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She rocked back and forth, bouncing from her heels to her toes as she stared at the door from her position in the sidewalk.
“Why am I nervous?” June muttered to herself.
Why was she nervous?
Danny wasn’t one to lie. At least, June didn’t think so. He always knew whenever anyone else was lying. But that didn’t give June any frame of reference for whether or not he himself lied.
She didn’t see why he would lie about her annoying him. If she really annoyed him, he would’ve just stayed silent. Instead, in the small pause, in that horribly awkward moment of silence, he said, earnestly “You don’t annoy me.”
You don’t annoy me.
June took a deep breath. She curled her toes in. She rolled her shoulders back and tugged on the straps of her backpack.
And before she could lose her nerves, she pushed the door open.
Danny stood behind the counter, behind some machine. He hadn’t seen her yet.
June approached slowly, her fingers wrapped around her backpack so tightly her knuckles were white.
June didn’t understand what was wrong with her. She could face monsters without even a flinch. But for some reason, Danny made her so nervous she thought she was gonna throw up.
A few people were dispersed among the tables, with their eyes glued to their laptops. Someone June vaguely recognized but couldn’t quite place stood near the end of the counter, very clearly waiting on the drink Danny was currently preparing.
She looked up and recognition flashed in her eyes.
June smiled brightly at her and waved a little. The girl smiled in return and then looked back down at her phone.
Now reminded that she was the kind of person who smiled at practical strangers, she felt empowered. She was the girl who could make friends anywhere with anyone. She was Juniper Jones.
She could do this.
She was taking stock of all the bakery items behind the glass display when she heard something clatter to her left.
Her eyes flicked towards the sound.
Danny stood, like a deer in headlights, with a drink spilled all over the ground, and his eyes fixed on her.
Maybe she couldn’t do this.
“June.” Danny blinked.
She smiled, a little lopsidedly, and waved.
Then Danny looked down at the ground. “Ay Dios mío coño carajo,” he hissed.
The girl waiting on her drink seemed to realize what was happening. She withheld a sigh, and sat down at the nearest table.
Danny jerked his head back upwards to June.
“One sec,” he reached for a towel on the counter. “I can-uh-hold on.” His fingers gripped the towel and he pulled it off the counter, only to send a pitcher of milk crashing to the floor.
All heads turned at that.
And June couldn’t watch anymore. She jumped up onto the counter, swung her legs over and kneeled down next to him.
“You’re uh-you’re not supposed to be back here.” Was all Danny could say. June couldn’t help but laugh.
“That’s what you’re worried about? You spilled half the menu!”
Now it was Danny’s turn to laugh. Except it was a little bit more like a strangled chuckle.
They worked in silence after that, cleaning in tandem. They made a good team, which wasn’t really a surprise to June. If you can fight monsters with somebody, of course you could clean spilled milk with them.
Until Danny remembered that someone was waiting on their drink. He peeked his head back over the counter and said something else in Spanish that June could only assume was a curse.
“Go. I can finish this.” June gestured to the somewhat sticky, but mostly clean floor.
Danny nodded with a tight expression and stood up. He apologized to the girl and started to remake her drink.
June went to the back to look for a mop and some cleaning solution. When she returned, the girl was gone and Danny was leaning over the counter, shoulders hunched. He sighed to himself.
June felt her stomach sink. She hadn’t even really talked to him and she’d already messed things up.
As if feeling her shame, Danny turned to her.
“Oh, you don’t have to-I can-“ He grabbed the mop and cleaner out of her hands. Which, June took as her cue to go. She walked around the counter this time, instead of jumping over it, which was the boring way to do it, but she didn’t want to push her luck any further.
“Sorry,” June managed as she watched Danny mop.
“Sorry?” Danny looked confused.
“Yeah. I’m sorry for-“ June gestured out in front of her.
“Don’t be sorry.” Danny said, gently. He had stopped mopping now, and just stood, staring at her.
“I’ll just-“ she gripped the straps of her backpack again and turned to leave.
“You’re leaving?” Danny sounded disappointed. Then there was a slight shift in the air. “What, you make me spill all my orders and then leave immediately after? What were you trying to do exactly?” There was a hint of annoyance in his tone. And June couldn’t believe she’d heard him right.
She turned back to him, her eyebrow raised. And he looked mortified.
