Cashier

chapter 1

I first saw him at the park. I was sitting on my usual bench, favorite blue pen in hand, ready to write in my journal about my day. He was sitting across from me, tapping his long, thin fingers against his thigh to the music that was blaring through his headphones. I rolled my eyes as usual; boys like this always came to the park. I hated them; they were interested in tall, skinny cheerleaders that wore lots of eyeliner and had tons of money that they spent mostly on coffee and clothes. My dog, Lilly, sat panting at my feet from the long walk to the park. She was a chubby, little pug. And never was that athletic to begin with. She always took Saturday walks with me to the park, though. She loved sniffing new puppies, and having new people pet her and give her free treats or something. But today, she was very interested in the strange boy sitting across from me. She ran up to him, yipping happily and wagging her tiny tail.
"Hey there girl!" He said, flashing a million dollar smile at Lilly.
I wasn't nervous, of course. These boys would never like me anyways. So, why try? But, this boy, he was different.
"Your dog is adorable. What's her name?" He said, now chuckling quietly.
"Oh um, Lilly." My face started to heat up slowly and I sat back down to try to hide my nervousness.
"Aw, hi Lilly." He sat next to me abruptly and I scooted over to avoid embarrassing myself.
"What's your name by the way, mine's Jackson."
"Oh..yeah. My name's Tiffany." I blush harder this time and his dark brown eyes flash down to my cheeks, obviously seeing that I'm embarrassed.
"That's a gorgeous name." He winks playfully and puts his arm around me.
"Ha thanks." I say awkwardly.
"Do you want to go walk to the ice cream stand up there together?" He points to the little pastel stand and I notice that I'm actually interested in this guy. He's seems nice, I mean.
"Yeah, sure." I'm about to get up before he whips out his hand to help me up.
"Thank you." I chuckle.
"Of course, ladies first." He says warmly.
I can tell he's going to be a keeper. Even though I've never had a boyfriend, unless you count in 7th grade when this guy dated me for two weeks, I can tell he's a nice guy.
•••
We arrive at the tiny, pastel ice cream stand.
"What do you want, I'll pay." He smiles as he puts his arm around me, once again.
"No, I got money." I scramble to pull out 15 dollars and he immediately shakes his head and pulls out a 20 dollar bill. I can't help but smile. No boy has ever made me feel this giddy, ever.
I start to get more comfortable around him. The people ordering in front of us are taking forever, so I gently lean my head against his shoulder. He blushes slightly and I close my eyes for a split second, enjoying the moment.
Soon enough, the people in front of us are pleased with their order and we walk up to the smiling, young women in front of us.
"Hello. What would you like today?" She says in a singsong voice.
"I'll take two scoops of vanilla, uh, cone please." Jackson says.
"I'll take one scoop of mint in a cup please." I say kindly.
The order comes quickly and we sit down at a nearby picnic table.
"So, I was wondering.." Jackson says shyly before he takes a long sip out of a water bottle.
"Go on." The suspense killing me by the second.
"You seem like a really nice girl, and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go out sometime?" His eyes are confident and I can't help but giggle, I'm so giddy.
"Yes, that'd be great." I stand up and we wander over to the tree Lilly is tied onto.
"Well, before we say goodbye, let's get each other's numbers. We can plan another time." Jackson says.
We exchange numbers and hug goodbye.
"Come on, Lilly, time to go home." I tug her collar gently and we set off.
•••
I arrive home a bit later than usual, 18 minutes to be exact.
"Hi honey. Be home at 5. Love you." My phone reads as I enter the door.
"Okay, love you too mom." I reply back and hang up Lilly's collar.
After taking out my books, I quickly finish my leftover homework. Science takes longer than my other subjects and I end up giving up reviewing for the night, anyways the test is in two days.
I absentmindedly check the time and it's 4:30.
"Alright, Lilly, be back soon." I say, packing up my books and heading up to the shower.
I finally get downstairs to my mother and father cooking dinner, chicken with a side salad, and rolls, like usual.
"Hello, honey." My mother kisses me on the cheek.
"Dinner's almost ready. Did you finish your homework?" Dad asks, he's always up in my business.
"Yes. And Lilly has had her daily walk." I nod, rolling my eyes quietly.
"I'm going to go braid my hair, it's Sunday tomorrow and I'm curling my hair for fun." I say, flicking my pin straight hair behind me.
"Alright, be back soon." My Dad says sarcastically.
•••
Hair neatly braided, I head back downstairs to the smell of fresh rolls being baked in the oven.
"Sit down Tiff, I'll get you a water." My mom says.
I sit down at my usual spot, usual silverware next to my usual plate with my usual napkin slipped under it. Obviously, everything around here is usual. It kind of sucks. There is never anything new going on, well yet.