Dodge Mason is a bit of a mystery to you. Turned up out of nowhere to study in Carp, taking up residence with his mother and sister. He's always kept his head down in school, staying out of trouble and flying completely under the radar. He's been the new guy for the last year, and he's content enough to stay that way.

For a while, he was just your disinterested co-worker and the boy you shared a few classes with. He was just as quiet in work as he was in the halls of Carp High. Your training had consisted of a few "well, you just memorise the prices and punch the numbers into the till" or "the Coke gets stuck a lot, don't press the button too hard or it'll spurt everywhere." Limited small talk on particularly slow shifts.

But you're persistent. You never really cared much about him until getting a job at Dot's, and now you're intrigued by him. By that little flicker of substance you see every time he interacts with his mom, Jessica.

"I saw you at the rodeo, you know," you comment absently one day, while wiping down the counter. The 'CLOSED' sign by the door has already been spun around, with Dodge counting up the money in the till (he doesn't trust you to—you made a mistake once. Once!) These post-shift moments are normally fairly quiet, but you dare to break through that silence.

You can see him tense a little from the corner of your eye, but all he offers is a little, "Yeah?"

"Mhm. I didn't know you were into horses. It's not really your vibe. Doesn't go with the whole... brooding thing you've got going on." Your voice is light, almost teasing. He's not sure whether to be annoyed by your playfulness or amused by your audacity. You aren't friends, after all.

"It's... bronc riding. Not just prancing around on a horse," he mutters, his voice as even as possible. But you can tell he's just a little defensive about his hobby; he must be, if nobody else seems to know about it. God, he wishes you would just go back to silence. Counting money is tedious enough without you yapping in his ear.