“Ah, sorry. Sorry-I-“ he fumbled. He obviously thought he’d crossed some sort of line. June was just impressed he’d been bold enough to sass her.
“Don’t be sorry.” June smiled half-heartedly, echoing his earlier sentiment back to him.
Danny smiled back, albeit hesitantly.
“You didn’t make me spill anything,” Danny assured. “That was my fault. I-I was just surprised to see you.”
“Yeah,” June rocked on her heels again.
“What do you-what can I do for you?” Danny slung a new, fresh towel over his shoulder.
Oh right. There had been a reason June had come today. She bit her lip. She felt nauseous again.
“I need help.” Woah. Did that sound as desperate out loud as it did in her head?
Danny’s eyes widened a little. He leaned in slightly. He looked worried. “What’s wrong?”
June found that she couldn’t answer. In fact, June couldn’t look at him anymore. Her eyes drifted to the floor. She started drawing letters on the ground with her foot. She spelled out her name.
“June?”
June blinked back up at him. He raised his eyebrows just a hair, clearly trying to remind her that they were still having a conversation.
“Huh?” She shook her head, having been so distracted by her coping mechanism she forgot what she was even trying to cope from.
“What’s wrong? You-you need help?” Danny urged.
June stood up a little straighter. Now she remembered. She swallowed.
“It’s embarrassing,” June sighed.
Danny cocked his head at her. She leaned in closer to him, away from any possible prying ears.
“I-I’ve never read a book.”
Danny’s brows furrowed together. That was not what he had been expecting.
“Can you believe that? I’m twenty two years old and I’ve never read a book in my whole entire life.”
“You’ve never read a book?” he repeated, slowly.
“I’ve started books! I’ve started lots! But I’ve never finished. Not one. And even when we had to read books for school I would just spark note them. Or watch the movie. Or ask Ezra what happened. And I didn’t used to care-it didn’t used to bother me but-“ she faltered. “I’ve been doing a lot of self reflection. Ever since you-“
June bit her tongue. Literally.
Ever since you yelled at me, was what she had been about to say.
But she took a breath and tried again. “I’ve been doing a lot of self reflection. And there’s a lot I’m not happy with. I’m not really a well rounded person, I don’t think. And it’s all a little overwhelming to begin to try to be, but, this is the first thing on my list! Making lists helps me. I can canpartmet-wait-compartent-“ June huffed.
“Compartmentalize?” Danny offered.
“Yeah. Yeah!” June nodded, excitedly, getting lost in the feeling of being understood. “I can com-part-mentalize better with lists. And anyway, this is at the top. I think I already said that.” June slipped one strap of her backpack off her shoulder, slung it around and pulled the small black book out of her front pocket. “This is a pretty short book. And the words are big which is nice. But embarrassing because that usually means it’s meant for kids. And a lot of people on the internet said you could read it in a day, so that’s my goal for today. To read this book!”
Danny opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. He stared at her with an expression June couldn’t read, but she didn’t think it was annoyance. The hint of a smile graced his lips.
“That’s a good goal.” He managed after another moment.
“But I-I don’t think I can do it alone. I can’t ask my roommates for help. It’s just too-it’s too-“ June felt her eyes fill a little. She blinked rapidly. Was she about to cry right now? What was going on?
“Embarrassing.” Danny filled in, starting to catch on.
“Yeah,” June composed herself. “But I figured I’ve already embarrassed myself in front of you plenty, and you said I don’t annoy you and I really hope that’s true because I need someone’s help and I dunno I just thought you-“ June faltered when she saw Danny’s face. He looked nervous, and strangely touched, but also sort of sad and June couldn’t really handle that mix of emotion so she just blurted out the question that had been on the back of her mind. “Do you have anything on the menu that can help you like super focus and make hard, borings things easier?”
“I think you just described adderall,” Danny said.
“I’m already on that.” June replied, without missing a beat.
And Danny laughed. Genuinely laughed.
June felt herself smile involuntarily. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever heard him laugh without restraint before. And she had made him do that.
Danny’s laugh quieted and instead he was left with the remnants of a smile as he met June’s eyes. After a second, he hummed to himself and June realized he was thinking.
“Okay, how about this,” Danny began. “Why don’t you go sit at that table-“ He pointed to a table on the other side of the counter, directly in his view. “And I’ll bring you some pink lemonade.”
“I love pink lemonade!” June gasped.
