Ultraviolence

Lo siento

You didn't get much sleep last night, yet the few hours you had managed to drift off had felt like the most peaceful night's rest you've had in a long time. You actually did it! You messaged him! And he replied almost instantly! You still can't believe it. But now you're stuck on what to do. You want to look cute when he comes to pick you up, but he's picking you up from work. So in your eyes you have three options.

A. Do your hair and makeup now. This way you can take your time on making sure it looks good. The downside: it has a high chance of well, not looking as good after 9 hours of walking around steaming oil and greasy food.
B. You take your makeup with you and quickly freshen up as soon as you finish your shift. Probably won't look as good, but at least you won't look like a melted popsicle.
C. No makeup at all. This really isn't an option, actually. You look in the mirror. Jesus, it looks like you died ten days ago. Never mind option C.

B it is. You'll take the risk.
Now for an outfit. You don't want to come off as a try-hard. You rub your head as you mentally walk through your closet. It's supposed to be a really sunny day today. Last thing you want is huge pit stains. What if he wants to hug you? Not that he's given any indication that he might do that, but still. You pick out a pair of shorts and a snug fitting t-shirt. Keeping it casual. You'll just keep wearing your Converse, those never look bad.

You brush your hair, pack your bag and off you go. It's gonna be a long day until 6 o'clock, you already know it.
The fact that it's your turn to work a kitchen shift makes it ten times worse. You hate. Hate. Hate! Kitchen shifts. The heat, the humidity, the raw chicken, the batter, it makes you nauseous. Sure, fried chicken smells good. But after 9 hours?

There's only one positive thing about working a kitchen shift, you have to wear a head cap. Looks super ugly, but at least your hair will still smell like your lavender shampoo when Lalo gets here. Your stomach flutters as you think about tonight. You're actually really looking forward to it. It'll be fun to spend an evening with someone new. With someone at all. You don't mind living alone, you don't even mind not really having friends. It's when you notice how other people of your age are spending their days that you start questioning your way of living. Moments like those is when you actually feel lonely.

As you expected, the day went by slower than ever. Nothing interesting happened, except for you dropping a bucket of batter. That resulted in you having to mop the floor for like half an hour. Luckily Mr. Fring isn't in today. You haven't seen him much at all this week, now you think about it. Must have a busy life.

It's 3:30 and you're on your last break. You're literally counting the hours, or more like counting the minutes until the clock hits 6. You're planning on sneaking out 10 minutes early to have some more time to spend on your hair and makeup. You find yourself really wanting to impress Lalo. You blush at the thought of yourself sitting in the passenger's seat of his Chevrolet. You're still really nervous, though. You don't know if you can call whatever you guys are going to do tonight a date, but that doesn't change the fact that you've never been on one. You mean, if you don't count the play dates back in middle school. It's not that you didn't want a boyfriend, you just never got the chance. Boys weren't really into you in high school and you weren't into them either. College, same thing. You were a young student. You'd skipped a grade, leaving you always being younger than all the others. You were 17 when you graduated high school and now, fresh out of college, you're 21.

You sip on your Coke and eat your granola bar. You basically have to force feed yourself on days like this. With the kitchen making you nauseous and the nerves tying your stomach up in knots, the last thing you want it food. At least you'll be able to get a taste of -apparently- New Mexico's best tacos. You smile when you think about it.