13: Time

I stood at the front desk, reflecting on what true boredom was. Whatever it was, I was experiencing it. Everyone else was busy actually working- Jackie in the office doing payroll, Tessa mopping the floors, and Nicky showing someone how to properly squat. They trusted me enough to not fuck up and didn't care enough about me to ask whether I'd rather be doing something else.

I scrolled though my phone, since desk life was otherwise fruitless. I checked all my social media, wondering if a favorite YouTuber had uploaded or anyone tweeted something amusing. Nothing. It was a mute day. I clicked the screen black and let it charge.

I walked away and tapped a pen against the desk. I balanced on the balls of my feet. I looked though the schedule. My head felt like a ball of yarn unraveling from lack of stimulation. I decided to check my phone again.

How dat work lyfe?

The ball of yarn began to wrap back up. I walked away from my phone, thinking of all the answers I could give him. I checked someone in and replied.

Oh, Benjamin, how did you know?

Simple enough. I walked away again, deciding that I would do this before and after replies, both to calm myself down and to seem less eager than I was.         Tessa was now mopping beside my phone. She did it in a rush, in a single, fast push-pull-dip motion. She stopped suddenly and looked up. "You look happy for someone bored as fuck."

"Oh, no, I'm bored. Promise, haha," I said, trying to hide the excitement in my voice. I saw my phone screen light up. Tessa stood on her tip toes and read the text out loud.

"'I have a schedule too, yaknow. You're done soon, wanna do something later?'" she read, and I knew I had been caught. "It says it's from 'Ben from Work?'"

Tessa cackled, like every wicked witch I had ever seen on screen. "That's hilarious, oh my God."

Any positive feelings I had in the past few minutes were now gone. They had dropped to negative ones in a matter of seconds, down my throat and into my stomach. l was hot with anger and embarrassment. Per usual. "What the fuck does that mean?"

I stepped away from her, farther than I already was.

"Calm down, oh my God. It's not a cute look."

This bitch was about to catch the hands. I took a breath. I wouldn't let her see me sweat more than she was already seeing. "Okay."

I began to tidy up the desk, waiting for her reply. It didn't take long.

"I just think it's really funny that Ben wants to hang out, is all. He hasn't hung out with me since... hmmmmm...." Tessa gave long, dramatic pauses between her words and tapped her pointer finger on her non-existent lower lip like she was deep in thought. "Well, never mind. Have fun."

She cackled again and rolled the mop bucket away from the desk, not finishing the rest of the floor. It would have been more appropriate for her to fly away on that mop. But still, her cackle rang in my head.

When I first met Tessa, I had given her the benefit of the doubt. I tried not to judge people based on what they looked like, even if I did keep what they looked like in mind. It's basic survival, starting on the playground and continuing until the day we die. She had been short with me that day, cold toward all my attempts to be friendly. I had suspicions that she would talk shit about me to my coworkers and was generally just a mean girl. And even though she confirmed her bitchiness with her snide remark about Ben, I would still be polite to her, because I wasn't raised by animals. Just as long as she didn't test me.

Though she did get me thinking. It didn't seem unlikely that they might have hooked up at some point. But whatever, right? I shoved the thought out of my head. I could have whomever I wanted and I would do whomever and whatever I wanted.

Except Tucker, I guessed. I hadn't seen him in what seemed like an eternity and probably wouldn't see him for another one. I had more than enough time to push my feelings for him out of my head. To ignore that little spark that I thought we had.

No, it was real, it just wasn't cared for. Through no fault of my own.

My thoughts were interrupted by a woman at the desk. She was wearing a blazer. "Are you here for a tour?" I asked.

"Oh? No, no I'm not. I'm here for an interview?" she pushed a piece of red hair back behind her ear.

"Interview? I didn't know we were having interviews."

The woman flashed a glint of panic. "You're not interviewing for an assistant manager?"

Oh, now that made sense. She was trying to replace Craig. But that meant that she'd have to interview with Tucker.

"No, no, we are! Just um. Take a seat and someone will be with you."

She nodded and sat in the corner. Maybe this was just her first interview and she was only talking to Jackie. Whatever. It wasn't my business. I left to clean tanning beds. The desk could handle itself.

I walked back to the beds and sprayed the dirty ones, enjoying the time by myself. No clients, no coworkers, just me. It made me want to nap right in the bed.

I finished the last one, making sure it was smudge free and didn't smell like the person before. I sighed. Time to go back.

I looked at the clock on the wall. If Jackie knew about her interview then she should be up at the desk now. I looked forward. The woman was still alone at the desk. I peeked around the corner to see if she was there, collecting the interview book.

Someone was collecting the interview book, alright. But it wasn't Jackie.

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