Elizabeth's POV

I was seething, I was on the brink. People like him make me want to commit murder. He was the most self-righteous, rambunctious... in conclusion he was a walking talking ass hat!

If I didn't need the job I would have shattered the wine bottle on his big head. Nothing gives anyone the right to treat someone the way he treated me. If there was one thing I've learned personally in life, it's that life is ever-changing, meaning that no human condition is ever permanent.

His insults stung more since he was English. "How fascinating could you tell me how old the grapevine was and who picked the grapes from it?" I was taken back by his sudden outburst at me, but then he made a scene about the wine causing the customers to look up from their meals. After that, I could feel my body gravitate to the shiny steak knife that lay wrapped in a napkin on the table.

I swallowed my pride, I remained silent even though something in me was screaming to let him have it, but I remained silent because I needed money. It killed me to remain silent but I did it. It made me feel cheap that I would take his insults with a grain of salt just for money. But I had to choose. My mother working day and night so that I could study or me working just a few hours a day and taking on the added verbal abuse so she could rest easily.

Thinking about how tired my mother must have been, gave me my second wind. It made me swallow my self-dignity. I would encounter way worse customers than him. He was just the first wave of what was to come.

I didn't know how long I would work at El Royal. I was to be studying for four years. Could I simply take four years of dealing with customers like him. The thought infuriated me as I wiped down a table. I needed to look for a new job.

"Woah, what did that table ever do to you?" Seth chuckled from behind me. "Oh, bad night?" He asked, moving to stand on the side of me, and from the corner of my eye, I could see he was pushing a cart.

"Something like that," I muttered, under my breath.

"Huh?" he sounded and I stopped wiping the table so that I can look up at him. "Anyway, Blake's looking for you," he said and my nerves turned up again.

The last time Blake was looking for someone they got fired. But why would Blake fire me. I was being ridiculous unless Mr. Royal pain in the arse complained about me.

"Did he say why he was looking for me," I asked, trying to hide the anxiety that was clear in my voice.

Seth shrugged and moved to remove a table cloth from the table opposite me. "He didn't say. He just said tell Liz to come see me," he said and put the table cloth in the cart before rolling it away.

I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. Well, when it rains it pours. Today started okay, then went to real crappy, and now dealing with Blake at the end of the night was going to be the cherry on top of the crappy day.

Come on Liz you going to be a lawyer. Be tough.

I straightened my tie and ran my hands down my uniform. No matter what happens I will not cry. I will not cry or make a scene! I mentally warned myself. I will be a normal human being of society and cry into my stuffed monkey.

I walked up to the front desk because that's the place Blake spent more time than any other place in the restaurant. He was bending over digging into one of the desk compartments and I cleared my throat making him aware of my presence.

"Blake," I said and he stood up straight.

"Elizabeth," he said, sternly and I quivered. It's going to be okay. I will find a new job. Even if it's handing out fliers on the sidewalk. I mentally assured myself as I braced myself for the possibility of being unemployed.

"Seth said you wanted to see me," I said, feigning confidence, hoping he didn't see through my tough girl facade.

"So how was your night?" He asked, sounding calmer.

"Okay," I answered, confused by the question. I didn't have time for a game of cat and mouse. I was anxious and wanted the night to be over.

"Just okay?" He asked again, and I felt like I was going insane. Why did he have to do this little banter with me before bringing down the metaphorical hammer.

"Blake, what's going on?" I asked, bluntly.

He huffed before turning around and opening up the cash box. "These are your tips for the night. Count it," he said presenting me with an envelope.

I counted the tip money and my eyes widened in disbelief. I counted again and I still couldn't believe it. "Wait this can't be mine. Are you sure you didn't mistakenly put someone else's tips in with mine?"

On a good night, I make around three hundred dollars in tips. But Blake handed me three hundred and seventy-two dollars so it couldn't be right. "I am certain that I didn't make a mistake. How absurd of you to make such implications. I only allow myself three mistakes a year and you better hope one of them wasn't me taking a chance on a millennial like yourself," he declared before turning to look at the computer.

I shook off his dramatics as I stared at the money in my hands. Who could have left me such a large tip. "Do you have any idea who left it?" I asked and he let out an exhausted breath.

"Why would you like to use the money to buy them a bunch of roses?"

"No, maybe some chocolate. I never really saw the purpose of giving someone a flower," I said, impassively. I wasn't in the mood for his bullshit.

He raised an eyebrow at my response because no one ever had the guts to challenge him when he was being an ass. He looked back at the computer screen with a blank expression on his face. "Mr. L Hendricks," he said after a while.

Mr. L Hendricks. I wonder who he was. Well, one thing I knew for sure that it wasn't Mr. Man Bun. "Thank you," I uttered to Blake before turning to walk in the direction of the changing rooms.

The pumps I was wearing were killing me. I wonder how Blake would feel if I wore sneakers instead. I can hear his voice in my head reprimanding me already. 'How dare you disrespect this establishment with your hobo get up!'

I walked into the changing room to see Brenda sitting on the bench removing her hair out of its tie. "Hey," she nodded up at me. "Damn love. You look like something ate you and shat you out," she said, sounding concerned.

"I had my first crappy customer," I sighed and walked over to my locker.

"Ooh was she the type to send you back into the kitchen to reheat food?" She asked.

"He actually," I said, opening up my locker. "He was surely sent from hell to ruin my day," I expressed and she chuckled.

