"I still don't know how you managed to get a job at Spencer's."
Nini looked up from her teriyaki chicken to her friend. Somehow, she and Jane ended up with the same lunch break time.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You don't know much about pop culture, and you are clueless about the ironic T-shirts."
Nini rolled her eyes, "All I need to do is stock the shelves, check people out, and make sure nobody steals the dildos. Can't be that hard."
Jane eyed her. "What would you do if someone asked if you had any Amazing Digital Circus merch?"
"I don't know what that is."
"Exactly."
Nini and Jane ended up on a different topic, talking about how Nini's first week was going. She was talking about how her trainer, Mia, was training her on the floor when someone in line at Panda Express caught her eye.
"Why are you staring at the peppy girl from Bath and Body Works?" Jane asked her.
Nini looked straight forward, "I wasn't staring."
"You so were. I know the stare when you like someone," Jane teased.
The blonde sighed, "She works straight across from Spencers. She passes out baskets to people. I see her every day, and I don't even know her name."
"I can fix that," Jane said before waving her arm.
"Jane, what are you-"
"Hey, black-haired girl! Come sit with us!"
Nini was going to kill Jane the second she walked out of Macy's.
hiiii! chapter 11 of A Town Called Sainte is almost done I promise, it’s not the last chapter (oopsies) but it is a really major one soooo like whatever
ALSO I made a playlist for specifically Nini as a protagonist if anyone’s interested, will be updated with more music as I remember songs that exist and such, there’s not a semblance of genre consistency but lyrically they’re all very her. hope yall rock w it
Your character doesn't need to be likeable. They need to be legible. The reader needs to understand every decision they make even when it's wrong, even when it's ugly, even when they want to shake them. Likeable is easy and forgettable. Legible is what makes someone stay with you for years. Make the logic of every bad choice visible. The reader doesn't have to agree with it. They just have to follow it.