I walked down the sidewalk, looking at the windows in small stores, cafes, and anything else to see if they were hiring. I needed a job as soon as possible to keep me busy when I don’t have school to worry about, but one that won’t make me stress out as well. I decided at one point that I would try and get my old job back even with the boss that hates me still owns the place; yet, I knew I wouldn’t get it just because of that so I then started thinking of getting a job at a different café if I could find one hiring. Even if it means I’m the one at the cash register rather than the one working in the back making muffins all day.
There were some small stores once in a while that caught my attention until I went in and asked for the work hours. They were too long and too many days in a week for me to work, so I moved on; or the work hours were too short. Finally I spotted a café that was hiring (a piece of paper taped to the window said so) and I went in. It was a nice one, with a picture of Africa on one wall above a table for two. It was rather large as well even though it looked so tiny from the outside; the windows were huge and the counter had enough space for two cash registers. Then there was a tiny stage near the front, and right when you walked in it was on your far left.
Tables were everywhere and the booths were in the back of the building near the office door. The colors that the person had picked out were black and white with some red, and it actually looked well together. I just looked around for a few more times before I spotted a spiral stair case going to another floor. Some tables were up there as well with a library, and in the middle of the spiral stairs case was a pillar that held coffee of all kinds along with some wine as it got to the very top. Nice, I thought, Very fancy. Yet, even though it was fancy, songs on the radio were playing.
I finally stopped looking around and walked up to the counter and a very nice looking boy. He smiled at me and asked, “Could I help you with anything?”
“Um, I was wondering if I could get a job here.” I asked slowly, more of in a question tone as well.
The boy nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go get some papers for you to fill out.”
“Thanks, uh,” I looked at his nametag, “Ryan.”
“No problem. I’ll be right back.” Ryan then left the counter and went to the back in a rush, almost tripping over his own feet. I held back laughter as he looked back at me before looking down and going to where the boss was.
I leaned against the white counter and pulled out my phone, seeing that I had a missed call from Eli. I just ended up texting her instead of calling her back.
Hey, what do you need? I’m trying to find a job right now so sorry I missed your call.
Elli: its fine. I was just wondering if I can borrow some of your makeup.
Only if you tell me why you need it
Eli: I have a date
With who? And yes, you can.
Eli: someone
I was about to reply back when Ryan came rushing back to the counter, papers in hand. “Okay, so there is only one spot left and that’s performing songs. That means you only get this job if you’re musically talented.”
My heart rate quickly sped up with the thought of performing infront of people, making me want to run out instantly and back to my dorm where I could freak out about the possibility of singing and playing guitar for strangers in this café.
“Um,” I paused, and thought about the whole thing for a few seconds. My thoughts mostly consisted of ‘What the hell should I do’, ‘I need to get my stage fright over with so maybe I should agree to this job’, and then ‘a;lskdjf’. Literally. “I’ll take the papers and think about it.”
