Thirty Reasons Not to Date a Player

02. He'll Flirt with Anything that Breathes

I hate my job. Honestly, if I could have any other job in the world, I'd take in it a heartbeat. But the thing is, I don't have a car (and my parents forbid me to drive their BMW), so going anywhere else would be a hassle. 

I work at an ice cream store with a super dorky name and a work uniform that looks like something out of a cartoon. Melanie drops me off today right after school, so I get there earlier than usual. Mel is so lucky that she has a car. Most of the time, I don't even have enough money to pay for gas. 

I look up at the front of the store, kind of disgusted by a bird-poop covered sign reading, "Tastee Treats". Whoever owns the place obviously failed second grade spelling. I push open the door and walk inside, instantly feeling nauseated at the smell of artificial sugar. 

"Good afternoon! Would you like to try our flavor of the day?"

"It's just me," I say, causing my co-worker, Daniel, to look up from behind the counter. 

"Oh, hi, AJ. How was school?" 

He doesn't go to South River High, but we're friends anyway. He lives in my building.

"Painful," I tell him honestly. "Sometimes I wish I was home-schooled." 

"Eh, it takes a lot of discipline," he comments.

Daniel has been home-schooled since he was twelve. You couldn't tell by looking at him, but the poor guy was bullied excessively throughout elementary school. His mom told mine all about it. Daniel was always smaller than most boys his age and he used to get beat up a lot for mouthing off to the other kids. In seventh grade, it got so bad that coming home with several black-and-blues and a split lip became commonplace. 

Since he doesn't get to socialize with kids his age anymore, his job at Tastee Treats is supposed to help him get over his social anxiety and develop "people skills" (or so my mom tells me). 

I admire the way he doesn't feel the need to conform to social pressures, and once you get to know him like I do, he's not such a bad guy. He's a little quirky, but in a good way. 

"The grass is always greener on the other side," I sigh, putting my book bag down on one of the tables. 

He laughs. 

Daniel's the only teenager I know that still manages to look cute wearing an ice cream cone on his head. Okay, not literally. Our uniform hats have a foam ice cream cone on top. Most of them are so beat up looking that you'd think someone tried to take a bite. 

"Aw, crap!" He says suddenly, looking down at his watch. "I was supposed to be home an hour ago to help watch Oli. Do you mind covering for me?" 

Oli is his six year old brother. I have a younger sibling of my own, so I know the responsibility. 

"Yeah, sure, no problem," I say. "Business is slow these days, anyway." 

"Thanks, I'll make it up to you another time."

After Daniel leaves, I head to the back room and change out of my school clothes into my pink and blue work uniform. I tie my wavy brown hair back into a ponytail and grudgingly place the awful ice-cream cap on my head. Taking one last look in the mirror, I silently thank God that kids from school don't get their ice cream at Tastee Treats. 

I'm stuck standing behind the counter for a good fifteen minutes before any customers walk in. After an hour, I've only served three people. It's a mystery to me how this place stays in business. 

Just to kill time, I head over to the smoothie maker, which I know is in desperate need of being washed. As I reach to unplug it, I accidentally knock over the blender and the remnants of the last customer’s smoothie end up all over my apron. I groan in frustration, and grabbing a bundle of paper towels, I try to clean up as much as I can.