How to Meet Boys by Catherine Clark Read Free Book Online Page A

Lucy—Here are some ideas for when it’s slow. Please make sure to do everything on this list at least once a day—some items are starred and must be done frequently, as needed.

    Restock apple bar and rearrange for best visual effect.

    Memorize the best uses for each variety of apple; customers will ask.

    Clean front doors and window with glass cleaner.

    Tidy all folded items: T-shirts, dish towels, fleece, sweatshirts, socks, hats, etc. Refold as needed.

    Dust glass countertops and displays.
    While I was reading it, Jackson came over to stand beside me. “So what else is on the list? I restocked the apples.”
    “Um, you want to clean the windows and doors or fold stuff?” I asked.
    “Windows and doors,” Jackson said.
    “Great. Sounds great.” While Jackson fetched the bottle of glass cleaner and a roll of paper towels from the utility closet, I started straightening and tidying all the shelves of T-shirts, sweatshirts, towels, dish towels . . . you name it, my grandparents’ store stocked it. I have to give them credit, though. Most of what they had wasn’t tacky, as far as those things go. Some of it was even cute.
    But after a while, it got tedious. I walked over to the front doors to get some fresh air. I fiddled with the iPod they used to play music in the store. I read a few entries in An Apple Farmer’s Almanac .
    “Plant a seed today and feed the world tomorrow.”
    “North wind at night, grower’s delight.”
    “A bee on the tree is worth two in the hive.”
    I put the book back on the shelf and glanced at my watch, wondering if it was time for lunch yet. It was only ten forty-five. The days were going to crawl if I didn’t talk to Jackson. Besides, I wanted him to know that I was completely cool now—as in, no longer interested in him. At all. The easiest way to do that would be to joke around and show him I wanted only to be a friendly coworker. It didn’t mean that I’d forgiven him yet; just that I could see the wisdom of talking to him, if it helped pass the time. Maybe he could even apologize. That could be a conversation.
    I migrated to the magnet tree, which was literally a metal tree covered in cute magnets. I absentmindedly ran the feather duster around the tree, stopping when my eye caught a rectangular magnet styled like a book cover: 50 Shades of Apple . I laughed, wondering if my grandparents even knew what it meant.
    I picked up the one that said The Original Apple Store: iApple—Do You? and brought it over to show Jackson. “How long before my grandparents get sued for this, do you think?”
    He turned to me just as he was spraying the door. The bottle kept spraying and blue window cleaner went right into my eyes.
    “Ack!” I cried.
    “Sorry!” Jackson said. “You okay?”
    Sorry? My eyes were burning and I could hardly see. I was going blind from glass spray. And all he could say was “Sorry?” I rushed to the big sink in the cold storage room and splashed my face with water. My eyes were still burning, so I doused them about a hundred times.
    Finally the feeling started to go away. I grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall to dry my face. I blinked a few times.
    “I’m really sorry about that,” Jackson said from the doorway. “Are you okay?”
    I could still see. Unfortunately. My reflection in the paper towel dispenser was blurry but showed me two things: one, my eye makeup was smudged and disastrous-looking; and two, the neck of my T-shirt was soaked. Great. So this was how I had to start my first day on the job. I dabbed at my eyes, trying to fix the smeared mascara. “I’m fine. Maybe a little drenched, and I might need glasses to see from now on—”
    “You can’t see?” Jackson asked. “Are you serious? Crap! Where’s the phone?”
    “Don’t ask me! I’m practically blind here,” I said.
    “No. Come on. Really? I’m so sorry, I—”
    I started laughing, despite the stinging pain in my eyes. “Relax. I’m