Her Hope

Chapter 6

The sound of the rustling papers filled the quiet alley where I sat down to circle all the advertisements about affordable room and flats. Earlier, after buying that bar of chocolate and the newspaper, I asked the boy standing at the till for a pen to use quickly, but he was kind enough to tell me to keep it since he apparently has lots of pens that are thrown around the counter without being used, so here I am putting it to use.

So, I exited the store, and instead of sitting down immediately and circling in the newspaper, I found myself walking around the city towards the beach where I sat down and just stared at the crashing waves with no thoughts clouding my mind for once. And, before I knew it, the sun has already set down after displaying its array of magnificent lights making me start my long walk toward the alley.

The alley, it was the only place that gave me comfort when I desperately needed it, and this is why I will forever be grateful for it. Even if one day I go to college and buy myself a house, I will forever remember the alley where my first real journey of life began. I will always remember the place where I gazed at the stars and wished for a miracle to save me. And, now that this miracle finally happened, I am going to do everything in my power to prove that I deserve it.

After spending a few more moments of circling the appropriate advertisements in the last page of the newspaper, I figured that I should go to sleep if I want to as refreshed as I could possibly be in the morning. You're probably wondering how I would manage to wake up in time tomorrow. Well, I have developed a sense of being able to wake myself up at the time I want using sounds that I associate with the early morning, like the chirping birds and the school buses, and I can tell what time it is easily by looking at the positioning of the sun.

This talent was a must if you want to wake up in time for school while staying at the orphanage, for my foster parents never bothered with 'formalities' such as waking us kids up because they thought that it was a waste of their precious time.

So, I packed up the newspaper in my bag where it sat alongside with my two shirts and the one pair of jeans. And, just like every night, I flattened out the things in my bag, and put it down so that I could use it as a pillow. Then, I laid down on the hard concrete and slipped away into the land of dreams.

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The sound of sweet melodious chirping of birds woke me up from my deep slumber making me look around in a dazed manner until I remembered what day today is. It is my first day as a waitress at the restaurant. This thought made me instantly rise up from my position on the ground, and quickly take out the only shirt I owned, that I did not wear in any of the times I've been at the restaurant before, to change into because I genuinely wanted to make a good first impression on Mr. Smith. Well, it won't be a first impression, but I guess it will be the first time I set foot in the restaurant as an employee.

After looking around to make sure there was no one else in the alley other than myself, I changed into the shirt hurriedly before gathering up my stuff and walking out of the alley towards the restaurant for my first day at work. During the walk, I decided to give myself a pep talk just like I did on my first day of senior year. I had to remind myself that I can't get myself fired, or I'll go back to being both homeless and jobless, and this time, I truly do not know how long I'll be able to last on scraps of food in the streets. So, that's why I will to be polite to all customers, and even if they treat me badly, I will hold my temper and not get mad or shout at anyone.

Deplorably, my pep talk was cut short when I found myself standing in front of the restaurant, and when I looked inside through the windows, I noticed that it was seven fifty five, I guess this built in clock that I had really works. Making my way inside the restaurant, I was greeted with a bored looking Mr. Smith instead of Lana like every other time I have been here. She must have been at school, for after all, she is a high school student before she is a waitress slash cashier slash every other job in this restaurant.

"At least, you are here on time." Even though Mr. Smith said that under this his breath, I knew that he wanted me hear it as if to tell me that he will not tolerate any nonsense from me.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith" I said cheerfully to try and lift up his mood a little.

However, this clearly backfired when he frowned even more.

"Hurry up in, we have a lot to go over before you start your shift. Firstly, you need to buy a phone as soon as possible, will you be able to buy it this weekend after I give you your first paycheck?" He asked impatiently.

"No, sir. I will have to pay my rent first before buying a phone, though I doubt I will have any money left after paying my rent." I lied again. Well, it's technically not a lie, as I will have to pay rent; however, there's no need to inform Mr. Smith that I don't actually have a place to sleep in at night because I am sure this will not exactly brighten his mood.

"Fine, but you have to buy one this month. Now, all you have to do is smile at the customers, ask them what they would like to order politely, and then, deliver their order after the chef prepares it. I will be standing behind the till until Lana finishes school and comes. Also never yell or frown at a customer under any circumstances , understood?"

"Yes, sir. I understand." I answered.

"Good, go take the order of the couple who just walked in. Remember, I will be watching you closely." Mr. Smith warned me before turning and walking towards the counter.

So, I also turned around to make my way towards the couple in order to officially start working as a waitress.