Welcome to SmartMart, where crime pays minimum wage...
Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn’t know what’s worse—disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth time…or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers.
Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk customers, and learning exactly what a “Code B” really is (ew). And for added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute—and adorably geeky—Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the best thing that ever happened to her?
In PAPER OR PLASTIC,
Lex’s rocky friendship with Noah grows more solid as she gets to know him, then
gradually turns into love. In my opinion, there’s nothing more thrilling than
the moment you realize you’re falling for “him.” This scene takes place after
Noah and Lex bump into each other outside of SmartMart (in the most unlikely of
places—a dress shop). They decide to escape from their families and head to a
nearby café.
“So why are you so in love with SmartMart?” I
asked.
“I never said
I was in love with it.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I like working there
because I have a better chance at getting experience that most places don’t
offer to people our age.”
“Yeah, but
why do you care? I mean, are you planning to stay at SmartMart forever? Or do
you want to be a grocery store manager when you graduate?”
His eyebrows
pinched as if he thought I was making fun of him, but I wasn’t. I really wanted
to know.
“No,” he said
finally. “I’m working to get money for college. But I was serious about the
experience. It’s good that Mr. Hanson’s letting me learn management—it might
come in handy someday. At the very least, it’ll look good on a résumé.”
I stirred my
tea. “What do you want to do? I mean, when you go to college?”
He smiled, a
nice, faraway kind of smile. “Architecture. I love drawing, outlining plans for
buildings. Sketching.” He was silent for a moment, his gaze drifting to the
small black and white pictures on the wall of various landmarks. “There’s something
to be said for structural lines, the way they converge. Beautiful.”
His eyes were
soft as they moved over the images. For the first time, I saw him as someone
more than the shy SmartMart manager who tolerated me, more than the reclusive
kid at school whose gaze never lifted above the ground or the guy who’d
snitched on Bryce. Noah seemed so much older than his age. As he talked about
his passion for architecture, something deep inside me stirred—a complicated,
twisting knot that I had a feeling was going to unfurl painfully, frustratingly
slowly.
Vivi Barnes is the author of Olivia Twisted and the upcoming release, Paper or Plastic. She was raised on a farm in East Texas where her theater-loving mom and cowboy dad gave her a unique perspective on life. Now living in the magic and sunshine of Orlando, Florida, she divides her time writing, working, goofing off with her husband and three kids, and avoiding dirty dishes. www.vivibarnes.com
Book Blitz Organized by:
Sounds like one heck of a summer. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDelete