little guy. Where is the education shelf?" Cara said to herself. She walked back three shelves and found the education shelf. She put the book with the rest. Then she walked back to the front. This time she grabbed a stack of books and began to put them away. She started to hum MMMBop. Zac could hear her even though she was at the back of the shop. He grinned and started snickering, then went back to work. When she was finished, she walked over to the counter where Zac was still sitting, punching in numbers on a calculator.
"You're through already?" Zac said. "Wow!"
"Yeah...it wasn't that hard. It only took me thirty minutes. I need those labels," Cara said. Zac got up and looked under the counter. He pulled out a stack of papers and a roll of tape. "Thanks."
Cara walked all over the store putting up the shelf labels. It only took her about twenty minutes. She walked back over to where Zac was sitting.
"Got anything else for me to do?" Cara asked.
"Nope. Sorry," Zac said. He grabbed a stool and pulled it over next to him. "Why don't you sit down and tell me about yourself? I hired you knowing nothing about you, and I'd like to get to know you better."
"Are you sure? Because I don't want to distract you. You said yourself that you're not too good at math," Cara said.
"Yeah, its fine. Sit down," Zac said. Cara walked behind the counter and gracefully pulled herself up onto the stool. "So, where are you from?"
"Actually, I'm from Waycross, Georgia. But I just transferred from Georgia Tech in Atlanta. I've always wanted to go to Oklahoma State, ever since I was little," Cara said.
"Why would you actually want to come to school here? Georgia Tech's a better school," Zac said, still adding up numbers.
"Yes, but Oklahoma State has a better architecture program," Cara said. He nodded that he understood.
"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Zac asked.
"Yeah, I have two. But they're older than me. There's Elaine, who's 25 and married. Then there's Mitchell, who's 23 and in law school. Then there's me," Cara replied. "I'm only 19. I'm living with my Aunt Maggie."
"Cool. Well, I have six brothers and sisters, as you probably know. Ike's 23, and he's about to get married. And Tay is going to be 21 in March. He's going to school at Oral Roberts back home on Tulsa. Then there's Jessie, who's about five years younger than me. The other three, I can barely keep track of their birthdays. But I love them dearly," Zac said. He had a wistful look on his face. "But anyway! Do you have someone special back in Atlanta?"
"Uh, yeah. His name's Damon. He's on the football team at Tech. A really great guy," Cara said quietly.
"You miss him, don't you?" Zac said.
"Yes...I miss him very much," Cara said. She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes at the thought of him. "He was sweet and funny, and I love him. Its not easy being away from him like this."
"Yeah, I know how that feels. That's how I am about my family. I've never really been away from them for more than a few days. It's kind of weird for me. Especially being away from Isaac and Tay. I spent most of my time with them. They're my two best friends. When no one else was there for me, they were. And with Isaac getting married, things won't ever be quite the same again," Zac said.
"Well, you have the band atleast," Cara responded. "You'll always be together, even if you're not all living together."
"I know. But it's still not the same...I just thought of something kind of important. I need your address and phone number," Zac said. "Especially so I can get a hold of you when I need you. And so we can talk. I'd like to get to know you better. I don't really have that many friends around here, since I'm in the bookstore most of the time. And I never joined a fraternity, like everyone else."
"Yeah, but aren't you glad you didn't? That stuff just sucks anyway. All they do is party all the time," Cara said.
"True...," Zac said, as the phone began to ring. Zac answered it. "Hello, Oklahoma State U. Bookstore. This is Zac speaking. Yes, hold on just a moment." He covered up the receiver on the phone. "It's for you. I think it might be your aunt." He handed the phone to her.
"Hello? Aunt Maggie?" Cara answered.
"Cara, dear, I was hoping to find you. Did you get the job?" Maggie asked.
"Yes, I got the job. As it turns out, I'm the only person that applied, so he just gave it to me," Cara replied.
"He?" Maggie said.
"Oh, Zac, the manager. He's really nice. You'll have to meet him sometime," Cara said, looking over at Zac. He stuck out his tongue at her, and she crossed her eyes and stuck out hers back. "He's majoring in architecture, too. We have most of the same classes."
"Well, that's good. You've made a friend. I just wanted to tell you that dinner will be ready about six, so be home by then. Congratulations on the job, sweetie. I'll see you when you get home. Bye," Maggie said.
"Bye," Cara responded. She hung up the phone. "That was Aunt Maggie. She said dinner will be ready at about six...say, do you want to come over and eat with us?"
"Well, I don't want to impose...," Zac hesitated.
"No, it's alright. Aunt Maggie always makes too much food for the two of us to eat anyway," Cara said. "Come...please?"
"Oh, alright. It's been a while since I had a good home-cooked meal anyway. What's your address?" Zac asked.
"2401 Maple Terrace Road. Oh...and you asked earlier about my phone number...it's 555-1342. Okay?" Cara said.
"Cool, well, I'll see you then," Zac said. "Bye!"
"Okay. Bye!" Cara replied.
