One Broke Girl Read Online Free Page A

mind…”
    “By all means,” he said as he backed away, hands in the air. “Please, continue.” But he didn’t leave the area. He just watched me in silence while I served the next kid.
    “These potatoes are lumpy and look funny,” the girl said in a high-pitched whine.
    It was so hard to keep the fake smile plastered on my face. “It’s homestyle. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”
    Gavin huffed a small laugh, but I refused to look at him.
    I thrust my chin higher in the air and urged the kid along.
    “I’ll see you later,” Gavin said to me softly. The almost verbal caress of his voice drew my attention to those potent green eyes.
    The air caught in my throat, and I could feel my pulse flutter madly.
    “Oh, and Anna?”
    “Yeah?” I was a bit embarrassed by how breathy I sounded.
    “You have mashed potatoes in your hairnet.” With that, he walked off.
    It was too bad the earth couldn’t just swallow a person whole. I was forced to stay in line and serve the rest of the kids, though I was desperate to run off and fix my hair. When the last kid got his food, I ran to the back, grabbed a mirror out of a purse and found a lump of potatoes right behind my ear.
    Wonderful. I couldn’t even imagine how that had happened.
    I funneled all my frustration into cleaning the countertops and washing dishes as my coworkers took care of garbage disposal and other tasks before they exited the kitchen one by one, leaving me alone. For once, I didn’t internally complain about the grunt work. It was mindless enough to help me work out my irritation.
    Stupid Gavin and his stupid smug grin. Not all of us could be as fortunate as he was to finish our stupid degrees and get stupid secure jobs. Scrub scrub. By the time I finished, the stainless steel was spotless and gleaming. I had to admit there was something to be said for actually seeing the fruits of your labor. Mom would be proud.
    The offhand thought just flew into my head, and my mood soured again. It was all her fault everything had gone so badly. And yet…a tiny part in the back of my head nagged me. If Dad and I hadn’t been so reliant upon her and her money, it wouldn’t be this bad for us. We could have had our own nest egg to fall back on.
    I tossed the sponge into the sink and sighed as I gripped the edge of the bowl. This whole situation was so messed up. And the worst part was…I missed her. Despite how much she’d hurt me and Dad, despite the deep anger and pain wrestling in my heart, I missed my mom.
    And that made me feel dumber than ever, because who would miss a person who’d broken her heart and cheated on her father?
    I put away the supplies, flicked off the lights and practically ran out of the school. A quick glance at my phone confirmed I was right on time.
    I hopped on my bike and pedaled down Main Street. I pulled my bike into a rack, locked it and walked the rest of the way to a quaint coffee shop, where I was supposed to meet the girls in a few minutes. It was hard to shake off that lingering sadness, but I made myself.
    Right now I wanted to be happy. I needed one afternoon of feeling like a regular human being.
    Before I entered, I grabbed my phone and shot Fiona a quick text. Hope you’re doing well. How are classes? I hit send and sighed as I tucked it back into my pants. She’d stopped being so livid with me when I’d found her a replacement roommate, but our relationship had changed. I rarely heard from her now. It was like once I’d left the city, I’d ceased existing.
    Well, maybe she was swamped with school work. I remembered all too well how many nights we’d spent in the campus library, freaking out over papers due the next morning.
    Man, what I’d give to have that chaos back.
    The door to the coffee shop dinged as I entered, and the rich scent of java hit me right in the happy spots. I couldn’t help but smile, breathe deeply. The room was large with wooden tables scattered around. People chatted in small clusters,