Zack was sitting on a table in health class, chatting to Jessie who was sitting at the table behind him, when Kelly scrambled in. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and her clothes didn't match. A small smile formed on his lips. Somehow her disheveled appearance made her look even cuter.
She laid her books on the table next to Jessie, slid into her chair, and yawned. Jessie looked down at her eyebrows raised.
Kelly looked up at her, "I overslept."
Jessie chuckled, "So, I noticed."
"The first day at work is always the hardest," Zack joked.
"Zack, what do you know about work?" Jessie teased.
"Hey, I've worked. I just try not to as much as possible," he countered. He turned toward Kelly. "How was your first day, besides exhausting?"
"Fine," Kelly answered simply.
Jessie seemed satisfied with Kelly's answer, but Zack wasn't. He took a seat on the table in front of Kelly. "Did you make a lot of tips?"
"Yeah," she replied dully.
"That's great!" When he realized she wasn't excited he added, "That's what you wanted right?"
Kelly nodded. Then, she looked up at him and saw his confused expression. "I guess I'm just too tired to be excited."
"It must've been a hard day," Jessie observed.
"What made it even harder was my boss," Kelly slipped. She hadn't planned on talking about Connor, but couldn't avoid in now.
"Is he critical?" Jessie asked concerned.
"No, he's very… friendly," she described the best she could.
"Of course he is. He wants to make his new employee feel welcome," Zack told her.
"It's just that he's so friendly it makes me feel a little bit weird," she quietly replied. "He hits on me and wants to go out," she left out the part that he insinuated she'd lose her job if she didn't. She had probably misunderstood him.
"That just shows he's normal. You're hot Kelly! Guys are going hit on you and ask you out. I did," Zack chuckled.
Jessie rolled her eyes. "Let me translate Pig," she spoke solemnly as she sat down beside Kelly putting one hand on shoulder. "Guys find you attractive, so sometimes they show it in very… stupid ways," she shot Zack a teasing look. He mouthed her words mockingly. She continued smiling slightly, "When you don't feel the same way, it can feel awkward—especially if he's your boss. Just let him know you're not interested."
"Yeah, Kel, don't let that make your job miserable," Zack advised.
"You guys are right. It probably just feels weird because he's my boss," she smiled a little. "I'll just have to make it very clear that I don't feel the same." She felt much better now. She felt like she could go to work today with her head held high.
After school, Zack walked with Kelly to their lockers. She seemed a lot happier than she did this morning. "I'm glad to see you smiling again." He elbowed her softly.
"You and Jessie made me feel better," she smiled back, hugging her books to her chest. "Now, if I can just get Victoria kicked out of the club…" she made a devious face, then giggled.
Zack took her books out of her hands and put them into her locker he had just opened. "Um, about Victoria," he said quietly trailing off, "she called me last night." He put his hand on the locker and stared into it, not facing Kelly.
"And?" she asked curiously.
"She wanted to know if I wanted to have dinner Friday night," he faced her slowly unsure of how she'd react.
Kelly's face was tight. "You said yes." She looked down trying to hide her disappointment.
"Well, yeah," then, he added quickly, "but if it bothers you, I'll break it off. She wants to introduce me to her father. She said he needed an intern, and she thought I'd be perfect," he tried to explain.
Kelly was at a loss for words. On one hand, she was glad Zack had such a great opportunity, but on the other hand, it made her sick to think he'd be spending time with Victoria. All she could say was, "Yeah, that's fine."
"You're sure?" he asked unsure if he heard correctly.
"Yeah," she forced a smile to be convincing.
Zack leaned his head on the locker door. "Ok, but I'm not going to enjoy myself." He took her hand and gave her a lopsided grin.