messy sketchbooks

coffee times ten

waking up to a rainy new york, on the morning of your first day as an intern, at the fashion house 'jakku & tatooine' wasn't what you imagined it to be. you imagined to wake up like cinderella, birds chirping, sunlight creeping in through the curtains that were flawlessly flowing due to a gentle autumn breeze and the smell of a fresh pot of coffee, teasing you to rise from your bed. 

however in reality, you woke up to the sound of cars honking, neighbours yelling, the coldness of brutal water falling through your broken window, which your landlord swore he'd fix and the smell of 3am takeout delivery that was still hanging around on the floor of your messy box of a bedroom. 

'this is the new york dream' you sarcastically thought to yourself. 

"bitch get up! it's 8:45, your ass is gonna be late!" screamed rey, your roommate and best friend since birth, who decided wherever you go, she goes too. which in turn, made her move all the way across country from carmel to new york with you. even though you were hesitant to begin with, you were sort of relived that she followed you here. it provided the warmth of a friendly face in a not so friendly neighbourhood. 

"i'm up, i'm up!" you yelled back, moaning and aching as you picked yourself up off the mattress   on the floor which you called a bed. new york apartment prices were expensive, and you could just make ends meet. so a frame for your already 'used' mattress was out of the question and certainly not in your monthly budget. 

you had to look the part. sophisticated, polished, cultured. opting for a plaid skirt with black and grey features, a white turtleneck sweater, tied together with a black leather belt across your waist. knee high patent black socks and commando boots. you almost looked like your bank had more of a six figure sum, instead of the reality that was actually only a couple of hundred bucks. you finished your exterior with a large mens suit jacket in a dark grey and strategically used your drugstore makeup to coverup the bags under your eyes from previous late nights. your hagged appearance was usually brought about by either rey dragging your anti-social ass to the club, working overtime for extra tips or binging another crime documentary until you looked outside and saw dawn. 

"well doesn't someone want to make a snobby first impression huh?" scoffed rey as she was downing what looked to be her third black coffee.

she usually worked nights at uncle mo's diner which was conveniently situated across from the fashion house. you remember spending hours sat in a cosy booth, dazing out of the double panelled window at the stylists bustling to a fro, carrying large portfolios and racks of clothing, ready to be photographed; all heading through those glass doors, that you so ached to push in your hands. 

and now finally you got the chance.

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when you applied for the internship at the jakku & tatooine, your pessimistic outlook on life thought you would never be hired. you lacked experience, money, the whole package which a million other candidates had. but one thing you knew, was how to work a room, your night shifts at the cherry plaza  strip club taught you everything you needed. your motto; know your clientele, and whatever you desire, will be yours. 

and here you were, dressed the part, acting the part, ready for your first adventure into a world where only a small town girl from cali who moved across the country with her best friend with few hundred bucks would only dream about. 

"you must be the new intern!" a soft, sort of warming voice lulled at the back of your head. you turned around and were greeted by a dashing young man, smartly dressed in a suit minus the tie and jacket and instead accessorised with a beige scarf thrown over both shoulders and a pair of vintage dolce glasses resting on his hazelnut shaded nose.