Taken by the Ice King

Ep2: Daphne

I sit and watch the clock tick by in the old antiques shop I work for. I'm caught between two evils. I want time to pass quickly so I can get to the end of this shift and leave this hellhole. But I know as soon as I'm done, it's out of the frying pan into the fire. I do not want to go to this party. As much as I want to make Sonya happy, I don't want to endure the pity stares from the people in town.

It's hard enough having a sad shell of a father. It's much worse when everyone knows you have a sad shell of a father. You would think I would be used to it by now. The whispers, the sideways glances, and worse... The pity. I know I'm the girl that showed up in clothes with holes and in shoes that were two sizes too small. I didn't know how to do my hair other than a ponytail until Sonya taught me when we were 16. I was the kid that only ate at school all the time because the only time I ate at home was when I cooked for myself. I burnt Ramen so much that, quite frankly, it put me off the noodle packets all together.

A sound pulls me out of me reliving my childhood. I look up from the counter to see the last person I want to see. My manager. While I love the older couple who own this store, I question their judgment when it comes to hiring sometimes. Some of my coworkers are great while others are complete nightmares. Then there is Jimmy. THE worst of the worst. I can smell his overwhelming teenage appropriate body spray that clashes with his middle-age loser appearance.

He looks like how you would expect a sleazeball to look. Short, pudgy at the waist with knobby arms and legs, wears pants that are too short and too high on his waist, a thinning hairline that he refuses to let go of so it's just a huge thinning comb over. Then his teeth. God gag me. I want to yak just thinking about them.

Yellow, jagged, for sure doesn't brush. Floss? Never heard of her. Mouthwash? The horror. His skin is oily and super dry at the same time. It really is hard to look at him because, honestly, if he put just a smidgen of effort in, he probably would look okay instead of like a creep that likes to hang out at playgrounds. A creepy, crooked, ill-intent smile drags along his face as he approaches me.

"Daphne, darling, I'm afraid you need to stay after and do inventory with me. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get overtime," he says as he winks at me. I resisted the urge to physically recoil from him, but I smiled my best customer service smile.

"Jimmy, I hate to inform you, but I cannot stay as I have plans that cannot be changed on such short notice. And I have asked you to not call me darling." His ears begin to go from their usual red to purple, and so I know a fight is coming.

"If you would like to continue your employment here, then you need to reconsider staying after your shift. Besides, we both know you don't actually have plans. That would require you to actually have friends. And we all know that no one wants to be friends with little old you." Oh, if I could pick him up and throw him against a wall, I would! That low life rat of a man!

"If you would like to continue having a face, I suggest you get out of mine! I quit this trash heap! Consider this my resignation effective immediately!" I throw off my apron and name tag and stalk to the back room to collect my things. I hear his scurried footsteps coming after me and I roll my eyes.

"Jimmy, it's time for you to leave me alone if you know what is good for you!" I say as I sit down on the bench to open my locker. His ever annoying presence tells me he doesn't intend to take my advice.

"Daphne, don't be unreasonable. What place would hire you after a display like this? You need this place." I ignored him and continued packing my things. There aren't many options in this small town, but maybe I can borrow a car from someone and get a job in the next town over. I'll figure it out. It's the end of my employment, not the end of the world. As I'm deep in thought, he sneaks out his nasty, clammy hand and places it on my forearm.

"You need me, Daphne," that gross smile comes across his face again. I rip my arm out of his slimy grasp, causing him to fall backwards on his nonexistent ass. He grunts and looks at me like I'm the one that has done something wrong.

"You pushed me! That's assault!" I rolled my eyes.

"You grabbed me, that's assault. I was defending myself asshole. Now leave me alone. I'm out." I threw my keys to the shop at him and walked out. I'll call the owners later and explain the situation. I know they like me but probably not as much as Jimmy, for whatever reason. I'm not the first person that has quit because of him.

As I storm off angry in the snow, my phone starts to buzz. I pull it out and look at the screen. Sonya. Crap I forgot all about the party. She is going to be so disappointed in me. Better get this over with.

"Hey Son, what's up?"

"Hey girl! I have your dress and everything all laid out! All I need is the belle of the ball to show up so we can have fun!"

"Look, I am really sorry, but I just can't. I appreciate it so much, but I really can't."

"No, no way are you backing out on me now. You are supposed to be on your way here!"

"I know but look Son, I had a super bad day and I just need a minute."

"Then you can take a minute on your way here, Daph, but you are still coming."

"Son... I quit my job." A long, very long silence comes over the phone. I must have really pissed her off. I get ready to start to apologize when a scream comes through the phone.

"OH MY GOD! NO WAY! Please tell me you are serious!" Wait... She sounds happy? Not what I imagined, but I'll go with it.

"I'm serious. Are you happy about this? You realize I'm unemployed now, right?" Saying it out loud starts to send me to a dark place. I literally have no idea where I can go to work.

"Girl, that place was soul sucking. You needed to leave like 6 months ago. Okay, where are you? I'm grabbing my keys and coming to get you. We have to celebrate!" No, no. I don't want her to see me like this.

"It's okay. I'm at my apartment. We can celebrate another time, okay?" Please, please just let this go.

"Oh absolutely not. 1. You owe me. 2. You need to celebrate. And 3. You need to talk with my dad. I'll be there in 10, so wash your face and put on some deodorant. Shave if you haven't in a while. Love you!" She hung up just as I got to my door. Great. Not only do I have to get ready, but I have to rush too.

I open my door, and I'm greeted by my portly cat, Mr. Pepperington, Pepper or Peps for short. He is an orange Maine Coon mix I found in the dumpster one day. He is a lazy, loving, and just a little dumb freeloader. But he has brought me a lot of joy in the past couple months. I love him to death. I feed him real quick and clean his litter box before stepping into the bathroom.

God, that's what I really look like? Geez. I think I need to catch up on my sleep. My dark circles are becoming permanent residents on my face. My hair is windblown and looks atrocious. I sigh deeply before washing my face and putting on some moisturizer. Peps comes into the bathroom with me and watches me at I brush my hair. He purrs and blinks at me slowly. I swear he knows when I have a hard day. I can't imagine life without him now.