A Lovely Life

Chapter 12: Summer Job

The days unplugged went on so slowly. I wanted to text Henry, Kyle, or anyone to not be bored at home, but I couldn't, and the worst part was that there was a chance they might have texted me.

Friday I went into work. I was really nervous because I didn't know anyone. The manager in charge's name was Chris, and all I had to say was that he was really cute. Sure he was a bit older, late 20s, but he was cute. When I got there, he told me that I was going to be cleaning tables, and he said he was going to have Brad show me where things were. When he pointed Brad out to me I was in awe. He was tall, pale skin, dark brown wavy hair, and brown eyes, and his voice was also really cute. He was what I would call my type.

"Ok, so any questions?" He asked after he walked me through the whole process of how things were done.

"None." I said.

"Ok. If you get confused, just ask me. Oh, and also if you find any tips they are yours no matter what the dishwasher says. They tricked me my first day into splitting the tips with them, so just fair warning."

"Okay, thanks."

"No problem."

Right before our shift ended Brad, and I talked for a bit.

"So what school do you go to?" He asked me.

"West, how about you?" He asked me.

"Me too." He said smiling. "What grade?" He added.

"I'm going to be a Senior."

"That explains why I have never seen you. I'm going to be a Junior."

"That's a great year." I said thinking back on everything that went wrong in my life that year.

"Is it hard?" He asked.

"Not really, just government class was a pain in the ass. But other than that it should be good. Unless you're taking advanced classes." I told him.

We talked for a little more, but then I was told I need to go back, and clean some more tables. The hour went by fast, and Brad sat with me while I waited for my stepdad to pick me up. We talked some more about how I was liking the job, and I was: cute guys, money, and free food, what wasn't to like? He just warned me that when I worked with Rick I had to be active all shift long because he was a pain to work with, and hated people doing nothing.

The next day I went back to work, but Brad wasn't working. It was a bit disappointing to not see him since it was fun to work with him. I guess after all I had managed to make one friend on my first day. The shift went on longer than I would have liked it. Rick, like Brad said, was horrible to work with. I just cleaned tables more frequently, and stayed clear of his way.

When the shift ended I was picked up by my stepdad, but he had something for me that day.

"They called to say it came in earlier than expected." He gave me my new phone, ready to be used. I opened it as soon as it touched my hands, and I texted Kyle.

Sorry if I haven't responded to your texts. I broke my phone, and just got a new one.

All good. I only texted you once that I was on my way back, which was three days ago, but all good.

I'm sorry. We kept talking about my turn to go to New Mexico, and how my job was going. He told me that I was going to have a fun time in New Mexico, and I was going to enjoy it.

I didn't enjoy it much like I predicted. There was absolutely nothing to do while we were down there. There was sand, fallen trees, dried out bushes, sand, some hills, no air outside, sand, and some animals I had never seen before. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get back home. At least for my birthday we went to Olive Garden which was one of my favorite restaurants. The sad part about my birthday is that no one ever remembers it since it's in the middle of summer, and everyone has better things to do. This has been true my whole life. When I was in elementary school only a couple of kids from my class ever showed up to my birthday parties. I was alone most years.