The Lost Daughter

Chapter 1: Gianna

I jolt in my seat as a pen taps next to my ear insistently and my notebook is pushed onto the floor from my desk by the surprised movement of my arm,

i hear an array of snickers from my classmates watching the embarrassing interaction, my sleep-blurred vision slowly rolls up towards Miss Fernandez, her glasses perched precariously on her nose and a furious look on her face,

"I apologise Miss Everhart, is my lesson boring you?" she asks cooly, one perfectly plucked eyebrow arching,

"No, ma'am, i'm sorry," I mumble just loud enough for her to understand, averting my gaze to my, now shaking, hands,

the teacher just tsks and struts away, heels clacking on the floor, before continuing to drone on, this time i make an effort to at least appear attentive to her lecture.

By the time the class is dismissed i've already zoned out, nawing on my bottom lip out of habit as i ponder whether or not i'll be able to make it to the diner on time for my shift, Terry never usually gives me the afternoon shifts, out of convenience for himself, not care for my class schedule, but today i have merely 13 minutes to do the 30 minute walk,

i slide everything into my backpack, which is in tatters, haphazardly, rushing to dive out of the classroom and wade my way through the overflowing corridors,

i get bumped and bashed more times than i can count, that only serves to aggravate my already throbbing injuries, but i manage to squeeze my way out of the wave of students and start off at a fast pace with only a slight limp,

when i see the diners obnoxious sign rising in the near distance i check the time on my battered, old phone, shit, 3:34, already 4 minutes late,

to make matters worse i can see my managers looming silhouette at the till, his meticulously coiffed pitch black hair unmistakably identifying,

i try to speed up as much as possible but my bruised body won't give, if i try going any faster i'll keel over,

i surrender to my fate as i dash in the employee entrance juggling my phone and bag as i struggle to tie the bright yellow apron around myself, i spare a quick glance at Tom as he stands at the grill, then dropping my belongings in the non-functioning locker and compose myself before walking through the door,

the side eye that Terry gives me is reprimanding and promises a write up but i don't have time to worry about that as i head to the counter and grab the still steaming dishes, checking the tickets briefly so i can head to the right tables,

i apologise for the wait and plaster a shy smile onto my face, table 7 reassures me it was no issue but table 3 is less forgiving, all i get is a curt nod and a dismissive swipe,

i float around the diner endlessly for the next 5 hours the monotony of the work encouraging me to slow down and drag my feet despite it not being an option, we get busiest around 6 with all of the people who were just relieved from their 9-5's flooding in for a desperately needed coffee and warm meal,

i try my best not to mess anything up, knowing how temperamental Tom is when it gets busy, and because of the watchful eye of my manager that is following me around, scrutinising my every move,

when my shift is finally over i sigh heavily in relief, peeling the apron off of my torso and pulling my waist length light brown hair into a loose pony tail, and wiping the sweat off of my brow,

fortunately i don't live too far from the diner and i walk home at a calm stroll, i didn't get much in tips, especially after Terry took his cut, but it's enough to keep Jenna and Riley off my back,

i don't call them mum and dad after they discouraged me from doing so when i was younger, that was the first memory i have of them being truly abusive to me,