Chapter I: Shooting Stars
My life consists of three things throughout my daily routine. Eat. Sleep. Work. Yes, even on my days off. But not necessarily in that order. I'm a waitress. Sometimes an entertainer, like the singing type. Beggars can't be choosers, it's a decent job that has its perks. The people are nice and the money is just as good. However, everyone here, even my boss gives me the whole 'You're young, you shouldn't be wasting your life working here. Leave this place and go have an adventure' lecture.
I scan the place with its mix of décor from different time periods. When the sun is up it looks like a regular café, with its matching brown tables and chairs, the smell of fresh coffee in the air, and a calm atmosphere. However, once the sun goes down and the moon is up it the place suddenly looks like a jazzy, burlesque club…if that's a thing. With a lit up stage and red curtains red curtains, and the crowds of people chugging down all the alcohol at the bar.
"Earth to Abbey! Helloooo?"
I quickly stand up, startled by the voice of someone right beside me. "S-sorry."
An older man, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed is Jack, also known as my boss. Who seems gets a chuckle out of my reaction.
"Somethin' wrong?" He asks, looking concerned.
Feeling embarrassed, I look away to a nearby old couple sipping their coffees. "Nah, just tired I guess."
Jack folds up the rag he had crumpled in his apron and throws it over his shoulder. "Why don't you head home for the day?"
"What? Really?" I chirp.
Jack then scans the quiet café, scratching his five o'clock shadow. "Yeah, we got everything under control here. Only if…" He slowly trails off.
"If….?" I cross my arms and tilt my head.
"If you sing tomorrow night. The guys at the bar have been hounding me, and it's been a while. Come on." He urges.
After I cruelly drag out my decision I playfully roll my eyes. "Okay, just have my drink ready for me."
"You got it kiddo." He snaps his fingers and points at me with a wink.
Walking pass Jack with a smile he ruffles his hand through my hair. I head to the back of the café, through the kitchen and into the girl's change room. I switch out of my white blouse, black skirt and black flats into my comfortable casual clothes: Black tank top, red sweater, jeans and Converse. I throw my messenger bag over my shoulder, jingling my keys in hand and head out the back door.
"Hey Abbey," A fiery red head girl bobs her head at me, as she inhales the cigarette in mouth.
I walk around the grey cloud she releases as the smell of smoke makes my eyes water and fills my nostrils. "Hey, Emily." I quickly wave.
"Done already?" She drops the white stick and squishes it with her black heel into the dirt.
"Yeah, Jack let me go early. Gotta' prepare and be ready for tomorrow night." I adjust my bag strap on my shoulder.
"Really?" She suddenly shows a devilish look in her green eyes. "You gonna' be ready? I mean it's been a while, hasn't it." She teases.
"Who do you think you're talking too?" I place my hands on my hips and raise an eyebrow, with my head held high.
"You're right. My bad" She laughs, raising her hands in surrender. "But you're not a big fan of the whole tight clothes, and sexy dancing thing."
"W-who said anything about wearing tight clothes?!" I panic.
She laughs. "Easy there, you innocent thing, I was only joking."
"T-that's not nice!" I pout, feeling my cheeks burn.
"See ya' tomorrow kiddo." Emily says, stilling chuckling.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Playfully saluting her, I walk away.
I make a quick jog to the street where my faded red pickup truck is parked. Jumping in the driver's seat, I jam the keys into the ignition and with a hard turn the engine stalls but trying again and again as nearby citizens begin to look, the engine finally rattles to life and I floor it out of there.
Taking the back roads home to avoid traffic, as I always do, a sense of dread hovers over me as I drive through the forest. Watching at how the trees loom over me as the roads go from pavement to dirt and grow narrow. I slow down, hearing the crunching of gravel beneath my tires. My eyes constantly scanning through the trees waiting for wildlife to make an appearance. I at least hope it's nothing but wildlife that shows itself.
Nighttime has arrived and I make it home to my apartment building. I say hi to Phil at the front desk as he sits there with his feet up, reading some educational novel when I know there's actually a dirty magazine behind it.
Dragging my feet up a few flights upstairs, I use all my weight to push through the bland grey door. Without a care I kick off my shoes, drop my bag and keys on the kitchen counter and belly flop myself on the couch. Nothing but silence fills the one bedroom apartment until it becomes unnerving and I sit up, flicking on the nearby lamp. Which seems to make it worse, with large black shadows darkening every corner and creeping behind every furniture and object as if something is hiding and ready to jump out.
I decide to switch on the T.V. for some company.
"Maybe it's time I got myself a cat…" I look around the lonesome apartment as I murmur to myself.
