Mr. Boss Man

Chapter 6 ~ Fancy cars and bubble baths

I stare down at my text book trying to read a few sentences but for the life of me I cannot concentrate on a damn thing. The words and pictures all kind of just blur together making one giant, incoherent splotch of black ink on white paper.

Finally the bell rings, snapping me out of my daze. Collecting my books from the bench, I shuffle out of the class room behind a throng of other people and continue to robotically shove my necessary books into my bag, before slinging the loose straps over my shoulders.

Just as I'm about to leave, Tabitha bounds up beside me and links her arm through mine.

"So I heard from a little birdie that you got a job at a big ass company yesterday?" She whispers to me like she just admitted she killed someone.

I try not to cringe at the embarrassing memory when I left Nick's office that afternoon. "Then that little birdie is right. And by little birdie you mean my mother." That damn woman can never keep a single thing to herself for just five minutes.

"Yes, I do. Why on earth did I hear news like that from your mum and not you?"

I sigh. "Long story."

She smiles, "Well I'm all ears."

Reluctantly I tell her the whole ordeal of the price tag incident. By the end I practically have to hold her up from falling to the ground in hysterical laughter.

"That's...the funniest thing...I have ever heard!" She says in between bouts of laughing.

"Yes, yes it's bloody hilarious. Can we go now?"

She quiets down, "Oh come on. Surely you can see the humor in this?"

"No, but you know what I can see? An ice cream van. Let's go." I drag her along the path towards the van where a man in a dirty white shirt and blue hat is leaning against the window sill.

"Oh yum ice cream!" Tabitha squeals as she places her order with child-like enthusiasm.

"I'll have the double choc cone please." I say.

As I go to pass him a five dollar note he pauses to look at me.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" He suddenly asks.

I frown and look behind me just to make sure he's not speaking to anybody else. No one's there, however and I'm left staring at the man in confusion.

"Um, no I don't think so."

"Huh," he grumbles, "Sorry, I musta' been thinkin' of somebody else."

I give him a small smile as he hands me my ice cream. Tabitha and I quickly turn away and continue down the street.

"Well that was weird." She says as she licks her strawberry choc top.

"And creepy. You can't trust a guy who sells ice creams in a van on the corner of a street, lucky I still have that pepper spray in my bag."

She gaps at me. "Where in the hell did you get pepper spray from?"

I roll me eyes at her. "You do remember what my dad did
for a living yeah? He would always make me carry one around in my bag." Talking about my dad makes my chest compress as unwanted emotions begin to surface so I quickly change the subject.

"Anyway, what's new with you? Any new love interests?"

Tabitha gets this silly smile on her face. "Well remember Zane from science class last year?"

"Vaguely. Why?"

"He has gotten cute, I tell ya." She gushes, "If only this ice cream was..."

"I beg you not to finish that sentence."