writing camp + Awesomeness at my fingertips

Week 4: Chapter Two

CHAPTER 2

Liz's POV

5th December 2030

          It was a busy day. Busy day at V Café meant good business. I liked it because it just meant that my salary would increase. I had been a waiter here ever since I finished my high school. Maybe around seven or eight years. No dreams of furthering my studies to college or university. Those were far-fetched dreams for me. Being alone with no parents supporting me, I could only dream what others could have in reality.

        I had moved out of Angel’s Home long since I got my first job. It’s not that I did not like it there. Sister Maria was good to me, and I had lots of good friends growing up with me at the orphanage. Julia was one of them.

        I had been living in Angel’s Home for as long as I could remember. I never knew who my parents were. I just grew up in my own way, learning love and life through all sorts of hardships at the orphanage. But I was thankful and grateful for what the orphanage had given me. The day Julia and I moved out of the orphanage, Sister Maria cried a lot.

        “You must take good care of yourself, my baby,” Sister Maria hugged me tightly. She was worried, just like a mother would, of a child.

        I held her tightly, knowing I would miss her much when I moved away. But it was for the sake of living. I needed to earn money in order to survive. And I needed to work in order to earn money. Thus, the hard decision.

        “I will, Sister. I am going to come as often as I can. And don’t you kick me out when I come back,” I said, half laughingly.

        Sister Maria pinched my cheek. She patted my head.

        “Be a good girl and don’t make me worry.”

        “Ok, Sister,” I signed her a big OK.

        Julia and I had not been back to Angel’s Home since then. We worked every day, depending on every penny that our work brought. However, I did call Sister Maria, once in a while, just to make sure everyone at the home was alright. As usual, she nagged me about eating and sleeping well and taking care of myself…bla…bla…bla. To tell the truth, I missed her and her naggings. At times, I felt lonely in the city.

        “Liz, go and take the order. Table 12.”

        I became alert immediately and moved quickly to one of the tables. Two young mothers meeting up with their two small kids. How I envied their life. When could I have a relaxing life like them? Hmmm, guessed that it wouldn’t be so soon.

        “Hi, what would you like to order?” Liz put on her bright smile.

        “A cappuccino and let me see, maybe a piece of tiramisu. Another piece of chocolate cake for my little one. What about you?” One turned to the other who was busy looking through the menu.

        I quickly took their orders, repeated to make sure everything was correct and moved away from their table. Very soon, I was back to the table with their cappuccino, milk latte and three different flavours of cake.

        I was back to the counter to help with the takeaways. Customers queued up for their barista’s famous specialty. Today, especially. Maybe it was because of the cold weather. December was a cold month. Maybe it was just to get a sip of Mr Boston’s coffee. Mr Boston was very well-known around the area for his knowledge in all sorts of coffee beans including the rare ones. Either way, business was running well and I was very glad for that.

1.15 pm.

        “Liz, come and have lunch together at the back,” Jo called out to me when she saw that there were no more customers queueing up.

        I let out a sigh, my stomach just in time, let out a rumbling sound. Yeah, it’s time to fill up my tummy. There’s more to come in the afternoon. Just as I was about to take off my apron, a breaking sound echoed. Jo and I turned in the direction of the sound.

        “Oh, it’s the table I served just now. Let me handle it. You go and have your lunch,” I said.

        Jo nodded. I saw the scattered pieces on the floor. One of the kids had accidentally knocked the glass off the table. He was crying loudly now, and the mother was frantic, trying to calm him down with what’s left of the cakes. I was afraid that the kids might get hurt. Immediately, I got a broom to sweep away the broken pieces. The mother of the kid was thankful and looked at me apologetically. I smiled at her.

        Lunch time came and went. And I missed my meal. It’s ok, I guessed. I would have a hearty dinner with Julia later. Already in my mind, I was imagining my favourite fried chicken with lots of coleslaw and some beer to go with the chicken. Rumbling sound. Damn stomach.

        I quietly continued serving the customers on my empty stomach. To be honest, I didn’t feel too good but I could still take it.

        Julia was already waiting for me at the café’s door when I finished cleaning up everything.

        “Bye, Jo. I’m off now.”

        Jo waved back at me and nodded.

        Julia and I went to our favourite chicken shop. We ordered two sets of chicken. The chicken shop’s boss was a very nice lady. She knew I was starving from my looks. She quickly got our order ready. She even put in extra chicken for me, secretly, of course. I thanked her and gave her a flying kiss.

        “So, how’s your day today?” Julia asked me between her bites.

