The Key to Oz

Chapter 3- The Cove

As the final school bell chimed, Oz mulled over three potential ways to gather the rent money:

1. Rob a convenience store.

2. Sell her body on the street corner for the night.

3. Blackmail one of the rich housewives for her extramarital affairs. (Of which she knew of at least three.)

Exiting her final class, she mentally reviewed the list of potential crimes when she suddenly found herself lifted off the ground from behind. Before she could react, she was slung over a familiar shoulder.

"Grayson, you better put me down or you're getting the worst wedgie of your life!" she barked, already reaching for the waistband of his jeans.

He let out a deep chuckle and gently set her down. "Okay, okay! No need for another repeat. The last time, you ripped my boxers nearly clean through."

Adjusting her shirt and glaring up at him, she smirked. "Next time, I'll leave you with nothing."

He shot her a wink. "Then you'll have to share yours because these are my only good pair."

Despite herself, she bit back a smile, rolling her eyes in exaggerated annoyance.

"So, what do you say, gang? After our shifts tonight, are we swiping some liquor and heading out to Turtle Rock?" Jessper asks, wrapping her arms around James's bicep – not in a flirtatious way, but in a manner that reflects a friendship since they were kids.

"Sure, if we make 200 dollars in tips tonight, we can celebrate not being homeless for another month. But if we don't, then we can just drink the worries away," James replies, wrapping his arm around Jessper's neck.

"I'm glad you guys are taking this so seriously," Oz glares.

"Oh come on, Lozziepop, you worry too much. I'll pitch in my tips. It will all be fine," says Jessper.

"Yeah, and I'll help too," Grayson adds.

"No one is pitching in anything," she replies hastily. "This is mine and James's problem to worry about, not yours."

Jessper sighs, "You know it won't be the end of the world for you to accept help sometimes."

"You'd have better luck assisting a mother bear to get its paw out of a steel trap," James laughs.

Oz frowned at him, but knew it was true, she didn't like the thought of owing a debt, even though she knew they would never come to collect, she hated the idea of it.

They navigate their way to the busy parking lot, lined with fancy cars and affluent snobs eagerly awaiting their even more pretentious offspring.

"Need a lift?" Oz offers Jessper as they approach their worn pickup truck, lined with layers of dirt and rust.

"No, my mom's picking me up. I'll catch you at work, though," she replies with a smile.

"Sure, give your mom my best," Oz snarks.

Jessper blows her a kiss before disappearing into the crowd of vehicles.

Grayson held the door for Oz as she crawled into the middle seat of the cab. She wondered what it would be like to be a priority in a parent's life, where they take the time to drive you to school and pick you up. She knew it was such a silly thing to be jealous of, but having a mother who thought of her existence as an inconvenience, she couldn't help but notice the small efforts that other parents made for their kids. During the commute to work, she pretended to read a book, lost in her thoughts, while James and Grayson discussed how Nate Crowley bent over in gym class and you could see the masses of hair peeping from his buttcrack. She tuned out their crass banter, preferring her own silence. Boy conversations were just...weird.

The truck squeals to a stop as James pulls into the employee parking lot of The Cove, a crab shack on the pier, where Oz, James, and Jessper work as part-time servers, and Grayson as a cook/dishwasher. After piling out of the truck they made their way inside, the pungent aroma of grease and raw fish hitting their noses as they grabbed their aprons and clocked in for the night.

"Have fun guys," Grayson says before vanishing into the kitchen.

James and Oz look at each other and sigh with dread realizing the grueling shift ahead of them.

"It's going to be a long 4 hours," James remarks tying his apron behind his back.

Oz nods tipping her mouth to the side."let's get that dough, Jim Bob," she smiles as they make their way to the front of the shack and survey the vacant dining room.

"Well... shit," James sighed.

Oz shook her head. "Should've robbed that damn convenience store."