Page 90 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

As I’m getting ready for my second job, I can’t ignore the disappointment I feel that Scott no longer wants to be friends. I guess I shouldn’t assume that, but that’s what it feels like.

Why do I care? It’s not like anything was going to happen between us. He’s a party boy and I’m a… I don’t know what I am anymore. A single girl with no social life, stocking shelves for a living?

This is not how my life was supposed to go. I need to make some changes. I need to figure out what I want, and who I am without Asher. I hate to admit this, but Scott was right. I’ve forgotten how to have fun. Let loose. Be spontaneous. I was like that in high school, and even in college. Then I met Asher, who’s very proper and serious, and I changed myself to be like him. But I don’t have to do that anymore. I can be whoever I want.

Maybe I’ll go to the party tonight. It’d be better than sitting in my room, listening to people having fun next door.

Later that afternoon,as I’m stocking the canned vegetables, Frank comes up to me.

“How was your date?” he asks, a big grin on his face.

“My date?”

“Last night. With Scott.”

I forgot I told Frank about that.

“It was good.”

“So you’re going to keep seeing him?”

“Um, maybe. We haven’t decided.”

“Then you’re open to dating Wally.” He winks. “That’s good, because he’s coming by later. I can introduce you.”

“Yeah, about that. I don’t think Wally and I are a good match.”

“You won’t know until you meet him. I think you’ll really like him. He’s a little on the heavy side, but you know what they say. More to love!”

I’m not going out with Wally. I saw a picture of him in Frank’s office and he is definitely not my type. He’s short, wide, and has a mohawk.

“Hey, Frank!” Rose, the eye-rolling cashier, yells. “I’m supposed to be on break.”

“Be there in a minute,” he says, then he says to me, “I’ll let you know when Wally gets here.”

“Great,” I mutter.

“Oh, I need you to stock the prophylactics. They’re almost out.”

“The what?” I ask.

“The prophylactics.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

He sighs. “I guess your generation calls them condoms. Anyway, I need to go watch the register.”

He leaves and Rose appears. “I heard you’re going out with Wally.”

She smiles. She never smiles. Apparently, she finds this whole Wally situation humorous enough to warrant a smile.

“I’m not going out with him,” I say, keeping my voice low so Frank doesn’t hear.

“He collects stuffed unicorns,” Rose says, laughing a little. “Maybe he’ll let you play with them.”

“Don’t you need to go on break?”

She steps closer to me. “Just so you know, you’re not getting my job.”

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