Hummingbird

Two - A Gift You Can't Return

First day of work was pretty good. Customers came in every so often, Jackie said to me that we don't get a lot of new customers, usually only regulars that like the pizza and have been coming here for years. I got to meet some of them, an old Navy friend of Jackie and a married couple that came directly to Jackie's Pizza to celebrate their fourteenth anniversary. I also got to meet Jackie's daughter: Melissa. She was a thin, bespectacled girl that always wore the same hoodie: a light grey zip-up with blue stripes going down the arms. She looked about 18, and her hair was cut neatly to her collarbone. She looked very introverted, but I tried to make conversation with her while we were on the job.

She was cleaning one of the tables while I was refilling the napkin containers at each booth and table. Eventually I got to her table and I tried to talk to her.

"Hey." I greeted.

She looked up, then back at the table. I caught a glimpse of her eyes, she was nervous.

"Oh, hi." She replied quietly.

"I'm Julia." I held out my hand to shake hers.

"Melissa." She shook my hand, and tried at a smile. She obviously isn't much for talking to people by the way she spoke.

"Need help with the tables?" I offered.

"Oh," she looked around. She blushed slightly, probably thinking that she must've been working slowly. "No, it's fine. I got it." She chuckled towards the end of that sentence, like she was reassuring me to not worry about it.

The rest of the week was pretty slow, and I got paid decently, Jackie wasn't cheap but he wasn't all that generous either, so when he paid me, it was a fair 9.50 an hour. Eventually, Jackie offered me to be on delivery duty, since I have my motorcycle. He said he'd raise my pay by another fifty cents and I'd be taking tips, so I accepted.

And for a while, work was fine. Jackie wasn't rude or bossy, he was just a guy. He would be friendly when business was slow, but when work needed to be done, he wanted it done. And deliveries were mostly uneventful.
Mostly, of course means that not all of them went smoothly.

This one delivery took me to a nicer part of town. They called it Smiling Grove because of all the wealthy people hid their distaste for anyone below them through a fake smile. They mostly lived in gated communities, but that's not where I was going. I was going to a very big, very expensive, hotel. A hotel that stood high above the surrounding businesses.

The Hotel Plutus was a large triangular building, the top floor was dominated by enormous windows and bright white lights. While the lobby entrance was a slew of fountains, intricate marble statues and colorful flora lining the windows. I parked my motorcycle and went in, pizza in hand. I walked up to the front desk where a contemptuous looking woman eyed me as I approached.

"Hi, I'm here to deliver a pizza." I said in the most normal, non-disrespectful voice I could. To which the woman simply raised an eyebrow and nodded to the right, were the elevators were.

"Don't steal anything." She said shrewdly.

What? I was wearing my clean work shirt, my orange jacket I always took care of and I took a shower that morning. Did I look like I needed to steal anything? I rolled my eyes at her and walked towards the elevators.

The address said to deliver to room 1044. The elevator whirred and shot up the elevator shafts quicker than any elevator I've ever been in. The stop was so abrupt, that I almost let go of the pizza. Getting out of the deathtrap, I walked down the quiet hallways and arrived at the room. I knocked twice, announced the restaurant slogan and waited for an answer.