College Fund

//It's 19.80, not 20//

My double shift felt more like a quadruple shift. The only thing that kept me scooping ice cream and not fainting from exhaustion was the thought of all the textbooks I would be able to buy from this labour. Nonetheless, I was still counting down the seconds until I would be able to leave.

The store quieted down around 5, and I welcomed the break, assuming everyone was home eating dinner. My shift would be over in a little over 20 minutes, and I was ecstatic. I was staring off into space dreaming about getting in an airplane and flying away from here when the chime on the door went off, signifying that someone had entered the store.

I looked up to see two of my best friends and yearbook-voted 'cutest couple', Margaux and Spencer, walking up to the ice cream counter hand in hand.

"Hey Cassidy!" Margaux greeted in her lovely accent. Margaux was French, and moved here with her family from Quebec two years ago. She now spoke better English than me, probably, but still spoke French at home. The way she described it was getting the best of both worlds.

"Hey Margaux, hey Spencer," I replied, "what are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to pick you up, of course," Spencer grinned. "Doesn't your shift end soon?"

"Yeah, but not for another twenty minutes," I glanced at my watch, not wanting to hold Margaux and Spencer up for too long.

"What's going on out here?" Eric asked, exiting the staff room.

Before I could explain, Margaux cut in.

"We're just here to pick Cassidy up," she blinked her long eyelashes. "Her shift ends now, no?"

Oblivious to Margaux's boyfriend standing right next to her, Eric fell for Margaux's flirtatious manner. "Well, she's not technically finished for another twenty minutes, but since you're here now, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure, Eric?" I asked, praying he wouldn't change his mind.

"Yeah, it's fine," he replied, still staring at Margaux. I rolled my eyes and went to grab my things from the staff room.

Guys were always captivated by Margaux. She was the kind of beautiful that made you just want to keep staring at her in case she disappeared. Her long dark hair made her grey-blue eyes stand out, and no spray bottle could even begin to imitate her naturally tanned skin. Add that to her accent and athletic body, and you have a perfect ten.

Despite all of this, Margaux seemed unable to recognize her beauty. And not in a desperate-for-compliments kind of way, just in a shy, tentative way. Spencer said it added to her beauty, and I think the hordes of guys that drooled over her at school would agree.

Out of all those guys she chose Spencer. Spencer was one of those ordinary guys. He played lacrosse, just like Margaux, but he wasn't the star player. Not in the coach's eyes, anyway, I'm sure Margaux would beg to differ, but she's biased. Spencer doesn't need to be the star player though, he keeps up good grades and was in the school play; he's a multi-talented kind of guy. And while the rest of the girls in school were obsessing over Matt Mason, the star quarterback, Margaux was obsessing over Spencer. No one saw it coming, and no one was happier for them than me.

"Cassidy, could you hurry up?" Spencer called from the front of the store, and I was sure he was annoyed at the looks Eric was giving his girlfriend.

"Yup, I'm coming," I yelled back and grabbed my phone and purse from the back room. When I walked back into the front of the store I could tell from Spencer's stormy eyes and Eric's position back behind the counter that Spencer had put his foot down and said something to Eric about his suggestive looks. Margaux was smiling smugly, her hand firmly in Spencer's grasp. Her eyes found mine, and they clearly said, Don't I have the best boyfriend ever? I smiled back. They honestly were adorable together.