Post by Nicole Marie Freeman on Aug 19, 2011 11:06:30 GMT -5
Before her job interview, Nicole went shopping. If there's one thing she knew, is that appearances were very important in making impressions. First day she was in this town, she knew everyone was looking at her as though she was trailer trash. Maybe she ought have dressed up to meet Todd, but if she was just meeting him and leaving, then there was really no point. But now that she was starting a new life and getting a job, she needed a new look. She had two thousand dollars (partially earned, partially stolen from her parents' drug fund before she left and partially saved over a period of time) and she went out to buy things.
Because of her incredibly thin build (thanks to her addiction to both caffeine and smoking - both appetite suppressors) and her height (she was only three inches under Todd,) Nicole was well aware that if she actually dressed stylishly, she looked more like an edgy model and less like white trash. So she bought three skinny jeans (one black, and two navy blue,) an array of nice blouses (plaid, floral print, peasant, etc.) a few t-shirt with witty retorts or eco-friendly messages, and boots. Nicole loved boots.
Nicole also whitened her teeth with an at-home kit which was surprisingly expensive. It tasted weird and it took two hours, so Nicole decided to lay up on the smoking and coffee, and buy whitening toothpaste. The day of the interview, she dressed up nicely and ran some shiny, styling creme through her hair. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and swept her bangs to one side. Cute, formal, but cute.
And she got the job. She was written into the calender of employee schedules and given the run-down of the cafe's doing. She was allowed a free coffee every two hours, a lunch break and a fifteen minute break whenever. The barrista dress code was all black. She would work 4 to 10 weekday evenings.
It was Wednesday now, and Nicole had been on the job for two days. She was enjoying coordinating her entirely black outfits (todays was this.)Thus far, she loved it. It was pleasant to be pleasant to customers, to be around the aroma of coffee and baked goods, to just stand back when it was quiet and people were just reading or typing away on their laptops. When sunset came, it flooded the cafe with an golden glow that made the mood all the more artsy and nice. Nicole felt a sense of nostalgia she always got watching the sunset. And there was something so beautiful about watching people walk up and down Main Street as evening came about and the street lights flickered on. And Nicole even liked closing, having the whole cafe empty, save herself, and sweeping up and preparing the coffee filters for the next day. It was a nice quiet close.
Nicole's only cause of stress was anytime anyone who looked like Todd's family from the picture came in. She was super-nice to anyone like that.
The job had it's quirky moments, too. For example, in the span three days, Nicole had been hit on no less than eleven different times by guys she was pretty sure were still in high school. She tried to diplomatic in those cases. Also, sometimes parents brought in the cutest toddlers. What was it with this town and the adorable youth? Just now a mom was ordering a Vanilla latte, and her little son peeked at Nicole from behind his mother's legs. Nicole gave him a smile, and surprisingly, he smiled back. Oh my God, he had the sweetest smile.
The rest of the time his mother drank her latte and texted in one of the armchairs, the kid roamed around in close proximity. Nicole played the game of looking casually away ... but then looking quickly back at the kid with a sly smiled. He squealed and ran to hide behind something every time. The delight on his face was adorable. Finally Nicole got an idea. She grabbed a spoon and placed on her nose and leaned her hand back, knowing full well she looked ridiculous. The kid roared with laughter. Nicole felt her heart melting during all of this exchange; there's was something about kids that affected her like nothing else did.
Now because there was a spoon on her nose, her head was tilted back so that she was looking at the ceiling. She didn't notice that someone had walking into the store and up to the counter. But when she did, she looked up with a start and the spoon fell to the floor, which she quickly retrieved.
Because of her incredibly thin build (thanks to her addiction to both caffeine and smoking - both appetite suppressors) and her height (she was only three inches under Todd,) Nicole was well aware that if she actually dressed stylishly, she looked more like an edgy model and less like white trash. So she bought three skinny jeans (one black, and two navy blue,) an array of nice blouses (plaid, floral print, peasant, etc.) a few t-shirt with witty retorts or eco-friendly messages, and boots. Nicole loved boots.
Nicole also whitened her teeth with an at-home kit which was surprisingly expensive. It tasted weird and it took two hours, so Nicole decided to lay up on the smoking and coffee, and buy whitening toothpaste. The day of the interview, she dressed up nicely and ran some shiny, styling creme through her hair. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and swept her bangs to one side. Cute, formal, but cute.
And she got the job. She was written into the calender of employee schedules and given the run-down of the cafe's doing. She was allowed a free coffee every two hours, a lunch break and a fifteen minute break whenever. The barrista dress code was all black. She would work 4 to 10 weekday evenings.
It was Wednesday now, and Nicole had been on the job for two days. She was enjoying coordinating her entirely black outfits (todays was this.)Thus far, she loved it. It was pleasant to be pleasant to customers, to be around the aroma of coffee and baked goods, to just stand back when it was quiet and people were just reading or typing away on their laptops. When sunset came, it flooded the cafe with an golden glow that made the mood all the more artsy and nice. Nicole felt a sense of nostalgia she always got watching the sunset. And there was something so beautiful about watching people walk up and down Main Street as evening came about and the street lights flickered on. And Nicole even liked closing, having the whole cafe empty, save herself, and sweeping up and preparing the coffee filters for the next day. It was a nice quiet close.
Nicole's only cause of stress was anytime anyone who looked like Todd's family from the picture came in. She was super-nice to anyone like that.
The job had it's quirky moments, too. For example, in the span three days, Nicole had been hit on no less than eleven different times by guys she was pretty sure were still in high school. She tried to diplomatic in those cases. Also, sometimes parents brought in the cutest toddlers. What was it with this town and the adorable youth? Just now a mom was ordering a Vanilla latte, and her little son peeked at Nicole from behind his mother's legs. Nicole gave him a smile, and surprisingly, he smiled back. Oh my God, he had the sweetest smile.
The rest of the time his mother drank her latte and texted in one of the armchairs, the kid roamed around in close proximity. Nicole played the game of looking casually away ... but then looking quickly back at the kid with a sly smiled. He squealed and ran to hide behind something every time. The delight on his face was adorable. Finally Nicole got an idea. She grabbed a spoon and placed on her nose and leaned her hand back, knowing full well she looked ridiculous. The kid roared with laughter. Nicole felt her heart melting during all of this exchange; there's was something about kids that affected her like nothing else did.
Now because there was a spoon on her nose, her head was tilted back so that she was looking at the ceiling. She didn't notice that someone had walking into the store and up to the counter. But when she did, she looked up with a start and the spoon fell to the floor, which she quickly retrieved.
