A GRAIN OF HOPE

Chapter 3

I made it to work on time with just one minute to spare. I clocked in and started my day off. The whole time at work, I would continually  look over my shoulder feeling paranoid. I was under the impression that I was being followed or stalked. That night, at the end of my shift I served my last customer. When I went to clean the table I found a two hundred dollar tip left on the  table. My eyes grew big with excitement. I was shocked, creped, confused, and happy all at the same time. I kept thinking in my head it must have been a mistake so before leaving my job I waited to see if anybody would come back and realize they left a two hundred dollar tip. No one ever showed up, and I  was happy they didn't. I felt like the luckiest person in the world. Then I began to think who would leave me a two hundred dollar tip and why. I tried to think of the last person I served and I couldn't. Typical me not to remember faces at my job. I tried to get through my day as fast as possible. I started to think of ways to spend the two hundred dollars. After I payed my rent and Water bill with my regular check I would have at least sixty dollars left over to get food. With the two hundred dollars I could get the light bill turned on for one hundred and twenty dollars and still have eighty dollars left over. Instead of spending the rest of that money I could just save it in case things got to tough for me. While walking home I started to smile at the idea I wouldn't half to go to the gas station just to clean myself, i could just do it at home, and the fact I wouldn't half to sit in the dark for the rest of the month.  I walked inside of the apartment and locked all the hinges on the door.  I went and took off my work clothes and put on my sweat pants and tank top. I didn't half to work tomorrow which means I got to sleep in the next morning.

The next day

The next morning I woke up around nine o'clock. I got dressed ant went to the gas station to clean myself. After I finished I went and picked up my check from the job. I cashed it and went to pay the bills. I went grocery shopping later on that that day. While walking around in the store I got a weird feeling that someone kept staring at me. I looked around but I never seen anybody that could be watching me. I pushed my grocery bucket to the bread isle. There I seen a light skinned man with dreads . It looked like he had on a black shirt and some jeans from the distance I was standing. I stared at him and didn't realize I was staring. He turned around and looked at me and smiled then walked off. I never had a cute man to smile at me just to smile. I watched him as he walked away. Then I got a feeling inside of me , feeling as if I wasn't good enough for anybody. I always had low self- esteem. I walked off holding my head down and paid for my grocery's then headed home. On the way home i passed by a group of boys sitting on a  dusty stairway in front of a dirty old building smoking weed. They were dressed in some of the latest fashions that everyone seemed to be wearing these days, well except me of course. I tried to walk quickly by them without giving the impression that i knew that they were sitting there. One of the boys started whistling at me as if i were a dog of some kind. I ignored there foolishness and kept walking. By me ignoring them didn't make the situation any better. One boy creeped up behind me grabbing my shoulder saying, " Aye bitch didn't you hear us calling you". I looked up at the boy without saying a word. I started to shake when i felt the boys hand move down to my waist. I looked away and he replied " that's a good little bitch. I felt helpless i knew what was going to happen at this point.  He gripped my arm and started to pull me into the old dirty building.