The Cell Phone Swap

Chapter 5 iHave a Plan

Keeley sat on the bus grinding her teeth to dull nubs. The woman next to her gave her a curious glance before moving slightly away, no doubt sensing Keeley's mood. Keeley glanced out the window and watched the buildings whizz past her. She couldn't believe she had been relegated to riding the bus when there was a perfectly functioning car at home. Today was her first day working at the surf shop, but her parents refused to lend her the car. Apparently, football practice was more important than a job.

'Great to know where real life experience stands versus America's favorite pastime,' Keeley sarcastically noted to herself. She knew she was being unfair and bitchy but damn it, she just didn't care. Last night during dinner, Zach and her got in a huge argument over the issue. She needed the car for work and he needed it for football practice but her parents sided with Zach. Why exactly? Because he would be running outside all day while she would be standing indoors.

To top it all off, Keeley had called Talon to confront him about his seedy, underhanded spending but he never picked up. Then, two hours later, she received a text from him saying Gymnastics Camp. 'Nough said –T

Keeley rested her head on the seat in front of her and sighed. This was what her last week of summer vacation had come to. Public transportation and texts about Gumby girls. Fab-frickin-tabulous.

"Next stop: Sunset Beach," an electronic voice said over the loudspeakers. The bus came to an abrupt halt and Keeley shuffled down the aisle and onto the sidewalk. Looking around, she noted the beach was absolutely packed. There wasn't an inch of sand that wasn't covered by a beach towel or an umbrella. Keeley weaved in and out of the crowds, slowly making her way to the surf shop.

As soon as she entered, she noticed two things. One was that the store felt like a human oven and the second, was that the store was in absolute chaos. Keeley hurried to the back room to drop off her purse before going back to the floor in search of her coworker. The only problem was that she had no idea what her coworker looked like. Practically everyone in the store looked like a surfer who could work there. Frustrated at the mayhem, she went in search of the one thing she could control: the air conditioner.

After a few minutes, Keeley found the control box hidden under a tall surfboard leaning against a wall. With trepidation, Keeley attempted to lift the board and move it away from the box but her grip slipped and it crashed to the floor with a loud bang. Keeley cringed and looked around, noticing everyone's eye were on her.

"What the hell!" a voice boomed over the crowd. A dark brown haired boy emerged in front of her, his green eyes looking like they could kill. "What do you think you are doing?" he demanded.

Keeley raised a brow and gave the boy in front of her an assessing gaze. This was her co-worker? Customer service was definitely not his forte. "I think I'm turning up the air conditioning."

"Excuse me?" he lashed out. He picked up the board with relative ease and leaned it back against the wall. "I don't think that's your call to make."

"I think it is," she said. She gave him a small wave. "My name is Keeley. I'm your new co-worker."

"You?" he asked with skepticism.

Keeley nodded. "Me," she repeated lightly.

He gave her an appraising look. "Damn high schoolers," he muttered under his breath. "What was Shawn thinking?"

Keeley ignored his words and asked sweetly, "And you are?"

"Van," he grunted. He gave her another look. "I doubt you have ever surfed, let alone picked up a board."

"So?" she challenged.

"So, you shouldn't be working here!" Van exploded. "Go work at the mall or something," he wildly gestured toward the door.