Meridian (Ariana/You)

Chapter 4

"You should definitely think of changing career paths. This salad is delicious." She said holding the dish and taking bites out of it while watching me clean up around the kitchen.

"So if I opened my own restaurant, I could count you as one of my most loyal customer?" I said jokingly.

"Hell, I would open that restaurant for you and have you be my chef." She laughed

"Be careful, I will hold you to that Ms. Grande, future business partner." I shook my head at her silliness.

She continued eating and through a mouthful she asked me:

"So why night shifts? Why work in a hotel?" That question took me aback as I never had anyone care enough to question my career.

"I could lie and say I love working with people, love getting screamed at and have people ask me for free things all the time or getting close to me to get discounts or advantages." Working in a hotel for the past 5 years had definitely me turned a bit more bitter towards everything as you would mostly see the negative side of people.

"Yeah I did not take you for a customer service person." She just knew how to make me smile.

"Truth is, I never really knew what I wanted to do after high school. I was mostly the class clown with no idea as to where my future was headed. So when the time came to step up and apply, I missed most deadlines. Until one day I found out my mom had actually applied for studies for me based on what she wanted me to do. I was too carefree and didn't really care. So couple of months after the applications, I found myself in a Hospitality school. Found it fun at first, it's a job that's never the same."

I looked at her, and she was hanging on every single word I was saying. It was a while since I had experience that, someone who actually cared about what came out of my mouth.

"But then over the years of working in different hotels in different countries, that same job that's never the same became what I was dreading. I was tired of never being able to hang out with friends or not developing relationships because I had to work weekends or nights or overtime or move. I had no time for a social life, found myself in shitty relationships with the wrong people out of desperation, got hurt and got sucked into my work. Over the years I lost a lot of friends due to it and I became more solitary. So yeah, why hospitality? Never my choice. I was forced into it, and it was my own fault for not paying more attention to the world around me or for not trying to get out of it."

"We're not so different after all. Sounds like the life I have."

She was right, I realised after describing all this, asides from the fame, fans and definitely the bank account, it sounded exactly like the kind of life Ariana would have. Of course she was never forced to do music, at least she had chosen her path.

"If you could redo your life and pick one profession, what would you do?" She asked with sincerity, and while finishing up her salad.

"Oh, trust me, I have a whole list. Vet, Astronaut, Fighter pilot, journalist, neurologist. You know, all of those jobs that require the education I don't have." I laughed.

"The day you become a journalist, we are no longer friends. Just a warning Y/N" she lightly punched my shoulder.

"Not a celebrity journalist. I hate those. I meant more like an international journalist that reports what's going on in the world, that gets flown out to countries to report situations." I countered.

"That's really dangerous though. I would like you to come back home in one piece, you know?"

Home in one piece? I looked at her and I could see a lightly pinker shade on her cheeks. Did she mean come back home to her in one piece?