Finn had finally done it. He had saved enough money to attend the town's all-boys school. After years of bullying from the public school, he was ecstatic to start his first day.
Of course, Finn hadn't expected to be 20 minutes late on the first...
At the end of my shift, Sky invites me out to eat with their partner. I decline, not wanting to third wheel. As I'm reaching for the door handle, Elliot calls out. Because I'm not a piece of trash like him, I turn around.
I cross my arms over my chest. "What?" I ask through gritted teeth.
"I just wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to sound-" I cut Elliot off before he can dance around using the word most straight people hate being called.
"Homophobic?" I ask.
"Oh, come on," Elliot scoffs. "How the hell was I being homophobic?"
"For starters, you used a stereotype that's not even true. If I looked you dead in the eyes and said, I should have known you were poor since your working at a Chuck E. Cheese. That would be offensive, right? So how is that any different from you saying, I should have known you were gay because straight men don't act so soft. Also, I'm sure you're doing fine and I mean no offense by calling you poor, sorry but maybe you shouldn't act like such an asshole." The entire time I was talking, I was making wild gestures with my hands. That's just something that happens when I'm angry.
"Wow. Sorry I didn't mean to offend you." I'm about to cut him some slack when I hear Elliot mutter under his breath. "Fucking snowflake."
"Fuck you, Elliot. I hope making your point was enough because I'm going to be filing a complaint. This is a tolerant workplace, but we don't tolerate assistant managers who can't respect others because of their sexuality. Have fun losing your job." I take in Elliot's stunned expression before storming out the door.
I walk toward my apartment and take out my phone. The home screen shows a good morning text at eleven from Mateo, which I missed because of the lunch rush. Above that text is a missed call, also around eleven. I slide the notification, so it dials Mateo's number. It's one ring before he picks up. "Hey, how was work?" Mateo asks.
"Oh, nothing, just going to get the assistant manager fired for being an asshat. It's was his first day, too," I answer, crossing the street.
"Do you want me to chop off his dick?" Mateo asks, without missing a beat.
"That homophobe probably wouldn't let you anywhere near his dick without spotting off slurs. You know what that douchebag called me today. First, he called me soft. And then, he called me a snowflake. That motherfucker has no clue what I've done to survive. I am not a soft person at all. I'll shove my soft foot up his ass." I'm so mad that I'm pretty positive I have smoke pouring out of my ears. I honestly don't remember the last time I've said so many curse words.
"Damn. Wanna me to come over and make you feel better?" Mateo practically purrs out the question.
"We have school tomorrow," I answer.
"Let's skip," Mateo says.
"I'm not skipping. I lived in the dark for a month to afford tuition. I will not miss school on my second day," I explain as I approach my apartment complex.
"Fine. Want me to pick you up tomorrow?" Mateo asks.
I walk into my building. Samuel, the night shift front desk man, gives me a half-hearted wave. I give him a smile before going into the elevator and saying, "You wanna be seen with me?" The question falls out of my mouth before I can assess how sad that question is.
"Of course I wanna be seen with you. Why wouldn't I?" Mateo asks, sounding a bit concerned.
"Sorry," I answer bashfully. "I'm not used to guys treating me with any shred of respect." I step out of the elevator when it stops.
Mateo starts talking as I use my shoulder to bash in my door after I unlock it. "Well, you need to hang out better with guys. When was the last time someone treated you with respect?" Mateo questions.
"Today, actually." I shrug off my sweatshirt and throw it on the coffee table. I grab the ham out of the fridge and make a mental note to get more, and maybe to get more of other foods as well.
"Who?" Mateo asks, sounding skeptical.
"Sky. They work with me." I answer with a sense of triumph.
"Fine, I guess they count. Did anything else noteworthy happen today?" Mateo asks.
I freeze, swallowing the ham with an audible gulp. "Nope," I lie. Mateo is not ready for the baggage that is Janet Green.
"Same. I just watched tv all day." On Mateo's line, there is a shuffling sound.
"I wish I could do that," I groan as I throw the empty package of ham into the trash can.
"I told you I would've given you the money, and we coulda hung out all day," Mateo answers sounding a bit smug.
"Boi, you just wanted to fuck." I chuckle.
"Well, that was part of the plan too!" Mateo says, returning my laughter with some of his own.
"So what time are you picking me up tomorrow?" I walk over to the coffee table, grabbing my ancient laptop off of the couch. I open it and check my bank account. I used my phone to cash the check changing my 150 balance into 476. Fuck, guess the power's going out if I don't get paid at my other job soon.
"7, ish. That good?" Mateo answers.
"Yeah, that's fine." I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and suck in a sharp breath. Once I write the 300 dollar check, I'm going to be only barely keeping my head above water. I don't remember this bank account being this low since 16. I had become pretty good at money management. Learned how to stretch a dollar. I had figured out about a thousand different ways to make a meal out of ramen. One package could be two meals if you only split it in half.
"Alright, see you then," Mateo says. "Imma go to bed. Night."
"Okay." The line goes dead, and I glance at the clock in my living room. It's ten-thirty, I should turn in to bed too. I make my way to my room and strip down to my boxers, pulling on a sweatshirt and flopping onto my bed.
Updating earlier than I expected
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