The Deal...

The Deal...Izabella and Benjamin

(Wednesday)

Izabella

I heard my loud, obnoxious alarm ring and I groaned. I haven't used one in about a week or two.

I got up and took a quick shower. The hot water was just what I needed to wake me up. I lathered my body in my favorite scent and then shampooed and conditioned my hair. I heard Mr. Andrew discouraging me as I shaved the stubble off my legs. I guess he was right yesterday. I rinsed my entire body from my head to my feet, removing a trace of soap or hair. I climbed out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry my hair and wrapped another one around my body.

I walked out of the bathroom and noticed the time. I was going to be late if I didn’t hurry up. Cole said I had to be in around eight. I was glad I stayed up in Albany. To be honest, I didn’t have much of a choice. I was going to be permanently living here as I worked at Starbucks.

I dried my body and lotioned it thoroughly. I put on a dress I had laid out last night. It was sleeveless and stopped right above my knees. It was a white to peach lace dress There was a brown belt that tied under my belly button and a golden necklace. I swiftly curled my hair after blow drying it and grabbed my keys and jacket and left.

I sped through the streets, surprised there was no morning traffic. Usually, the drive took ten minutes, but today it five. I burst inside, assuming I was late but it turned out I was only one besides Benjamin.

"Morning Iz. No one's here yet but you can help set up," Benji said from behind the counter.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked as I walked more into the empty store.

"I'm always the first and last one here. I practically own the place," he chuckled.

"Oh. What do you need to me do?" I wondered.

"Take down those chairs, unlock the register, and flip the open/ closed sign so customers know we're open," he commanded me.

"Do you know when people will actually get here?"

"There's not a lot of us. There's Cole, me, you, two or three chefs, another barista, and two people behind the counter."

"No janitor? No security?"

"Nope. About 60% of the people who come here are teens. The rest are adults who have no life."

I laughed at his joke as I started to put the chairs on the floor and neatly pushed them in. When I finished a table, Benji placed condiments in the center. We were coordinated. I put the chairs on the floor and once the table was clear, Benji would place ketchup, salt, pepper, syrup, sugar, and napkins in the center of the circled shaped table.

We finished that in less than ten minutes. We then swept the floor and wiped down the counters and tables. I even mop the floor. This was very different than working for Isaac. For instance, working clothes. While working at the diner, I had to wear a somewhat provocative uniform. Here, my boss actually wanted me to cover up my skin.

When we finished wiping everything down, two of the chefs came in and started preparing the food. Around nine thirty, that's when people started to start arriving. And, as Benji said, most were teens. And occasionally an adult would come. But it was a slow day. I basically cleaned off the tables and just assisted behind the counter. But most of the time, I was on the floor taking orders.

Soon, the closing time arrived. Cole told me I could leave an hour before, but I didn't think it was fair how Benji was the first to come in and the last to leave. How much sleep did he get?

"It's closing time Iz; You can go home now," he told me as he flipped the sign over.

"Tell me how you do it, Benji," I wondered as I hopped on the marbled counter.

"Do what?" he wondered as he started cleaning off the dirty tables. "Give me a hand?"

"Sure," I shrugged and hop off. I removed the items Benji had placed on earlier this morning. "Where do these go?"

"In the storage closet over there."

Benji pointed to a closed grey door with a label that read: STORAGE. I opened it and place the items on one of the shelves. Each shelf had its purpose. It was amazing how it was so neat.

"Let me guess, you did this?"

"I do," Benji smiled.

"How? Do you keep things so neat and tidy? How do you do it all?"

"I just do," he shrugged.

"How much sleep do you get every night?" I questioned as I headed back to the tables. I continued walking back and forth. Carrying all the essentials, and placing them on their proper shelves. While I did this, Benji wiped down the tables once more and stacked the chairs. Once again, we were in sync. I had a feeling this was a good decision on my part.

"Honestly, not a lot. I say less than four hours."

"Four hours of sleep?! Why?" I was appalled. I always made sure I got at least 5 each night.

"Well, it usually takes an hour or so to clean up after everyone. Then a little drive back home. I eat, workout, do some gang stuff, and I'm in bed around two am and I wake up around five."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Not anymore. I've been doing this for over a year now. My body is used to it."

"That can't be healthy. When was the last time you had some real sleep? Over eight hours."

"Um, I would my birthday."

"When's that?"

"April 1st," he answered. It's been over two months. Over two months since he has had a decent night of sleep.

"Well, happy belated birthday," I smiled.

"Thanks. You can go home now. Cole said you could leave around eight. It's past nine."

"It's ok. I don't mind."

"Thanks,” Benji genuinely smiled and I returned it.

Benji and I finished cleaning the shop within half an hour which was cool so we got to leave a quarter to ten.

Despite being in a gang, Benji was actually pretty normal. Cole, on the other hand, it was obvious there was something mysterious going on with him. I know it wasn’t smart to work under the man who ruined my parents’ marriage, but at the moment I didn’t have much of a choice. And there was no point in running to the nearest cop, I’m pretty sure they would have a plan if I did snitch.

I wondered what he was up to. Wait, why did I care? He was my boss, not my friend. My boss. That wouldn't be a proper relationship. I heated up my last pack of Ramen noodles and frowned. This was getting out of hand. I should go home sometime soon. The only reason I was living here was because of the issue with my mother and Cole. The real question was: where was my mother?