Helen arrived at the JMB Yummy Seafood restaurant. She was ushered directly into the office of the Store Manager. His name is William, a 27 years old single guy, son of the owner.
"Good morning, Sir!" Helen conveyed her greetings to the manager.
William smiled and nods at the newly hired applicant. "Helen, have a sit..."
Helen sat on the chair facing the desk.
William glanced at her resume. "According to your resume...you have no prior experience in working anywhere, am I right?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir. But I'm a hard worker and I'm willing to learn anything," she said.
"Okay, since you are a secretarial graduate there's a lot of room for promotion waiting for you. But first... you will start as a waitress and learn how to handle customers properly. If you have a good performance, it's easy to promote you to become a cashier. Our current cashier is a waitress before, but since she is a hard worker and diligent employee, she got promoted and become a cashier in just six months, and the salary is much higher compare to being just a waitress. So as long your work ethic is excellent you will get a promotion one day," William explained.
"Thank you, Sir!" Helen said with delight.
"The hourly rate here for waitress position is $10, and the working hours is from 8:00 in the morning up to 8:00 in the evening, that will be Monday to Sunday. You will have a day off once a week but that will only take place in your second month. The restaurant offers free food, as well as board and lodging for our workers if they prefer to stay in. We have a building at the back of the restaurant that serves as a house for the stay-in workers. There is a separate lodging place for males and females. The monthly bills for the water and electricity consumption will be divided among the workers who opted to choose the free accommodation..." he continues.
Helen was ecstatic after hearing the good news. The restaurant offers free board and lodging, it's awesome news! She now has a place to stay without renting. She doesn't have to rent anymore, she can save more money this way!
She's excited to go back to Peter's place and share with him the good news!
"Helen, you can go back to Jessa outside, she will give you a tour of the restaurant and the house at the back. After you are done with the tour, she will train you the whole day how to hold the tray properly without accidentally spilling foods to the customers and on the floor and how to serve them politely with a friendly smile. If customers like how the waitress treated them... then they will come back here every day. That is how we served our customers so that they keep coming back here on daily basis," he concluded. "Do you understand, Helen?"
Helen nodded her head. "Yes, Sir!"
"You may leave now..." he said.
"Thank you, Sir!" Helen exited the manager's office wearing a bright smile on her face.
Meanwhile inside the office.
William stared at Helen's photo for a long time. "She is more beautiful in person than her photo..." he said, a pleasant smile appeared on his lips.
Meanwhile, outside the office.
Jessa brought Helen into the two-story building where the workers are housed. There are two doors...one for the ladies and one for the men. They entered the door that has "Women" written on the top.
"The whole room on the second floor was already filled. Only one room is vacant on the ground floor. That would be your room," Jessa said. "Come with me, I'll bring you to your room."
Helen followed Jessa.
The room that was allocated for Helen was sandwiched between two rooms that were already occupied.
Jessa inserted the key into the padlock and opened the door. "The room is a bit small, it has a single bed and closet for the clothes. The bed will act as your table and chair," she said.
Helen nods her head. "It's good enough for me. I don't have much stuff with me," she said. Since the closet is small she will just put the rest of her clothes in the bag and put it below the bed or in the corner. She noticed that the wall dividing the rooms are made of thin plywood.
"Good. Just tell me when you will start occupying the room so that I can give you the key," Jessa said.
"Okay, thank you, Jessa!" Helen replied.
They exited the room.
"Let's go back to the kitchen in the restaurant so that I can give you a crash training on how to treat and greet our valued customers the moment they enter the store and how to serve them food properly," Jessa said. "Tomorrow will be your official day as an employee here, so you better report to work early to impress Boss William," she added.
"Okay, thank you... Jessa," Helen replied.
The two women exited the building and went to the kitchen to start Helen's crash course training.
Since Helen is a fast learner, she passed the training with flying colors.
Half an hour before lunchtime. Jessa and Helen eat lunch together in the kitchen area of the building designated for the employees.