“I know,” Danny smiled softly, amused. “And anytime you finish a chapter, come tell me and you can pick one thing from the bakery.”
June’s eyes widened. “After every chapter?”
“Mmhmm,” Danny nodded.
“And I can pick anything?” June pointed to the glass display.
“Mmhmm,” Danny nodded.
“After every single chapter?” June leaned in and narrowed her eyes at Danny, thinking this deal was too good to be true.
“Mmmmhmmm,” Danny nodded
June sprinted to the table so fast Danny actually jumped in surprise. He watched her go, worried for a moment that she was gonna trip, but then she slid into the chair and dropped her bag with such a commotion and several customers turned to glare at her.
Instead of ignoring them, she looked up and smiled widely and earnestly at anyone who’d turned their attention to her. And Danny watched as people, previously annoyed, suddenly became charmed by one single smile.
He realized that was one of June’s superpowers. Aside from being able to cut off monster heads with one swing of a sword and never running out of energy, of course.
When he brought over her lemonade, her face was buried in the book and Danny finally got a good look at the cover.
“Oh, you’re reading Coraline,” he said.
“Shhh!” June shushed him. “I want a muffin! Don’t distract me!”
Danny held up his hands in surrender and went back behind the counter.
Just as he made it back, the bell on the door rang and two guys walked in. And suddenly Danny had to do his actual job again.
He kept sneaking glances at June as he made drinks. She sat leaned forward with the book almost comically close to her face, but she seemed focused. He watched as she reached for her lemonade, even as she kept her eyes glued to the page. He foresaw a scenario where they were both cleaning a spill again, but her hand found the cup and she brought it to her lips.
And he brought his attention back to his drinks.
It was a few minutes later, when June strolled up to the counter with a wide smile.
“You finished the first chapter?” Danny asked.
June nodded, proudly and pointed to the chocolate chip muffin behind the glass.
Wordlessly, Danny grabbed it and handed it to her and she immediately took a bite as she walked back to her table.
That happened several more times.
June went through a chocolate chip cookie, a croissant, a cheese danish.
After the cheese danish, so after the fifth chapter, June didn’t come up to the counter again. At first, Danny worried she had gotten distracted, but when he snuck a glance at her, she was still glued to the pages.
Danny checked his watch. He had two hours left in his shift. June looked to be about halfway through the book.
He wasn’t sure if she’d finish before he was done. And he was right.
His co-worker, Demi (five foot seven, student at the local college, had the most ridiculous last name in the world) came in through the back and went to clock in. When they did so, they saw Danny, standing, waiting to clock out while craning his neck to keep his eye on June.
“Hey,” they said, with obvious confusion.
“Hey.” Danny kept his gaze on June, trying to see how close she was and contemplating just staying and picking up this extra shift.
“What are you doing?” They peeked their head over the corner to follow Danny’s gaze. “Oh. Ohhh. Please tell me you know her. Because you have to understand how creepy this is.”
“Yes, I know her,” Danny snapped, finally turning to glare at them.
Demi was sort of used to this so they didn’t really react, instead they just rolled their eyes. “Okay so are you gonna clock out or-?”
Danny turned his head back to June. She was so lost in her book, he wasn’t even sure if she had recognized that time had passed. But that meant she could actually finish it. He didn’t want to mess this up for her.
Without a word, Danny clocked out, a little aggressively, slipped off his apron and hung it on the hook. He glared one last time at Demi, who’d actually already clocked in and moved on, but Danny just narrowed his eyes at their back.
He grabbed his bag and walked out from behind the counter. He slowly approached June assuming that the sound of his footsteps would finally snap her out of whatever grip this book had on her.
It didn’t.
He finally saw her face from where it was hidden behind the pages. She worried her lip. Her brows were furrowed inward. Her eyes darted quickly as she read. She looked terrified.
Danny smiled. He couldn’t help it. The girl who’d single handedly decapitated several monsters was scared while reading Coraline.
He plopped down at the chair across from June’s and pulled out one of his notebooks. He flipped through until he found the pages about his coworkers and re-read his info on Demi.
And then June gasped.
Danny’s eyes flicked up. June tugged on her hair as she bit her lip so hard Danny was concerned it’d start bleeding.
But then the concern faded very quickly and amusement took over.
And suddenly Danny found himself watching her as she read.
