"See you ladies in two weeks." Rosalyn waves to her coworkers as she walks to the vet clinic's doors.
"Have fun," Janise, the clerk, waves back at her.
"She will now that she has a man and not just her little brother." Tiffany, a vet tech, winks at her earning a smack from Janise and a chuckle from Penelope.
"Be good and stay safe." Penelope throws her own wink in at the word safe.
"Dr. Myung." The older clerk gasps.
"I'm going to miss you guys." Lyn laughs as she went out the door. She got into Darling. Despite Dustin coming home today, she was heading to the mall. In their last phone call, he said the first day back he would spend it with the boys. Tomorrow, she would take him to the mall to visit Steve.
She got out of her car and walk into the mall to make her way to the ice cream parlor. She walks into Scoops Ahoy and got in line behind two pretty girls that were about her age. She notices how they were checking out her boyfriend.
"Alrighty, one scoop of chocolate, that's a buck-twenty-five. Anything else," He asks them. The girl shook her head no and reaches into her purse. Steve caught his girlfriend's eyes and Lyn nods suggestively to the African American teen in front of her.
Lyn knew the game that Steve and Robin had going on. If Steve was able to get more girls' numbers than rejection, Robin would clean the place. Steve got Lyn's approval first, the only reason she agrees was that she knew he was a terrible flirt. So far Robin hasn't had to clean since they started this game. Honestly, Lyn was started to feel bad for him. He was able to successfully hook them in with his look, but once he opens his mouth it would get awkward so he was never able to reel them in.
Steve looks her up and down. He points out the first thing he noticed. "Ooh, Purdue. Fancy." He took the money she handed to him.
"Yeah, I'm excited." She nodded with a big smile on her face.
"Yeah, you know, I considered it, Purdue, but then I was like you know what? I really think I need some real-life experience, you know. Before I hit college, see what it feels like. Kind of like, uh, I don't know, see what it's like to earn a working man's wage, you know?" He started to ramble. The two girls shared an amused look that said can you believe this loser. Lyn rubs her temples, why was he making like him working here was more than or just as impressive as Purdue. Thankfully he pushes the wrong button on the register and it made a high pitch beep putting an end to his rambling. "Oh, I'm sorry." He looks down to fix the registry. "I think that's, like, really important." He looks back up to finish his point.
"Yeah, totally," She said sarcastically. She hid her un-amused look by licking her ice cream cone.
"Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun. We should kind of like, you know, I don't know maybe hang out this weekend or…." Steve tried to give her the change, but he missed her hand making all the coins fall on the floor. The girl looks at him in shock while her friend tries to hide her giggles in the background.
"Oh, sorry about that… uh... I don't know. Maybe next weekend or…" He was fumbling on asking her out.
"Yeah, I'm busy." She tries to nicely put him out of his misery, while she shoves her money into her purse.
"Oh, that's cool. I'm working here next weekend, so the following weekend's better for me." He shrugs his shoulders. He was still trying even though all signs told him to stop.
"No. I'm sorry, I can't." She smiles and grabs her friend's arm. They walk out of the ice cream parlor giggling.
"I - This is my first day here. I have a girlfriend- so it's whatever." He yells at their backs making them crackle loudly.
Lyn shook her head and walk up to the counter. She gave his pouting lips a peck. "Sorry babe."
"And another one bites the dust. You are oh-for-six, Popeye." Robin pops up in the window that connects the backroom to the front counter with a dry erase board. She draws another tally under You Suck. The You Rule side was completely blank.
"Yeah, yeah, I can count." He turns around to glare at the board.
"You know that means you suck." She taunts him.
"Yep, I can read, too." He snaps.
"Since when," She made a mockingly impressed face like him reading was an accomplishment.
"It's this stupid hat. I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature." He points up to his hair.
"Yeah, company policy is a real drag." Robin rolls her eyes.
"It's not the hat it's your flirting. You suck at it." Lyn points at the dry erase board.
"Excuse me." He spins around to look at his girlfriend offense showing all over his face. "If I'm such a bad flirt then how did I get you?" He points at her.
"It wasn't the three years of bad flirting. It was the one year of friendship." She reminds him.
"How the hell am I supposed to win them over with friendship in the few minutes I'm scooping their ice cream?" He sighs.
"You know, it's a crazy idea, but have you considered telling the truth?" Robin suggested.