After taking a long bath, I heat up a frozen dinner and sit down in front of the T.V again. I go over the papers sprawled out before me on the coffee table. I read through many original lyrics of mine, playing the music in my head, my foot tapping as the beat, and the rest of my body slightly swaying as I shovel in a spoonful of pasta into my mouth.
Just as I'm imagining how tomorrow night is going to play out, the lights in my apartment start flickering and the T.V goes static. I clasp my hands to my ears getting up and looking around in full panic. Then everything goes silent and dark. Something from outside my window catches my eye. Opening the window and sticking my head out to get a better view I watch six shooting stars fly across the sky. Mesmerized by the rare sight, my hand automatically reaches out to try and grab them. However in a flash, all six stars are gone, and here I am nearly falling out my window trying to catch the stars as if I were a child. I give my head a shake and decide to go to bed
I sleep restlessly that night, as I have this one haunting dream.
I'm lying face first down on a checkered marble flooring, until I get up, I see white fog covering what I believe to be a spacious room with a high ceiling, decorated and painted in golds and reds. Every step I take echoes and I flinch as if I'm disturbing someone, yet no one is around from what I can see. But I can't shake the feeling that someone is indeed watching. As I swallow my nerve to say something, I take a deep breath. "Hello?" I speak quietly, but even that bounces off the walls.
"Walk this way, child of man." A sincere voice beckons me to follow it.
White mist slowly begins to fade as a figure sitting upon a throne comes into vision. This figure, a man, glows brightly and is dressed in rich white drapery, with a simple gold crown on his head. He smiles kindly. "I do apologize for bringing you here unexpectedly."
"Um...O-oh, I-it's okay." I can't help but to stutter at the gorgeous man, with a face so fine and chiselled with long white blonde hair that meets down pass his elbows.
His sparkling diamond eyes meet my gaze. "Good." He stands from his chair and his robes sway to his movement, slowly walking towards me. "Abigail Hermiston."
"Y-you can call me Abbey, everyone does. Unless you don't want to, it's fine. I don't care. Actually, Abigail is fine." I nervously ramble, my eyes trying to look away.
The man chuckles quietly as he moves closer. "You are about to face your destiny. I hope you are prepared."
"Wait, my…what?" I cock my head to the side.
The man's expression doesn't change and now he is stands in front of me "Ex-goddess of fate. I have faith in you." His voice, glazes over me like caramel.
"I-I don't understand, you gotta' give me more than that. Destiny? Prepared for wha—h-hold on what did you call me?" With so few words spoken from this man, my head can't wrap around any of it.
He lifts his hand up from under his long sleeve and ever so slightly uses his thumb to caress my cheek and around my eye that he seem so fascinated with.
My head spins, and I'm seeing double. I feel my legs buckle and the next thing I know I've collapsed and fall into the abyss.
My eyes fly open with a start then I notice my shallow breathing as cold sweat slides down from my hairline. Then I feel it, a slight numbing sensation on my cheek where I remember that beautiful man delicately touching me. Shaking that from my mind, without looking I feel around for my phone on my nightstand table. Grasping it in my hand I look at the digital clock on the screen and read 9 a.m. I groan and toss my phone away and pull the covers over my head.
Being an introvert, I stay in my apartment all day long until it's time for 'work'. Parking my truck in the usual spot, I hop out, grabbing my bag and quickly walking towards the back alley where I find Emily in the same spot as yesterday, as if she never left.
"How many of those things do you go through a day?" I ask, as I walk up to her, indicating to the cancer stick in her mouth.
With a sassy attitude, she releases the smoke into the air. "You sound just like my mother."
"Those things will-"
"Kill me?" She smirks,
There is a moment a silence before we both start to laugh.
I look up at the night sky as I feel a nice cool breeze dance through my hair, then it occurs to me "Hey, did you see those shooting stars last night?"
"Shooting stars?"
"Yeah, the power started to flicker then everything shut off, and then there were these six shooting stars."
Emily raises an eyebrow, slightly tilting her head to the side.
I scratch the back of my head as I dig my toe into the dirt. "So, I'm guessing it didn't happen to you, and you didn't see the stars…"
"Did you wish on them?"
I scoff. "No, I'm not a child, and I don't believe in that crap."
"Whatever." She shrugs then peers at my face. "You okay? Did you get enough sleep last night?
"Uh, sorta, I actually had this really weird dream—"
The back door swings open and out steps Jack. "Abbey, good, you're here."
"Yeah?" I look between Emily and Jack dumbfounded.
Emily lets out a chuckle, "Better get in there. Hannah has been stressing out."
"This isn't the first time we've done this. What's there to stress about?" I groan.
Jack and Emily both shrug.
I sigh. "All right, well I'll see you inside."
Walking through the back door, I'm nearly tackled to the ground as tall young woman, brown hair tied back into ponytail, wailing as she hugs me tight.
