A few minutes later...
"Oder 4-4-2!" Harry shouted at the back. "Want me to take that to them?" Gwen asked, referring to Jake and the rest of his gang. "No, it's okay. I have to face the music sometime, don't I?" I said with a lot of courage and carried the order on the tray with the Starbucks logo on it to Jake. The second I saw him, I wanted to chicken out and run out like a scared little girl.
Before I knew it, I was standing at their table. I read the order aloud as I placed the items on the coffee table. "Alright, two cappuccinos, one Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino and an Iced Caramel Macchiato. Will that be all?"
"So, Amabel," the beautiful blond sitting next to Jake, with her hand on his shoulder said, "You, uh... Still a waitress? You can stop staring at him now. He's mine. Now, you may go back to the kitchen and scrub the floors or whatever it is you're doing... I think we'll be fine. If not I'll just ring-a-bell." She laughed with the rest of them around her. "Let me know if I can get you something else, Genevieve." I give a goodbye nod to each of them. "Jake. Mike. Maya."
"Excuse me, miss," an old woman said when she bumped into me and dropped her purse. "No, it's all my fault, ma'am. I'm so sorry," I apologized and got to my knees and picked up the old lady's purse. "Here you go. I'm terribly sorry." The old lady took me by the cheek and smiled. "You have done nothing wrong," and looked at my name tag, "Amabel. You have a beautiful name and a kind heart." For a brief second, I think I saw Jake see the old lady thanking me. A girl trying to make it on her own, with a sick mom in the hospital. Going to school, having three shifts a day to pay for her mom's treatments. Yup, that's my life...
I still felt bad for dropping the old lady's purse. And to apologize once more, I decided to help her get a cab so she can go home. "Have a nice day, ma'am," and waved with a smile.
I watched as the cab drove away and walked back inside with the tray under my arm and rolled my eyes with a sigh. Even when I was in the kitchen, I could still hear The Gang laughing and sharing silent insults. But I didn't care. I didn't have the time to care. Okay, I cared a bit...
"You okay?" Gwen asked, continuing to pack the cups on the shelves. "Yep. I'm okay. Besides, one more year and then I'm done with them. One more year..." Gwen shook her head.
I then noticed that Gwen followed me outside the kitchen to the front. "Look, Rich Bitch is drowning and she wants to take you down with her. Don't give her ammunition. She likes to shoot with charm and looks," Gwen said and chuckled.
I just love how Gwen can make someone feel better. She grew up giving people she didn't like nicknames. Like Genevieve, a.k.a Rich Bitch...
When the crowd became smaller, I was still busy sweeping the floors and found the day's newspaper. Before I threw it in the trashcan, the corner of my eye saw an ad saying PERSONAL ASSISTANT WANTED.
"Thinking of going to that interview?" Gwen asked behind my shoulder, making me jump a little. "I'll take it Thursday. I have a visit with my mom tomorrow and I don't have class on Thursday." For the first time in a long time, I felt good. If I can get that job, then I can pay more for my mom's meds and treatments. I had to. But some part of me wanted to go to that interview. Not just for my mom, but for me...
"Come on, Bell. Let's go home," Gwen yelled. Gwen threw her bag over her shoulder and waited for me. "Coming!"
"Alright, let's go." With that, we got onto Gwen's scooter and drove home. We would always laugh by making funny faces with each stop to the cars next to us. But that's okay. It's like Gwen always says, It's only for a moment, and then they're gone. They're never gonna see us anyway. LA is huge...
Gwen opened the door and went inside with me following. She placed her keys on the cupboard right behind the door. "Okay, so I'll pay you Saturday," I said as I walked to my room. "What?" Gwen asked, shocked. She went to my room and leaned against the door, waiting for an answer. "You know, for the month's rent."
Gwen is from a very wealthy family, but she still has to work to learn what it means to make your own money and not to be dependent on anyone. And she hated being dependent on her father. She wanted to make her own money, to feel good about it. Even though Gwen came from a wealthy family, she was as modest as they'd come. Her father paid for a quarter of the apartment's rent, she paid the other quarter and I paid the other half. I chose it like that. I felt guilty for living with Gwen. But I had nowhere else to go and then my guardian angel saved me.
"Bell, you don't have to. Save your money for your mom. I already paid this month's rent, but in a few weeks we won't have to pay rent..." I lowered my head, feeling ashamed. "Wait, what do you mean?" Gwen's face turned from serious to a huge smile smeared across her face.
"My dad's buying the building!" Gwen shouted. I jumped up and then we both jumped in a circle, hugging each other.
"W-wait wait. That's great and all, but I'd still like to pay."
Gwen tilted her head and said, "Come on, Bell. I spoke with my dad. I told him about your mom and..."
"Wait, what? You told him? You shouldn't have told him that, Gwen..."
"Just listen, dummy. Alright, my dad said that we don't have to pay rent on one condition... We have to keep our grades up and still cover our same shifts at the café. And even if you want to, you could still go to that interview... You know, the personal assistant position..."
"Oh, yeah. That. I can't believe your dad would do that. You're a very lucky person, Gwen. Your dad... he..." and right there and then, I began to sob and fell on my bed in a sitting position. Gwen sat next to me and held her friend in a hug. I lifted my legs and held them as I rested my head on Gwen's shoulder.
"It's okay, Bell. Look, I know that your mom is in the hospital. I don't know how long she has, but I will be with you every step of the way. If you want to visit her, I will cover your shift at the café. You don't have to go through this alone. Let someone help you. Let me help you, mmm? Okay, now wipe those tears away, and let's go get ice cream. Which flavor do you want," Gwen said and walked away with a smirk, hiding the look she gave to me as she smiled and then giggled.
"You already know the answer, Gwen!"
"Oh yeah," Gwen said, hanging just her head in the doorway and smiled. "That's right... I do know the answer... Huh. What are you waiting for? An invitation? Come ooon," Gwen said a peeled me off my bed.
As she dragged me to the kitchen I stomped my toe against one of the dining table chairs. "Ow! Shit!" But this didn't keep the silence.
Gwen burst out in laughter. At first, she hid her smile behind her hand, and then she couldn't hold it in anymore. She was laughing so hard that she dropped to her knees. "Gwennnn! It hurts!" I glared at her with a deadly look in my eyes which made her stop laughing at me. For a moment, we just stared at each other until she started laughing again. Only this time, I laughed with her.
What am I going to do with you, Gwen?