I had been working all day, in the restaurant where I worked as a waiter. It was a good job at eighteen, and it paid bills and whatnot. The beads of sweat rested on my forehead, and I brushed them away quickly with the back of my hand. Lots of people must have found it unattractive. The restaurant was busy tonight. It was an elegant room and was one of the many attractions that drew you to The Silent Ice Hotel. The air was filled with the smell of fresh food and the sound of many people chatting casually. I walked across the room to a table in my area. There was a man and a woman sitting beside the window where the light from the streetlights outside poured in through the window. I looked at them with a smile and put down their drinks- a red wine and a pint of beer- and held the tray by my chest.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" I asked, still keeping my toothpaste advert smile.
"No thank you," the man said waving his hand to me, telling me to go. He kept staring at his companion, and she stared back, smiling.
"ok, you're starter will just be coming." I felt like blowing a raspberry and running away, but casually I walked away, tray in hand. I sat it on the bar, slamming it a bit too hard, and sighing at the same time. Lara, My boss, looked at me and laughed whilst she was shining a glass.
"Not getting enough attention," she raised her eyebrows.
"No, I just wish they would give me some respect, instead of treating me like a piece of-"
"No such language in this restaurant!" Lara waved her hand at me, and I laughed a bit. This was going to be an exhausting night.
I already felt tired, from the heat of the day. It usually was raining most days, the sun never showing its face. But today it seemed to be blazing its broad smile. This was most unusual, considering this was September now. But now it was dark, and outside the city still bustled with many people, shops closing up for yet another day, the traffic bustling.
Through the archway of the restaurant I saw the lobby and its guests. The front desk was quiet, a small woman sitting there writing on some papers. Her name was Portia, an old aged woman who could be stern at some times, her brow permanently moulded in to a scowl. She wasn't the nicest person to greet you to you hotel.
Just then as my eyes were wondering the lobby, the doorman opened the front doors. A young woman who looked around my age came through the door, smiling at the doorman as she went past him. She stopped for a minute, looking around the large place. I couldn't get a proper look at her, but I could see her hair was a dark brunette, styled in to curls that hung down just past her shoulders. She didn't waist too much time on deciding where to go, so she took to her left- towards the restaurant. She got seated in my area- lucky for me- and I slowly walked up to her. She didn't look at me at first as she was intensely reading the menu. Her eyes risen from the menu and she gave me a smile that complemented her beauty. I couldn't help but stare at her sapphire blue eyes. There was a short silence and when I eventually realised I snap my head back to my notepad I used for taking orders.
"Hello, are you ready to order?" I asked confidently. She kept on smiling and looking down at the menu she gripped in her hand.
"Oh, I don't know, I think I'll just have a glass of water," she said nodding her head. I was about to write it down, and then I stopped realising she hadn't ordered anything to eat.
"Are you sure?" I asked whilst raising my eyebrows, "Don't you want anything to eat?" She looked up at me again with the same beautiful smile and put her chin to her pale fist.
"No thank you." I tried to give her my best smile and started to walk away without even taking the order down on my notepad as it was easy enough for me to remember. I casually walked back to Lara, who was cleaning another glass until perfection had occurred. I walked in to the bar and got some cool bottled water out of the mini fridge behind the bar. The water was so cold I could see the droplets of condensation appear instantly on the bottle. As I was doing this I complained to Lara. "Who goes in to a restaurant and doesn't order anything to eat?" I asked, raising my shoulders in a sign of confusion. Lara just laughed at me. I was glad she found it funny.
"Maybe someone like her?" She suggested. I didn't even consider the thought as I knew she was trying to point out the obvious. As I poured the water in to a glass with ice, I gave Lara the ha-ha look, and she smiled back graciously.
"Are you sure I can't get you anything else?" I asked as I sat down the water in front of her. She shook her head as she watched the water, stirring it with her finger.
"Why don't you sit down and we can have a chat?" she indicated the seat across from her. I bit my lip as I struggled to answer the question. Ignore your boss and sit with the beautiful creature, or walk away and be a good waiter and get better tips? Oooh hard one.
"Erm ... I can't. See my boss might give me a wallop on the ear and I really can't afford to lose this job." I wasn't exactly coming across straight. I mean I could have done without this job financially; my parents were the proud owners of several famous art galleries in town, the finest ones as well. Many people had come and visited the galleries. No that was not the problem. The problem was that my mother had decided that big things had to be coming my way. She wanted me to keep this job because of the things it would lead me on to. I didn't even know if she was trying to kid herself, but I did know that my parents gave me the support I needed for my future, a vital key to keeping my head above the surface, which my mother threatened to take away if I lost this job.
The young woman looked at me, pouting at her best. I couldn't resist smiling. Lara was watching me when I turned round to look for her. She twitched her head towards the woman beside me and showed with her fingers I had two minutes. I nodded at her in appreciation, and sat across from the woman. She started grinning, still twirling her finger around the water.
