Divine (2 page)

Her idea made me perk
up in my chair. “That sounds like an awesome plan; I can't
wait.” I felt happy at the thought of going back to my hometown
and seeing all of my friends.

“
I
can't wait either. Now, go get a job,” she clucked while
pointing her unpeeled banana at me.

I
smiled at her attempt at trying to be firm.
“
I
love you, Mom.”

“
I
love you too, sweetheart.” She smiled back and made her way out
of the kitchen toward the living room, giving her banana a quick spin
into the air and then catching it before it hit the ground.

“
Good
one,” I said as I watched her second attempt, where it bounced
off of her hand and hit the carpeted floor. I laughed at the padded
thud it made.

“
Quit
laughing at me; that first one was good!”

What a goofball.

After having that
conversation with my mom, I decided to take her advice and go on a
job hunt. So, I went upstairs to my room and started digging through
my clothes for my sweatshirt. Once I found it I held it up in front
of me and gave it a once over. It was a hot pink zip up with yellow
hearts on it and was definitely not suitable for an interview. But, I
didn't have anything else, so it would have to work. I pulled it on
over my white tank top and threw on my best pair of tight-fitting
jeans.

Dragging myself down
the stairs and going outside was another challenge. When I finally
made it down the carpeted steps my eyes peeked hesitantly between the
thick curtains of our living room window to see what I was up
against: more fog, of course. I threw my hood up over my hair and
grabbed my mom's car keys from the entry way table, taking a deep
breath to ready myself for the cold before darting outside.

Once I made it inside
the car I cranked up the heater and pulled the hood of my sweatshirt
down; I hated wearing that thing. I couldn't believe that it was July
and I actually needed the heater on. If I had been in Arizona at that
moment, I would have been wearing shorts and a tank top. Those days
were long gone.

I took off down the
road and made my way around town, looking for businesses with “Help
Wanted” signs in their windows. I wasn't having much luck at
first, but I drove in a different direction and eventually spotted a
little burger joint that had the sign that I was looking for
displayed on the front of its glass door.

The place was pretty
cute. It was a burger restaurant, Walley's Burger Shack to be
precise, and it was nestled between a small trove of eucalyptus trees
off to the side of the busy street. What was so great about it was
that it was only a few blocks away from my house. So, I could walk
there on a sunny day . . . if there ever was one.

I pulled into the
parking lot and jumped out of the car, eager to apply for the job
before anyone else could.

Once I yanked open the
glass door I approached the girl behind the counter who looked to be
around my age. She was very pretty, with her sparkling brown eyes
that screamed with friendliness, and her soft blonde hair that was
pulled tightly into a hairnet-covered bun on the back of her head.

“
Hi,
I'm Brittany! Welcome to Walley's Burger Shack!” the girl raved
enthusiastically. So enthusiastically, actually, that it caught me a
little off guard.

“
Hi
Brittany, my name is Summer and I'm interested in the waitressing
position.”

“
Oh,
okay! Let me get my boss Mr. Fox; he can help you with that.”
She spun on
her
heels and walked to the back of the restaurant toward a door that I
assumed was Mr. Fox's office. Her knuckles tapped against the dark
wood as she said something
through
its thinness and then waited for a reply. After a few moments she
spun around and made her way back to the counter.
“
He's
on the phone but he said he'll be right out.”

“
Okay,
thank you,” I said gratefully. “I do have a question that
maybe you can answer, though.”

“
Yeah
go ahead!” She really didn't let up with the enthusiasm.

“
Well,
I noticed that the sign out front said that you were looking to hire
a waitress. But, this seems like a fast food restaurant where people
order here at the counter. Why would you need a waitress in a place
like this?” I didn't want to sound like an idiot, but I
definitely didn't want to have to ask my possible future boss that
question later.

“
Oh, yeah, kinda
makes sense why you would wonder about that. People order here at the
counter but the waitress brings their order to whichever table they
sit at. The waitress also cleans up the seating area and stocks
everything. So, in a way, it's not really waitressing, I guess; but,
you don't have to wear your hair in a net like the rest of us do, so
that's a big plus!”

“
Well, I guess
that
is
a plus,” I laughed. “But why doesn't the
waitress have to wear one? I mean, hypothetically speaking, if I get
the job I will be bringing food out to the customers and my hair
could fall in it . . .”

“
Yeah,” she
said with a shrug, “our boss just never makes the waitress wear
one; I'm not sure why. But I don't ask questions because I'm happy
enough with him allowing us to dress the way we do. I mean, look at
what I'm wearing . . .” She stood back and put her arms out to
her sides to show off her outfit: a pair of black slacks and a tight,
black scoop-neck shirt. “I wouldn't want him to get upset and
make us wear uniforms. I don't think he would make us anyway though,
because he doesn't really like this place to be thought of as a fast
food restaurant.”

“
You think he
will ever change his mind?”

“
No,” she
said with a shake of her head. “He's younger and wouldn't want
to wear a uniform himself. Wait until you meet him, you'll see what I
mean.”

