Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 3

"He's so dreamy, especially up close," Jasmine gushed while I tried to eat my nachos. I wasn't a huge fan, but it was what school was serving, and I was paying for it, so whatever. "Plus, he's a super good kisser."

Lila squealed but I just smiled. Why were they getting so excited over this? He wasn't a catch. He was the opposite of a catch. Why couldn't they see that? "Did he ask you out?" I asked around a mouthful of chip.

She nodded. "He did! Our first date is this weekend."

"Where're you going?" Lila asked.

"Just to McDonald's."

"So he's cheap," I said, popping another chip in my mouth. The cheese coated my tongue as Jasmine rolled her eyes. 

"He's not cheap. He goes out a lot, so he has to make it easier on himself. How do you think he'd be able to afford stuff if he didn't budget?"

I raised an eyebrow as I swallowed. "So you're admitting he dates a lot of girls."

Jas rolled her eyes. "Of course I am. I'm not stupid. I'm just glad it's my turn. I'll be able to make him stick, I think. I mean, if those others weren't right for him, I have a better chance of it, right?"

I sighed but accepted her reasoning - for now. When he broke her heart later, I would just have to be there to help pick up the pieces I supposed. They'd never do it for me, though. Mainly because I was never going to be so stupid that I'd fall for the first person that came around. Especially someone like him. Why would I want a guy who basically saw a new girl every other weekend?

I would rather eat soap.

---

"Could you move that box?" Charlie asked at work hours later. He pointed at a box of rice that was in the middle of boxes of ketchup bottles. I grabbed it as he muttered to himself about people who should know the difference between the two and why couldn't they just go the extra few steps to put it where it was supposed to go?

I blushed furiously as I moved the box. It had been late and I needed somewhere to put the last box off the truck, so I sat it there. He didn't have to react like that. 

This was one reason why I wasn't fond of post-college preps. They thought they knew everything and I was certain that they didn't even know what they knew. It was even worse with the people that had Bachelor degrees. They came out of their classes acting like they ruled the world. I loved seeing them knocked down a peg or two. 

Charlie was no exception. The only reason why I didn't try to knock him down was because he was Mr. Milton's son's friend that he'd gone to school with. I was pretty sure the only reason he was even here, though, was because he was friends with him. He barely did any work, and I was pretty sure he was allergic to most of the products we sold. Why did he even agree to work here? He must have needed the money pretty badly. 

Most of the rest of the day went about the same. Between the people and my coworkers and doing inventory, I was beyond exhausted as I lined up with everyone else outside of the office to pick up my check. Mr. Milton was passing out everyone's checks. This was the only place I knew that still gave people paper checks as opposed to electronic payments. He just liked being able to hand them out, I knew. I kind of liked being able to feel my money and look at how much is going into my bank before it gets there. My dad definitely liked being able to see how much he could spend on booze without getting us thrown out of the apartment. 

Soon, it was my turn and I tried to take the check he was holding out to me, but he held on to it. I looked up at him quizzically. "I know what you tell me about college," he said quietly. "I know you don't want to accept anymore charity from me than you already get, but I seriously want you to think about it. You're like another child to us, and I want to help you in every way we can. There's a second check here. I want you to spend it on yourself. Think of it like a bonus for your hard work. Buy yourself something nice for prom or homecoming. They're coming up soon, yeah?"