Jessica Ryan, the 28 year of blond woman behind the cash register of the Mini Mart dressed in a cute little green and gold outfit, watched as customer after customer entered the store. She gave them each a sunny smile that made the flecks of gold in her hazel eyes dance as they passed her. Dashed were her hopes for a quiet morning spent reading tabloids and snacking on this and that. Though the storm had been bad, the Mini Mart hadn't gone dark so no power lines had been downed.  Likewise, the morning news went on and on about the weird weather but didn't warn people to stay home. So it was to be just another morning doing a job she hated for the butcher/owner Mr. Star and the 'lovely' residents of Springfield, Arizona.<br/><br/>Jessica had been in Patrolman Derek's class in high school and even though she was too pretty to go unnoticed, she never was one of the popular kids. School just wasn't her thing, she was frequently absent and when she was in school she cut most of her classes. So it was only natural that she ended up falling in with the slacker/burn out crowd. She'd a reputation for being trouble, but at the same time she was the go-to girl for fake IDs and do to her large number of older cousins, she could him any party up with booze. More then a free kids wondered how she managed to graduate with her class and there were rumors aplenty about how she did it. The juiciest involved planting Pot on the Principal's desk the day the Governor came to congratulate the Hornets for winning the State Championship and another favorite was the one about catching the Gym teacher, Ms. Gru, peeping at her as she showered after class.<br/><br/>In the security mirror in the corner above the Dairy Cooler Derek caught sight of her watching him as he moved through the store. When her eyes met his in their reflection, she gave him a saucy little wink and a subtle, sexy smile which gave him reason to believe she might be thinking the same sort of naughty thoughts he was. Jessica was a bit on the tall side for a girl, standing 5'10" without heels, and was just on the line between fit and thick. This gave her nice womanly curves but at the same time hinted at the strength she possessed. Back in community college she'd joined the cross country running club as well as the dance team while taking a course or two in criminal justice. So she and Derek weren't strangers, in fact, they were commonly on opposite sides of issues with him being the defender of law and order and her taking up the role of champion of civil liberties. Sometimes she might have given Derek the impression she was saying with him just to get his blood boiling, challenging him to prove himself man enough to take her on. Our bordered on flirtation but hasn't become anything, at least not yet.<br/><br/>Jessica's attention was drawn to Jeremy as  he approached her to check out and she was just about to offer him a cheeky greeting when he turned about and went to the back of the store. The sound of someone tripping on something metal caused her head to whip around and spy Debbie chatting up the magazine rack. She blinked even as she responded, "morning it is, but can't say it's a good one. You on, hun?" she asked Debbie as she walked out from behind the register to check on her. The woman was gone by the time she got there, so Jessica spent time fixing up the magazine rack. ~She never did give me the time of day,~ Jessica thought to herself as she watched the little blond divorcee wander away from her.<br/><br/>With a copy of Us magazine in her hand, Jessica went back to the register as the town's token 'towel head' came in. Their eyes meet for a moment before he looked away. She took a seat abd flipped through the pages of the magazine unable to really get into any of the articles. They were vapors and boring but really what was getting to her was how much better everyone sense was doing then her. Some had seen the world, others were famous, some had been married or had real careers. "So have to get out of this place," she muttered to herself as the coffee maker behind her beeped to tell het it was tone to shift pots so she could make more fresh coffee.