Dad looked up from his computer when he heard the door to the printery open.
"Hey, honey." He smiled as he closed the laptop. "How was your first day?"

I was still all smiles. The day was great. Alice and I had so much fun. She was doing chemical engineering, I was doing biochem. So, obviously, we shared many course units.
"It was so good, dad. I met a friend from high school too."

"That's great, honey. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, dad. Do you need help with anything?"

"Not at the moment. I have everything under control." He shook his head and gestured towards his office. "Why don't you go and talk to your sister? She said that she can't wait to hear all about your first day."

I took the laptop from him and walked to his office. It was at the back, separated from the printery by plywoods. Dad usually occupied it while I sat at the front desk and handled the customers.
I dialed Jenna on video call and not a second later, a face like mine popped on the screen.

"Hi, you." She greeted. "Wow! You took my advice, huh?"

"Your advice?"

"Yes! You cut your hair short. You look exactly like me when I was in high school."

"Dad said the same thing."

"He's right. Short hair suits you, Jean. Even better than me."

"That's not true," I protested. Jenna could rock anything. Even a bald head. "You look good with anything."

Jenna snorted. "What does that even mean? We look exactly the same."

"You just look better, okay?"

"Whatever." She waved me off. "How was your first day? Any cute boys? Any invites to frat parties? Spill!"

"You know dad would never let me go to a party even if I was invited," I whispered. Dad would never let me. I was his little girl. Not that I'd ever thought about parties of anything.

"What about cute boys?"

"Well..."

"There's someone already? This is exciting. Who's he?"

"Chase Johnson," I mumbled

"Oh." Her smile fell. "Him again? What's so good about that guy? You've been obsessed with him like for what? Two years? Does his heart pump liquid gold?"

"Jenna! Don't say that. Maybe this is a sign."

"Nope. That won't do." She shook her head. "I don't want to see you cry every time he gets another girlfriend. Which he is allowed to do because he doesn't know that you exist, later on like you."

"What if I get him to notice me?"

"Really?" Jenna burst out laughing. "No offense, Jean. But what exactly do you know about wooing a guy?"

"And that's what you're here for, Jenna. Help me!"

She was hesitant at first. I could understand where she was coming from but that didn't mean that I was going to halt my plans. Jenna wasn't like me. Getting guys to notice her wasn't hard. Somehow, she was like a people magnet. She made heads turn when she walked in rooms.
"Alright. And this is only because I'm tired of your one-sided crush on that boy." She finally gave in. "Here's the plan-"

I was smiling from one ear to another by the time I finished my call to Jenna. The smile must have creeped my dad out because he gave me a weird look and asked, "what got you smiling like that?"

"I just love talking to Jenna."

"I don't believe that, but whatever you two are up to, please let it be legal," he warned. "Anyway, you don't need to wait up today. You go ahead and make dinner. I'll close."

"But I want to help."

"I know you do. But it's your first day and I'm guessing that you might be tired. Plus, the day is kind of slow. There's not much to do."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He nodded and bent to check in the drawer. "I also have something for you."

"What is it?"

Out of the drawer came a box. "This."

I stared back at my dad with wide eyes. I didn't expect it. He got me a phone. And not any other phone. A Samsung brand I'd been looking at since forever.
"Wow, dad. This is- oh my God. How did-".

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. I really do," I cried out and rushed to hug him. He opened his arms and wrapped them around me. Hugging dad was like having a warm fluffy blanket. "Thanks, dad.".

"It's alright." He rubbed my back. "Take care of it, will you?"

"I will. More than anything."

I left the printery shortly after that and headed home. It was a short distance, like ten-minute walk at most. Dad and I lived on an apartment complex. The apartment was nothing fancy or big for that matter. Sometimes, the pipes leaked, power got disconnected, garbage disposal forgot about us and let garbage accumulate for weeks. But it was affordable and we were comfortable there. I knew that dad was saving money for a new house but honestly, I'd go anywhere if my dad was there. The two of us were inseparable since childhood. He called me his little girl, I called him my old man.

The first person I called on my new phone was Jenna. She squealed and told me that with the new phone, our plan was definitely going to succeed. I called Alice next. Having given me her number, I'd promised to call her on my dad's phone. She too was excited and ranted about how happy she was to finally have someone she could send chemistry memes to.

My first say was going great. I was happy. I was loving it. I was hoping that it'd go on like that. But that's wishful thinking.

Dad came back from the printery for dinner. As soon as he sat down, he announced that he had something to say.
"I realized that with you being at uni almost all day, Monday to Friday, I should probably get extra hands at the printery."

"Dad-"

"I hired someone today."

That went from one hundred to zero real fast.