Insecure

Chapter 1

Everyone has their own dreams in life. A lot of them becomes successful or even more successful than they planned to be. Then there's the people who already has their dreams happening around them without even realizing it. They're usually the ones who are giant snobs or annoyingly braggy, the type of people I forever and always will dislike yet envy at the same time. At last, there is the tiny amount of people who has no chance of being successful or anything. They'll grow old as a nobody and die the same way. I'm one of those people. I'm an untalented, stupid waitress while everyone else use their talents or looks to guide them to fame and fortune. Who knows? Maybe I could be famous for being a waitress. Yeah, I doubt it.

The one thing that annoys me about being a waitress is the tips. The other waitress, Melinda, who gets way more tips than I do; it's not hard to understand why. She's beautiful, I'm unattractive. She wears stunning high heels, while I wear torn-up converse. And the one detail that bothers me the most, is that she's skinny and I'm not. She has the body of a supermodel. No joke. I'm surprised no one offered her a modeling job yet. I snap out of my thoughts once I realized Melinda was yelling at me to take someone's order. Did I mention she asks like a total brat to me? But to everyone else, she's like an innocent angel. Life sucks.

"They've been waiting forever!" she said, pointing to a table surrounded by a family. "Hurry up and take their order, Hippo!" That's her nickname for me. It's suppose to be a fat insult, but I'm so used to it now; it doesn't even bother me. I just simply roll my eyes and head for the table.

Once I approach the table, they take look up from there menus. I wrote down each word they said about their order on the notepad like how I always do.

While I was taking the last ones order, they were rudely interrupted by the sudden rising noise of the crowd. I instantly already knew what that meant, a celebrity has entered the restaurant. This restaurant is highly rated, so celebrities come in for a meal every now and then. Which is the number one reason why I love it here. When I first started working, I was so excited each time my favorite celebs would enter. Now that I've been here a while, it's not really a big deal. Especially since Melinda is the only one to serve them. The day I get to serve them, will be the day all my dreams came true. The day I reach my goal in life. The day I finally accomplish something in life. So far, that hasn't happened and it never will. Ever.

--

I peek through the crack of the kitchen door to watch Melinda take the celebrity's order. I couldn't hear them at all. The noise of eating, the clanks of forks against plates, and chatting completely blocked out their conversation. But that wasn't even important. I just needed to act just like Melinda. My mission is to follow my biggest dream, to serve a celebrity. It doesn't sound very exciting but who knows what it'll lead up to? Like I said before, I might become famous. I'll do whatever it takes. Even if I have to dress exactly like a brat.

"Ah, spying on the celebrity I see." A familiar Swedish accent said behind me. I quickly shut the kitchen door and turn around to face the head chef, Sven. He was also one of the reasons why I love this job. He was always so kind and friendly to me ever since I started this job. Sometimes, he'd let me taste-test his food when a new meal is coming out. "Uh...y-yeah." I stuttered. He chuckled a little and scrambled his fingers through my hair. Great, now my hair is messy. Well, messier. "You will be like Melinda one day." He stated. I suddenly burst out laughing,"Me? Like Melinda?!" I laugh even harder, this was the most best joke I heard in a while. But I stop laughing when he stares at me with a straight face. Oh my gosh, he's actually serious. "You are a magnificent waitress!" He said dramatically. I stare at him in disbelief and confusion. "I don't get it."

He looks at me in disbelief too, but for a whole different purpose. He walks up to me, and wraps his arm around my neck. "My dear Lia, you are a beginner, a simple seed, and soon...." He removes his arm from around me and grabs my hand. He presses his lips against it softly. He continues, "You will become a beautiful tree of talent, intelligence, and beauty." A smile stretches across my face, and I could feel my cheeks getting hot. I never in my life had someone say something this sweet to me. I actually once in my life felt special. He lets go of my hand and walked back to the kitchen.

His inspirational words left a confident feeling in my body. I was really ready to follow my dreams now.

And no one's going to stop me from doing so.

--

Sven's words were still stuck in my head after work. I told my older sister, Sarah, about it as soon as I saw her. Unfortunately, she didn't find it as sweet as I did. "Sven? You mean that creepy Swedish, red-headed guy?" She asked in disgust. "He's not creepy.." I muttered. She stayed silent for a while, using the remote to constantly change the channel on the TV like she always does.

This is why I hate sitting in the living room with her. For some reason, it bothers me deeply when she flips through the channels for a certain amount of time; sometimes it even makes me shudder. Then she finally speaks,"Well yeah, of course he's not weird to a girl like you." I swear, Sarah's like a clone of Melinda. Except for the fact that she has dark brown hair instead of dirty blonde. She puts me down with insults every now and then; for some reason, this insult actually stung. I wasn't going to let her get away with it either. "And what is that suppose to mean?" I said with a bit of an attitude.

She looks at me carelessly, but there was a hint of surprise on her face. I was surprised myself that I even had the courage to say that. She turns off the TV, sets the remote down on the burnt autumn table, and faced me. Uh oh. "This is me." She says, raising one of her hands up high. I don't get where she's going with this. "this is you." She puts her other hand as low as possible.

I think she's trying to say she way more cooler than me and I wasn't cool at all. If that isn't the case, then I'm totally lost. "You, Sven and the other weirdos belong down here." She said referring to the lower hand. "Me and every other person who has actual talent belong up here." She said, looking at her high hand. "It's kind of like a...life rating."

I felt broken on the inside. Does she really think I have no chance of success at all? If so, is she right? A million questions swirl around my head, but I instantly clear them from my head. If I let her bring me down, I won't reach to any goal at all. But talking to my sister is only going to bring me down more. So I get up quickly; walk to my room silently and stayed there for the rest of the night whispering encouraging words to myself.