"Oh, Abbey! My precious little Abbey. You're finally here!" The woman hugs me, burying my face in her large chest.
I squirm to break free from her death grip. "Mph! Hm mmm hmm!"
"What?" She finally releases me and I stably lean against the door, panting. "I said I can't breathe!"
The woman cups her cheeks and giggles. "I'm sorry Abbey, you're just too darn cute I couldn't help myself."
"Hannah, darling, please don't injure my leading lady." Jack appears from behind me and moves towards Hannah, laying hand on her shoulder.
I watch as the two young married couple playfully tease and bicker back and forth to one another. Seeing the opportunity, I slip unnoticeably by my bosses and head to the change room, plopping down at vanity, I stare at myself through the mirror as I see in the background the rest of my co-workers running in and out, either taking a break or going home.
Running my fingers through my messy hair, I grab my make-up kit and rummage through it then I feel someone rest their head against my back.
"Hi Abbey..." A monotone voice calls my name.
I turn myself around. "Hey, Melissa."
A petite girl, with a pale complexion and short black/blue hair that hugs her jawline, shows a tiresome expression, but I seem to notice a small smile whenever she looks at me. "Let me." She takes the make-up kit out of my hands, and takes the seat next to mine, pulling my face by the jaw, so our faces are only inches apart.
I work up the courage to ask Melissa what I asked Emily. "Hey Mel, did your power go out anytime at all last night?"
"No." She doesn't stop applying my makeup when I ask.
I begin to fidget with my hands. "Oh, uh, did you see any shooting stars, like six of them, flying across the sky?"
"No."
"O-okay." I try not to let it bother me, as I'm not sure why it does in the first place. I chalk it up to me being there at the right time and place.
"Done." She leans back lazily in her seat as if she's ready for a nap.
"All ready?" I'm surprised and look in the mirror to see my make-up perfectly done up, from the foundation to the winged eyeliner. "Wow, Melissa you're amazing! Thanks—wait when did you do my hair?" Noticing my bedhead gone and my hair straightened and sleek.
"Yup." She nods.
Confused by her very vague answer and questioning her mysterious ways, I move on. "Okay, I'm going to go get changed now." I lift myself up from the chair with my bag that holds my waitress uniform.
Then someone grips the bag and it brings me to a sudden halt. I turn to see Melissa who is shaking her head while point to my bag. "No."
"What do you mean 'no', aren't I just wearing my uniform?"
Then leading the way, pulling my by my bag she picks up a black garment bag and hands it to me. "What is this?" I ask, fully well knowing exactly what it is.
Melissa shrugs.
Unzipping the bag to sneak a peek, I feel my cheeks burn. "What—Why?I-I don't want to wear this. "
"Turns out Hannah overheard our conversation yesterday and took my "tight-clothes" joke seriously." Emily saunters in.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"Sorry, kiddo."
I sigh. "It's fine…" I grip the bag in my hand and walk towards one of the private stalls to change, put pause when, from the corner of my eye, I see Melissa following me.
"I will help." She says.
"N-n-no, that's okay Mel, I'm can do it all on my own."
Just then quick loud stomps, startling me, as they approach closer. "If anyone is going to help my adorable Abbey change it's going to be me! Who do you think made that dress?" Hannah, looking fierce, marches over and drags me into one of the fitting room stalls with Melissa still following.
"Hold on a minute!" I protest, as the two start to play tug of war with my clothes "W-would you both just—ugh! Get out!" With every ounce of my strength, I shove both Melissa and Hannah out and angrily slam the door shut.
Once changed into my costume I step out of the stall and look myself over in the mirror. "I guess it's not that bad." I say while adjusting the black cocktail dress, with its sweetheart neckline and capped sleeves.
"You look good." Melissa stands behind me.
"Thanks." I bashfully squeak.
"Here you go my cute-patootie." Hannah excitedly says, handing me a fancy alcoholic drink.
"Okay we ready to do this thing?" Emily stands in the door way, holding a tray. "Everyone's getting excited out there."
When she means 'everyone' she means all ten to fifteen people who showed up. Not that I'm complaining, if any more came in I'd have to wear a mask and chug down a few more drinks.
Jack comes up from behind Emily as she walks away to serve the demanding crowd. "Mike says he's got the music up and running, now it's all you."
I chug the entire cocktail in a matter of seconds, feeling the power alcohol take over.
"Have fun!" Hannah cheers excitingly.
As I'm last to walk out the door, Jack hands me the microphone and I hand him the empty cocktail glass. He sends me his good-luck wink and I nod. I take my position on the center of the stage, checking to make sure the microphone is on, as I place it on its stand. I breathe slowly, counting down the seconds. Hearing the curtain rise, feeling the spotlight hit me, claps and cheers die down and hear the music start to play.