Misunderstood

Chapter 1

It was the middle of summer and all Alex could think about was starting university. It would be a fresh start for her, something she was pretty excited about. Until then, Alex was spending the summer working at Milkshake in London. It wasn't her dream job or anything, but it got her out of the house and away from her parents. One thing Alex knew was spending the summer with them would have driven her crazy. The fact that they moved to London with her was bad enough.

Alex was a normal and pretty 20-year-old girl, originally from Portugal. She lived there with her Portuguese mother and English father, but they all ended up moving to Brighton, England. Well, that was until this summer when they upped sticks to London. Alex had plans – she had applied to Queen Mary University of London to study Film Studies, something she had always wanted to do. Writing was one of Alex's favourite things to do, and that combined with cinema sounded idyllic. But, as much as she was looking forward to it, life was definitely not going to be easy with her parents under the same roof. She was twenty and she wanted to be alone, but her mum wouldn't allow it. With all her mum's problems, Alex couldn't say no. Thank God she got a job, for her sanity and for uni. Her parents wouldn't be able to help with living costs, something that her dad had said many times.

She had been working at Milkshake for a couple of months now, and today had been a quiet day. There were a few tourists, but not as many as usual. It wasn't the largest of coffee shops but it was cosy, with a few round tables, and chairs decorated with cushions. More than anything, Alex loved the friendly atmosphere in there.

She was standing behind the counter with her boss Eric, a forty-something year old man, and was feeling pretty nervous, staring out the window instead of talking to him. Alex would have to cut her shifts down when uni started but wasn't sure if Eric would allow it. She was worried they'd have to fire her.

"Alex, what's up? Your head is anywhere but here," Eric asked as he saw Alex looking lost in her own mind.

Alex was snapped out of her thoughts and back to Eric. "Hm?" She mumbled.

"You're completely out it!" Eric said with a chuckle. "Is everything okay with you today?"

Alex lowered her gaze, nervous for what she was about to ask. "Yeah, I just have something to talk to you about."

"Oh, of course! What is it?" Eric asked, smiling. Alex took one look at his smile and relaxed a little. Eric was a good boss, of course he'd want to help her.

"Well, as you know, I came to London because I wanted to go to university, and I got in, and I've already seen my schedule," Alex took out her schedule from her bag and showed it to Eric, "But I would really like to keep working here, I love it here, and I don't want to leave, and this job has already helped me loads, and-."

"Alex, Alex, hey," Eric said, giggling. He moved closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course, you'll keep working here. You're a good worker, there's no reason to fire you. I'll just look at your schedule and fit shifts around that."

Alex felt a huge weight leave her shoulders. University would be a whole lot easier to afford with a job. "Are you serious?!" She asked with a massive smile on her face. "That would be amazing. I really need this job if I'm going to survive college."

"Of course, I'm serious," Eric said. "Your parents won't help you?"

Alex shook her head. "No, but that's fine. I want to have my own life and stand on my own two feet, even though that will never happen."

"Why do you say that?"

"I was really looking forward to moving away from Brighton and starting my own life at uni, but they came with me. They wouldn't let me come alone. And, I guess you could say my mum thinks she's sicker than what she really is."