Cheeky

№ 10. Let's Get Accepted

"It's February tenth Cassidy, I'm going to die a spinster," Emma groaned.

I rolled my eyes as I stood around the phone store, watching strangers pass by outside through the light drizzle of rain. I think it rains at least once everyday in this country.

"Em, that's not true. You have Derek."

"About him..." her voice quivered

I straightened up beside the white counter, "Em, what happened?"

The sales rep behind the counter was starting to shoot me snooty looks as he tried to clean the counter around my elbow. He clenched a bottle of Clorox and seemed about ready to shoot me in the eyes with it, so he stood there silently fuming. But I just shot him back something that I hoped was equally snooty, or at least a little threatening, and extended my elbow further.

"H-he, he's, I, alone-"

"Emma, calm down."

She hiccuped, and then I heard her exhale deeply.

"Good, now grab the tissues next to your bed-"

She blew her nose rather loudly, and I pulled my cell away a few inches in mild disgust.

"Okay - now, tell me what happened."

She blubbered a little more but then cleared her throat, "H-he said that we were both moving in different directions. Th-at I w-was holding him b-back."

I shook my head, but I secretly saw this coming. Derek was an aspiring actor, or as he liked to say, "a tortured soul". As soon as he booked that gig last fall in a pool commercial, he walked around as if he owned the world. Which was more like a 2008 Toyota Camry and shitty apartment he rented above his parents house. Fancy way of saying your old bedroom since elementary school.

But, nevertheless, Emma dug deep and saw something. And I mean really dug deep, and they had been dating for a year. But now he's gone and broken her heart and Emma was a mess. I think it was because he was her first serious boyfriend, someone who lasted longer than six months and wasn't taking her to prom. Emma used to tell me how much she thought he was the one, and even told me about the very night when he said "I love you". Something every girl wants to hear. However, it was really Emma who said "I love you first", but she didn't want to go over the details.

Now I had one more person to add to my Hate List, which was starting to grow quite nicely. I'd make sure to add his name later in ink.

"Emma, I'm so sorry. He's a worthless prick; he never deserved you in the first place."

"T-thanks Cass. But I-I just don't know what to do about I-it," she blubbered.

"About what?"

"Well, now I'm not going to have a Valentine's Day date, and you know about all those bitches in my sorority I told you about. They're just waiting to see me come alone to that party too. So now I'm going to die alone and be the laughing stock."

I walked across the store to the checkout counter and started signing some papers, "Em, you are not going to die alone. You are gorgeous, you have a Jay-Lo ass, and I'll be damned if you go to that party alone. All those anorexic girls have nothing on you."

I finished signing and looked up to find a young girl staring back at me. She had tears in her eyes and her face had contorted into some sad, creepy expression. Her eyes had swelled into a mess resembling a clingy puppy, and I smiled uncomfortably back at her as she shakily took my papers and whispered, "Thank you."

I should really keep my conversations in private settings, but I guess that didn't work out in a phone store.

"Well then what should I do?"