Her Hope

Chapter 5

The next two days passed by in a blur of the same monotonous routine that consisted of sleeping in the alley at night and then wandering around the city in the morning. This wandering always ended up at the beach where I just gazed at the ocean and sometimes the night stars, or where I took a swim to stop my mind from overflowing with useless negative thoughts. Eating a can of tuna and a loaf of bread a day also became a habit; however, instead of hating the idea of eating the same food everyday, it kind of grew up on me.

Now, I am standing in front of the restaurant for the second time this week, but this time, the answer that I will get will play a huge role in my whole future. I decided to stop wasting precious time and to just walk into the restaurant with my head held high. So, this was what I did, only to be greeted by the same happy girl once again making me feel an overwhelming sense of deja vu. But, seeing her tremendous happiness gave me hope that I got accepted, for she would be frowning if I got rejected, right?

I walked towards the girl with what must have been an unsure look on my face. And, once again before I could open my mouth and say anything, she managed to start speaking before I had the chance to.

"Hi, I was wondering when I would see you again. Why didn't you come by yesterday?" She said in a rush.

"Mr. Smith told me to come by in two days, so here I am."

"Oh well, I am sure he's going to be happy to know you came, I will just go and tell him that you are here." And, in the blink of the eye, she disappeared into the back room.

In the time she was gone, I started to prepare myself for the worst and best case scenarios. If I get accepted, I would ask about the salary and the working hours while trying to not show how happy I will be. If I don't, then I will quietly make my way out of the restaurant and try to formulate another plan. However, I am hoping for the best.

Just like last time, the door opened with a creak and out came Mr. Smith who was making his way towards me whereas the girl returned to her place behind the cashier.

"Good morning, sir" I said trying to earn points by being polite.

"You've been accepted, and you start tomorrow. Don't think that I hired you because I like you or something. I had no other choice, as we are short on staff, and you were my best option. You will be paid eight dollars an hour along with getting one free meal a day. You will work a shift of eight hours a day with a one hour break once a day at the time you choose. Do you want to receive your salary every month or every week? And, do you have a bank account or would you want to receive your salary by hand?" Mr. Smith muttered while looking upset.

"Wait, what? I've been accepted? I didn't really thi-"

"Just stop talking and answer the questions." I guess he wanted to just get straight to the point.

"No, I don't have a bank account. And, Can I take my one salary next week, but then take the rest at the end of each month?"

"Whatever, as you're new, you'll work all week for the first month, and then if I think you're good at the job, you will be able to take one day off per week as well as getting a raise of one dollar. You should come here at 8 am for your first shift."

"Thank you so much, sir. You really don't know how this job will truly change my life."

"Yeah, yeah. Be here at 8 sharp. I hate tardiness." Were Mr. Smith's word before he walked quickly into the back room.

For the first time in my life, I just stood there in the middle of the restaurant with my mouth open and my heart filled with never ending happiness. I felt as if life was giving me a second chance to prove that I can build myself the life I deserve.

From someone else's point of view, I am probably dramatic, but from mine, this was the door that had been closed for all my life making it unbearably dark, and now, it finally opened filling my life with the light that I've been searching for ever since forever.

"I knew he was going to accept you because after all, I spent the last two days begging him to do so. I just knew that I wanted you to work with me from the first time I saw you enter the restaurant. Oh, I just noticed that I never introduce myself. Well, my name is Lana." The girl, whose name I finally knew, for I was getting tired of calling her 'the girl' in my thoughts, exclaimed.

"I guess you're going to make working here really fun." I said honestly.

However, before she could reply, a customer called her, so she just waved at me before hurrying towards the upset looking customer.

I took that as my cue to make my way out of the restaurant, but instead of feeling dread like last time, all I felt was relief and joy at the thought of my new job. Now, all I had to do was find a room that I could rent by the end of the week, and I have to spend the next and hopefully last seven day in the alley behind the cinema.

With that thought on my mind, I decided to go to the nearest grocery store to take a look at the newspapers because they are my best shot at finding an affordable room to rent. I know most people know advertise online, but I heard my foster parents saying that they always find cheaper places to rent in the newspapers, and if I don't find anything, I'll use the computers available in the local library.

 So, during the entire walk towards the nearest store, I wore a silly smile on my face causing people to look at me weirdly, but I really didn't care since the happiness I felt was the best feeling in the world. It was a feeling that I rarely felt making me relish it.

Arriving at the grocery store, I was making my way towards the newspaper stand when a bar of chocolate caught my eye making me immediately crave it since it's been month since I last ate chocolate.

I knew that I was already short on money, but I really wanted to treat myself, so I just bought it without feeling any ounce of guilt because I knew that I deserved it. Then, I made my way toward the newspaper stand.