Won't you come save me? WHO: Ben & Erika WHERE: Erika's place WHEN: Late afternoon
It had been another difficult day for Erika. When she'd woken up, the sun hadn't been shining. And then it had started to rain. The weather always messed with Erika's moods. Add to all that the situation at the high school hadn't been resolved, the store was dead, and she was having a bad hair day? It'd been hard to get out of bed. Normally, Erika tried to look a lot more formal when she was working the storefront. Today, she threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top and covered it all up with mint creme hoodie. Slipping her feet into a pair of Keds that sort of matched her hoodie, Erika had thrown her hair into a bun and gone down without much make-up. She'd put some lip gloss and earrings on, but that was about it. Then, she'd taken Petunia, a stack of books, and a warm blanket to the store downstairs and "opened."
Which really meant she'd sat there wrapped up in a blanket behind her counter most of the morning. In the afternoon, she'd tried sweeping but couldn't find the energy to do it. In the course of the day, she'd gotten up twice to help a customer, but other than that? Erika had been firmly set in her chair burrito-style. She'd gotten up to the use the bathroom, of course, and even Petunia's attempts at cheering her up had gone by mostly unnoticed. She appreciated the effort, but this was simply the sort of funk you didn't just suddenly, miraculously get over. Her light box had helped a little but she had little motivation to do anything. Besides, the store wasn't going to fall apart if she decided not to pick out all the withering leaves and sweep up all the dust for one day. When the bell tinkled again, Erika almost groaned as she got up to try and help the customer. She knew she should have just closed early today, but the Helpful Holly inside of her refused to close up. What if someone needed an arrangement at the last minute? She wanted to be available. Even if she really didn't feel like helping anyone today. She was having ramen for dinner and then maybe tomorrow would be better.