Lost in You

Chapter 3

"Yes, the gluten-free bread is in the left basket. As the label says," I say and turn to the empty milk jug. Service. Of course it had to be service, the one thing I had hoped to avoid, even if it means another shift pushing cleaning cards through the long corridors, the wheels sinking into the thick carpets and making the pushing harder. As much as I complained about it yesterday, I'd rather be on a quiet floor than in the echoing breakfast room right now. I've lost Maja during the first ten minutes when the first guests arrived at the buffet and then a man I don't know pushed a basket with fresh bread in my hands. Since then it looks like I am responsible to fill the buffet and answer all kinds of questions that I am not qualified to answer. No one prepared me for this. "Do you have free milk?" There's no such thing as completely fat-free milk. But the water is right there. I swallow the response and turn to the woman with a sweet smile. "This is 1.5% fat, the lowest we have," I say and point to the other jug of milk. The woman eyes it suspiciously but doesn't seem to have more questions. I use the moment to get to the kitchen. When I push the door open, a mixture of hot steam, food scents and laughter hits me. "There you are! I thought I lost you," I say when I see Maja standing at the sink, elbow-deep in bubbles and chatting with the chef. "That's not possible. As if they'd let me go on a morning like this. New milk is over there, leave the jug with me." Maja snatches the empty jug out of my hands and points to one already filled and waiting on a table next to the door. "What I need is to swap with you. The guests keep asking questions that I don't have the answer to but need to look like I do." Maja grins. "Then I'm glad it's you, not me." I glower at her and she sighs. "Seriously. You got this. Use it as a practice for our marketing class and see if you can get someone to eat something they didn't want before and like it as too." I grin back. "If I manage three, we switch tomorrow morning," I say. Maja's eyes start to gleam. "If you don't, you have to do breakfast as long as it takes you to get three." "Deal. Start learning all the jam ingredients by heart for tomorrow, you're going to need it." I take the fresh jug of milk and walk into the breakfast room again, driven by a new challenge. I put down the milk and look around for my first victim. A little girl is standing in front of the cereals and seems to not be sure which to take. I put on a smile and saunter over to her. "Can I help you?" I ask and crouched down next to her while looking around. Her parents were nowhere to be seen or at least didn't pay attention to their daughter who stares at the cereal options with a grave look. "There are too many options," she complains and my smile widens. This is too easy. I should feel guilty that my first victim is a child, but then again there is a lot of marketing going to children and Maja never specified what kind of person I have to convince. "What would you usually take?" I ask. "Chocolate or honey crisps," she says right away. I tip my finger to my lips as if I needed to think about her answer. "You know I love the one with the many dried fruits in it." The girl scrunches her nose. "I'm not sure I would like that. Isn't it sour?" "Well, you could mix it with the chocolate one. Then you'd try something new but it will still be sweet. And isn't trying something new what a holiday is all about?" The girl cocks her head to the side. "I think honey crisps would fit better with it. I still want hot chocolate," she says after a moment in pure, childish logic."As you wish. Do you need my help getting it?" I ask while the girl already reaches over the counter to fill her bowl. Half of the cereal spills over the counter, but she shakes her head. When she reaches for the milk jug that I just brought in, filled to the brim, I don't ask and simply grab it for her. If she spills all the milk, I'd be the one who has to clean it again. "Thank you." The girl does seem glad that she didn't need to lift the heavy jug herself. "Of course. Tell me how you like the cereal that we put together." She nods eagerly and zig-zags back to the table where her parents are bowed over a map. I wipe my hands on my apron. One down, two more to go, I think. "Does everyone get a personal recommendation here," a warm voice asks behind me. I spin and it takes both of us a moment to understand. "You're the girl from yesterday," the man says. The ski jumper whose glove I saved. Who turned around a second time to look back at me. I'm not sure why my heart skips at the thought. I don't know that guy. I force myself to put on the smile for the guests that I practiced all morning. "Only if you need it." He shrugs. "What would you recommend me then?" Another victim. Instead of thinking about the fact that my heart started to beat faster since he started to talk to me, I decided to focus on my mission and scan his plate. All healthy things and not too much of it either, so I take a wide shot. "Chocolate." As expected, he doesn't look too happy about the suggestion. "I do need to fit into my suit for the rest of the season." I nod slowly. He has a point, but it means I'm on the right track to win this challenge if I get him to choose something unhealthy but delicious. "What about that guy? He looks like he belongs to you guys and he just chose a chocolate croissant. Then a small bowl of chocolate cereal can't hurt you either, can it?" I tried again. Said guy looks up towards us, but doesn't say anything. The man in front of me rolls his eyes. "It's different for each of us." I bite my lip and scan the buffet again. "What about a cookie?" Now he chuckles. "You really want me to get something I shouldn't do you? It would of course give an advantage to the Germans, so maybe it's a strategy?" He looks at me as if he really considers the possibility. But then again he most likely also thinks that I know he's a threat for our jumpers and that I know his name. I decide to play along and give him a sweet smile. "Maybe that was my plan. Or maybe I happen to have bet with my friend that if I get three people to try something they haven't considered before, she has to do this job tomorrow." I'm not sure why I'd tell him, but I keep my smile in place. "You don't like it?" he asks and leans forward to reach past me. I stumble a step back at the sudden proximity of his arm to mine. "No it's fine, but I'd prefer staying in the kitchen," I say and look around again. I don't want any other staff to hear us and think I complained about the work when it's perfect for what I need. "Well you're one step closer to it." He points to the cookie on his plate and when he smiles, my heart flutters again, no matter how much I tell it not to. I swallow. "Great. I can't wait to tell her," I say, but it sounds sarcastic. He doesn't seem to be sure what to make of me either and turns around to the coffee machine. I watch him take it all black before I force myself to turn around and look for my last victim to make sure I'm in the kitchen tomorrow instead of matching my face with the tomatoes on the salad buffet. Which also makes me wonder about what kind of person takes cold salad for breakfast. Maybe I could convince that one thin man to try it.