"Hi, I'm Liam," I said holding my hand out to shake hers. She didn't shake my hand but she nodded to me. I put my hand back down, feeling like a fool.
"Of course, Liam the waiter," she said as though she was trying to remember the name of an old friend, and I had just reminded her. "I'm Sofia."
"So you look young, do you go to college or school somewhere near here?"
"Um, yeah I have just moved here. I'm starting at the college of art and drama." I leaned forward in surprise.
"Swinton's? Me too." She didn't look surprised at all, but she did raise her eyebrows to show she was being surprised, or trying to be.
"Yeah my parents bought this hotel actually, that's why I'm in here. Just checking out my new home." She laughed, and I laughed too, thinking she wasn't being serious, but then I realised she was.
"Seriously?" I asked to confirm.
"Yes, sadly. Living in a hotel isn't exactly my kind of 'happy home'." She stared at the high ceiling in the restaurant. Before I could ask her anymore, I heard Lara call my name from behind me at the bar. I waved my hand at her to show I was just coming.
"So, I'll be seeing a lot more of you?" I asked, feeling as if I was a five year old.
"Yeah, I suppose you will," she gave what seemed to be a flirtatious smile. She got up and walked away. I was about to call her back and tell her she hadn't paid for her water – which she hadn't drunk – until I realised there was money on the table, a hefty tip with it. I grinned like a Cheshire cat, almost too happily.
That night I got off work I stumbled out in to the cool air. It was a cold winter's night, and the air was crisp and alert. The city lazily passed me by, the cars stopping and going. Stopping and going. I shrugged on my coat as I stood on the step of the hotel, and tied my black and gray striped scarf around my neck. The hotel was dulling down now, only a light on in reception, and none in the restaurant. The room that was alive for the past few hours had turned in to a tidy but inanimate graveyard. I started walking down the street; it still was active, despite the time, which was around eleven at night. The taxi's passed gently, none had stopped near me, and besides, my flat wasn't that far away.
"Tired chief?" someone called to me from behind. I quickly turned, at first not knowing if it was me or someone else the deep male voice was calling. But because I knew the voice, I knew it was me. My old school friend and his girlfriend were walking up to me; they had been together since high school. I couldn't imagine having a long distance relationship, but I guess they were back together. Reunited. I smiled at them, gave them a small wave and gave Jared a manly hug, as we so called them. I was so pleased to see them, because I hadn't seen him in years, and he had been living in Vancouver for so long when his family had moved away. I hardly recognized him. His hair that was once mid length was now cut short. His teeth were still perfectly white, which I was always jealous about, and he had stubble.
"Hey Jay, how are you? Tess." I nodded at her politely.
"Hey bro, I'm good thanks. What about you?"
"Yeah, I'm fantastic. What are you doing in London? I thought you were in Vancouver?" He smiled at me then looked at Tess lovingly.
"Well, Tess and I are getting married!" he said enthusiastically as he grinned. I pretended to put on a shocked face, although, to be honest, I wasn't that shocked. It was going to happen sometime. Tess held her hand out to me to show the diamond ring that was placed on her finger. I inspected it closely before hugging them both.
"That's great you guys."
"Yeah, so Tess wanted to live together, so I moved back here." He gave her a tight hug. Ugh, it made me sick to watch that. I wasn't in to the whole romance idea. The thought of an ordinary relationship bored me to death. I wanted something more out of life.
I step on the other foot, shifting my weight. The night was getting quieter.
"So where do you live?" I asked, breaking up their loving huge.
"Just around the corner from your flat. That old art studio." I yawned and then quickly looked at my watch.
"So, I'll be seeing you around?" I asked, making a gesture with my hands for the 'around' part.
"Yeah. It's great being back."
"Yeah. Good to have you back." I gave them a meager wave, and turned around to go back to my apartment after a hard day's work.
When I got inside the flat, a rush of cold air met me. I tried to find my way in the darkness of the hall, looking for the light. I felt something moving towards me, a barking noise came with it.
"Riley, shut up boy! It's me! Don't wake the damn neighbours," I cursed as I stumbled towards the light, trying not to trip over my big golden retriever.
When I finally managed to get to the light switch (that being a mission and a half) I walked through the small hallway in to my apartment.
It was a fairly regular sized apartment. There was a small hallway, which had two doors. One of the doors led to a pristine white and ocean blue bathroom, and another led to a small coat closet, at which I hung my coat in. The hall opened up in to one large sized room. It had its living room on the right half of it, the furniture spread in to a casual design. The kitchen was on the left, a breakfast bar splitting it from the living room. There was a winding staircase that led up to a single bedroom. It was open to the rest of the house, only rails to make sure you didn't fall. No walls to give it some privacy. My apartment looked more like a show room than a practical living area. I didn't feel like staying up much. I gave Riley his food, which he consumed very quickly. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, letting Riley outside for the toilet. He came scampering back in, running to his bed in the kitchen. I went up to my bedroom and got changed out of my work clothes. The bed felt so nice against my russet skin. As soon as I had hit the bed, I fell almost instantly asleep.
