Ugh, this is the part of the job that I hate.
Just then, my phone buzzes in the pocket of my apron.
Tasha: How late do u work?
Me: Done in 2 hrs. Why?
I slip the phone back into my pocket. It buzzes again almost immediately.
Tasha: Scrimmage starts in 20 min.
She’s talking about the hockey preseason scrimmage the Ravens have this afternoon against the prep school in a nearby city, and Tasha just happens to be dating a guy from their team.
Me: There’s no way I’ll make it. It’ll b over long b4 i get done if it’s just a scrimmage.
Tasha: Ok. Will save seat just in case.
Me: thx.
I know there’s no way I’ll make it, and really no way I’d go even if I could. Besides, what I want hardly matters since I’m stuck here at work until my shift ends.
For the next two hours, I stay in the back room and unpack boxes of shirts, socks, and even a box of ski masks. Since it’s getting closer to October, the weather might be warm enough to sit at the lake for the day, but ski season will be upon us in a matter of weeks. Erin doesn’t help at all, of course, instead staying up front and accosting the few customers that actually wander in. One couple comes in to pre-order ski jackets, and some poor random man comes in to pick up the snowboard bindings he had tightened. I’m really grateful I wasn’t up front for that little exchange if Erin’s still playing her “boredom buster”.
By the time five rolls around, my stomach is growling.
I text Jenna
Me: I’m starving.
Stuffing the phone in my messenger bag, I head out to my Jeep and sit waiting in the parking lot at the base of the grassy ski hill. I haven’t even put the key in the ignition yet, because if Jenna texts me back and wants to grab something to eat with me, then I’ll have to turn an entirely different direction once I get out of the parking lot.
So I wait.
My phone buzzes.
Jenna: We literally just ate. Still at McDonald’s. Want me to grab something with you anyway?
Me: No worries, running to grab mongolian, it’s been an age.
Jenna: No value menu? One dollar, hollar!
Me: I’ll just go sit in a corner somewhere, alone…
Jenna: Don’t talk to any perverts.
Me: Darn I was planning on it.
Sighing, I start my ignition and quickly lean over to feel around inside my bag to see if there’s a book I can read while sitting at the restaurant. Kyoto Grill is one of my new favorite places to eat. Basically, you build your own stir-fry and slap everything you picked out to eat onto a five-hundred-degree stone. The only problem I have is the bowl they give you to fill is never big enough! I have to pile all the ingredients on my bowl until it resembles a mini-mountain. Then, my vegetables always topple off before I make it to the chef, and that’s pretty embarrassing, but the food is fantastic, not to mention healthy, and since the place is relatively new, it’s never crowded.
On a few occasions, I’ve been the only patron there.
About twenty-five minutes later, I’m all set in a corner booth at Kyoto with a steaming hot plate of stir-fry, a somewhat racy teen romance (that Jenna lent me, of course), and my iPod. I set my phone on the table and put in my ear buds, deciding that maybe a low-key playlist would be best. After all, I can’t really read if I’ve got Drake blasting in my ears.
I take a few bites of my dinner, which is a combination of noodles and vegetables that taste amazing, and open my book to the earmarked page. I don’t read very often, but this book has managed to keep my interest. Then again, give me the name of one teenage girl who can resist a story about a good girl secretly crushing on the school’s bad boy… Clever girl that I am, the irony isn’t lost on me.
My phone buzzes.
Jenna: Find a pervert with a long noodle?
Me: Lol. Leave me alone I’m eating.
Jenna: Don’t choke. And text me so I know you survived.
Me: Yes mom :p
Jenna: Don’t talk to stranglers.
Jenna: Dammit autocorrect! *strangers.
Giggling, I stuff my mouth with a forkful of rice noodles. They’re so delicious I close my eyes and moan out loud—every bite is totally worth the torture of a day spent working with Erin. In my opinion, it’s a reward that’s been truly earned, and I mean to savor it.
As I start a new chapter in my book, the steady stream of music pumps from my iPod, through my ear buds and into my ears. I casually bop along to the rhythm of “(Kissed You) Good Night” by Gloriana. I just cannot get enough of this romantic, playful song, even though it’s an older one. I’m the type of person who, when they really like a tune, listens to it over and over, and that’s why I’ve listened to this one, oh, about a thousand times.