By afternoon, she was already serving customers alongside Jessa and the other waitresses.
Helen was welcome by the other workers warmly.
There were no dull moments inside the restaurant because customers come and go round the clock. Some would dine inside the restaurant and others came for takeout. The restaurant also offers delivery for bigger orders.
The whole day passed like a blur to Helen. Peter texted her three times to ask how is she doing in the restaurant. She replied by telling him that she can't go home during lunch and dinner.
The closing time is at 8:00.
By 8:30, Helen and the other workers finally went home.
Helen passed by at the 24 hours grocery store and did some quick grocery shopping. She took out her grocery list from her shoulder bag.
She finished grocery shopping thirty minutes later and flagged a taxi going home.
She arrived at Peter's house at 9:00.
When she opened the door, he was already sleeping on the couch. She entered the house careful not to wake him up and went to the kitchen. She starts putting aside the grocery items into the cupboard and to the fridge.
Peter was already wide awake and looked at her. "You're finally home..." he casually said.
"Yeah," she said. She went to the couch. "Have you eaten already?"
"Yup, I'm done already," he replied. "So...how's work?"
"It's fine, it's good...no boring time there in the restaurant," she said. "Tomorrow is my official first day in the restaurant so I have to report there early morning!"
"Okay..."
"I'm done grocery shopping." She took the change from her wallet. "There's some money left..." she gave it to him.
Peter shook his head. "Nah, keep the change..." he said.
"Ah...okay...I will just buy more coffee mix tomorrow," she said and returned the money to her wallet. She looked at him. "The restaurant offers free lunch and dinner," she told him.
"That's good!" he responded.
"And the good news is... the restaurant offers free board and lodging to all the workers. Hooray! I finally found a place to stay without renting!" she exclaimed in happiness.
Peter was speechless. Sadness clouded his features.
"I will bring all my clothes there tomorrow night. So, starting tomorrow night I will no longer return here..." she said excitedly. "Peter, thank you so much for allowing me to stay here in your place for free. I owe you one. I appreciated your kindness and generosity. One day I will make it up to you," she said, chattering cheerfully.
She failed to see the sadness in his eyes.
Peter released a deep sigh and stood up abruptly, giving her a cold shoulder. He walked towards the stairs without saying anything.
Helen was puzzled by his silence and cold treatment. He seemed not happy with the good news. Why he was not pleased that the restaurant offers free board and lodging to her? Why he's not happy for her? He makes it clear from the very beginning that he is not ready yet to get married and enter into a relationship with anyone so there is no reason for her to stay any longer in his company.
Sighing, she looked at the stairs.
She can't leave tomorrow without knowing what is bothering him.
She stood up, went to the stairs, and climbed hurriedly. When she reached Peter's room, she knocked three times.
"Peter, open the door! What's wrong? Let's talk please...!" she said aloud.
He didn't open the door, she breathed deeply. He's mad.
Helen sighed again, she was troubled by his sudden change of attitude.
She was about to go to her room when Peter finally opened the door. "You're leaving tomorrow night... right?" he asked.
"Yeah..." she replied. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
"Do I look okay to you?" he said. He opened the door wide. "Since it is your last night with me, let's watch a movie together. You chose the movie we will watch it tonight..." he suggested.
"Sure..." she smiled and entered the room. She went to the DVDs and start finding the perfect movie to watch with him tonight.
Peter looked at her.
He slowly went to her side and wrapped his hands around her waist pressing her body to him.
The moment she felt his body pressed on her back, Helen froze.
"P-Peter..w-what...ar..are you do...doing?" she asked him, shocked. She tried to disengage herself from his embrace but he won't let her go. She can feel the heat of his body creeping into her body. She swallowed the lump in her throat. It's the first time she got hugged by a guy and he's not even her boyfriend.
Peter rested his head on her head tenderly. "Don't leave me alone here..." he said softly, his words spoke volumes.
He continues embracing her tightly.