Skaydal - Runaway Luna

⁂4

⁂Sierna

I shouldn’t have been nervous, but I was. Although sweeping and mopping weren’t new to me, having a job was new and I was quietly terrified. I wasn’t even sure what to do with Zoey and, since I couldn’t leave her at the motel, I had brought her with me to work.

“Um…good morning,” I said as I stepped into the diner. Samantha looked up from the counter she had been busy cleaning and when she saw me, she smiled.

“Morning Janet,” she greeted me and I did my best not to flinch. “Oh, I see you have Zoey with you,” she remarked as she came around the counter.

“Yes, I couldn’t leave her at the motel,” I pointed out softly.

“That’s all right, she can hang out in the back,” she said as she waved me to follow her. I gently tugged on Zoey’s leash and I was relieved to be here before the diner opened. I couldn’t have imagined what any customers would’ve thought of, seeing a dog being led through the place. I followed Samantha to the back and I was surprised to see the comfortable room. “She can hang around here and between the morning shift, we’ll make sure she gets taken out, ok?”

“Thank you so much,” I said as I crouched down and removed the leash. “You be a good girl now, ok?” I said to Zoey before I stood up. Zoey started sniffing around the room. “She is potty trained,” I offered and Samantha smiled.

“That’s a bonus. Here is your uniform and over there is the bathroom,” she handed me a light blue dress and pointed to the closed door. I nodded in thanks and looked around the room. It was bright and cheery with white painted walls and blue tiles. A large brown couch took up most of the space but it looked extremely comfortable. Two tables with chairs stood to one side and, if I had to take a guess, I would say it was the lunchroom. Zoey ended up jumping onto the couch and I considered telling her to get off. However, the fact that Samantha hadn’t said anything made me think it was all right. I took the dress with me into the bathroom and I eyed it as I hung it up behind the door. I hated dresses. I hated them with a passion. I closed my eyes and gave myself a pep talk. You can do this; you have to do this. No one is going to be paying much attention to you. Well, at least let’s hope not. I quickly got undressed and then slipped on the dress. The short sleeve, button-down, and collar dress fitted perfectly and the light blue color was pretty. The length was pretty, much perfect too, as it came to my knees, but as I looked down, I shook my head at my oversized boots. It didn’t quite fit in with the outfit. I couldn’t remember what Samantha had been wearing on her feet and suddenly I wished I had another pair of shoes. I quickly folded up my clothes and slowly left the bathroom.

“Um…Samantha?” I called out hesitantly.

“In here!” I heard her respond and I glanced over at Zoey – who had fallen asleep – before I followed the sound of her voice. Samantha was in the kitchen with some man that I didn’t know. “Oh, honey…what size shoe are you?”

“Six,” I said as I avoided their gaze by looking down at my shoes.

“Oh good, you and Felicia are the same size…I’ll ask her to bring you a pair of socks and shoes, all right? Anyway, this is Edward, he is our chef. Edward, this is our newest recruit, Janet,”

“Hey, Janet,” Edward greeted me and I looked up and smiled shyly.

“Hi,”

“I hope you are in the mood for some scrambled eggs,” he said, and I blushed.

“Sure,” I said before Samantha ushered me out of the kitchen and back into the lunchroom.

“Take a seat and familiarize yourself with our menu,” she handed me the menu before rushing off. I sat down next to Zoey and looked over the menu. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of items and I figured it would be easy enough to remember. After all, I would be cleaning floors, not serving customers. By the time Samantha reappeared, she had a pair of light blue sneakers and white socks. “Here you go,” she said as she handed me the shoes and socks. “Felicia will be with you in a minute,” I nodded and quickly removed my boots and socks. The sneakers fit perfectly and I had to admit, they were quite cute.

“Oh my, don’t you look stunning,” I looked up to see Felicia in her uniform. “Do you have a few minutes? I was hoping to show you something,” I simply nodded, since I wasn’t sure what was going on. I then followed Felicia through a door that led outside. When she started going up the stairs alongside the building, I frowned as I followed. “So, this place has recently been renovated, and honestly…I had been hoping to move in here myself, but then I met Harry,”

“Ok,” I said, not sure how to respond.

“It’s also quite small but I think it would be perfect for you,” she explained as she unlocked a door and stepped inside. I was hesitant to enter but I figured that I might as well. I was both shocked and pleased to see that what Felicia was showing me looked to be a small apartment. The open-plan kitchen and lounge were fully furnished and, based on the strong smell of cleaning chemicals, I reckoned the place had been cleaned fairly recently. The white tiles shone with the natural sunlight that came in through the floor-to-ceiling windows and the soft pink walls just seemed to brighten the whole place up. The high ceiling made the space look so much bigger and I noticed one door and that was it. Felicia was eyeing me closely as I looked around.

