The Waitress ↯ C. Randall

Chapter 26 | Nightmare in Amber Beach

"WHY ARE YOU UPSET about getting a B? It's a good grade." Tyler asked.

"See? That's what I said." Riley added in.

Quinn shook her head at the both of them. She knew they were both trying to be supportive, but when it came to stuff like this it went way deeper than just Shelby being a perfectionist—which she definitely kind of was. It had to do with her family lineage and the ridiculously high standards set in place by her millionaire, corporation running dad. He was supportive, but expected way too much from Shelby. He expected her to run the elusive family business—which was an ice cream company.

And, of course, the root of this entire conversation about said perfectionist family tree was a ridiculous college test where Shelby had gotten a B—and probably soon after moped about it on the way to the cafe.

"My parents would cheer if I got a B." Chase chimed in, clearly confused as to why Shelby was so upset.

"Guys, it goes way deeper than her just getting a B. In her family you're practically expected to be a genius! Which, for the record, I still don't get but whatever." Quinn added.

"Exactly! In my family," Shelby ranted, unaware of the man slowly closing in behind her. Quinn tried to signal to her to stop, knowing that if she continued she'd just be digging her own grave. "getting a B is—"

"Unbelievable! Getting a B just isn't good enough Shelby Watkins." He said. Oh great, the full name treatment. Again. The others shared confused glances, wondering just who he was. "It's her dad," Quinn mouthed to them silently, as they all silently nodded in realization.

Shelby backed up onto the table, her nervousness practically palpable in the air. "Dad?"

Her father smiled, holding his arms out. "You're going to need to study harder if you're going to run Watkins' Ice Cream."

"Watkins' Ice Cream? That's your family?" Tyler asked cheerily. Oh god, Quinn thought, here we go again.

"Best Ice Cream, bar none." Mr. Watkins gave a news reporter kind of smile (which was Quinn's nice way of saying, fake) smile to the others. Why was he holding ice cream in preparation of going here, and how did the ice cream not melt in his hands since he didn't have any kind of ice cooler around? Quinn would never know. She was at this point sure he may be an alien or some kind of magician to do it. Or, maybe being rich just gave you superpowers? It worked for Shelby, so why not her father?

"Yes, Watkins' Ice Cream is them. If you had ever actually been to Shelby's house when we were in high school you would've known. And not just because of the giant mansion. He even pushes his products to close family friends as you're just trying to finish your homework, not just at work." Quinn half-jokingly chastised.

"Oh, Quinn, it's nice to see you again. Just as much sass and sarcasm as I last saw you," With the way he was looking at her, it seemed like he would have gone to ruffle her hair if he wasn't so far away, "How have you been?" Shelby's dad said, in a very much papa-bear-ish way.

Quinn awkwardly smiled back. "Great. I'm not dead yet, so . . . yeah,"

"College has been going well for you I presume?"

Oh great, Quinn thought, of course he asks about college. Surprisingly enough, college actually hadn't felt as difficult as high school. It was a little bit easier, thank god. Maybe it was just because she was learning about stuff she really enjoyed or whatever, but instead of getting B's and occasional C's like she used to, she was now getting A's and B's. In fact, the only real reason she was getting B's now was just because of stress over the recent monster attacks and having less time to study, but she was still doing pretty well for herself.