“
Oh, okay,”
I chuckled. I didn't know much about Brittany but I really liked her.
I was actually excited at the prospect of getting the job so I could
have her as a friend.

My attention was
averted away from our conversation as the office door swung open in
the back. A few seconds passed before Mr. Fox came out from the room
and closed the door behind him, looking directly at me with a
pleasant smile that beamed across his handsome face.

Wow, Mr. Fox sure was a
fitting name for him. He looked like he was in his late twenties, and
he had medium length messy blonde hair that reminded me of a surfer's
style. His skin was a golden tan color, and he was obviously in very
good shape, judging by the way his tight business shirt clung to him.
He definitely didn't look like someone who belonged in a gloomy city.

“
Hello, I'm
Theodore Fox. How are you today?” he said as he extended his
hand over the counter to shake mine.

I was suddenly taken
over by his light green eyes that flickered with charm, making it
hard for me to find my words. “Hi, um, I'm Summer Peregrine.
I'm interested in being your waitress, or, I mean, the waitress for
you, here.”

Smooth,
I
thought to myself. He must have thought I was an idiot. But for the
record, I would have had absolutely no problem at all being his
personal waitress at that moment.

He stood quietly as he
watched me and ran his hand through his blonde locks. “How old
are you?” he finally asked in a deep, masculine voice.

I pulled my shoulders
back, hoping it would make me appear older. “I'm almost
seventeen.”

“
Almost seventeen
means you're sixteen then?” he challenged me.

The way he directed the
question made me feel as though I had told him a lie about my age. I
felt like I had blown the interview before it had even started.

“
Yeah, I'm
sixteen,” I said with a tinge of defeat in my voice.

He smiled at me from
his tall frame and chuckled pleasantly under his breath. “I
remember those days,” he said matter-of-factly. “When I
was a teenager I always told people that I was a year older than I
really was. Just don't try to grow up too fast, because being an
adult can suck at times.”

“
Yeah, I know,”
I agreed sheepishly.

Being
an adult. He made it seem like he was
so
much older than me. He
was only, like, ten years older than me at
most.
Also, I was really
mature for my age. In fact, I bet I was more mature than he was.

He crossed his arms and
took a moment to think as he looked me over. “Well, when can
you start?”

I was stunned. “Oh,
wow, seriously? I mean, don't you want to interview me some more?”

He brought his hand up
to his face and scratched beneath his chiseled chin with his tanned
fingers. “I consider myself a good judge of character, so I'm
going to give you a shot and see how you will do. And honestly, we
are understaffed and I need someone in here fast. Brittany can give
you a packet of paperwork to take home and fill out. Just bring it
back on your first day. Can you start two days from now, on
Wednesday?”

“
Absolutely!”
I blurted out, a little too desperately. “Thank you so much Mr.
Fox, you won't regret your decision.” I stuck my hand out and
shook his firmly, affirming his offer.

“
Mr. Fox is my
dad; you can call me Fox. And you're welcome.” He turned
partially to return to his office but spun back around to face me
once more. “One more thing, don't show up wearing that
sweatshirt,” he joked, giving me a quick wink.

I let out a short laugh
of embarrassment as he turned and strolled back to his office,
shutting the door behind him.

Brittany squealed with
joy while already holding the thick packet of forms in her hands.
“Congratulations! Here's your paperwork, I'll see you
Wednesday!”

She slid the papers
across the counter and I grabbed them up like a golden ticket.
“Thanks!” I couldn't help but squeal back; I was pretty
happy.

We said our goodbyes
and I basically skipped outside to my mom's car. And wouldn't you
know it, at that moment the sun decided to peek through the fog and
shine its beams on my happy face. The temperature felt like it had
risen by ten degrees; I was actually able to take my sweatshirt off.

When I sat in the
driver's seat I started the engine and scanned the radio for a good
dance channel to listen to. After landing on a bass-filled song that
matched my cheerful mood, I put the car in reverse and turned around
in the parking lot, pulling onto the busy street and blasting the
music as loud as the factory speakers could handle. For the first
time since we had moved, I was happy.

As I relished in the
bass of the song I reflected back on Mr. Fox, or as he liked to be
called, Fox.
How cocky was that?
I thought to myself.
Apparently it wasn't enough that
he was young and attractive, he had to go by his last name instead of
his first as if to make a statement about his looks. A little too
arrogant, if you ask me
.

I turned down the music
about a block before my house; I didn't want a lecture from my mom
about the importance of preserving my ear drums for when I'm old. I
pulled into the driveway and put the car in park before eagerly
rushing in to tell her the news about my new job.

“
Mom, guess
what?” I yelled out, unsure of which room she was in.

“
What honey?”
She was upstairs.

“
I got a job!”

I heard the hurried
thumping of her feet tromping down the carpeted staircase. “What?
You did? Where?”

“
At Walley's
Burger Shack just a couple of streets over,” I gushed, like it
was the greatest job anyone could ever dream of having.

“
That's great,
sweetheart!” she said, swooping me into her arms for a tight
hug. “When do you start?”

“
On Wednesday. I
need to look through my clothes to see if I have anything to wear for
my first day.”