Victim of Love

Chapter Two

My foot tapped anxiously as I sat in the girl's locker room. In the distance I heard girl's shouting, great. "Fish!!" "What smells like ass up in here?" "Fish!!" I shook my head as Sophomores and Juniors bounced around the meek Freshman. "Hey, will you guys let up?" They all turned to me and gave me a mean look, "Alright?". They rolled their eyes and moved on. In response I nodded at the tiny Freshman.

At the ring of the dismissal bell I jumped off of the bench and bolted for the double doors. Feeling the cold August air against my warm cheeks I smiled and jogged down the steps onto the sidewalk. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and began walking away from the school.

To: Candace

Hey! Mom is probably knocked out again, want to come over? I'm going to be at the shop for a while. Probably until 6. Let me know around 6:30 if you'll be coming over

I sent the text to Candy and quickly started walking towards Marie's House of Caffeine. If it weren't for Marie, I think I'd be in the same depressed rut that my mother is buried in. My mother and I, at first didn't know how to deal with my father's death. I can't go a day without being reminded of his death, every empty bottle my mother leaves around the house is a painful memo of the effect his death had on my mother. This depressed state she is has effected me and my life greatly. This is where Marie came in.

While my mom numbed her pain and soothed the heartache, Marie, my aunt, gave me a job at her coffee shop. This job keeps me on my toes, keeps the bills paid, and keeps my mind focused. Of course, working in a coffee shop isn't my dream, or ideal future. Honestly, I never really think about my future. I guess, I want what I currently don't have.

I want to live in the country, with a husband and maybe a kid. I want a big house with acres to plant all kinds of wild plants. I want to hear the wind, I want to hear the grass crunch beneath my feet. I want to feel earth under my fingers, and the sunshine on my skin. I want to smile, simply because the sun pours in through my window each morning. I don't want to be in the city, like I am now. I don't want to wake up to morning traffic. I don't want to smell the pollution in the air, I don't want to feel the exhaust of cars on my ankles as I walk to school.

Opening the door to Marie's shop the strong waft of coffee, caramel, and cinnamon wrapped its arms around me and embraced me, gently taking me by the hand and walking me to the counter. "Hey baby! Go on into the back, get your apron on and come back out here." I smiled at Marie and hopped over the counter and dashed into the locker rooms before she scolded me. I opened my employees locker and placed my backpack and hoodie into the locker. I yanked my black apron off its hook, along with the black cap. Looking into the mirror I shoved my hair into the cap and pulled on the apron.

Stepping out I headed into the front and packed donuts into their pretty pink box for the lines of officers waiting for their orders. It was 5:30 and the night shift for officers was about to start at 6. I know this because that is the time Candy's parents go in for work at the local jail. Candy's mother was the "secretary" at the jail, she checks people into the jail, Candy's father on the other hand goes out and picks up the criminals.

"Hey, Z? Can you refill the cream machine? Also, are those order done? I've got another order ready to be picked up, like now kid." I sighed and handed the officer his bag and change. "Yes ma'am the orders out. I'll take that order now and fill the cream machines after, yeah?" Marie simply nodded as she continued to pour coffees and lattes into their to-go cups. Not only was Marie's shop a coffee shop, it was like a breakfast diner. Marie strictly served breakfast, after 10 am no more breakfast is served. But coffee and cakes and donuts and all sorts of sweet treats were served until closing time.

A group of incredibly slim girls with long gorgeous hair stepped into the diner, with text books in hand. I groaned, because my luck, I'd take their orders. Filling the cream machine, I inhaled the insanely sweet vapors. "Where is he?!" A girl slapped her purse onto the counter and put her head in her hands. "Jason will be here any second, Rachel. Just calm down." A girl with an obvious spray tan stroked the blonde hair blue eyed girl's hair. "He is 10 minutes late, he stood me up for football practice again. Ugh! I told him to meet me here, at this stupid café and he isn't even here!" I groaned as Marie nudged my side and eyed the girls at the counter. "Do I have to?" She nodded and went into the kitchen part of the diner. Tonight it was only Marie and I, so I needed to help as much as I could.

"Can I help you?" I smiled and asked the group of material girls, "What the hell do you want?" The crying blonde scowled at me with her mascara running down her face. "I want my shift to be over." "I don't want anything! Get out of my face." I was starting to lose patience... and quick. "Look, if you're having problems, take it outside. The customers in here don't need to here about it. Now, if you're going to order, by all means, stay. But if you're in here to cry and scream, get out." The girls stood with their mouths wide open, Rachel looked at me as if I had made the biggest mistake of my life. "Who the hell do you think you are? I'm the hottest girl at school, so I know you know who I am. But I don't know who you are which means you are nobody." "I am the person who isn't crying over their boyfriend ditching them for football practice, when we both know it isn't football practice he is ditching you for." She gasped and marched out of the diner, her friends quickly followed. "Bitch." The spray tan girl knocked the display cookies onto the floor.

Rolling my eyes I picked up the display cookies and tossed them into the trash and swept up the crumbs. Not to long after that 6:24 came around and I clocked out, the two hours I worked on weekdays paid only 20 bucks. On the weekends I worked from 6 am to 10:30 which was breakfast hours, then again from 4 pm to 8. I placed my apron and cap onto the hooks and picked up my belonging from my locker. "Bye Marie!" I waved goodbye and started walking home. 

Cherry Lane was a quite little street, busy people lived in my neighborhood. It was a gated community type of thing. You needed an input code to get in, or your residence card. People like doctors and lawyers lived in this gated merry little neighborhood. We never would've been able to afford to live somewhere like this, had my father not died. A company's truck driver was intoxicated and ran him over. Marie sued the company and we got the money, and the money from my father's life insurance and will. The gate opened and revealed to me a series of houses that looked exactly the same. All the houses were two stories and had beige painting and white windows. The driveways were clean, the grass cut, windows washed. The only difference was the vehicles in the driveways. My home was the first to the right. I turned and walked up my driveway and into my house.

From: Candace

Hey Z! Yeah, I will be there around 7:15, I already know the input code so yeah! Bye-bye baby!

I smiled and opened my door, realizing the house was a bit of a dump. I quickly started picking up empty glasses and putting them in the dishwasher. Empty beer bottles and liquor bottles were thrown away. Anything with even a swig in it, I placed in the bar. I lit some incense that created a sweet homey smell to the environment I lived in. My mom was probably locked in her room asleep. So, I left her. I sat on my couch and waited for Candace to get here.

Two knocks came at the door and I shot up from the couch to open it. "Hey baby!" Candy outstretched her arms and hugged me tightly. "Haha, hi! Do you want anything to eat or drink?" "No, honey I have that covered." She lifted her arms with bags of Danny's Deli sandwiches. She always brought sandwiches from work. "White wine okay?" She stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes "Yummy, wine and sandwiches." She shut the door behind her and walked to the couch. I headed for the bar and pulled out a bottle of white wine, I'm sure mom won't notice it's gone. "Does the brand matter?" "Hahaha! Girl, no!" I placed the bottle on the couch and sat next to her.

After shoving sandwiches into our mouths and chugging a bottle of white wine, Candy fell asleep on my couch. I let her sleep, we can head to school together in the morning.