"Oh, you mean, that I couldn't even get into Tech and my douche bag dad's trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future? That truth," He scoffs.
"You don't have to tell them anything. I find that people like talking about themselves. All you have to do is act like you're interested and it makes them feel special. It's how I use my expired coupons at the grocery store." Rosalyn suggested.
"It not the same, you're flirting with guys. You don't have to do any work. All girls have to do is show up. Guys throw their numbers out the window at you when you're walking the dogs. Girls are harder, they have to be charmed." He shook his head. If he wasn't a good flirt then she definitely couldn't be. It was already bad enough that she had her life figured out and he didn't. He was nervous enough that when she started college, she was going to meet some guy that had it together and drop him.
Lyn who wasn't aware of his insecurity in their relationship push the issue. "I could charm a girl." She glares at him.
"Oh, you think so, prove it." He challenges her.
"Okay." She turns to look around the parlor to pick out a girl.
"Oh no, not in your cute scrubs," He points at her Looney Tunes scrubs. "You have to wear this goofy outfit." Steve ran his hands up and down his uniform.
"I don't think you have that in my size." She cocks her head to the side.
"Actually, we do. My coworker before dingus was about your size and she left her uniform." Robin points behind her.
"EW, was it even washed?" Lyn wrinkled her nose.
"It's not stinking up the place." She shrugs.
"Are you trying to back out?" Steve smirks.
"What do I even get if I win?" Lyn raises an eyebrow.
"How about whoever loses has to pay for dinner?" Steve suggested.
"Oh, I'm getting free Panda Imperial." She walks around the counter.
Robin opens the door, so she could get in the back but shut it in Steve's face. "Hey." He yells through the door.
The girls went over to the window. "You have to watch the front," Robin told him in her usual dry tone.
"Why can't you watch the front and I go in the back with her?" He whines.
"At twelve o'clock." She nods behind him to a group of female teenagers.
"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Okay, I'm going in. Okay? And you know what? Screw company policy." He throws his hat off and ran his hands through his hair a few times.
"Oh, my God, you're a whole new man." Robin rolls her eyes.
"Right," He smiles before turning around confidently. "Ahoy ladies didn't see you there!" He yells in their faces. The girls gasp in shock and surprise. Robin sighs and drew another tally under you suck.
"Oh god, now it's getting embarrassing for me. People are going to be like what kind of idiot fell for that." Lyn sighs.
"I've been thinking that." Robin laughs. She opens up a locker and throws the uniform at Lyn. "I'll give you some privacy." She went back over to the window to watch Steve fail miserably.
Lyn took off her scrubs and put on a shirt that was like Robin. The top was white with blue stripes, with a blue vest that had a large white collar, and a red scarf tied under it. She slides on a blue skirt that had white lines going around the bottom. To emphasize the pockets where white lines and silver studs. She tucks the shirt into the skirt. She let her hair out of the high ponytail and trades it for a low ponytail, so she could put the sailor hat on her head. "You know, I actually adore this skirt." She walks over to the front of the window so Robin and Steve could see her.
"Robin, isn't your turn to be up here?" Steve watched as his girlfriend's skirt raise up as she twirls around.
"You're not doing it on our table. I eat here." Robin scrunches up her nose.
"Like that table could handle us." Lyn flips her ponytail over her shoulder and walks out the door to the front counter. Steve beams and shot Robin a smug look, who was pretending to gag.
"Alright babe, there's one." He nods to a pretty blonde teen that was walking up to the counter.
"Ahoy lady, can I get you anything today?" Lyn sent a smile that normally made men do a double-take.
The blonde only glance before looking at the different flavors. "Still trying to decide what I want." She hums.
Lyn stood there awkwardly not knowing what else to do. She started to panic as she realizes that she never had to start the flirtation before. She only ever had to decide whether she was going to follow along with it or not. Her palms began to sweat as the fear of rejection began to set in. She looks back at Steve for help. He simply shrugs at her.
"Can I get two scoops of the strawberry swirl cheesecake?" The blonde asks making Lyn turn her attention back to her.
"Of course, do you want it in a cup or a cone?" Lyn wipes her sweating palms on her skirt before grabbing an ice cream scooper.
"A cone," She eyes the waffle cones in the case.
She grabs cone and gave her two generous scoops of ice cream. "Alright, that's two-fifty." She walks over to the register. The blonde gave her the exact amount.