One thing Danny knew about June is that she made every feeling she’d ever had very known. And even now, everything she was thinking and feeling was plain on her face.
He found it interesting that June was the perfect example of an open book, while he was a book that was taped shut. And somehow they got along so well. Except, maybe they actually didn’t, seeing as-well-
June let out a strangled breath. There were tears in her eyes.
“Are you crying?“ Danny asked before he could stop himself.
At that, June jumped up and let out a loud noise of surprise with such intensity that Danny also flinched back.
“Danny! You scared the crap out of me!” June put her hand over her heart.
Danny saw Demi peek at them from the counter, suspicious of whatever the heck was going on. Danny glared at them and June followed his glare. She turned and saw Demi and immediately smiled.
“Hi, Demi!” June waved.
“Oh. Hey June,” Demi greeted. “I didn’t realize it was you behind that book.”
June shrugged sheepishly and let out a quiet giggle.
Danny sighed, annoyed. Of course June was friends with Demi. June was friends with everyone.
“How long have you been sitting there?” June turned back to him.
“Not long.”
“Why aren’t you working? Is your shift over? What time is it?”
“My shift just ended. It’s three thirty.”
“It’s three?” June’s eyes widened.
“That’s what happens when you like what you’re reading.” Danny commented. “You lose track of time.”
June glanced back down at the book she had dropped on the table when Danny startled her.
“You like it, right? You seemed to.”
“It’s scary. But-but it’s-“ June frowned, suddenly finding herself at a loss for words. “To fight a monster you can’t fight. To have to outsmart it instead. That’s-that’s scary.”
Danny cocked his head, understanding now that this book, this story, had much more weight for June. Of course it did.
“You remind me of her.”
“What?”
Danny felt his cheeks get hot. “Um-Coraline. You-you remind me of Coraline. She’s brave. And smart. And-and she reminds me of you.”
June looked like she was about to cry. But this time, it seemed to be a good thing. Danny finally seemed to have said something right.
“Thanks, Danny.” June murmured, her own cheeks suspiciously red too.
“You’re so close,” Danny gestured to the book, now very anxiously hoping to move past this extremely sudden vulnerable moment. “Keep reading! You can finish.”
June started to pick up the book again and then she stopped. She blinked at Danny. Which made him very self-conscious.“You don’t have to stay. You can go home.”
“I’m good.” Danny leaned back against his chair and pulled out a different notebook. He missed June’s ridiculously huge smile. Which might have been for the best. He was already blushing enough.
About forty-five minutes later, June put the book down again. Danny looked up at her. She very quickly wiped a tear from her cheek.
“That was really good.” Was all June said.
“It’s a good book,” Danny agreed. “Have you ever seen the movie?”
June’s eyes widened, almost impossibly so. “There’s a movie?” She whispered, terrified.
“Yeah, Talia loves it.”
“Can-do you-can we watch it? No, actually I-is it scary? No, don’t answer that,” June bit her lip again. “Oh my gosh I want to watch it so bad but I also don’t because that was terrifying and if I watch this movie what if I never sleep again and how embarrassing is it that I’ve fought real monsters but I’m scared of a movie-“
“June,” Danny interrupted. She took a breath and met his eyes. “You finished. You read a book.”
Realization slowly crept on her face. She leaned forward and grabbed Danny’s wrist with a smile that Danny thought couldn’t get any bigger.
“I did it!” She laughed very loudly and pumped both fists in the air. “I did it!”
Demi, and a couple of other customers turned their heads at that and Danny found he didn’t care.
“I gotta go tell Ezra!” She shoved the book in her bag and sloppily slung it across her shoulders. “I read a book!”
She gathered the trash on her table into her arms and ran to the trash bin.
“I can no longer say I’ve never read a book in my life! I have! I read a book! And I did it in one day! Thank you Danny!”
She pushed against the door, or rather, slammed into it, and looked extremely confused when it didn’t budge.
“Pull,” Danny called.
June nodded as she pulled and when the door swung widely, June slipped out, flashing Danny one last smile.
He stood up a moment after, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. As he crossed in front of the counter to get to the door, he caught Demi giving him a knowing look.
“What?“ Danny grumbled
“Nothing,” Demi shook their head.
Danny turned away from them and almost missed their next comment, which they made under their breath.
“I’ve never seen anybody make you smile the way she just did.”
Danny refused to turn around or say anything and instead, left without a word.