1000 Memories

Chapter One

Another morning, another day. ‘Urgh I cannot do this anymore’, I think to myself as I lay there in bed still half-awake looking at the window facing the street. There’s very little noise outside seeing as it is still very early in the morning. So much light is pouring in that it burns my eyes and just irritates me more. Why am I irritated you ask? Well most people would normally get up very grateful and say a ‘thank you’ prayer for getting to another day but I am not thrilled at all. I am grateful to be alive don’t get me wrong, I am just tired already because this is just a whole other day for me to feel like I have no purpose.

Let me just introduce myself. My name is Cindy Baker, 23 years old living in a small town called Delaware with my parents and I am tired of it, honestly. That is literally all there is to me as of the moment. I graduated college after finishing my course in Marketing which is a miracle seeing as I did not like that course and I only did it because I was advised that it was the best for me. All I really wanted was to be an actress ever since I was in high school but my parents were not having it then and they still aren’t having it now.

“Cindy, get up. You’re going to be late for work again,’ my mom calls from downstairs and she’s right, I am going to be late again, as usual. I don’t even feel bad about it because what’s the point anyway. I work as a barista at a coffee shop across the street. It is usually not very busy during the weekdays even my manager gets in very late. Anyway the whole point of my rumbling is that I don’t like how am living at the moment. I don’t like how my life is at the moment and I feel stuck like I can’t do anything about it. I have a younger brother who works as an engineer at a water company across town, I guess that makes me the failure in the family because I am just a barista. He also lives with us, my parents love having us with them.

I unwillingly drag myself out of bed after my mom yells for the second time. After a quick shower, I throw on a normal black t-shirt and blue jeans then make my bed, grab my bag and am headed downstairs for breakfast.

“Morning mom, dad” my mom is busy making the eggs at the stove while my dad has his head buried deep in the newspaper he’s reading and only nods his head in response to my greeting. ‘You are up late again, “my mom continues. Even though she doesn’t fully agree with it, she is the only one who kind of understands how I want to completely live a different life that is by being an actress.

I quickly sit and eat my eggs while making small talk with my mum and within less than 20 minutes I get my bag and leave for work. Outside, it is just the usual scenery, teenagers going to school, people going to work, and moms rushing to drop their kids to elementary school. Man, I wish my life was as normal too as every other person was making it to be.

‘At least the weather is nice’ I think to myself as I smile basking in the warm sun. It usually takes me about ten minutes to walk to the coffee shop and if I had a car it would take me even less time. Today my boss is already at work and that indicates that am actually very late today. I immediately snap out of my whining and start working after saying a quick hello to my boss in order to avoid being yelled at. He is a really short-tempered man when he’s pissed but most days he’s usually quite nice.

Customers start flowing in and work begins. It is the usual people who I already know their orders so I start to prepare them. Our coffee shop is one of only two on this side of town and it only gets busy in the morning but generally, most days are slow days. With that, I get a lot of time to be in my imaginary world fantasizing about life as a big shot actress in Los Angeles. You are probably thinking, ‘why don’t you just pack and go?’ but thing is I have tried a couple of times to talk to my parents about my dreams but acting in their eyes is such a ‘less than’ career and they would rather I become a big shot entrepreneur or marketer so they always almost immediately shoot my dream down.

At one point I even planned to run away to another town and just disappear but that wouldn’t been really nice of me leaving my family behind without even saying goodbye.

“Earth to Cindy! “My boss snaps me back to reality and I look up to see a customer staring at me frustrated. I guess she was trying to place an order but I was out of it.

“Sorry ma’am, what can I get you?’ I ask smiling apologetically so she would start afresh. She asks for a vanilla latte and after I hand her the cup, my boss immediately calls me to the side and gives me a stern warning. “Cindy if you are having a bad day, I would rather you take the day off than give my customers a reason to never come back. Let this be the last time you get caught daydreaming.” Jeez I guess he’s having a bad day too.

The rest of the day goes on pretty smoothly and by the time am done with my shift ,it is almost 6:00 pm and there are very few customers left so I head home leaving my boss to close up later in the night.