"It will get better," she said, genuinely. "Soon your skin will be tougher than a rhinoceroses skin," she exaggerated.

I nodded showing her I was listening to her while I was grabbing my school bag out of my locker. I checked my phone to see three missed calls from Himari and one voice message. I put the phone to my ear and played the voice message.

"Liz," her voice came out frantic. "I'm taking Blaire to the hospital. I found her passed out in her room."

Immediately after hearing that voice message, I called Himari back to be sent straight to voicemail. Her phone must have been off. I tried Blaire's phone and it rang for a while before it sent me to voice mail."Crap." I shoved my phone back into my bag.

"Everything okay?" Brenda's voice sounded reminding me I'm not alone.

"No my friend is in the hospital." I slammed my locker shut and rushed to the changing room door.

"Wait at least let me take you home, "I heard her voice from behind me and I turned around to see her standing.
"I will be faster than the bus," she said and I sighed giving in.

Seth and Brenda had offered to give me a lift home before, and I've always turned them down, but this time it was urgent. Blaire had us worried from the morning. She had hidden her face in a scarf and refused to come out of her room. But now she was unconscious in the hospital. Himari didn't even mention which hospital she was taking Blaire to.

"Okay," I said and Brenda smiled. We walked out of the changing rooms and out through the back of the restaurant. Brenda lead me to an old Ford Cortina.

"It's not much," she said sounding kind of embarrassed. "But it gets me from point A to B."

I smiled. I didn't care what kind of car or how much money a person had. A person's wealth or status didn't make me immediately like or respect them. I care more about character. That's a person's true wealth.

"You can put your bag in the back," she said unlocking the doors. I put my bag in the back seat of the car and then moved to sit in the front seat. The car smelled like flowers and had pink fluffy dice hanging from the review mirror.

Brenda got into the car and immediately started it. She knew how badly I wanted to get home so she wasted no time in getting the car on the road. "So where do you live?" She asked and I quickly typed in my location on google maps before placing my phone on the hands-free kit she had set up.

The traffic was moving slowly and each passing minute was adding to my anxiety. "Hey, your friend is going to be okay," Brenda assured me, but in the back of my head, I knew that's just something people said to comfort you.

Brenda put the radio on to fill the silence. The music was loud enough to hear but not loud enough to block out the annoying voice that kept saying turn left. "Fuck, if I turn left I'm going to go into another car!" Brenda shouted at my phone.

After twenty-five painful minutes we were finally at the housing complex. The street lights were all off and an eerie fog had settled. "Looks like a blackout," Brenda thought out loud from beside me, and then she switched off the radio.

"You have reached your destination." My phone chimed creepily in the silence, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Brenda stopped the car and I unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No thank you so much, Brenda," I said grabbing my phone and bag before moving to get out of the car.

"Anytime kid," she said, smiling warmly at me.

The street was quiet and I couldn't see a soul in sight. This was oddly strange because there were always students around.

I walked up to the front door of the house with my bag slung over my shoulder. Brenda's car engine filling the silence this time. I put on my phone torch and opened the door. "Guys, you home?"

"Mmmmm..." I heard mumbling and faced my phone light to the source of the sound. My mouth fell open and my phone almost fell from my hand as I stood shocked. Blaire stood in front of me, her face was red and swollen.

"Blaire," I said in shock, dropping my bag from my shoulder to the floor, and then I heard footsteps.

"Liz you home," I heard Himari say.

"Blaire, what happened?" I asked not removing my eyes from her.

"Mmmn meh mi," she responded, moving her hands around frantically. "Mnnn meeh mn otion."

"What the Oros man is trying to say is that," Himari said, trying to hold in laughter and Blaire nudged her with her elbow. "She used some fancy lotion on her face and she had a really bad reaction to it. It contained zinc and she is allergic to zinc."

"Blaire if you know you allergic to it why didn't you read the ingredients on the bottle?"

"Mnn ady bhind cnter ed t o." I turned to Himari to see if she could understand what Blaire was trying to say.

"She says that the lady behind the counter assured her that the lotion was zinc-free so she didn't check," Himari sighed.

"Wait how can you understand her?" I asked and Himari smiled.

"I asked her all those questions when we came home from the hospital. Of course, I don't speak gibberish so I made her write it down."

A silence settled in the darkroom. "Why don't we have any power?" I asked and Himari shrugged.

"We got home just before you," she shrugged. "Maybe the power box blew up. Anyway, how was your first day of University, and how was work?" She asked and I let out a sound of frustration.

"Please don't ask how my day went because then I'll be forced to relive it," I said, sounding defeated.

"That bad," she said, putting her arm around my shoulders and Blaire came up and hugged me. "How about I make some hot cocoa and we talk about it," she suggested. It's a good thing we had a gas-powered stove.

"I would rather sleep and forget this day ever happened," I sighed. "But if you insist."

"I insist," she said rubbing my back comfortingly. "Now go shower we'll meet in your room." They let go of me so that I could go upstairs.

A hot shower and sleep were all I needed and I would be as good as new in the morning. I don't think that I would be able to deal with any more days like this.

After my sadly warm shower, Blaire and Himari appeared by my room door. Blaire holding a pizza box and Himari holding a tray of what I assumed was the hot cocoa and just like that Himari made me spill about my day and they were irate to find out what Mr. Man Bun did to me.

Blaire murmured something incoherently while Himari told me I should call her if he ever comes back because she was going to skin him alive and leave him to dry in the sun. That sounded tempting but I was going to handle him on my own if he came back.
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