driving south (boyxboy)

two

I had to work today. I wasn't excited for it, but at least I got paid. That was the one incentive I thrived on and nothing could compare.

I got dressed in my ice cream scooping uniform and went downstairs to grab a cup of coffee so I could wake up a little  more. My mom was down here as well. She was an early bird but it was fine.

"Good morning, dear. Do you need me to drive you this morning?" She greeted me amicably. I gave her a small smile and thought about the offer. I didn't feel like walking but at the same time I did. Going for the ride was probably the safest bet though.

"Yeah, that sounds good, thank you."

"Of course." She beckoned for me to hurry so we could go and I did as she wanted. I didn't want to be late anyways so I had to go.

The car ride was mostly filled with the silly songs on the radio. I paid no mind to them and just waited out the short ride. Within no time we were at my job and I unbuckled my seat belt before making sure I had everything I needed.

"You might have to walk back, Tyler. I'll be at a tax meeting with your father." She told me. My parents were in the process of getting their divorce finalized. I was already appointed to staying with my mother but they still had to like split up everything I guess. I'm not so sure.

"Okay. Thanks, mom. I'll see you around three." I told her. I didn't go in for a hug or anything because my family wasn't the feeling type. It was weird but you got used to it. You'd have to though if you were in the family anyways.

She left and I jogged up to the front door, stepping inside and signing in.

"Hey, Tyler. What's up?" My manager, Jenna, greeted. She was a nice person. She'd been with me since I was first hired a couple years back so we became a bit close over our time together.

"Nothing much. Ready for work?" I replied with little enthusiasm. Scooping ice cream sounded fun but it was more of a nuisance than anything. A lot of the time customers wanted the hardest ice cream to scoop and that really did a toll on your wrists and knuckles.

"Sure am. Especially when you leave half way through." She joked, putting on her visor and leaning on the cold, marble counter.

"Sorry." I shrugged. I got the easy shift today and only had to work about three hours while she had to stay for seven. She smiled and stood up as some people walked through the door. It was just an old couple, not much.

I stood off to the side as I waited for more people to come through. That didn't seem like it was happening for a while so I just busied myself with the white board that displayed our specials for the day. I had to update it sooner or later.

"Have a good day!" Jenna concluded her sale and stuffed her personal tips in her apron pockets.

"Man did you miss out on a ten dollar tip." I looked over my shoulder at her in awe. Jesus Christ, these older people tipped well.

"No offense, but I feel like changing the specials menu is a lot more rewarding than some materialistic thing like money, Jenna." I sarcastically scoffed. She laughed and took a seat at one of the local tables after I finished.

We waited around for a couple hours. It was going to be busy hour in a minute, it being two o'clock and all. Of course though I spotted a group of kids walking in this direction now.

"Get ready, Jenna." I warned her jokingly. She gave me a smile and then we mentally prepared ourselves for the many orders we had to whip up.

As Jenna handled one pair, I got a middle aged woman and her son.

"Hey, welcome to Micheal's. What can I get you today?" I said in tone that was dripping with friendliness. It was almost cringe worthy, really but I had to do so.

"Hey there. Um just a minute, please." She responded and tapped on her son to look up and pay attention. I nodded and took a step back so they could see the menu better.

"Tyler!" Someone yelled. I quickly looked up to see who it was that decided reciting the name written on my name tag was a brilliant idea.

"Hi, Josh." I said shyly. Wow. He remembered my name. That's surely a first. Or maybe he just read it on my tag. Who knows?

"I didn't know you worked here. Well I wouldn't know anyways, really." He smiled. "Hey, mom. This is Tyler. I met him yesterday in English." Josh seemed like a free spirit. It was really... different. I observed him as he got his mom's attention. She smiled at me as well and I gave her a light wave and asked if they were now ready to order.

"Yeah. I'll take Watermelon Sherbet in a medium cup please." I nodded and got started on her order. She truly blessed me because Watermelon Sherbet was so easy to scoop and I didn't have to put it in a cone so it went quickly.

"Here you go." I gladly gave her the ice cream and turned my attention to Josh. "Alright, what can I get you, Josh."

"Can I have Birthday Cake in a cone?" He asked politely. I nodded. This was easy, too.

"What kind of cone?" I asked, going over to the cones. "We have sugar and waffle."

"Waffle is good." I agreed and got out a waffle cone, filling it up with the cake flavored ice cream.

It didn't take long to fill and, soon enough, I was handing him his treat. I directed them over to the cash register and entered their order before telling them their cost.

"$7.39." I stated. Josh's mom dug in her purse for cash as he leaned on the counter and started speaking to me.

"Hey, so, when do you get off?" I looked at him like he had me confused with another person.

"Maybe about thirty minutes." I said plainly, taking the money his mom gave me and handing her change back.

"That's cool. Maybe we could hang out after." Such a free spirit.

"Um, I'm not sure. Your mom probably wants you home and she doesn't know me. Not that she's expected to know me. I just met you yesterday. Though you do seem nice and friendly." I thought out loud. I always rambled when I was nervous. I hated it. I also hated his confrontation.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." He thought. "Why don't you just give me your number instead?" I was dumbfounded. Why must he be so straightforward? Didn't he know I was awkward?

"Oh, um, I don't-"

"Josh, let's go." His mom urged. She'd been waiting at the exit door the whole time.

"What do you say?" He pushed. I had to give in. I didn't want to keep him from his mom.

"Fine. Here." I quickly wrote it down on a piece of receipt paper and handed it to him, shooing him away.

"Later, Tyler!" He called out to me as he left. I sighed and walked over to where Jenna was. The crowd was no more and we had some more down time.

"Friend of yours?" She greeted. I shook my head. People weren't interested in being my friend.

"Just someone I met in class." I sighed and began to take off my apron, grabbing the tips that were stuffed inside the big pocket.

"Well he's seems nice." I nodded. "He's cute, too. Maybe you should get friendly with him." She winked. Ew.

"I'm taking that as my cue to leave." I chuckled, clocking out for the day. "I'll see you Monday." Jenna waved goodbye as I exited and made my way down the street.

Today wasn't bad. I was off by three for work and gave my number out to someone other than a family member. I'm sure he wouldn't do much with the number but at least he had it, I guess.

***
These chapters are going to be short.
later *