【自留】Fallen From Grace by V(7)

We arrive at the shop a few minutes later where my dad flips up an 'Open' sign and sits behind his desk, setting up cash registers and checking to see if yesterday's stock still hasn't spoiled. Thankfully for me, he comes back smiling, so it seems I don't have anything else to do besides sit around while I could be at school, bettering myself.
"Sit behind the counter." He says, "And don't move." I do as he says. The day passes as customers wash in and out of the store like a low tide moving in and out, taking seashells and innocent creatures into the deep, far beyond where I'll see them again. Later on a group of girls from my school walk in and start browsing through the drinks, where they see me. I look beneath the counter and feel a want to hide, but my father's nearby, so I sit still. I see them looking at me and talking amongst themselves. Is that the girl who never talks? I hear them saying. Isn't that the one who's constantly forgetting her homework? Why does she never do anything in P.E? My father's in between tasks, but he still finds time to check on me every few minutes, so I sit still. Thankfully the girls buy their drinks without saying a word to me. I feel my eyes start to close again. A hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair down, gently, reminds me that I have to sit up. Back straight.