As the day progressed, the rain showers of the season reduced gradually and finally came to a stop like it usually did.
The brightness of the day returned slowly and the sun took its rightful place in the sky, among the clouds, once again.
At a local restaurant that bustled with customers...
Orders were flying around from clients and the staff of the restaurant were put on their toes as they were constantly on the move.
After all, satisfied customers' reviews almost always guaranteed a better and bright future in business, especially when it has to do with culinary establishment like this one.
"Order for table 4!" a man in a well-fitted black suit and a bowtie of the same colour demanded as he rushed into a room full of people in white double-breasted jackets and each one had with it a white hat they called the 'toque blanche'.
It was the kitchen of one of the big local restaurants, filled with chefs in their white attires.
They skinned meat, rolled dough, sprinkled salt, and poured oil into pans and pots.
The room was fussing with various activities happening at the same time and aromas from the variety of dishes being prepared.
Flames flared from the surfaces of their cooking pots and pan following the pouring of wine into it.
This was the undying kitchen of a booming restaurant.
The smell of raw and cooked food filled the air of the small space.
In the ocean of activity, two of the staff found a way to sneak out for a smoke break.
They made their way through the backdoor and stepped out to have a few puffs from their cigarettes for five minutes.
"You should take it, Beth," said one of them to the other.
"I heard they pay a few bucks, not much but it sure will settle a few bills, you know. If I was into games and all that kind of stuff, then I would have gone for it without a second thought."
Beth blew smoke into the air as she thought about what her friend and colleague, Lucia, said.
She made a solid point.
Beth was broke as shit and needed as much money as she could get no matter how small it may be.
She considered what Lucia said and took her time before responding.
"How much are we talking about here, Lucia?" she finally spoke up.
"Girl, it's a lot for people like us."
Lucia rushed to her side and hung her slender arms over Beth's shoulder, shoving her smile in her friend's face.
"A thousand bucks."
Beth's ears tingled and she shook her head to relieve the pressure she felt from hearing such an amount.
"What!" she blurted out. "A thousand bucks! Just like that!"
Beth immediately threw her stick of cigarette on the ground and stepped on it, quenching the fire.
The information had shocked her. That was all the high she needed right now.
She was as poor as a church mouse and so, a thousand bucks was something only a genie could grant her in this lifetime.
Perhaps that genie had come in the form of the NERVE branded ticket that Lucia slipped into her hand.
She read through the contents of the ticket to make sure that what she was seeing and what Lucia was telling her were one and the same.
"What the… actual… fuck! Are you joking?"
Lucia laughed and shook her head.
"I'm not, Beth. You know I don't play like that. Moreover, you have the ticket right there and it is real. Or does it not feel real in your hands?"
Beth stood up and looked down at her friend and at the ticket in her hand.
"Count me in," she said, extending her hand to shake Lucia's hand.
Totally convinced that it was her heaven's given opportunity, Beth decided to try her luck at the NERVE's tryout with Lucia as her support and escort since she had more information on the matter.
She continued to hug Lucia from time to time out of nothing but sincere, profound gratitude for having considered her as a replacement.
"Don't sweat it," Lucia would casually say to brush the gesture off as something trivial.
"You're like a sister to me, Beth. Your family are my family and you know that."
They laughed and enjoyed their short smoke break period while decided to go and try Beth's luck at NERVE after the end of their work shift.
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A/N: READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE... AGAIN! LOL