If I Were You

Chapter 3

“Oh, you’re back!”

“Yeah, umm..”

“Think dad’s in the back.”

“Oh.. I..”

“Dadddddd!!!”

Mr. Jenkin’s youngest son shouts, calling for his dad, before Lily could even mutter a sentence.

“I’m old but I’m not deaf. Don’t shout,” Mr. Jenkin says as he hits his son’s head with a baking tray. “Good morning, Lily. A bit too early for ice cream, aren’t we? We’re not even open for business yet.” Mr. Jenkin turns towards Lily, nevertheless, his hand ready to scoop some ice cream for her.

“Oh no, wait. I didn’t come here for ice cream. Umm, about the job, can I still do it?” Lily asks a bit reluctantly.

“Are you sure?” Mr. Jenkin asks to confirm, and Lily just nods.

“Well, when can you start?”

“Today.”

“Fantastic,” Mr. Jenkin says as he hands Lily an apron and an ice scooper.

“Welcome aboard!”

As Lily stands there looking dumb with an apron in one hand and a scooper in the other, the rest of the workers cheer and clap, welcoming their new member. Right then and there, she suddenly feels like things are starting to get a little bit normal. It feels like she’s home again.

•••

“Hey, Rookie,” someone calls, but Lily knows who it is without even looking. It hasn’t even been a day, and Lily’s already regretting working there. How can a voice sound so annoying? she thought. Lily finally turns around when she feels his presence near her. Lily can just feel it. He’s just ready to get on her nerves somehow, but then suddenly that’s not the case at all. He’s just standing there, holding a cup of her favorite ice cream.

“Take a break,” he says. Lily nods as she’s about to take the ice cream from his hand.

“Oh, this is mine,” he says, and before leaving, he smirks. Yup, there it is, Lily thought.

“Bear with him. Before you, he was the rookie. He’s just enjoying bullying you for a while. He’s a nice kid, trust me,” another worker says. Lily gives him the I hope so look, and the worker just laughs, patting her on the back. “Good luck,” he continues as he leaves.

Lily walks off to the kitchen to find a place to sit. She didn’t bring anything for lunch. Hell, she doesn’t have anything at home, so she just sits there before finally deciding to make some scoops of ice cream for herself. Before she could stand from her seat, though, Mr. Jenkin’s youngest son comes and sits down opposite her.

“Here, eat this,” he says, but Lily is not buying it this time. I’m not falling for his tricks again, she thought.

“Take it,” he says as he chuckles. “Really, I’m not playing this time,” he continues, and Lily slowly takes it.

“Thanks. What about you?” Lily asks.

“I already ate mine.”

“So you got this for me?”

“Just fuckin’ eat it,” he says as he crosses his arms against his chest.

“So what do I call you?” Lily asks, curious.

“It’s Milo.”

“Milo Jenkin?”

He smiles as he nods. Lily smiles back as she glances at the sandwich in her hands and back at Milo before saying thank you. But before she could take a bite, she catches his eyes turning towards the sandwich. As he’s about to snatch it away, Lily dodges him just in time. So he gives up, side-eyeing her as he chuckles.

“Have a nice lunch,” he continues before walking away. He is a nice kid… sometimes, Lily thought. For now, her stomach is full, but she still has to put up with Milo for another four hours. He really enjoys being a pain in the ass, but aside from him, it’s not even nearly as bad.

Lily spent hours last night going through the list of phone numbers that was given by Officer Becket. To be honest, she didn’t want to work with Mr. Jenkin. It’s not that close to home. Her house sits on the far end of the neighborhood, while the ice cream shop is closer to the main town. But the thing is, there’s a high probability that Lily might see her mother again, and she isn’t ready for that. The list that Officer Becket provided also isn’t of any help at all. Everything is just too close to home. Lily wants to leave, far away from that neighborhood, but she has no money to support herself. And not in a million years will she ever depend on her mother’s credit card. So until then, Jenkin’s Ice Cream Shop is the most suitable place to be. Mr. Jenkin has known Lily since forever, and as of today, it doesn’t seem like any of the other workers are looking at her weird or are dissatisfied with her being there. At least on the outside, everyone seems to be treating her nicely.

