Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

Part of Short Story Collection 


AJ didn’t usually go into Miller’s corner store after school, but today, he wanted a Red Bull and a second to breathe. The halls at school had been loud and his mind was even louder. He wasn’t sad exactly—just heavy, like someone had stuffed thoughts into his backpack that didn’t belong to him.
He paced through the back aisle, feeling his pockets to make sure his money was there. AJ grabbed the energy drink from the cooler and made his way to the cashier.
That’s when he saw her.
A girl in a faded winter jacket who stood at the refrigerated section, holding a sandwich in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. She stared at both like they held the secrets of the universe. Her fingers trembled as she slowly put the water back, then the sandwich.
AJ froze mid-step. Something about her—the way her shoulders caved, the quick swipe at her cheek when she thought no one was looking—stopped him cold.
You don’t know her. Don’t make it awkward. He thought to himself, but his chest tightened in a way that it did when something felt wrong and he couldn’t ignore it.
A few minutes passed, and the girl kept drifting down the aisles, not really shopping—just circling like she was waiting for something to change. AJ watched her from the checkout line, his stomach twisting.
 Then, without thinking, he stepped out of line, grabbed the sandwich and bottle of water she’d put back on the shelf, and slipped past the snack display. He caught up to her just as she was reaching for the door, shoulders hunched, hands buried deep in her sleeves, eyes locked on the floor like she didn’t want the world to see her.
“Hey,” he said, almost surprising himself. She turned. “Here,” he held out the sandwich and water. “On me.”
She stared. “Why?”
AJ shrugged, making eye contact. “You look hungry and it’s just food.” 
For a second, she didn’t move. Then, she reached out slowly, like she was scared the offer might vanish.
“Thank you,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.
AJ nodded. “Take care, alright?”
She gave a small smile—one of those rare, flickering kinds that looked like it hadn’t had a reason to appear in a while—then turned and left.
He stood there for a moment, everything around him was oddly quiet. Not the kind of silence that followed awkwardness, but the kind that came with peace. Like he’d placed something back where it belonged.
He went to the counter the second time to pay for the Red Bull, then walked outside. It was winter and the sun was beginning to set behind the buildings, painting everything soft. He sat on the cold wooden bench and cracked open his drink, thinking about her face, her hands, and how close she’d come to walking out with nothing.
It wasn’t about the money. It was never about the money.
It was about seeing someone—really seeing them—and acting instead of walking away. He thought of the times he’d felt invisible, when people passed him in the hall like he was furniture. The days his dad hadn’t come home, and the times his mom cried behind the bathroom door but came out smiling like everything was fine.
He knew what it felt like to not be okay and have no one ask.
That’s why he did it.
Not for praise. Not for attention.
Just to make the day a little less heavy for someone else.
AJ took a long chug off his drink, his chest felt lighter now. The world hadn’t changed, but maybe her day had…and maybe, in some quiet way, that was enough.
He smiled to himself, pulled his hoodie over his head, and started walking home—thinking not about the weight of the world, but the small ways a person could carry a little of it for someone else.