SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

((Jonathan Gulley continued from Valentine's Day Blues))

He just couldn't catch a break.

Jonathan really did dislike working at the Diamondback Ice Cream Parlor. But at least his mother was happy that he was doing something useful with his life. He did want to make his parents proud. But he really wanted to yell the words 'I quit!' as he was tired of his part-time job. He had to stand there with a big fake smile on his face as a customer was complaining about him not giving him enough cookie dough ice cream. Seriously? What was the matter with these people?

Jonathan was already in a foul mood. He didn't need some guy to complain and whine about his ice cream. To be honest, Jonathan didn't even like ice cream at all so it was a bit funny to him. He felt a little better after that. He apologized to the customer and give him the right amount of ice cream. He watched the customer walk away with a smug smile on his spotty face and Jonathan rolled his eyes behind the young man's back. The nerve of some people just really blew his mind.

Jonathan gazed down at his phone and he sighed in relief. It was finally time for his break. He really needed to cool down before he would explode at one of the customers. He really didn't want to lose this job either. Otherwise, he would have to deal with his parents being disappointed in him and he didn't want that to happen. He picked up his phone and he took a step backwards, getting ready to relax for a while.

((Darius Van Dyke continued from Sadness Augmentation))

Oh, Darius totally forgot Jonathan worked here. No need to leave, though. Awkward, yes. It would be awkward for a friend to work for him like a butler.

But it would be even more awkward to just leave and say 'nope, will leave because you work here.'

Yet it looked like Jonathan was not working anymore. The inner hotel manager of Darius had to approach this situation by rocking his chair to the direction of Jonathan and catching his attention with a strict voice.

"Time is money! It's already 2 Dollars 37 Cents PM! No time to play with your phone!"

Jonathan jumped slightly as he heard Darius's voice and he had been staring at his phone to look at his messages. "Holy....! Darius, you caught me by surprise there." He let out a small laugh as he was feeling embarrassed for getting scared and he took a seat near Darius. "....You scared me more than a horror movie does. I'm kind of in a bad mood today. So I'm kind of glad that you're here."

He placed his phone down on the table and he stared at Darius. It was strange to hear Darius' strict voice because it didn't sound like Darius at all. Which sounded kind of funny to Jonathan. He was glad to have a breather. But he didn't know that Darius would come here. Oh, well. Jonathan was happy with seeing one of his friends anyway. So it didn't bother him that much.

"So what are you doing here? Oh, were you going to get some ice cream today?" Jonathan asked curiously, grinning cheerfully. "I could get you some if you want me to. It is my job after all. And you are a good friend of mine."

"Yeah, I came here to eat all the banana splits available! By the time I graduate, Kingman won't have any bananas available. That's an achievement to reach."

Sometimes, Darius just needed good food to satisfy himself from his stressful days. It was a compulsive decision to go to the Parlor to eat some banana split.

"Oh, bad mood?"

Jonathan was such a nice, pleasant person - Darius could tell that his words to him were earnest and not a Pecksniffian 'you're a good friend of mine', as one would expect from godfathers or people who have no fucks to give for other people, but still acted nice. Of course, actually pretending to also care for that honest person would be the morally correct choice?

"What had happened? How was your day?"

"Well, the thing is--"

Jonathan didn't even get a chance to say why he was not in pleasant mood. His boss had called over to him to get back to work. There were quite a few customers waiting to get their orders of ice cream. Jonathan had to force a smile on his face as he got up to his feet and he glanced back down at Darius.

"Sorry. Looks like I won't have time to talk to you, Darius. So I'll give you a text later. See you later."

Then he got back to work. Man. He really couldn't get a break.

((Jonathan Gulley continued elsewhere))

Oh well, Darius avoided a personal conversation without even trying, so that's a cool thing. More time to concentrate on playing on his cellphone while he waited for his banana split.

Darius sometimes considered also working somewhere to gain more money, but nah. Especially not at the Ice Cream Parlor. It was not necessary and way too stressful. You just can't get a break.

((Darius Van Dyke continued in A Magnet For Trouble))