SUMMER EDWARDS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND what her eyes were looking at.

She just didn't understand. It was only five minutes before her shift at work would officially begin and she couldn't comprehend what she just saw.

A brunette-haired boy with shaggy hair covered by a baseball cap with the company's logo and hazel eyes strolled into the breakroom. Picking her eyes up from her phone, she felt herself blink more than twice as her eyes locked with his. 

Harley Rhodes was standing a distance ahead of her. He was in a work uniform, a black polo shirt tucked into his black jeans. Millions, if not, billions of questions began to flood Summer's brain.

Did Harley work at Shane's Subs?

Obviously he does, dumbass. He's in the breakroom, a staff-only zone, Summer reminded herself. 

Shaking the assumptions of her brain, she cleared her throat as she rose up from her chair, shoving her phone into her back pocket along the way. "You again?"

"Yep," Harley answered simply as he placed his The North Face sports backpack on a shelf. "You seem surprised to see me."

"Of course, I am. I didn't know that you worked here," Summer remarked as she began to strut out of the breakroom. "Never seen you on any of my shifts."

"I don't normally book shifts at this time," the teenage boy shrugged. "But expect to see me around here more often. I have a feeling that you and I will probably end up working together a lot. Since you're new, I can probably show you how things get done here. Think of me as your free guide who shows you all the ropes." 

Summer faintly smiled. "Fine." 

"Sounds like a plan," Harley quipped as he motioned her out of the breakroom to the actual restaurant. "Follow me."

Trailing behind the boy, Summer followed him to the restaurant area where one of her coworkers happily wiped off the tables with an aged cloth and disinfectant spray, AirPods shoved in her ear. What a way to seize the day.

"So I guess you haven't really met your other co-workers since you just got here?" The teenage boy questioned as he adjusted the rim of his hat. "I'll tell you all the secrets about them."

Secrets. They are confidentialities that everyone secretly loves, especially if it's about another person. Gossiping isn't necessarily a good thing, which Summer knew, but there was nothing wrong with getting caught up in the latest tea.

"So," Harley whispered as he began to giggle. "You see that girl with the long red hair in a ponytail?"

"Yeah," Summer said as her voice trailed off. "What about her?"

"That's Veronica," the teenage boy mumbled, as if the girl would hear over the rap music bleeding out of her AirPods. "A few months ago during our closing shift, she invited a boy over and they went into the same bathroom together. Since I was there, she swore to me to not tell our boss or anyone."

"So they . . . fucked?" The teenage girl said as she felt herself wince. Doing the devil's tango in a public restroom was far from ideal.

Harley shrugged as he began to wash his hands at a nearby sink, creating bubbly lather with the mixture of water and soap. "That or drugs. Don't tell anyone I told you that, though."

"I won't, but you need to stop being so nosy," Summer grinned as she stood beside the boy, pumping antibacterial hand soap into her hands as she scrubbed them together. "You can't be all up in everyone's business like that." 

"What can I say? The secrets around here are wild," the teenage boy chuckled as he stepped aside once his hands were free of bubbles, ripping a few paper towels from a nearby dispenser to dry them off. "I'm just here to keep you updated."

"Uh-huh, sure," the teenage girl hummed as she rubbed her hands under the waterfall that came from the tap. "That's cool and all, but what about you? Since you claim to be my 'free guide', I should at least get to know who you are first and foremost."

"Well," Harley cleared his throat as he tossed his damp paper towel into a trash bin. "I've been working here since December of last year for starters, but I've known about this place my entire life."

"Oh, right, you did say that you've lived around here since you were born, right?" Summer questioned as she turned the water tap off, shaking the excess water off her hands along the way.

"Yep, Haven Hills is my home," the brunette-haired boy chuckled as he grabbed a pair of clear gloves from a box hung on the wall, slapping them onto his hands. "What about you? You're new around here, right?"

