BENEATH ALL THE LIES

5 Years Earlier

I woke up with the sound of my alarm that I set the previous night before I went to bed. The clock on the dressing table showed it was 6 A.M. After stretching for a bit I headed to the bathroom and took a shower with hot water. I sang my little bathroom song, 'What if' by Kane Brown. That was my favorite song of his for this week, I've always loved Kane Brown and his voice. When I was done with the shower, I headed to the dressing table and applied some make up to my face, I chose a natural make up today and put on a light pink lip gloss on my lips, I was never one for the heavy make up type of girl. I chose my most decent  white blouse with a not so skimpy and short black pencil skirt. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought to myself, "You'll get this job Cassey. Be confident"

This was going to be my first interview appointment after i graduated. It took me a year to convince my mother to let me go to the city and get a proper job instead of helping her running our little restaurant, 'The Delicacy' . We lived in the suburb and our restaurant was the only restaurant in the area. My mother owned it and she was a really good cook, and people loved her, she had a way with the customers. I had been helping her run the restaurant since I knew how to hold a knife properly. Not that I hated helping her with the restaurant but I would like to start something of my own.
So I tried and tried to convince her for the past one year till she finally agreed and I sent out my resume. One fashion company took an interest and scheduled me for an interview for PA position.

"Cassey, honey. Breakfast is ready. Come down soon.", I heard my mother calling me and I did one last look at myself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction before heading downstairs.

As soon as I reach the bottom staircase, a nice scent of toast, butter and egg being cooked assaulted my nose. Upon entering the kitchen, I saw my mother was flipping a sunny side up on the pan. I grabbed a mug and headed for the coffee maker to get some coffee I knew my mother already prepared. She always woke up early and got everything ready, a habit she couldn't shake off.

"Good morning, Ma", I said and took a plate of bread toast and sunny side up from her.

"Good morning, honey. You look ready to go for this interview.", she said while taking a seat in front of me and drinking her coffee

"I hope I'll get this job. The company is a startup but they're already making a great sale. They're advancing fast in a short time", I told my mother while chewing on my breakfast.

"I told you, you never have to worry about jobs. You will inherit the restaurant from me anyway, and in the meanwhile you can run it. You're a good cook, Cassey. I taught you all you need to know. You can be the restaurant manager since you studied business administration."

This conversation again. We've had this conversation a million times in the past.

"Ma, i know that you'll give me the restaurant. But that's not the life that I want. I want to make a living of my own. For God's sake, Ma. I can't live with you forever, I will eventually have to go out there and start a life of my own. And this is me, trying to do so. Ma, you already agreed with this. You said I could do this."
" I know, honey. I just don't understand why do you have to go to the city for a job. There are jobs you can apply for here. "

"Like what, Ma? A cashier at 7/11 owned by Mr Rajesh? Or a barista at the only Starbucks in the area? Ma, I can do so much better than that if I go to the city. Don't you wanna see me happy, Ma? Don't you wanna see me succeed?"

"Of course I want you happy, honey. I'm just worried about your safety when you go to the city. You see it on the news all the time, how the crime rate is in the city. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you.", she said while holding my hand.

"Ma, I'll be fine. I'll be careful. You don't have to worry about me. I promise you that I will take good care of myself. Trust me, Ma. And now I have to go or I'll be late for the interview", I said while I took the plate and put it in the dishwasher.

I planted a kiss on my mother's cheek before saying my goodbye to her.

"Good luck, honey. Take the car and be careful on the road.", she said while handing me the car key.

I headed out and got to the Nissan Juke parked in our driveway and drove out to the main road towards the city. I put on some music to entertain me since it would take me half an hour before i reached the city. I was so excited to finally got out of this place and had a possibility of starting a new life of my own. With a big smile on my face, I drove out into the highway and join the other cars, heading towards my dream.