Lily doesn’t know how many of them knew about her story, but it is more likely that the people who work here are all from this neighborhood. So there’s a high chance that everyone already knows that Lily is an ex-convict. She was underage when it happened, so any information about her or her family was never disclosed. But everyone knows. Everyone talks, especially in a small neighborhood like this. They would surely be asking, rumors spreading, about the death of the intelligent and respectful lawyer who was her father. People would be pitying the kind and gentle soul who is her mother, who would have to cope with the loss. Most importantly, people would be wondering why their daughter was sent to prison and trialed as an adult. Everything clicks. A heinous crime solved. Does it even matter anymore? Is she really the culprit? Is she actually innocent? It’s over now, and some people forget, some people don’t, and some people don’t even know who she is, Lily thought to herself.

“Hey!” a voice calls, and Lily turns towards the source in shock.

“You’ve been wiping the same table for hours,” she continues. “It’s almost closing time. Let’s go change,” she says as she takes the cloth out of Lily’s hand and gestures for Lily to follow her. “It’s Mabel, by the way,” she continues as she stretches out her hand to shake. “Lily.”

•••

“Is that it? You wore the same sweater yesterday,” Mabel asks.

“Unfortunately,” Lily just says, a little embarrassed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but why don’t you follow me? I might have some things I can give you,” Mabel suggests.

“No, it’s fine, Mabel…” Lily tries to avoid but is dragged by Mabel instead.

“Don’t fret. It’s the least I can do. We girls gotta help each other, right?” she continues as she places her arm over Lily’s shoulders. For the first time in a while, it feels like she’s met a new friend. And for the first time in a while, she actually feels a little bit happy. Lily follows Mabel out of the changing room, but just as they step out, Lily can hear Milo’s voice coming from the male’s changing room.

“Hey, let’s go eat something. I’m fuckin’ starving,” Milo says.

“You are? Didn’t you have lunch?” another male voice says.

“I wasn’t hungry,” Milo replies, and Lily finds herself smiling.

“What is it?” Mabel asks when she realizes that Lily isn’t following her.

“Nothing. Let’s go,” Lily says and continues to follow Mabel. Before they could walk out the door, though, “Hey, May, you coming with us tonight? Bring Lily along too,” Milo says as he walks towards them while adjusting his shoulder bag.

“We got other plans, boys. See you tomorrow,” Mabel answers.

“May?” Lily asks out of curiosity.

“Oh yeah. I fuckin’ hate it when he calls me that,” Mabel says. “It’s just not me, you know,” she continues as she snatches another helmet out of the compartment of her bike.

“Wow, this is yours?” Lily exclaims, only just now realizing how cool Mabel’s ride is, and Mabel just nods with a grin visible on her lips.

“I can see why you hate that name now. It’s not you at all,” Lily says.

“Uh huh. He’s the only one that dares to call me that. I’ve gotten used to it, though. It’s still annoying sometimes. Hop on,” Mabel says as she swings her leg over her bike and puts on her helmet with so much style, Lily can’t help but be amazed by the aura projecting from her.

•••

“Take this.”

“You can take this.”

“Ahhh… this will look so good on you.”

“Oh my god, this one too.”

Mabel mutters on and on as she keeps throwing clothes into a big box.

“Are you sure? This is still so new.”

“Oh my god. I can’t wear this.”

“You’re gonna have nothing left in there.”

Lily keeps picking the clothes out of the box to fold them back up. When Mabel finishes and looks into the box, there’s only a couple of things in there.

“What happened?” Mabel asks.

“This is too much. I can’t take all of this. So I’m putting it back in your closet.”

“No no no. Just take it. Take it. If you don’t like it, just throw it away,” Mabel suggests.

“What? That’s such a waste,” Lily argues.

“It’s fine. I get loads of clothes like this every month,” Mabel assures, which made Lily so confused.

“Oh, well, my sister is an influencer. You should check out her blogs sometimes. But yeah, she gets sent these all the time. Most of them she would ship to me. Now I’m giving most of them to you. Come on, build up your closet. You might like these pieces,” Mabel explains.

“Alright…” Lily finally agrees, as doubtful as ever, but at least she has clothes to change into now.

Mabel lives alone in her studio apartment, and they order takeout and eat together before Mabel drops Lily at her place.

“Mabel, why are you helping me?”, Lily asks as they reach her rundown apartment building. She was fully aware of herself and how much of a screw up she is. “Because I know you didn't mean it.”, Mabel says, looking at Lily with assuring eyes. “Someone still died because of me.”, Lily whispers. “No. He didn't die because of you. He died because it was his time. In the hospital.”, Mabel corrected to which Lily falls silent because she could still remember the sight of blood trailing off from the sharp edges of the knife and hear every drop of blood that reaches the floor.