"Yes, but no," the curly-haired girl remarked. "Haven Hills is my hometown, but when I was in grade school, my family moved to the next town, Crews City. My mom got a job opportunity over here, so we moved back a couple of weeks ago."

Harley smiled as he adjusted his gloves. "Oh, so you have some memories here?"

"Something like that," Summer mused, her eyes twinkling as she watched a customer walk into the establishment. It was a middle-aged man with a tumbler cup in hand, a laptop case dangling on his shoulder. He wore a business casual collared shirt and dress pants, probably indicating that he's a businessman. "Hi, welcome in. What can I get started for you today?"

"Good afternoon," the man mustered a smile as he glimpsed at the menu overhead. "I'll order a classic sub with your smoked turkey, cheddar cheese, and brown bread."

"Perfect," Summer smiled before she glimpsed at her co-worker. "Harley, I'll make the sandwich, and you can work at the cashier if you don't mind."

"Anything you say," he remarked as he scooted closer to the cashier area. "Be careful not to accidentally cut your fingers again."

The teenage girl narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not funny."

From under the counter, she retrieved the thin wrapping paper which would soon get wrapped around her customer's order. Gently grabbing a six-inch loaf of brown bread, she placed it onto the paper to start the order. First, she blanketed the bread with a few slices of smoked turkey, covering it up with cheddar cheese, assorted vegetables like lettuce and tomato slices, topping it off with mayonnaise. To finish the order off, she placed one slice of the brown bread on top of the other before the sandwich was wrapped up, placing it into a thin bag before reminding the customer to grab a bag of chips to come along with the order.

Harley handled the checkout process before allowing the customer to sit down and eat after his payment.

"So," the boy cleared his throat. "How are you enjoying this job on a scale of one to ten?"

"It's a rough five," Summer shrugged as she leaned behind her to retrieve a couple of fresh tomatoes from the refrigerators to slice them into pieces. "It's not bad, but it's not exactly my dream job. But it's a start so I can earn a quick buck."

"I can say about the same for me," Harley chuckled as he nodded his head in agreement. "What's your dream job?"

He sure knows how to keep a conversation, Summer thought as she continued to slice her tomato. Recreating what happened the day prior was not an aspiration.

Her eyes twinkled from the natural light flowing into the fast food chain from the clear glass windows located at the front. "I want to be a nurse practitioner."

"That's someone who treats patients for certain medical conditions, right?" The teenage boy questioned as he twirled his index finger through his hair. "That's like, higher than a registered nurse, I'm pretty sure."

Summer's eyes widened. "Wow, you know your stuff. Do you want to be something in the medical field as well?"

"Yeah," Harley nodded his head curtly. "I'm aiming to be either a surgeon or a pathologist. Maybe a pharmacist. I'm still exploring my options."

A common interest unlocked, Summer.

"Does your school offer courses like Healthcare Science?" The teenage girl asked as she smoothed her hand over the stainless steel counter below her. "My old school offered those kind of classes and they really help

The brunette-haired boy nodded. "Yep, I'm going to take a health service course this year. What school are you—"

A deeper voice boomed. "Get to work, Rhodes. Don't just stand there and flirt with Ms. Edwards here. At least slice some vegetables or something."

It was their boss, Mark, a middle-aged white man with a thick beard and bald ginger hair that was grayed in some areas. He never cut any slack. 

The girl could see the boy's entire face flush red, sort of like the ripened tomato she was currently slicing. "Okay, sir, not a problem," he managed to croak.

Mark nodded as he winked as he loaded an order of Styrofoam cups to the drink station. Instead of automatically changing the conversation, Summer found it as an opportunity to dig a little deeper. "Yeah, Rhodes, go back to work."

"Okay, Ms. Edwards," Harley returned her energy with a giggle. "Anything you say."

And just like that, Summer already made her first new friend from Haven Hills since grade school. They were already getting to know each other rapidly, already figuring out a similar interest between them both.