“It’s nice,” I murmured as I looked around. The only way I could even begin to describe the kitchen was that it was modern. The white marble countertops gleamed and the appliances looked brand new. The lounge area was separated from the kitchen by a half wall and I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the extremely comfortable-looking two-seater couch. It was the same soft shade of pink and I had to wonder if the walls had been painted after the couch had been chosen. The white wooden coffee table separated the space beautifully and the large flat screen TV that hung against the wall was quite impressive.

“There is a private balcony,” Felicia pointed out as she hurried toward the windows. It wasn’t until she pushed it open that I realized it wasn’t all windows and that there was a glass door there as well. I followed her outside and I was surprised to see that the balcony was quite big. I could see the whole town from up here -well, probably not the whole town – and it was an amazing view. I could see my car down below and I could just imagine Zoey and me hanging out here during the evenings.

“Why are you showing me this?” I finally asked her once we were back inside.

“Well, I have no idea who you are Janet, but if you’d like a place to stay…instead of staying at the motel, you are more than welcome to move in here,” I was blown away by her offer.

“You are right, Felicia, you don’t know me,” I stated as I eyed her suspiciously. “Why would you help me?”

“Oh deary…sometimes people have a sixth sense about these things…you know? And I can just tell that you need some help…” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. Felicia went over and opened up the only (other) door in the open-planned area. I stepped into the bedroom and I couldn’t help but smile. The room wasn’t noticeably big, but it didn’t need to be. The double-sized bed fitted perfectly in the middle of the room against the far wall and the cupboard and dresser barely took up any room. It was ideal for a single person. I did spot another door and I frowned.

“What’s that?” I asked curiously. I didn’t want to assume, but I was hoping it was the bathroom.

“Oh! That’s the bathroom,” she said, and I smiled. Could this place be any more perfect? Of course, the pink walls and white tiles fitted the room, as well as the pink bedding on the bed. Felicia opened the bathroom door and I stuck my head in and immediately whistled loudly. “I know, right!” she said with a giggle. The bathroom was completely white. The toilet, basin, shower, and bath looked amazing and almost seemed to sparkle. “It hasn’t been used,” she pointed out.

“How come?” I was impressed but beyond confused.

“As I said, I was going to move in here, but then I met Harry,”

“Who is Harry?” I asked curiously.

“My husband,” she said proudly, and I didn’t miss the way she blushed. “Anyway, I admit that I did have it cleaned up yesterday in hopes that you would move in,”

“But why?” I asked again.

“Janet…I don’t know you…yet, but I don’t think you want to be working at the diner and living at the motel. Especially since you need the money,” I gasped at that and she waved her hand as she led me back out into the lounge. “You wouldn’t have taken the job if you didn’t need the money and what’s the point of taking a job for money and then spending it at the motel? At least here you can stay rent-free and only pay for food,”

“I don’t know what to say,”

“Say you’ll move in,” she said with a soft smile and I found myself nodding. “Splendid! Make sure you get a r****d from Irene,”

“Who is Irene?” I asked.

“Irene…the owner of the motel…”

“Oh! Right! Irene and Jack,” I said as I remembered, and Felicia nodded.

“Yes, I’ll come with you later and make sure she gives you a r****d,” she said before she started making her way out of the apartment. She handed me the key and I followed her back down the stairs and into the diner.

“There you are!” Samantha exclaimed when she saw us. “It’s busy and I need you both!” I looked around the diner and my eyes widened in surprise. “I know, I think they all came to see you,” she then whispered.

“I…um…what do you need me to do?” I asked, as I continued to look around.

“Here,” she said as she handed me what looked like a big calculator.

“What is it?” I asked as I eyed the thing in my hand.

“It’s our hand-held ordering machine…here let me give you a quick run down,” Felicia said as she came up and stood next to me. She went on to show me how to use the device and I had to say, it was rather fancy and impressive. I also figured it was easy to use, so when I was urged to go out into the dining area, I tried not to panic. I stopped at the first table and smiled at the couple who sat across from each other.

“Um…hi,” I said awkwardly. “What can I get for you?” I then asked as I remembered that was probably what I should be asking them.

“Hey…ah, we’ll have two orders of the maple pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs and bacon,” the man said, and I looked down at the device. After making the correct selections, I looked at them.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Samantha already took our drink order,” the woman said and I nodded. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next and it wasn’t until I heard the jingle of the door that I stepped back and hurried to the kitchen. I could only hope I wouldn’t mess up things too badly.