After Class

Chapter 5

The weekend passed like any other. On Saturday, I flung myself into unpacking my room. I wanted to feel as much like my room as possible before I started work. Saturday was also spent realizing that Holly had a well rounded life. She was gone most of the day and it would seem that we wouldn't see much of her. 

Then there was Edward. He had grumpily waited for me to get out of the bathroom that morning. Muttering something about having a brunch date or something. 

And I had been left alone. Which wasn't a bad thing. Like I said, my room was very much mine now that I was all moved in. Everything had a place now and it gave me a sense of order and control. 

Sunday, I went to church. Kayden met me in the parking lot and we sat together. Being in the familiar space reminded me of the things I loved about this city. I didn't recall much of the sermon since my thoughts bounced around my head like an echo in an empty room. 

By that evening, I was almost nervous for my first day back in the caf. I wasn't sure why, after all, I could do this job in my sleep. 

Even so, after I put together my clothes for the next day and then set an alarm (despite that I was literally going in at eleven) I sat down on my bed and sighed. I could do this. I've done this before. I've been doing this since I was fifteen. It's fine. 

I stared hard at the wall before shaking my head. I grabbed out my sketch book and decided to paint a stupid little painting to help my stupid mental health. An hour later, I had a half assed art piece and I was sleepy enough to actually rest. 

I woke up early the next morning for no apparent reason. Then I heard Edward humming to himself through the wall. I rolled over and started at my ceiling. My day would start with breakfast, then I wanted to do something homework-y to get myself in the habit and after that it would be work all day long. 

It wasn't a bad schedule and once I finally got up, I was looking forward to it. I showered, braided my hair back and made myself a smoothie. By the time Edward even came out of his room, I was curled up on the couch with my laptop making a list of the textbooks that I may or may not need for my classes. 

He shook his head at me yet again, "Always busy huh?" I didn't bother answering him as he wandering into the kitchen and grabbed something. Then he waved at me, "I'm off to work. See you later." 

I smiled, "Yeah, have a good day." 

Before I knew it, it was time to go. I grabbed my backpack filled with anything I might need, or not, and headed out the door. 

The drive was a short ten minutes and lucky for me the traffic was basically nothing at this time of day. And the parking lot was empty because nobody had moved back on campus yet. 

I felt the stress that had been brewing start to fizzle as I took in the campus. This had been home for the past four years, nothing really made it different now. 

I trotted on up to the food service door and stepped inside. A familiar face sat behind the desk and I grinned, "Hey Isla."

The woman glanced up and then back to her paperwork, "Hey Penny." Then she looked up again, "Penny!" Without a second thought she jumped up and gave me a hug. 

I giggled, "I almost thought you weren't going to even notice I was back." The sound of my voice brought out the rest of the crew. All of them laughing, hugging me, and talking over each other. 

Finally, Peggy pulled me to the corner of the office, "Your desk." 

I grinned, "Wow, now I really feel like part of the family."

Peggy nodded, "You are. Do whatever you want to the desk, you've seen all of ours. Make yourself at home. Now, you're sure you're ready for this?"

I shrugged and looked at her expectantly, dropping my bag on the chair of my desk. Peggy nodded again, "Okay, the meal plans are already set in place and so is the ordering. All you have to do is cook for the first month."

I crossed my arms, "So what's the catch, you're looking at me like I should be upset about something."

Peggy sighed, "I just feel bad for throwing you into this position without any real training." 

I stopped her, "Hey, I've worked here before. The only thing you need to teach me is how to lock up because I couldn't do that as a student." I let my arms drop to my sides, "I'm not saying that there won't be any mistakes, but it's not like you're just throwing me to the woods here either." 

Peggy shook her head at me, "You amazing me girl. Alright, let's pretend for a hot second that you've never worked here before and let me give you a tour of the kitchen and what staff we've got." 

As I followed Peggy through the kitchen, saying hi to the staff, I felt the rest of my anxiety slip away. This was home.