"We're really getting to know each other fast," Summer quipped as she gently placed several thin tomato slices into its designated area.

"Too fast," Harley said with a goofy grin. "It's like we already knew each other but didn't at the same time."

***

Spending a Friday morning at the doctor's office was not ideal.

For one, it was Friday, the best weekday. To top it off, it was summer break. Like any other typical teenager, he could've been in his bed in deep slumber, especially since it was only eleven in the morning. But even if he unwillingly had to wake up from his sleep, he didn't mind all that much. It was all for his little brother.

The entire family was gathered at an oncology office for Jace's radiation therapy treatment. Normally, Harley wouldn't come to his doctor's appointment, but today, he wanted to learn as much information about his younger brother's cancer and how it currently affects him.

The Rhodes were gathered into Jace's oncologist's office, Dr. Arden. The younger boy and his mother, Ivy, sat down in the two chairs in front of the doctor's desk, while Otis and Harley stood behind them.

Dr. Arden was a young, but not that young doctor. Probably in his mid-thirties, around the same age as Harley's parents. Not a single gray hair was on his head, but he did have bags under his eyes. Being that he was a doctor, he was probably put under a lot of stress. He cleared his throat. "Jace's radiation therapy is going well so far. We are not seeing as many leukemia cells as last time, however, your son is continuing to lose a lot of weight, which isn't healthy for his age."

"How can we continue to prevent that from happening, doc?" Otis questioned as he planted his two hands on Jace's shoulders. "Why is he losing so much weight in the first place?"

"Well, leukemia patients tend to lose weight because of their lack of an appetite. On top of that, there's nausea and vomiting," Dr. Arden explained as he faced the worried parents with a reassuring smile. "With a lack of appetite, it can be hard to eat big meals sometimes because of those factors, but it can be resolved by eating smaller meals every two to four hours instead of starving."

"Thank you, doctor. Is there specific foods we can make that will help with this?" Ivy questioned.

Taking a brochure from the side of his desk, Dr. Arden handed it to the woman. "Yes, you can steam vegetables, cook more protein-rich foods, and definitely go whole-grain. Instead of purchasing white rice and white bread, definitely go for whole grain bread and brown rice. Every bite Jace takes should be as nutritional as possible," he turned to the boy with a smile before he made a fist towards him. "Sounds good, man?"

"Yes, Dr. Arden," Jace nodded his head as his fist met the doctor's to make a fist bump.

"Sounds like a plan," the oncologist nodded as he clasped his hands together. "Do any of you have any additional questions or concerns?"

Ivy glanced up at her husband, who shook his head no. "We don't have any more questions, Dr. Arden. Thank you for your time."

"No, thank you," he smiled as he got up to shake the woman's hands, doing the same thing for the rest of the family afterwards. "Have a great day, now."

"You too, doc," Otis hummed as he and his family were escorted out of the office. He turned to his wife, who was digging into her tote bag. "Is there anywhere else we need to go to while we're out?"

"Yes, we need to stop by the pharmacy downstairs to refill Jace's medication," Ivy explained as she waved to the receptionist who saluted them. "We also need to stop by the grocery store to buy a couple of things on our way back from the pharmacy."

"Okay, that sounds good," Otis hummed as he tapped the elevator button. The oncology medical space was located inside of a massive hospital, Westside Medical Center. It is located in the neighboring town, Crews City, not too far from where they resided. It was only a twenty-five-minute drive, so it wasn't like it would take ages to get to the medical center. After all, it was for a good cause.

The elevator doors bolted open before the family staggered into the enclosed space. As soon as Harley tapped on the button that led to the first floor, the doors closed once again before the engine revved up. As the elevator descended from the fifth floor to the first, Harley checked his phone to check the time. It was nearly noon. Time flew by quickly, faster than it would if he were at home, too lazy to get out of his bed. 

Maybe spending a Friday morning at the doctor's office was ideal, especially if decent news was delivered.