Alorah Reagen

The sound of cheers and laughter can be heard as students visit each stall held outside of the school building. People from the outside were curious why a crowd of students was gathering out there instead of staying indoors, studying, and doing whatever students should do. 

Sometimes, curiosity is a gift for business people, as even the simplest sight can attract outsiders' attention. It draws attention to the business and would gain interest in the products sold.

The school opened its doors as an opportunity for the graduating students to have different types of customers, student and non-student based. It can help slowly ease us into the real world, or it could do the opposite, heighten our attention, and make us feel all panicky and overwhelmed by the number of people gathering in one location.

On the bright side, we get to experience what it would be like to serve different types of age groups, as there would be numerous ways to market these products depending on who is in front of you.

"Hello, miss! Would you like to check out the tumblers we are offering?" Emma cheered as she discussed the product with the lady, who I noticed was eyeing our items and seemed hesitant in approaching our stall. Luckily, Emma caught on quickly and managed to rope her in.

"Dude, will the color fade over time? My friend bought one of these before at another place, and it lost its shade after a few days of using it," a student asked as he approached Julian while holding one of our displayed tumblers.

"Man, you'll love this then since the color wouldn't fade at all! I wouldn't be sure if it will after a few years, but you don't have to worry that it will lose its cool in just a few days. I can assure you that some of us here have tried the product before putting them on display, right Emma?" Julian said, passing it to Emma.

"Definitely! I could show you pictures of when I started using these and even let you see them in person! Give me one second," she held out a finger in front of him before disappearing from the customer's view and starting to rummage through her tote bag from under the table.

While making sales, Cameron kept track of today's product sold with Cynthia, who was vigorously typing on her laptop to keep track of the revenues. 

On the other hand, I am handling the online orders coming in hot and ensuring we still have enough products left for the remaining six days. In addition, I am also carrying one or two boxes of tumblers from our classroom to our stall to restock our items, and we kind of regret not bringing a lot with us when we were setting up our place.

Thanks to this chosen job, I don't have to verbally talk to people, which is good for me. I set down the last box and stared at it emptily. It's been a few days since I had these thoughts, and while they haven't returned, my mood has shifted dramatically throughout the day.

Since I finished bringing down the boxes, should I continue listing down the orders so I can start preparing them once I'm back home? I wonder how long it would take me to finish all these and book the delivery app.

Another great thing about this bazaar is that those handling the online order can opt not to attend their morning class.

I should be able to get the first batch of orders out by tomorrow morning if I start packing them tonight. But what about my homework for today?

"Alorah? Hey," My body jerked from the contact I felt on my shoulder. I whipped my head to the side to see Julian with his hands up, "Woah, there. I didn't mean to startle you."

I stared at him silently. Usually, I would have felt their presence whenever someone was near me, but I couldn't feel Julian's. Am I tired? Probably since I haven't been feeling the best for a couple of days now. I had a headache, my body felt heavy, and I could barely open my mouth to speak-

"Are you alright? Do you want to take a break?" My eyes widened when I saw the big brown eyes staring closely at me. Julian's face was very close, making me look away to at least try to distance myself from the reality that his FACE was VERY close to mine.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm just planning my to-do list for today so that I can ship out the products tomorrow morning. Oh, right, I planned not to attend morning classes to have enough time to pack the orders for tomorrow and book the drivers to deliver the products ordered for today," I explained.

Julian didn't say anything and instead continued to stare at me. Now I feel uncomfortable having someone stare at me so intently. My eyes refused to meet his, and I began looking everywhere but at the person before me.

I was startled when his face appeared in front of me. We continued to stare at each other in silence as the sound of chattering from behind slowly got louder and louder. I noticed the corner of his lips twitching a bit.

"Hmm... Here's a quick test for you to answer. Say whatever pops up in your mind. Get ready!" Julian said, drumming his finger like he was playing an imaginary drum. I gulped as I tried to prepare myself for his upcoming test. I wonder what he'll ask me, "On a scale from 1 to 10, how exhausted are you!"

"9!" I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally scolding myself for making a mistake. I heard a sigh near me, which made me hate myself even further. The feeling left when I felt a hand on my head as it gently patted me with a soft beat.

"Before I let you do what Alorah always does, would you like to hear my idea or request?" The question sparked my interest, and I slowly opened my eyes before quickly shutting them because of how bright my surroundings were. I smiled at him when I felt like I could open them again.

"What is it?"

"If you wouldn't mind, how about we help you pack the orders at your place? While also updating everything else that happened today."

Wait, what? Julian...chilling and working at my place?