Lyn hand her ice cream over. "Oh cute, you're ice cream match your boots, which are amazing by the way." Lyn eyes the blonde's pink knee-high boots.
"Oh, thanks. You look cute in your uniform." She compliments her back.
"Oh please, no one could look cute in this ridiculous outfit, but thanks." Lyn shook her head.
"No, really you do. It is a silly outfit but with your curve, you can make anything look eye-catching." She said making Lyn blush.
"I bet with your legs, you look stunning in a pair of daisy dukes." Steve's jaw drops hearing his girl make such a bold comment to another female.
"I would love to show you sometime." The blonde lick her ice cream seductively. Robin's eyes widen at the blonde in front of her. This whole time, she thought she was the only one in this town.
"I'm closing tonight, but if you give me the number you can." Lyn felt giddy at her accomplishment.
"My name is Claire by the way." She grabs a napkin to write her number on.
"I'm Rosalyn. I'll be sure to keep this safe." Lyn put the napkin in her skirt pocket.
"You better," Claire smirks before walking away, making sure to swing her hips as she went.
"Oh my god, I thought I would have to get her number in a friend way, but she totally wanted me. I've never felt so worthy before." Lyn couldn't believe how good she felt about going after someone and getting them. She imagined this is how a hunter felt when they slay a giant beast.
"Look like you lost another bet, dingus." Robin spat bitterly. She had been struggling with her dating life because of her sexuality, here was this straight girl pulling other girls' number like it was nothing.
"Here's 15 dollars. My lunch is in half an hour, get us food from pandas." Steve groans as he hands her the money.
"Do you want anything Robin?" Lyn turns to her boyfriend's coworker.
"No, I bought a sandwich." She grumbles, still not ready to talk to the other girl.
"Alright," Lyn shrugs and went into the backroom to change back into her scrubs. She came back out when she was done. "See you in a bit, babe." She waves to Steve as she heads to the food court.
"I'm out 15 bucks, what are you grumpy about?" Steve asks a pouting Robin.
"I'm not grumpy, this is just my face. You're so rude, dingus." She glares at him.
"I'm here." Lyn walks back into the ice cream parlor with a Panda Imperial bag in her hand.
"I'm taking my lunch, Robin." Steve walked into the backroom with Lyn. Robin grunted in response.
"So, I got us chow fun, kung pao chicken, and barbecue pork." Lyn took out three boxes of Chinese takeout.
"Thanks." Steve picks up a fork and opens a container to shove a piece of pork into his mouth.
"I didn't want to talk about this in front of Robin, but I want to talk about what you said earlier." Lyn opens the chow fun and Kung pao chicken boxes.
"Oh, is it about me trying to get girls numbers? I know you agree to it, but if you don't feel comfortable anymore after seeing it, that's fine. I'm really okay with calling the game off. " He let out a puff of frustration as he picks at the chow fun.
"No, I'm talking about when Robin suggested you tell the truth and you said what that I have no future." Lyn made different faces and voices for Robin and Steve.
"What do you want me to say about it? It's the truth." He shrugs.
"No, it's not." She shook her head.
"Really Lyn, where do you see me going? Because, I can't see anything but a long line of dead-end jobs," He snaps waving his hands around to gesture at the place they were currently sitting in.
"Steve, you're only 19 you don't have to have it all figured out." She tried to reason with him.
"How can you say that when you have it all figured out? When everyone has it figured out?" He yelled, getting up from his seat.
She took a deep breath and reminds herself that he wasn't really yelling at her but at the situation, he found himself in. "I just got lucky. My first job just happens to be one that I love and can see doing for the rest of my life. Just because everyone going off to college doesn't mean they have it figured out. I bet most of them don't even know their major." Lyn stayed seated and kept her voice level, which took some control because she wanted to get up and yell back at him.
"At least they were able to get into college." He snaps, shaking his head. He had been beating himself up over this since he got his rejection letter.
"Despite what you and your dad think you not getting into Tech isn't the end of the world." She scoffs.
"Tell me what I should do since you know it all." He gripped the sides of the small table to lean down to say it sarcastically in her face.
"Work a bunch of odd jobs or gets your associates at the community college. If there is a job or class that you like, you can go down that career path." She sneers at him. The thing that frustrated her the most was that he wasn't even trying to find other options. He was just bitching that he didn't get his one.
"That's actually a good idea." He slumps back down in his chair.
"Bet, you're thankful now that you got a girlfriend that knows everything." She winks at him.