There had been no way she wouldn’t run into anyone she recognized. That was something that Cathy had
known about public-facing employment in the magical world, but hadn’t really
meant anything until she started. Like taxes, or not being allowed to sit down. She'd found, however, that it wasn’t that bad over the summer. Sometime nice, even, when little kids from her house came by and saw her making her own living and being grown-up and inspiring or whatever. Older kids could be a little more judgy. But so long as they were still younger, Cathy felt superior enough in her eighteen-year-old wisdom to tell them they were being clueless little dicks. Or, well, to get at it as well as she could within the extremely limited polite-customer-service lexicon. (The eyes had a lot to do with it.)
The schoolkids were still out in full force, but soon they wouldn’t be. And the only familiar faces she’d be serving would be nosy friends of her parents and cool older students being cooler better adults. All the days would be like today, with stupid Indiana Morigan staring down the ice cream case.
Young adults were vastly different than idiot boys Daisy’s age. Particularly ones she’d embarrassed herself in front of as a tween, and already thought she was unreasonable and annoying. When older boys thought that it made Cathy feel uncomfortably small. What was Indy Morigan doing with his life, she wondered as she leaned against the back counter. Did he think scooping ice cream was embarrassing or not intellectual enough or only for people who failed their WENDIGOs? (Probably all three!?)
Time-turners were stupid, you could only go back just a little while. Even if Cathy could have gotten her hands on one now, it always took too long to realize that things like asking some older Horned Serpent boy you’d never spoken to before if he wanted to go to the Valentine’s Day dance with you and starting an argument when he said no were stupid and foolish and would haunt you forever.
Cathy lifted her chin, determined to be excellent at customer service in the face of some random close-minded dickbag. She smiled forcefully. “What can I get you?â€
@Indiana Morigan
