"Now what do I press?"

For the fifteenth time in under an hour, Theresa found herself counting to ten to keep from ripping the girl a new one right here.

"Is the order complete?" she said patiently to Lily.

"Yeah?"

"So press 'order complete'. Hey, Manny," Theresa turned to the window separating them from the kitchen, as much to talk to Manny as not to talk to Lily, "You got my large pepperoni yet?"

"It's coming, Mami," Manny grinned at her, showing his gap teeth as he tossed a mound of dough into the air.

She put a hand on her hip. "Yeah, show-off, it's been coming for fifteen minutes."

Theresa turned back to Lily, who looked confused. "Now what, Lily?" She was almost afraid to ask.

"Did my order go through?"

Theresa leaned over and glanced at the screen. "Yes, Lily. The screen that says 'order sent'? Means it's been sent."

Lily reached to bite her nails.

"Stop – wow. Whoa. Lily. You can't-" Theresa sighed as Lily eyed her warily. "Look. It's not that hard."

"Easy for you to say! You know this stuff!"

Theresa decided not to mention that she had learned it in half a day, while Lily was well into her third shift. Instead, she turned back to the kitchen again.

"Hey," Theresa said, "Gary, can Lily watch me for awhile again? The rush is dying off now."

The manager poked his head through the kitchen window. "Sure." He paused. "...Please." Lily looked distressed as he popped back into the kitchen.

For a moment, Theresa felt slightly awful. She had woken up at 4:30 to find Ryan missing, and somehow hadn't been able to fall back asleep. So of course she was more than a tad grouchy. It wasn't Lily's fault. Well, not entirely.

"You'll get it, don't worry." Theresa tried to sound convincing.

Lily grimaced as she wandered to Theresa's register.

"Next person?" Theresa called, failing to muster enthusiasm. But the sole customer shook his head.

"Just waiting," he said.

Theresa pushed back from the counter. "Okay. Lily. What don't you get?"

"I get it! I think. Until I have to do it."

And she thought Ryan was slow?

Theresa shook her head. "Let's just – relax for a minute." She hesitated, almost afraid to finish the thought. But whatever. "Rest your brain."

Lily sighed and pulled at her Pizza King t-shirt. "I must look really stupid."

"Oh, no..." Theresa said out of habit. "No, Lily..."

"I guess I'm good at school and bad at work," Lily sighed.

"Just focus," Theresa suggested. "Once you get the groove of it, you know – there's a reason why they give this job to us girls." Argh. She couldn't help it. She would always take the side of the underdog, even when the underdog was Lily.

"I thought it was cause the customers liked our boobs," Lily said. It took Theresa a moment to realize Lily was making a joke. That was a new one.

"Huh – oh! Ha! Yeah," Theresa said, forcing herself to laugh. "See, now you're getting it. Customer service. Literally."

"I wish." Lily reached for her Diet Coke, hidden under the counter, and handed the regular Coke to Theresa, who took a slow, refreshing sip. "It just seems so pointless," Lily said. "I mean, all this work and no tips? What am I gonna be able to save, anyway?"

Theresa blinked at her. "All my Pizza King money goes to savings," she admitted. "To help my mom. It's my babysitting money I get to spend."

"Really?" Lily wrinkled her nose, which, Theresa noticed for the first time, was obnoxiously cute, all tiny and freckled and pointy and disgusting.

"You're lucky," Theresa said. "You actually can spend yours."

"I know," Lily said as she stared down at her Diet Coke uncomfortably.

"But hey," Theresa said, "think of it this way – a lot of guys will get to see your boobs." She glanced away so that Lily couldn't gage the comedy, or lack thereof.

"Order up!" Manny shouted out, and Theresa reached for the pizza.

"Large with pepperoni?" she asked. The owner stepped up to claim his pizza before scuttling off, leaving the store deserted.

Lily pulled at her Pizza King shirt again. "Yeah, ever since my boobs came in this year, I can't fight the guys off with a stick."

Theresa eyed her critically. "And this is a problem?"

"Well, they're like – like puppies sometimes, you know? So hormonal. They just want one thing. You know, whatever you and Ryan have, at least you're friends."

Theresa's head shot up. "It's not like having a boyfriend, though."

"How is it different?" Lily stared at her.

"Well," Theresa said, considering. "There's – no. I mean, we're not – it's not romantic. We don't have those feelings for each other."

Lily laughed. "So you're like an old married couple."

"Wh – no!" Theresa's jaw hit the floor. "No. Different. Very." Theresa was sure of that, even if she didn't really know any old married couples.

