𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: TIRED OF BEING TIRED.

As the minutes ticked by, Elara decided to start with the first easy option she could think of. Well, it wasn't easy to her, but it was the most logical. She sat down on the couch, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she stared at her phone. It glared back at her, the number of the diner. She simply had it as "work", in case she had ever needed to call out. She rarely ever called out, but it was still good to have on hand. 

She couldn't believe she was doing this. She hated that it had to come to this, but she was desperate. She had to try everything in her power, even if it meant swallowing her pride. 

She pressed dial, waiting for it to connect on the other end. She prayed like hell that it wasn't Kianna who answered first - if it was, she would probably hang up immediately.

"Hello?"

Thank god, it was Wendy. Wendy was nice, at least. But she was pretty sure they all hated her now. That didn't matter, she would have to get through it for the sake of getting some kind of work done. That was assuming this conversation went according to plan, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't. 

"Hey Wendy," Elara greeted nervously, her voice shaking as she spoke. She had hoped to seem more confident than she felt, but it seemed like that wasn't working. Here goes nothing. "Listen, I know this is weird but I'm in a really bad spot right now. I was wondering if there was any chance at all I could maybe get my old spot back? I'll talk to Kianna if I have to, but yeah. I would really appreciate it."

Elara cringed a little, and she hated that she sounded so desperate. She supposed there was no way not to in her situation, so she just had to wait to see if they were going to show her any kind of mercy. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Oh no. Even though she had braced herself for this, she felt a dreadful pit in her stomach. 

"Hey Elara," Wendy replied, her tone level and sweet as always. That was the problem, she was one of those who always sounded kind regardless of what was going on. The whole damn world could be ending and she could probably say it with a smile. "I'm really sorry to hear you're going through it, but unfortunately that's not gonna be possible. Kianna told us to tell you that if you ever called or came in here we had to let you know that you're banned, and we could get fired if we did."

Elara sighed, almost unable to believe how absurd it sounded. Banned? It was worse than she had imagined. She had anticipated awkwardness, maybe even outright refusal, but being banned was a harsh blow. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Oh, I see," she said, forcing a calm tone despite the panic rising within her. If it were anyone else, she might have snapped back and been upset, but maybe it was because Wendy had always been nice to her, so she couldn't bring herself to be a bitch back. Instead, Elara sighed in defeat. "I understand. Thanks anyway, Wendy."

"No problem, Elara," Wendy replied, her voice genuinely sympathetic. "Hey, I really hope things get better for you. Take care, okay?"

Yeah, whatever.

"Yeah, thanks," Elara mumbled before hanging up. She stared at the phone in her hand, her mind racing. What now? She had been counting on the possibility of getting her job back, but now that door was firmly closed. At least now she knew, and she could put the idea to rest. She just had to keep looking elsewhere. There were so many other options aside from just the stupid diner, but right now it felt like that was the only establishment in the world. The only thing she'd miss about that place was their special cheesy fries. She didn't know what they did to make them so damn good, but it was heavenly. 

But now was not the time for cheesy fries. As she fiddled with her phone in a nervous fidget, Elara was frustrated as she found herself coming up blank. It seemed like whenever she needed to actually think about something, she had no ideas. She needed a job as soon as possible, but everything was going to be a wait. She didn't have that kind of time. She didn't even want to think about what she was going to do when she was inevitably evicted.