"Girl! You ain't gonna believe this! Guess what!" Zendaya Harvey sounded so excited on the phone.

"What is it, Zen? You had better start talking before Rob calls for me again." Phoebe Gardner sighed. Her whole body ached.

"Have you seen the news today? No of course not" Zen rolled her eyes.

"I've barely had time for my phone Zen. Been busy all day." Phoebe sat behind the counter while listening to her best friend rap on.

"Then you haven't heard that your celebrity crush has declared an audition for his clothing brand here in New York next month. According to him, it would be open for just two weeks. After that, entry closes." Zen said it like she had won the lotto since she informed her best friend first.

"What!? Tell me this isn't a joke Zen. You don't mean it!" Phoebe sprang up from the chair immediately.

She was no longer tired. Her body had suddenly been charged with that news.

"You mean Loukas of Lou clothing? As in Loukas Hamilton?' she screamed.

"Yes! Your Loukas. The man whose pictures and stickers you have refused to part with for years! Your obsession for months! That's right!" Zendaya chuckled.

"Oh, my friggin goodness! This is great news! My God! This just made my day!" Phoebe exclaimed, forgetting that she was at work.

Most Customers in the restaurant turned their attention to her wondering what was going on with the waitress who just served them their order.

"Sheesh, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." she apologized as she strolled out of the restaurant.

"Girl! Why are you acting like you just won a ticket to one of his shows?! Your customers must have been shocked!" Zen made a sound with her tongue.

"Shut up Zen! This is like a dream come true for me! At last, I get to see him in person! Not only that, I get to audition for his brand! Do you know you just made my day?!" Phoebe was giddy with excitement.

"Sure girl. Immediately I saw the news, I knew I had to tell you. What you gonna do now?" Zen inquired.

"I would contact Morgan of course. He might not have heard. We need to start making plans. Submitting entries, preparation, practice. Oh my god! I feel so overwhelmed already." Phoebe gushed.

"You don't have to be. I know you can pull this off. All you need to do is prepare harder. Heard that he is very strict when it comes to his brand. So you just gotta know the basics so well." Zen advised.

"I've been stuck up on his shows this past few months. I know how strict he can be but can anyone refuse Phoebe Gardner? No one!" She boasted.

"Alright girlie, we will discuss more at home. It's time for me to go." Zen rounded up the discussion.

"Same here. I can see Rob signaling for me already. Thank you so much, Zen! I love you! Catch you later!" Phoebe hung up.

She grinned and danced. She was one step closer to her dreams as a model for her long-time celebrity crush. If she passed this audition, her whole life would change.

Hey, Morgan. We need to discuss something. Can we meet up at the bar tonight? Let's say eight pm. Please don't be late.

She sent a message to him. Her manager had to know so they could begin immediately. There was no time to waste anymore.

Each second counted for something. Opportunities like this rarely came her way so she had to utilize them to the maximum.

"See me in my office." Rob said sternly when she entered the restaurant.

He strolled into a side cubicle on the left side of the restaurant immediately.

"Oh God why now!" Phoebe muttered under her breath as she padded behind him.

"Hey, Rob. So sorry I had to pick up that call." she apologized as she closed the door after her.

His face had already changed from the former smiling countenance to a sour sulky expression immediately she entered.

"Couldn't it have waited? Look around you, we have had at least five more customers since you left to go pick up your call." Rob whined.

"But I really don't pick calls when I am on duty. You know how diligent I am at my job. I just had to pick this because…" Phoebe was interrupted immediately.

"Because what? I don't listen to flimsy excuses and you know it. I pay you to do your job and that is exactly what you should do! You shouldn't pick up calls during work hours, I have said this so many times!" Rob raised his voice as he bellowed at her.

Phoebe flinched. This wasn't about her picking up the call. It was glaring to almost every worker that Rob had made it a point of duty to complain about everything she did since that night.

"We both know that this isn't about what I just did. Moreover, Amy and Pearl excused themselves to pick up calls yesterday too. You didn't say a word about it so why are you complaining about mine?

Why was he being nasty? Rob had pushed her to the wall with his unnecessary crude remarks each time he found the opportunity to do so.

"Are you questioning me? Is that what you do now? What I do in this restaurant is no one's business. Not yours, not anyone's! If I let Amy off the hook and choose to scold you, I have every right to do so!"

Rob had stood up from his chair to move closer to her. His face was wrapped in a sneer.

"Alright, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Phoebe managed to apologize.

She had done no wrong so she shouldn't have apologized but she needed her job badly. Especially now that she would need money to get some things needed for the audition.

"Look, it won't happen again. Be assured. Now can I go? I'm sure we have had more customers since I entered here." Phoebe said with a hint of sarcasm which she couldn't help but add.

"You can go but my eyes are on you. Let this be my first and last warning to you." Rob pointed fingers to his eyes.

It was his way of saying he would look for another fault soon. He would not relent until he had frustrated her out of this job.

Phoebe sighed as she closed the door after her. She immediately plastered a fake smile on her oval face.

It was almost 5 pm. She would soon be out of here. She picked up her notepad and moved to a table to continue her work.

"Hello there. What would you like to have?" she asked the customer.

_______________

"Well-done Phoebe." Tricia, her colleague patted her when she entered the changing room.

"Thank you Tri." she heaved a sigh of relief.

At least she could now read the message notification that had popped on her screen while she went about doing her duties.

Her hands itched to check the message but one look at Rob's office had erased the thought of it from her mind.

"I saw what Rob did back there. He can be a jerk." Tricia said with disdain.

"I know right." Phoebe stretched her muscles.

"Look, I'm sorry, Tri. I have to go now. We will see tomorrow." she said, picking up her black leather fanny backpack.

"Alright. Goodnight Phoebe." Tricia waved.

Phoebe was in no mood for any discussion which was why she sounded curt. Her mind had been on the message. Immediately she walked out of the restaurant, she brought out her phone and read the message.

Hey, Phoebe. So sorry I won't be chanced today but we can meet up by noon tomorrow at our spot. See you there.

Phoebe was dejected.

'Alright, I can do something else. Maybe go see my parents.' She thought as she strolled down the street.

It had been a while since she visited them. That was due to some reasons.

"Hey ma'am, are you hopping in?" A cab man burst into her introspection.

"Yeah I am, can you take me to Cooper square please?" She bent to address him.

"Alright. Hop in." the cab man said.

She immediately opened the backdoor and plopped on the seat. Then she plugged in her ear pods to listen to some music. She loved listening to music on long car rides.

_______

"Get off Mama! Leave her hair alone. Stop beating her" Phoebe struggled to tear away her mother from her father's fierce grip.

She had heard shouts immediately and she alighted. She hurriedly paid the cabman off and ran inside immediately.

They were at it again. This had been going on since she could talk. Her helpless mother was always being beaten up to a pulp by her abusive father.

"Will you leave me alone!? Let go of my shirt!" Her father pushed her to the wall while she was preventing him from beating her mother.

"Ouch, my head." Phoebe gasped in pain as her head hit the wall. Silence.