        “Ouch, don’t even mention it. I was terribly hungry because I missed my lunch.”

        “Why did you miss your lunch? Did you have “so” many customers that you had to miss your lunch?”

        Julia screwed her eyebrows together, showing her displeased look.

        “Nah, there was a little accident. I needed to clear broken glass pieces during lunch time.”

        “Oh…did you hurt yourself?”

        “Nope, of course not. You know me. Efficient is me.” I proudly pointed to myself.

        Both of us laughed. That’s how we were. The bestest friends. We grew up together at Angel’s Home. We knew each other so well. Julia was the luckier one. She got a job at a big office. She stayed at the company’s hostel. I was happy for her. At least, both of us got our jobs.

        I went back home right after dinner with Julia. I wished that I could hang out with her more. However, Julia had works to finish. A VIP guest would be coming to her office tomorrow for an important contract. She needed to check through the paperwork again to avoid any mistakes. Guessed that she would be burning midnight’s oil again tonight. Good pays came with sacrifice.

        Julia had been working at Hugo Ad since five years ago. It was a designing company, a pretty huge one, to be exact. Julia did the clerical jobs, preparing paperwork and almost everything else, from getting coffee for everyone to photocopying documents for everyone. Both of us did not have high education, just enough to get a decent job and feed ourselves. It was really hard to find a suitable job at first, when we first arrived in the city. We found our first jobs at V Café. Julia quitted after she got another job at a shopping mall as a promoter. Her job at Hugo Ad was the latest one. It was a job with a much better pay.

        I was relieved when I finally reached home. Home was my only sanctuary where I could hide myself and rest. It was the safest place for me. I dumped my bag on the sofa and sank into it. I was so tired after standing for the whole day at the café. I closed my eyes for a moment. Outside, I could hear the raindrops hitting the windowpanes. I loved the sound of the raindrops. Somehow, it kind of made me feel relaxed and peaceful. I got up and went for a quick hot shower. Gosh! The weather was cold but I felt sticky after a whole day at the café.

        I felt refreshed after the shower. I put on my oversized round-shaped pair of glasses. I sat down in front of my computer and took my drawing pen. As I looked at the face on my computer screen, I added more strokes to his perfect facial features. I had been working on this one for a few weeks. It was my latest freelance job. His name was Ian, the character of my comic this time. He was the successful CEO of a famous web design company. The man of my dreams.

        When I said dreams, I really meant in the dreams, the kind that we had when we fell asleep. I didn’t know who he was, but it seemed like I had known him forever. I had been having the same dreams again and again.

        In the beginning, it was always a tall, blurry figure. For weeks, I was trying to figure out what the dream was about. At times, I dreamt about us, him and me. Other times, I dreamt about him being alone somewhere. But never a clear vision of his face. And finally, I decided to give up trying to figure out this mysterious person.

        These days, I began to have a clearer picture of his face. What a handsome man! That was my thought when I first began to have a clear vision of him in my dream. It made my heart skipped a few beats. My gosh! I would just fall in love with this character that I drew.

        I continued adding colours to this beautiful human figure. I loved drawing. Drawing had been my interest since I was a kid. But I never got further with drawing. So, I could only accept occasional freelancing jobs for comic illustrations. I had drawn two comics so far. All the comics were popular. But then, I hid myself behind a pen name. People would never have to know that it was me drawing the comics. I drew because I liked it, not because I wanted to be famous. When this one came out, it would be my third comic book.

        I was excited just by thinking about the would-be comic. I really loved Ian. What I meant was, I really loved his perfect features, both physique and facial. His perseverance in developing his web-design company was a source of motivation and inspiration for me to strive on too. Though he was just a character in my comic, I could feel his strong presence in my life.

        I smiled at myself. My imagination was going too far, I guessed. There could not be such a perfect man existing in this real world, I was pretty sure of it.

        It was getting quite late, and I did not notice the time. The rain was getting heavier now. I could see lightning flash every now and then.

        Without realising, I fell asleep as my drawing pen dropped to the floor. Eyelids drooped and my head on the table. I was already deep in my slumber.

        It was the dream again. The man of my dreams appeared again. I was happy to be able to see him again. It was the only time I could truly see him and feel his presence.

        He was walking towards me. Nearer and nearer. I could feel something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He was looking so down and desperate. I tried to walk towards him and get nearer him. I couldn’t. It was as if my legs were tied in place. I held out my hands. He too, held out his hands, desperately trying to catch mine. And suddenly he was pulled away from me and disappeared.

        I was greatly startled and woke up in fright.