"But you do have sex, right?"

Theresa stared at her. "Why would you think that?"

Lily suddenly busied herself with straightening the plasticware. "...No reason."

"Lily."

She stopped and turned back, wringing her hands again. "Becs said," she said helplessly.

"Course she did," Theresa grumbled. She had never really told her anything, but she wasn't surprised she'd reached that conclusion. Even if it was the right one, Theresa was still annoyed.

"It's not like having a boyfriend," she said again. "I mean, I can still go out with whoever. He's not possessive or anything."

"And do you? Go out?"

"I don't even go out with Ryan," Theresa admitted. She was growing more and more annoyed the further this went on. "Look. It's my business, okay? And Ryan – he can flirt with whoever he wants, see whoever he wants, cause I don't care!" Coke spilled from the cup as she waved it on the last word. "Oops."

"I got it," Lily said, grabbing for a towel. "Well, damn girl, you clearly don't care about him at all."

"I don't," Theresa said firmly, watching Lily mop up the spilled soda. She somehow didn't feel motivated to jump in. "I mean, just-"

"...As a friend," Lily finished. "I got it. But – if you're so close, and you have good sex...?" She looked up, and Theresa kept her own face expressionless. "...Then... why aren't you together?"

Because he likes you better.

"Wouldn't want to destroy our friendship," Theresa said, too quickly.

Because he wants you, in all of your snobby, thin, unreachable glory.

"Oh," Lily said. "I see."

"Uh huh." Theresa frowned. "Look, you don't have to like him, but I do-" Theresa stopped and glanced at the door. Another customer. "Okay, now, focus, okay?" she hissed to Lily before breaking into a big grin. "Hi. How can I help you?"

She was walking her bike along the road when she heard the car honking at her. Feeling somewhat wary, Theresa turned around to see and was surprised to see Arturo waving at her from the window of an unfamiliar ride. A LeBaron?

"Whose car is this?" she asked.

"Mine," he said. "I sold the Cadillac for it. What do you think?"

She studied the exterior. "It's nice."

He inclined his head. "So get in already."

She obeyed, carefully setting her bike in his trunk before hopping in to the front seat. "Where are you coming back from?" She searched for the seatbelt and finally found it, reaching across to fasten herself in with a click.

"Trey's house." He shook his head in amazement. "That guy. He's so lucky. He's like the luckiest person in the world. He should be dead ten times over. He should be."

"God protects fools, small children, and stupid people named Trey Atwood," Theresa agreed. "So what'd the jackass do this time?"

Arturo studied the street ahead of them as they made their way towards home. "Nothing, nothing. Just – I don't get it. Anybody else in his shoes would be so dead right now. Lucky bastard."

She couldn't disagree. "Well, he has Ryan to look out for him. And you."

Arturo coughed. "Yeah. In this case? Didn't matter. Lucky bastard. Lucky, lucky, lucky."

"Okay." Theresa took a deep breath. "You know what?" She twisted towards him in her seat. "I'm not twelve years old anymore, Arturo."

He inclined his head as he steered the car around a turn. "No, you're fifteen. So?"

"So I don't get it. What'd I ever do to be the stupid kid nobody clues in?"

The car settled to rest at a stop sign. He stared at her. "Is that really what you feel like?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "Sometimes."

"Well, you are. So enjoy it." He drove off across the intersection, leaning back to enjoy his position.

"Arturo!"

"I mean it." He had that fierce look on his face all of a sudden, the one that sometimes scared her a little. "This is how the world works, okay? You let me and Trey mind our own business. And we'll take good care of you."

"Wait. I do not want Trey Atwood taking care of me." Something was very wrong with that picture.

Arturo clicked his tongue. "You know what I meant!"

"I do," she admitted. "Jesus, Arturo." She stopped, almost expecting a reaction out of habit. When she didn't get one, she pressed on. "You're so over-protective."

"Yeah? Well. Good. Glad I am. Look, we have important business to worry about, but you don't. Enjoy it."

Theresa pouted. "I'm not a baby."

"Yes, you are. Baby, baby, baby."

"Turo," she whined again.

"See?"

She searched for something to throw at him and came up empty.

"You're a girl, okay? Be a girl. Do girl stuff. Let us be the guys."

Be a girl. She licked her lips and glanced in the rearview mirror at a glimpse of herself. She wanted Ryan to stop thinking of her like one of the guys. Arturo wanted her to be a girl. She could be a girl. She really had been born one, after all, no matter how she felt.

Be a girl. That was definitely something Theresa could try for once.