Volunteering. Boo. So boring, so unoriginal. My dad thinks having money means he has to become a politician, apparently. And by extension, the rest of the family has to act like model citizens, like good Samaritans who volunteer on the weekends. 

I would much rather go shopping with my friends than pick up trash on the beach. What’s the point of having all this money if I have to do the jobs I could pay other people to do? When I told my dad that, he scoffed at me like a hypocrite. I know he would much rather be playing golf right now, but he’s really committed to acting like a good person, at least on the weekends. 

I must have made a face while picking up a nasty old napkin, because I can see my dad motioning disapprovingly for me to smile. I can almost hear him saying; “Audrey, smile”, in that disapproving way that he always does. There are cameras here after all. Volunteering without a camera team wouldn’t count, now would it. If you don’t have pictures of you being a good person, how will anyone know that you are one? So, I put on my best capitalist smile. I’m just so happy to be here, picking up shit, is what I’m trying to convey to the camera. I think I’m succeeding because my dad doesn’t make any more disapproving gestures. 

So here I am, cleaning up some random beach. Because I’m a good daughter, I’m rich and beautiful, I’m polite and such a good girl. Or that’s what my dad wants everyone to think. And I play along. I play along because he pays for my university tuition, my new car, my shopping and my apartment. And he loves to remind me of that and how easy it would be for him to cut me off. Dad of the year, really. 

My face hurts from smiling. Can the camera crew just leave already? Feels like we’ve been here for hours. I need to find a way to sneak away for a break. Maybe if I move slowly towards that old shack I’ll be able to get away, at least from the cameras. I doubt I’ll be able to leave completely without getting in trouble, and I’m not in the mood for a lecture about how bad it makes me look when I leave halfway through. It’s crazy that I’m still getting lectured by my dad when I’m twenty. But I guess the money is worth it, even though I don’t really get why I should have to earn the money. No rich person really earns the money they have anyway. 

I make my way towards the shack. Finally, out of view. I drop my smile as soon as I’ve double checked that no one is around. Wouldn’t want anyone gossiping about how fake my smiles are, so I have to be careful. I lean against the wall and breathe out. Nothing interesting on my phone, I can’t even reply to any messages since I’m supposed to be too busy volunteering to be on it in the first place. I’m bored, but at least I’m not in front of the camera, with that painful fake smile. 

As soon as I think that, someone walks around the corner, just my luck. Jinxed myself, should’ve knocked on wood. I flash a quick smile at the person rounding the corner, he seems to be around my age, kind of plain looking, but he has a bright smile and dimples that make him kind of attractive. I’m a sucker for a nice smile, ironically I personally hate smiling, but when I see someone with a genuine smile it instantly makes them ten times more attractive in my books. I try to put my phone away discreetly, so that he won’t tattle to anyone about how the spoiled, wannabe politician's daughter snuck away from volunteering to be on her phone. 

He doesn’t seem to notice, though. He doesn’t look like he’s here to volunteer because someone forced him or to seem like a good person. I think maybe he’s one of those people who actually volunteer because they are good people and want to help keep the ocean clean, or whatever. Apparently he’s here to get a new trash bag. I hadn’t noticed, but apparently the bags are kept in the shack. He must have finished filling one already, he does look strong, so maybe he has the energy to fill up bags more actively. I usually just stand around or walk slowly, but he looks like the kind of person who would get things done. 

I’m not usually one to start a conversation with a stranger, but oddly enough, I kind of want to. Maybe this volunteering thing could be fun after all.