Just Pucking Money [COMPLETED]

Chapter 24 - Second attempt

Lily

The bar is packed the following day. There seem to be more parents around than usual, and I wonder if I missed some information about parents' weekend or something.

It's funny to see the two extremes of students' reactions to having their parents in town. Some are eagerly showing them around, almost as if they're proud of Lucky's. They tell them about the burgers and what they usually get and how they hang out here with friends. Many of them talk about the Lions and celebrating with them.

Others are here alone and sit in a corner, trying to avoid their parents all together. I do and I don't understand them. If Alice was here, I'd probably be one of them. But if it was my dad...

A tear springs to my eye as I realize he missed out on seeing me here. I could have taken him on a tour and everywhere I like to go. It would have been so much fun to show him the computer building and tell him how everything he did has helped me out.

I close my eyes and inhale. As I slowly let the breath out, I tell myself that he's here in spirit. He loved me and would have wanted to visit me.

"I'm taking a break," I say when a female student comes in with her father.

Gina nods at me, and I escape to the back room. It's my first break of the day and I quickly use the bathroom before I open my locker and check my phone.

There's a message from Ethan. My stomach flips and I get almost giddy. I wasn't really expecting an apology, but he offers one.

What he did last night was annoying, but I completely understand him wanting to hang out with his parents since they came to see him.

But I get the impression that he's still feeling bad about it as he offers to take me out tonight instead.

I send off a quick reply that I'm working late. Too late for dinner. I wait for a moment, but I don't want to take too long since there's a lot of people out there, so before he can answer, I have to put the phone away and continue working.

The next time I check my phone, he's sent a few messages. The first one just asks if tomorrow would work. Then the next one says that if I don't want to, that's fine. Then he apologizes again for his parents' behavior.

It hurts to think that he feels they acted inappropriately. Because that means that the roommates were right, and they really see me as a nobody. I'm not even worth the minimum of respect they'd show anyone else.

As I'm about to type something, another text arrives, telling me he'd really like to take me out tomorrow. To dinner. Without his parents.

The without-his-parents part stings a bit, as if he also thinks I'm not good enough to meet them. But I don't think that's how he meant it.

My entire body is aching to see him again, so I tell him tomorrow works for me, and I would love to have dinner with him.

I get back to my shift and it's a little easier to finish it now that I know Ethan will be picking me up at seven.

I had really hoped the roommates wouldn't be home while I get ready for my date.

Most Sundays, they're out doing whatever. But of course, today they've parked themselves on the couch as they watch some reality show, scroll on their phones and gossip.

So I do my best to not act as if I'm getting ready for a date. I try to act as if I'm just going to spend the evening doing homework, just in case he doesn't show up. If he stands me up a second time, I'll never hear the end of it.