A Light in the Dark

Chapter 19

She had nearly fainted when she had looked at her bank account. She had certainly seen the typical black dots that had suddenly clouded her vision as she looked at the small amount of money that was supposed to cover her costs for this month. Her trip to Miami with Lauren last week hadn't helped at all. Or the weekend she had spent with Lauren and her friends before that. At the time it had seemed like fun and a good idea, but now she was missing a significant income from her shifts at the diner.

So, she had decided that she would postpone her plan to woo Lauren for a little while. If she couldn't even afford to live, how would she be able to pay for a date or something similar? It wasn't possible.

And that was why she found herself in the late night hours at the rundown diner in the somewhat questionable neighborhood.

"Hey hot stuff! A burger and your phone number, please!" a guy yelled from the booth in a corner, causing his friends to hoot with laughter.

She gritted her teeth and slowly walked over to them. If it was one thing she hated, it were drunk guys who didn't seem to have any boundaries or manners. But it paid. She had to remember that.

"Hello and welcome to Ed's Diner," Camila repeated the words for the, probably, millionth time and with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "What can I get you?"

"Well," a man with a scruffy beard squinted his eyes to read the name of her tag. "Camila. I'd like your phone number and maybe a night or two with you, depending on how good you are."

Camila held back a snarky reply. It wouldn't do her any good and she really needed this job.

"Is there anything you would like that is actually on our menu?" she asked as politely as she could and his friends hollered.

"Aw, you're no fun, sweetheart," the man answered pouting. "But yeah, five cheeseburgers with fries."

She scribbled the order down. "What would you like to drink?"

"Your little pussy," another man called out and Camila tried not to grimace as the others started hooting again.

She glanced around and saw some of the other guests looking their way, some were even frowning sympathetically and shaking their heads. It was good to know that not all of her costumers were creeps.

Camila tapped lightly with her pen against the small notepad in her hand while she waited for the others to calm down. "Five cheeseburgers with fries, will that be all?"

"And your phone number!" the first guy hollered, bringing the group into hysterics once again.

"Right..." she muttered and went to the entrance of the kitchens.

"What's going on?"

Camila looked up as she ripped the note out and handed it to her boss, Jimmy Edwards. He was in his fifties and seemed very intimidating with his muscles and stature. But he could be nice if he wanted to.

"Just some drunk idiots," she explained and looked over her shoulder.

"Are they giving you shit?" he enquired, frowning at the guys in the booth.

"Not more than usual." Camila shrugged. "As long as they only use their words, it's okay. Not an ideal situation, but it pays, right?"

"Hm..." Jimmy shook his head and looked down at the piece of paper. "There was someone asking for you. I told her you were working, but she's very consistent. Sent her to a booth in the back. Mary is going to take over your costumers. Just don't take too long, ya hear me?"

Camila raised her eyebrows in surprise. No one ever visited her at work. Well, until now, she supposed. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just go. That girl is annoying as shit. I want her out of here as soon as possible, ya hear?"