02 | up 'n' coming

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CHAPTER 2

NOW

"Hey pretty girl!" Lucy exclaimed as she walked in and closed the door behind her, turning the sign so that it read 'open' from the outside.

We were in the Stone Cafe, clad in aprons and the fake smiles that we gave to our customers.

Real smiles were reserved for each other and the scenery that surrounded us.

The entrance to the cafe was beautiful - put together with the kind of wood that proudly wore the marks of all the people it came across.

Everytime the scuffed soles of my trainers completed the short trip through it, I found that my worries were swept with the crisp, clean air.

I chalked this up to the sheer number of plants that we had crammed into the one room. You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to find a corner that hadn't been invaded by leafy vines or excessive shrubbery.

Although pleasing to the eye and one of the main reasons we attracted so many customers, those plants were ridiculously high maintenance.

You think you drink a lot of water? The 'selaginella' would put you to shame in seconds.

Dragging my eyes away from the plant pots and onto Lucy, I replied with my dimples showing. "Hi Luce."

Lucy was the only person that I'd properly hit it off with ever since I moved here four months ago.

Ranting about our customers proved to be a great way to bond with each other, and it naturally progressed into a friendship.

I was constantly thankful for the fact that I had managed to get this job in the first place, having had no prior work experience under my belt.

My memories flashed to the job interview that earned me my spot as a waitress at the Stone.

The owner of the cafe was an intimidating man, all broad build and blank facial expressions.

He sat tall in his chair as he scrutinised me under his gaze, watching for anything that gave him an idea of the kind of employee I would be.

I refused to let it faze me, remaining calm and professional when faced with difficult questions and scenarios that I had never come across before.

A proud smile slid over my face as I relived the memory.

Lucy strolled past the counter over to where I was standing, eyes gleaming in a way that told me she was about to start gossiping.

"So I was talking to Shanice and you won't believe what she told me-" She began, only to be interrupted by the shrill sound of the bell.

Our conversation was cut short as a regular walked in, specifically one known for being an absolute nightmare.

With blonde hair chopped into a bob and a permanent scowl etched onto her face, she was on a mission to ruin the day of everybody who was unfortunate enough to have an encounter with her.

I briefly considered telling her the cafe was closed and walking away, but was harshly faced by the memory of why I needed this job in the first place.

With an internal groan and eye roll, I approached her.

"Hi and welcome to the Stone Cafe. What can I get for you today?" I said in the chirpiest voice that I could muster.

"How about some better service? I've been waiting to be served for 1 whole minute." She grumbled.

My mouth nearly fell open.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The familiar urge to knock her down a few pegs that I got whenever a customer did something rude or irrational was growing more second, and I had to work hard to tamp it down.

I took a deep breath and plastered a forced smile onto my face.

"Sorry ma'am, it's quite busy in here today. We'll try our best to get around faster." I said, internally snickering as my eyes panned around the almost empty cafe. If she was going to make things up, I could too.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll take a coffee with no milk or sugar."

Fitting, I thought to myself.

She liked her coffee as black as her heart.

- - - -

The heat from the liquid inside the paper cup my fingers were wrapped around was a welcome distraction from the cold London weather, and I placed it down to take my apron off.

I sipped slowly as Lucy finished recounting the story she had begun before we were interrupted, a messy situation about a woman who had gotten involved with a man who failed to mention that he was married with children.

My mouth was fully open by the time she had finished, a million questions floating in my brain at once.

I went with the most harmless one, not knowing if I could stomach anything else. "How did you get Shanice to tell you?"

Shanice was another of the waitresses at the Stone but as far as I knew she didn't have any shifts with me or Lucy, so I wasn't sure how she had gotten that nugget of information out of her.

Lucy smiled, but I could see the mischief swirling in her eyes. "Look at this face." She gestured towards it. "It can get anybody to tell me anything."

I laughed. She couldn't have given me a more 'Lucy' answer if she tried.

The few customers that had been drifting around the cafe left one by one, and we started to clear up after them.

Once I had finished wiping down the last table, a pesky corner one that stretched along the entire length of the wall, I let my eyes move to the large window in front of me.

The sun was beginning to set and let the sky blush sweetly with a reddish-purple glow, the kind that had me stopping to take a photo.

I was a sucker for pretty skies, and I had been ever since one I saw when I left my graduation ceremony four months ago.

Tiredness flooded through me as I slipped my phone back into my pocket, and I had work hard to suppress a yawn.

All I wanted to do was get home and put my feet up.

Lucy and I locked up and left the cafe, falling into step alongside each other until the fork in the road where our paths split. We waved goodbye, leaving with the promise of meeting right before our next shift to talk like we did today.

I placed my headphones over my ears and blasted 'Good Days' by SZA, a song that never failed to raise my mood.

I couldn't help the pep that found its way into my walk as she sang:

"I don't miss no ex, I don't miss no text, I choose not to respond."

In my mind, the 'ex' represented my family and she was congratulating me for cutting off all ties with them.

I wish I could say the same for my bank account.

Every time I passed an ATM, I could hear its desperate pleas for me to reconcile my differences with my family just to get my allowance back.

However, that wouldn't be happening for much longer if I had anything to do with it.

All those four months ago, my car ran out of gas in London and forced me to stop. I took it as a sign, the world's way of telling me that this was where I needed to be.

Although that might have seemed far fetched, I hadn't been given a reason to think otherwise. In fact, as one of the biggest cities in the world, it was the perfect city to begin my career as an artist.

I was quickly growing a following on social media and my paintings were already beginning to gain some popularity.

Hopefully, it was only a matter of time before somebody would reach out and buy one.

I couldn't wait to prove my parents wrong about status and power being the most important aspects of life.

To them, the only viable careers were those that earned you a ridiculous amount of money but stripped you of all your happiness, or didn't fulfil you in any way.

Each day was a step further away from that mentality, and I owed it all to my focus and determination.

I rarely did anything except paint, talk to Lucy and work at the cafe, which wasn't as bad as it sounded.

Distractions only slowed you and your progress down, which was the last thing I needed.