Running (old story)

Prologue

Takings a deep breath Lily hesitantly stepped through the door before her. A little bell chimed as she entered the quaint little dinner. Even though it wasn't located in the best part of town it  was obvious that the owner actually cared about the diner and put in a lot of effort to give the place a cozy, warm feeling. None of the warm, brown leather booths had a single tear in the fabric, there wasn't a single spill or stain to be found on the floor, and each and every seat was already laid with all the proper utensils and extras whether there was a person sat there or not. The place felt like it could become a second home, a place you could go for a quiet brunch or a lazy late night snack. Comfortable and safe.

Looking around Lily noticed the woman she came to meet chatting with a customer at a table. She looked to be in her early forties and only just beginning to develop the telltale signs of age. She wore a dark blue skirt that ended just below her knees, a light blue button up shirt with a dark blue name tag proudly displaying the name Ellen, and a white apron tied around her waist. The woman turned away from her customer and spotted Lily making her way over. She lit up with a smile deepening the cows feet and smile lines that were settling into her face. As she watched Lily make her way over a small strand of her blonde hair fell from her bun.

"Oh. Hi there. What can I get for you?" Ellen said cheerily taking her notepad from her apron.

Lily tried to relax and give her best smile back before replying, "Hi. I'm actually Lily Chase. I'm here for another interview." She hoped that her voice was as cheery as she wanted but knew some of her nervousness slipped through nonetheless.

Lily watched as the smile accidentally fell off the owners face only to be replaced with a seemingly forced one half a second later. "You're early I wasn't expecting you for another few minutes. Well that doesn't matter. It's better to be early than late, if you just follow me we can do the interview in my office." Taking off the apron around her waist and setting it half folded on the counter behind her she tuned to make her exit, but not before calling over her shoulder to the young man by the till. "Tyler, I'm going to be in the back office for awhile so you're going to have to serve all the tables." Without waiting for a response she started her way down a hallway towards what Lily could only assume was the back office.

Once in the office Ellen motioned for lily to sit in the seat set up just in front of the desk before plopping down into the worn leather one across from it.

As Lily sat stiffly in the seat offered to her the owner let out a long sigh that only caused Lily to tense further. After a few awkward moments of silence Ellen  finally began.

"I'm really sorry to tell you this but I just recently fill the shift I was hoping to have you fill. It's not that you didn't do well in the last interview with Nicky, she actually said you'd be a perfect fit, it's just unfortunately the girl we just hired asked for the time slot we were hoping to give you."

Lily's heart stopped at this news. She needed this job. It was the only job she had been able to find that didn't require references or experience while still being able to keep her clothes on.

Lily racked her brain desperately for some sort of solution. "But I thought that you had a couple positions open and you still have a sign in the window saying you need a server." Lily questioned accidentally letting desperation slip into her voice.

The owner slumped back into her chair, pity obvious in her eyes. "I would love to hire you, Nicky said that when she interviewed you, you seemed like a lovely, hardworking girl but the shift we need covered is the late night shift."

Lily immediately perked up to this news. Sure a late shift would mean less sleep but as long as she was making money legally she didn't care.

The owner didn't seem to notice Lily's change in attitude though as she continued explaining. "And working the late shift would mean often closing up on your own. I'm just not sure if I'm comfortable leaving a young high school girl to do that."

"Please I need this job. I really don't mind working the late shift on weekdays and having to close by myself sometimes. I just really need this job. I promise you I won't let you down if you give me a chance." Lily begged ready to get down on her knees if need be.

By now the woman in front of Lily looked absolutely exhausted. The hours of overtime from covering the unfilled shifts obviously taking their toll. Closing her eyes she let out a long exasperated breath clearly debating her options in her head. After a tense minute of silent contemplation she finally opened her eyes. "Fine I guess I can give you the job. You'll work 6:30pm to 2:30am Monday through Thursday. I realize you will have school starting soon but those are the shifts I need covered."

Lily's blue eyes instantly lit up. In a second she was out of her seat, brown curls bouncing all around her. She grabbed her new employers hand in both of hers and shook it ecstatically. "Thank you so much for this! I promise you won't regret this!" Lily said the joy radiating off her voice and face.

A smile made its way to Ellen's face as she looked over the ecstatic young girl before her. "You can come in tomorrow at 5:30 to start your training. I'll stay here with you for your first few shifts until you get the flow of things down but after that you'll often have to close up by yourself. If you just follow me I introduce you to who all is here and get you your uniform." With that Ellen leads her back down the hall to the front.

Lily followed behind with a newfound spring in her step excited that things were finally starting to look up for the first time in a long time.