"For freaking sake, I demand a good coffee! What the hell is this?!" Michelle barked, her red eyes giving off a dangerous expression. "I'm sorry. I'll go get another one." Arlene rushed, scurrying off the room and heading for the kitchen for the fifth time.
Arlene had been relieved when she'd returned from school and had met neither her stepmom nor stepsister at home, so, she'd called Delaney over. Barely some minutes later, Michelle had barged into the house like a raging bull, tears spurting down her cheeks as she cursed, and since then, she'd been ordering for the 'perfect' coffee.
"This is too sweet. Why would I drink a sweet coffee in my misery?"
"Now it's bitter. Don't heighten my misfortune."
"Why is it too hot? Do you wish to scald my tongue?!"
"I asked for a coffee, not some colored water!"
"Seriously Arlene, if you're to give her this one and she breathes a f**cking word of complaint, then she would come make the coffee herself!" Delaney seethed, turning on the coffee maker. She was perfect at coffee making and she knew that, why then would a creature try to be a pain in the ass? "Here. Try this one. I swear, I'm gonna rip her head off if she's to say a word about this one.
Arlene gave a small smile and rushed to Michelle's room. She heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing her sprawled on the bed, asleep. Quietly dropping the coffee on the sidestool, she tiptoed out of the room. She walked out and met Delaney standing few meters away, already cracking her knuckles. "What did she say this time?" Arlene giggled slightly, taking off her apron. "Calm down tigress, she's asleep. Let's go." She nudged, running up the stairs to her room with Delaney following.
"Finally. Some peace of mind to continue with your story." Delaney chattered excitedly, hurriedly sitting on the bed.
"There's actually nothing interesting after that. I simply went back to class." "Wow. So on your first day, met a loquacious Greg; a popular Keith; a pompous Carmella; a sassypant of which you cannot remember her name; a weird Mr. Howell and some henchmen. Really interesting." Delaney concluded, clapping her palms in a jittery motion, a wide smile on her face. "And the bad news?" She asked with a raised brow.
The good news was...good.
Arlene let out a deep breath, taking her gaze to the floor. "I'll be staying in school." She said, slightly raising her gaze to meet Delaney's.
Silence.
"Well that's no bad news to me." Delaney said with a shrug. Arlene's eyes popped out in surprise. "How?! Do you mean you won't be missing me?!" She asked, her voice slightly raised.
"Yup."
"That's...that's cruel." Arlene said with downcast eyes. She still didn't want to believe Delaney was okay with her going to stay in school. Delaney chuckled. "That's because I told Mom I wanted to transfer to your school and..."
Arlene let out a sudden, ear-piercing shriek - she could tell the outcome already. "Besties for life!" She yelled, swaying her hips in some laughable way. "You're starting tomorrow then?" Arlene asked, enthusiasm in her eyes. "Saturday? Yup." "Oh! My Goggles!"Arlene was super excited. There was finally someone to go gaga with. Arlene tried pushing Delaney out her room. "Go to bed, ASAP. We should rock the same color of outfit - black? Yeah black would do. Now shush. We need to be early tomorrow." Arlene rushed, pushing Delaney gently. "Fine. Fine. I'll leave. We'll leave by seven in the morning. See ya." Delaney said, jumping off the window, an CT she's subconsciously gotten used to.
"Don't forget your belongings!" Arlene reminded her with a chortle, shutting the curtains. She skipped briefly with a muffled shriek for sometime, before turning to her room to do some packing. Suddenly, her phone rang. On reaching for it, a loud gasp escaped her lips as her eyes met the screen; Mrs. Claire?! "Arlene, five minutes. Just five minutes or you forget you ever worked here." Her voice rang before going off.
Arlene hurried into a big blouse and some loose-fitting pants and rushed out of the house. How on earth could she forget 'bout her job? She ran down the street, taking several turns till she came standing in front of a restaurant. Muttering an inaudible, quick prayer, she rushed in. The place was busy as usual. A woman was seated on the counter, throwing orders around. "Mia, have you tended table sixteen?"
"Evelyn, what's taking too long?"
"Cole, quit flirting and get to work!"
Arlene walked up to her with a nervous smile. Instead of a scold, she nudged her towards the changing room. "Hurry in and change. The customers need to be tended to. We'll talk later. Oh! And you're working extra hours today; just a reminder. Now quick! Table forty-three needs our service." Mrs Claire rushed.
Extra hours? At least she was not deprived of her daily wages -that would have been way worse. Arlene rushed to the changing room and put on her work attire. With a notepad and a pen, she walked up to the table with her usual smile. "Good evening. Welcome to our restaurant. What would you like to have?" One of the three ladies stared long at her. "You Arlene?" "Yes." Came her curt reply, the smile still intact. There was a sudden outburst of laughter. Arlene was confused, but her expression didn't give anything away. "So you work here? In here? Why then do you act all tough in school?" One of 'em who'd gained her speech asked mockingly. Arlene was sure of one thing- causing a scene was the last thing she would do, so she could only ignore them. "Uh...get us some...numbers 4, 39, 12 and 18 for dessert." One of them ordered, placing the menu card back on the table. "Orders 4, 12, 18 and 39 coming up in few minutes." Arlene replied with a smile and left. "Wait! Did she just correct you?!" "Nah...she wouldn't dare." The other said, waving it off with her hands.
