CHAPTER 3

I wake up feeling restless. I get dressed and make my way to the kitchen to make myself a coffee. Hailey is sitting by herself eating breakfast so I join her, and sit down in the chair facing her.

‘I’m sorry I haven’t made an effort to talk to you Hailey. I haven’t meant to be rude. I’m still adjusting to a lot. And I’m out of it,’ I explain to her.

‘Oh, don’t worry about it,’ she says. ‘I think we all keep to ourselves the first night we arrive. We’re all here because of something bad. We all understand it’s normal to be antisocial at first,’ she says.

‘Thank you. I’m glad you don’t think I’m snobby,’ I say, with a smile. Hailey looks up at me and giggles.

‘Snobby! I haven’t heard that word in years,’ she laughs, and Debbie enters the room smiling.

‘Zurielle! I’m glad to see you up and about. Are you ready to type up your resume’?’ She asks, and I stand.

‘Yep, that would be great, to get started,’ I say and follow her out of my room to the computer room.

I type down everything I have learnt from my mother over the last few years, hoping it lands me a half decent job somewhere, and Debbie goes over it.

‘I’m impressed. You have some really good skills. You could possibly find a job as a receptionist or secretary, somewhere. The only problem is not having the certificates that show what you’ve learnt,’ she says.

‘I only need to be given a fair go, and I’ll show them what a dedicated, hard worker I am. Even without the qualifications,’ I say.

‘Well, I think you have the confidence and the skills for a fair go, so fingers crossed,’ Debbie says, crossing her fingers and smiling.

‘Oh, I almost forgot. I have something in my office for you,’ she says, and we go into her office where she hands me a brown box.

‘You left your mum and dad at the hospital,’ she says, with a sympathetic smile.

I take the box and decide not to open it. I go to my room and put it in the empty corner next to my backpack.

Hailey and I have lunch together and decide to make dinner together; she is really sweet. Our birthdays are on the same weekend, one night apart, next month. I’ll be twenty, and Hailey will be twenty-one.

The next day Debbie tells us all to meet in the dining area for a job that is available. Hailey and I sit next to each other as usual on a black leather sofa.

‘A cafe in the city is looking for two casual workers who can work the morning shift. You’ll be shown how to make coffees, so experience isn’t necessary,’ she explains.

Everyone else in the room is completely disinterested. Hailey gives me a wink, and we put our hands up for it. ‘Zurielle, Hailey. It’s all yours. You’re required to wear a plain white shirt and a fitted black knee length skirt, so if you don’t have those items, I suggest you go to the front room and find them. You start tomorrow morning,’ she says, smiling.

The next morning when Hailey and I are showered, and fully dressed, we sit on our beds chatting before we have to leave.

‘You know, you’re beautiful enough, you could get some kind of modelling job instead of serving coffees for a living,’ Hailey says.

I look in the mirror and am puzzled with the beauty everyone thinks I have. I’m slim; probably too slim for my liking, and I have okay-sized boobs, I guess. I have always thought women with larger breasts are more attractive.

I have long, blonde hair, which I put up in a high ponytail as I’m going to be working with food and drinks.

I have bright, blue eyes but they’re not anything special. I have an average button-nose and high cheekbones. I’m not unattractive but I don’t think I’m model quality either! I’m only 5’4, so I’m probably not tall enough for modelling anyway.

I don’t think I’m any more beautiful than Hailey.

She has a blonde bob and light blue eyes. Her boobs are bigger than mine. She is a little bigger than me in build. I think she is very pretty. I laugh at her.

‘I think you’re more stunning than me,’ I laugh.

‘Girl! You must be blind if you think that!’ She says, laughing, and I shrug my shoulders.

‘I must be blind then,’ I add, and we both laugh.

‘Ladies! It’s time to go. Chop, chop,’ Debbie says, and we wave goodbye to the other girls, and jump on the bus taking us to Cafe Charm.

We get off the bus thirty-minutes later, and go inside the cafe. It’s the most elegant and posh cafe I have ever seen. Hailey follows me in and I grab her hand and pull her through the tables with me.

An older man stands behind the counter at the register. He has light brown hair, light brown eyes, and is probably in his late thirties.

‘Good morning Sir. I’m Zurielle. This is Hailey. We’re here for our first shift,’ I explain.

‘Hello Zurielle and Hailey. Welcome, welcome. I’ve been expecting you. I’m Mr Fulton. Here, take these aprons and put them on. There are notepads and pens in the pockets. For now, you will greet customers and take orders. Be as polite and as welcoming as possible. We get a lot of regular customers each morning who work across the street, in that building over there,’ he says, pointing to the building facing us, through the window. ‘They’re from Pure Fashion Industries. The managers are here most mornings, and sometimes the CEO, Mr Brightly, who always has a coffee.

Hailey and I nod and gape at the big, fancy building through the windows.

‘Oh! I love their magazines!’ Hailey squeals, delighted. ‘They’re worth billions, so if they order something we don’t serve, write their order down, and I’ll figure something out for them,’ Mr Fulton says.

Hailey and I nod, and follow Mr Fulton to the kitchen.

‘I may need you ladies to occasionally come to the kitchen to help prepare meals or wash the dishes. I will teach you both how to work the coffee machine throughout the day,’ he explains.

Hailey collects a spray bottle and a washcloth and starts wiping down the empty tables. I greet any new customers and take their orders. Mr Fulton lets me watch him make their latte, and cappuccino. I put their coffees down on the table carefully.

‘Latte and a cappuccino,’ I say, and the woman smiles, and pulls her coffee closer toward herself.

