The Hardy-Mart

Monday

"We're never doing that again," I growled at Parker, Monday morning, "I'll mop and you can do your shift on Saturdays, okay?"

"Oh come on, it couldn't be that bad, could it?" Parker stacked several casings of tuna cans into the aisle closest to the register, where I turned around slowly.

"Not that bad? That kid licked me! He licked me."

Parker chuckled lightly, but I heard every bit of it, "You think that's funny? I punched him! I'll punch you, too."

"You punched him? Ah, poor Raj. He's like a clingy little gecko. Totally harmless."

"Really? Because he seemed more like a potential night demon."

"You judge people by their cover, don't you?" Parker set down the last few cans and turned to me.

"And rightly so. Most people are more transparent than you think."

"I beg to differ. I bet you think I'm some dorky goody two shoes kid who has no social life and spends all his time on homework and video games and has never done anything bad ever."

I spun around once and looked up at the ceiling while rubbing my chin, "Incredible. He's self aware."

Parker laughed a short, cool laugh, "You don't know anything about me."

"Oh really? I think I know a lot about you. After all, I have been working with you for the last couple of months."

"You wish."

"Oh, you don't believe me? Fine. I propose a game then." I smiled mischievously.

Parker was coming closer to me, in interest of what I had to say, "What kind of game?"

"The kind of game where we get to know each other. 21 questions. I'll ask you a question and you have to answer truthfully. Then, you ask me a question and I'll answer truthfully. If you can't answer, you lose. It goes until we reach 21 questions each or one of us drops out. Oh, and the loser gets bathroom duty."

"You know," he pulled up a chair from another check-out aisle and slid it closer to me, "I get the feeling this is going to be a bad idea, but for some reason, I don't care."

"That's the spirit! Here, I'll start: Do you have a grade lower than 90 in any of your classes?"

Parker rubbed his hands together, "What kind of question is that? Of course I don't—"he stopped and looked down, "Art doesn't count, does it? It's an elective that I had to take..."

"Art? Seriously? It's like the easiest class."

"Hey, I'm no De Vinci. I've got A's in all my classes because knowledge is power—but knowing how to paint a bowl of fruit isn't going to get you anywhere in life,"

"Unless you're actually good at it..."

"Whatever. It's my turn. How about you? Do you have any A's at all?"

"I'm not stupid. I've got an A in Literature." I scoffed.

"Wow." Parker looked honestly stunned, "I pegged you as an 'as long as I pass, I'm fine' kind of girl."

"Yeah, well I guess you don't know much about me, either. Anyway, it's my turn. I've got a nice, juicy question picked out just for you. Have you ever dated a girl?"

Parker scoffed and shook his head, "That's just cruel."

"Hey, this was your decision. Now, will you be doing bathroom duties or not?"

"Alright, alright. No. Happy? I've never dated a girl before."

"Ha," I chuckled, "Not even once? Come on, you're a senior!"