Arlene walked into the kitchen, heading to one of the counters. "I thought you'd never come." "I know, right? I would've probably been on a job hunt by now." Arlene replied, placing the notepad on the girl's desk. The girl could only shrug. She couldn't tell if Arlene was being sarcastic or just stating the obvious.
Cole walked up to the girls, and gave the former a light peck on her cheek. She suddenly turned red. Arlene rolled her eyeballs -pathetic. "How are you doing, Arlene?" Arlene threw him a brief glare. She wondered the reason she hated his guts; possibly because he was too flirty for her liking. He'd dated almost every girl in their workplace and tho he'd dumped them after, they still didn't quit flocking around him.
Marie raised her face to look at Cole who had his gaze on Arlene. Arlene was a big catch; that was one sure thing. He could recall losing a big bet simply because he couldn't get her. He was too confident, but then it was only fueled by the fact that he got every girl he wanted, even Sophie who'd tried acting tough. Why was she trying to be a pain in the ass?
"That's enough, Marie." Arlene called with a slight bang on the counter, bringing her home from her reverie. "Oh! I'm sorry." She apologized quickly, scoopin' off the excesses. Arlene reached for the tray but Cole got it first. "Let me help you with that." He wasn't ready to back off...yet. He would keep trying till he got her. Arlene glared intimidatingly at him. That was enough to break his will. With a rather nervous chuckle, Cole released the tray. "You should get going. They must be waiting for you."
◼▪◼▪◼
With a loud heave, Arlene hung her apron back on the line. "Arlene, Mrs. Claire calls for you."
She muttered a thank you and left for the office. She was just the only worker remaining.
The extra hours was more than she'd expected; she worked for five solid hours! Glancing at the clock which ticked away in the middle of the night, she knew she had to ask Mrs. Claire for a lift in her car. After a few knocks, she went in.
Mrs. Claire looked up from her drawer where she was busy with the day's sales calculations. "You know the reason you are here." She started, locking her drawer and turning to face Arlene.
Arlene's face held a guilty look. Mrs. Claire subconsciously let out a yawn. "You'd better not tried it next time; you'll be working till you earn your three-month salary. You can leave." She'd wanted to scold her but she was too tired for that.
Arlene was reluctant. She ought to tell her. "Uh...ma'am...I...I don't think I can continue." She dropped the bomb.
Mrs. Claire chuckled slightly. "Simply 'cause you worked extra hours today? Don't worry, I won't..."
"No, Mrs. Claire. I...I've been admitted to college and it's a boarding type. I'll be leaving tomorrow and..."
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" She asked, slightly annoyed.
"I only got the message yesterday." Arlene replied with a tight smile. "Not enough reason for you not to tell me on time. Do you know what time it is? How would you get a good night rest when it's almost midnight? Oh! Arlene." She lamented, on the verge of blaming herself. The sudden turn of events made Arlene speechless. Getting to her feet, Mrs. Claire pulled open her drawer and took some money, handing it to Arlene. Arlene was one of her favourite workers; more reasons she needed her around, but then, the girl has a life to live.
"Manage that. Don't forget to drop by when you return." She yawned again. "Now come, I'll drop you off." She gestured, walking out of the office.
"Thank you, ma'am." Arlene said, locking the door behind her. She entered her car and was driven back home. She waved a goodnight at Mrs. Claire before walking into her dreaded abode- which she would luckily be leaving today anyway.
"So it has now come to the point where you do things without my knowledge, right?" Her stepmom's voice rang in the dim light as soon as she entered.
Arlene went numb. Her mind could only think of one thing- her admission letters! Fright was boldly written on her face. Had she been to her room while she was away? What if she saw the letter? Many wild questions ran through her mind.
"Who was that?" Her stepmom asked. She couldn't see her facial expression clearly but she knew it held disgust. "My boss, Mrs. Claire." She replied.
"And 'she' dropped you off at this hour? Let me guess, you've been working till now. I hope there's a bonus, Sylvester needs some money. Anyways, I don't care. Just don't walk into my house at this hour next time. Now get out. You're contaminating the air I'm breathing." She spat, clearly irritated.
Arlene rushed up to her room immediately and quickly hurried to her admission forms. A relieved breath escaped her lips. Who would have thought it was only because she returned late? Thankfully it was just it.
She turned to walk to her bed and met a cloth heap; the heck she hasn't even packed!
With a slight grumble, she reached for her box. She lazily picked her clothes, folding them into the box and yawning at intervals. 'She should get done with this as fast as possible,' she thought.