‘Thanks honey,’ she says, smiling. She has black hair and blue eyes. She is stunning, to say the least, and I wonder if she is one of the models at Pure Fashion Industries. She looks around twenty-two. The guy pays no attention to me and stares at his laptop. He looks at least twenty-five years old. He is quite handsome, with black hair and blue eyes.

I return her smile and reach into my pocket for my pen and notepad to take the order from the man sitting on another table.

‘Welcome to Cafe Charm, Sir. What would you like to order?’ I ask.

‘Just a black tea thanks,’ he says.

‘Okay, Sir,’ I say, spinning around and giving the order to Mr Fulton. When the black tea has been made, I set it down in front of him on the table.

‘One black tea. Anything else you’d like?’ I ask, and he looks me up and down, and licks his lips, and I become uncomfortable.

‘I may want a refill when I finish this tea,’ he says.

‘That’s fine. I’ll come back soon,’ I say, leaving his table quickly. Just what I need - sleazebags.

The man with the laptop curses and rubs his forehead, in frustration.

‘What’s the problem, Mark?’ His friend asks, annoyed.

‘I can’t open the file, it’s like it’s frozen or something. I really need to read through it before I get back to the office,’ he explains.

‘Is it urgent?’ She asks.

‘Ace sent it to me. I need to read it before the meeting starts,’ Mark says. I walk back over to their table after hearing their conversation.

‘Hello. I hope the lattes are perfect,’ I say, noticing that Mark hasn’t touched his.

‘Would you like us to make you another coffee?’ I ask, and he lets out a heavy sigh.

‘No, it’s fine. I probably won’t be able to drink it anyway. I have to get this stupid thing working,’ he says, his eyes still glued to the laptop screen.

‘Would you like me to open the file for you, while you drink your coffee?’ I ask, helpfully. His eyes finally leave the screen when he looks at me; he looks taken aback.

‘Hello. I’ve not seen you in here before,’ he says, giving me a friendly smile.

‘It’s my first shift. I will be here in the mornings,’ I reply, with a smile. The woman smiles, as she looks at me and the handsome man, smiling at each other.

‘Sir, have your coffee, and I’ll happily sort out your file problem,’ I tell him, gesturing for him to move over.

He is a little stunned, and looks at his companion wondering what I’m doing.

‘It’s worth a try,’ he says, shuffling over and letting me sit down in front of his laptop.

He watches me, curiously, tap and click on his mousepad, and after a couple of seconds the file opens.

‘Here you go. Enjoy your coffee,’ I say, smiling. The woman grins, and the guy scratches his head wondering how I just opened his file in two seconds.

‘Wait!’ She tells me, before I can walk away, and puts her hand out to shake mine.

‘I’m Grace. This is my older brother, Mark,’ she says, smiling, and shaking my hand, before I shake Mark’s.

‘Nice to meet you both. I’m Zurielle,’ I say, sweetly.

‘Zurielle. What a beautiful name! I’ve never heard it before,’ Mark says, smiling.

‘Thank you,’ I reply.

‘How did you know how to do that? With the file?’ Mark asks, out of curiosity.

‘Oh! It was easy. Mum taught me a lot of shortcuts, and tricks on the computer. I keep busy solving IT issues in my free time. I really enjoy it. Hopefully I’ll be in admin one day,’ I explain, smiling.

‘Interesting,’ Grace says, grinning. Mark nods.

‘Well, I know where to come to when I need some help,’ he chuckles. ‘It might mean more coffees, but you’re only across the road,’ Mark says, standing, and pushing in his chair.

‘Oh! You work at Pure Fashion Industries,’ I say, amazed.

‘We do,’ Mark replies.

‘I’ll always finish at eleven, so if you ever need help, I’m always available after eleven,’ I explain.

‘Thanks. I’ll make note of that,’ Grace says, smiling, standing, and following Mark outside, and elbowing him in the ribs. I push in their chairs, and wipe their table.

I hand the bill to Mr Fulton who takes it and gasps.

‘Zurielle!’ He says.

‘Yes, Mr Fulton?’ I ask, worried.

‘They just left you a one-hundred-dollar tip!’ He announces, surprised.

‘I find that hard to believe,’ I say, going over to him and taking the receipt with a handwritten note on it.

‘Thank you so much, Zurielle. You saved me from a potential outburst at work. I even got to finish my coffee,’ Mr Fulton reads.

‘I can’t accept the tip. One-hundred-dollars is far too much,’ I declare.

‘You obviously went above and beyond to help with them, so you must take it. Coming from the shelter, you’ll need it,’ he says, handing it back to him, so he can process all the receipts at the end of the day. Hailey smiles in disbelief at the amount.

‘I wish I got tipped a hundred bucks!’ She says, grinning, and I shove the one-hundred-dollar note inside my bra.

We finish up at eleven, and Mr Fulton says he will see us the same time tomorrow. We catch the bus home and go over the morning’s events.

Inside the shelter, Debbie is in her office. I knock on the glass beside her door, politely, even though the door is wide open, and she will see me when she looks up.

‘Hello love. How was your first shift?’ She asks, spinning in her swivel chair.

‘It was amazing! I got tipped a hundred dollars for helping some guy with his laptop files!’ I tell her, pulling the one-hundred-dollar note out of my bra and showing her.

‘Well done. You must have done something to deserve it,’ she says, happy for me.

‘Eh. It was nothing,’ I tell her, and leave to find Hailey in the kitchen, grilling cheese-and-tomato-toasted sandwiches for lunch.