Page 20 of Fox
“You know I have no control over who they—”
“Give me your spot. I know you got invited.” I did get invited. The Christmas Countdown is an app-wide event where the invited influencers help give away massive prizes. We also get a big check, and this year, there was talk of a travel influencer company interviewing for a job opportunity. Something I have been thinking hard about trying to get after this is all over with Hel’s.
I look behind Royce at the turquoise-haired girl, quickly trying to make my coffee, and I drop my shoulders in defeat. “Fine,” I mutter. “It’s yours on the condition that you never speak of this shop.”
“Oh, you know I never go back on a deal,” she smirks before leaning back. “I can’t believe you’re giving up that opportunity to keep this shitty little shop out of my line of fire. What on earth has happened to you, Jai? You and I were constantly hitting up clubs opposite each other, and now you’re inviting me here? And you’re in public with all…thatshowing.” She sneers while gesturing to my freckles. “Why are we here?”
I wring my hands together under the table as I chew on the inside of my cheek. “Royce, we’ve been friends for six years. I just thought that we could get some coffee. I haven’t been well since my dad died.”
Royce gives me a blank stare before rolling her eyes and giving me a short, bored laugh. “We all have problems, Jai. I mean, you’re an adult losing a parent, not a kid; get over it. If you really can’t, a doctor downtown will prescribe you some benzos, no questions asked, and you’ll be good as new.” She waves herhand dismissively at me as she speaks. “I mean, sure, we’ve been following each other for years, but friends? You know there are no real friends here. Everyone is faking it to make it. It’s all about the numbers. Which, by the way, yours are going down. Your engagement is nonexistent, and besides that amateur selfie you posted yesterday of yourself here, of all places, you’ve done nothing with your accounts in a week! Which, need I remind you, is like a year in our world. You completely missed out on three trends!”
“I’ve been busy at the shop,” I say stiffly, feeling somewhat defensive. Royce scoffs and rolls her eyes.
“Oh yes, the little tattoo shop with those oversized apes. Brody mentioned something about them at the meetup last night.”Last night, while he was calling me repeatedly?
“They aren’t apes,” I say through gritted teeth as an uncomfortable wave of… Is this protection over the guys that I’m feeling? “They have names, they’re amazing artists, and—”
“Yes, yes. Don’t get your thong twisted. My god, they are just a bunch of moronic criminals.” The girl sets my coffee and donut down in front of me, and I can see Royce staring at the girl with a look of judgment.
“Go to your class, Royce. This was a bad idea.” I take a sip of my coffee while watching her stand.
“Yes, next time, make it a club. A donut shop is just so sad and pathetic. Also, your hair looks a little frizzy, and the sweats make you look,” she pauses and glances at the girl. “Husky,” Royce walks away, and once she’s out of the cafe, I drop my head into my hands.
I have millions of followers, and the moment I need coffee with a friend, I have no one.
I hear Royce’s vacant chair move, and look up to see the girl smiling at me.
“Can I sit for a minute?” she asks. I smile and nod as she sits her own coffee and donut down. “I’m Stevie, by the way.” She points to her name tag. I nod as I swallow my coffee.
“Jai–my name is Janie.” Wow, when did I last introduce myself as someone other than Jai? I have to admit, it’s kind of nice. Breaking off a piece of my donut, I pop it into my mouth before looking up at her. “I’m sorry about myacquaintance. Like, in every conceivable way.” Stevie laughs and waves her hand.
“It’s alright, trust me, I’ve had worse. I have this color hair, face piercings, these crazy tattoos,” She pulls up the sleeve of her baker’s uniform to show off her Halloween-themed arm. “Plus, I mean, I live in the most body-obsessed part of this state as a plus-sized woman working in a donut shop. I’ve heard it all. Trust me, your Barbie friend couldn’t hurt me if she tried.” I laugh lightly, feeling a sense of calm sitting here talking to her.
“So, do you own the shop?” I ask, leaning back in my seat. Stevie shakes her head.
“It’s my mom’s. She’s in the back with my grandmother, who you’ve had the, um, pleasure of meeting earlier. The old woman hates dealing with the crowd after the breakfast rush, so I take care of the front for her. And try to keep her and her knives in the back.” She lets out a long breath as if her grandma threatening customers is a common occurrence.
“I think she’s funny,” I laugh lightly. “Where is she from?”
“Croatia. She left there when my mom was a kid, and they traveled for a while before coming to America, eventually landing in Louisiana, thus my accent.” She gestures to herself before taking a sip of her coffee.
“This is a charming shop,” I say brightly. “Are you planning on staying here with your mom?”
“Oh god, I hope not.” Stevie laughs lightly. “Don’t get me wrong, baking is a bit of a passion of mine, but I’m in no way,shape, or form mentally able to be around that crazy woman all day, every day.” I snort a laugh into my drink. Stevie is so easy to talk to. It’s oddly calming. I don’t have to try with her; I don’t have to put on the face that I would if it was a follower or something, and I am so grateful for it right now.
“So, what do you hope to do?” Stevie gives me a noncommittal shrug. “I might go to IT school or something. I was a piercer in my hometown in Louisiana before I moved back here. I enjoyed the job, but that atmosphere can be toxic if you aren’t careful. I don’t want to be in that situation again.” I watch her eyes go distant, and while I want to pry deeper, I know that it’s none of my business, so instead, I grin at her brightly.
“IT is where all the hot nerds are, anyway.” I tease and watch as she visibly relaxes. It’s nice talking to someone about nothing too important. I’ve never had that kind of friendship. Most want my follower count and nothing more. Stevie’s fun, and as we exchange phone numbers and say our goodbyes, I leave the donut shop feeling like I’ve made my first real-life friend.
TEN
fox
“So,” Ash hops onto my table, swinging his feet while staring at me with his dark eyes. He has the same stupid grin on his face At gets before saying something that’ll piss me off. “Did you actually get Janie to run away?”
Sighing, I try with everything I have inside me to ignore the idiot. I should be happy. Janie hasn’t been at the shop for four days now. No calls, texts, pop-ins, nothing. It’s been everything I’ve been praying for since the moment that psychotic brat with her annoyingly addictive smell, wild mane, and soft, freckled lips stormed in here and fucked my whole life up.
God, you’re so pathetic.
