I pulled my gray tie tighter around my neck and grabbed my I.D. card. “Summer!” I yelled at my roommate. “We’re gonna be late for work!” I grabbed my keys and stood by the door as Summer came out of her room and met me.
“I know Cass, and I’m ready.” She laughed as we left the apartment and took the elevator to get downstairs. We got into my car and began our 10-minute drive to the mall where we worked. I’m an assistant security officer at the mall, and Summer works at FootLocker. We’re both 21 and in our third year of University. I’m studying to be a criminal investigator while Summer is doing physiotherapy and sports medicine. We adore our summer jobs, as they both relate to our areas of study.
When we were leaving to go to college, we decided to go to Toronto and live together because we’ve been best friends since the fourth grade. We don’t go to the same school, but we love being roomies.
We arrived at the mid-size mall just in time for work, and went our separate ways. I headed to the food court, where I took a long corridor that winds through the back of the mall, connected to the shipping gates. I came to a room on my left marked ‘security personnel only’ and inserted my I.D. into the lock. The door swung open as I entered.
”Cass! Hey!” yelled Jordan, my friend and the other assistant security officer. Our job was to walk the mall on the lookout for shoplifters and other situations that might need our assistance. We met while taking a first-aid course together, which was a requirement of the job.
My boss, Adam, walked in. He’s pretty cool, and really good with learners like Jordan and me. He told us our duties for the day and sent us off to work. As usual, Jordan and I were sent to walk the mall. As we left the food court, Jordan waved as we went our separate ways.
I walked right, towards Summer’s store, just to check in and see how her opening went. Summer hates opening the store alone. I walked in and waved at her. “Hey Sum, how’s it going?” I asked, my voice louder than necessary in the vacant store.
“Ok,” she said. “How’s Jordan?” she teased. I hate it when she teases me about my relationship with Jordan. I used to have a crush on him, but I don’t think he felt the same way, so I gave up.
“Summer, you know I hate it when you do that. Jord is fine.” I sighed and walked away from the register.
“Cassandra Aspen, do not even say you don’t still like him, I know you do!” She laughed as she saw the back of my neck turn red. I have red hair and fair skin, so I blush a lot, and hate it. “Now get back to work!” she commanded.
“Yes ma’am!” I saluted and left the store to begin my duties. About an hour went by and the mall got a little busier. Since it was summer, a lot of teenage girls were here in packs. I knew that some of them would spend the whole day. I was heading up towards FootLocker again when I heard a lot of screaming and saw the girls running. I radioed Jordan for back up and rushed over to the crowd to see what was going on. All I could see was a mass of teenage girls, so I yelled for them to calm down.
“Hey! What’s going on here!” I yelled as I saw a taller young man stand up in the middle of the group and look at me pleadingly. I sighed, confused, and began to push my way into the crowd.