A/N: So this is my first multi-chapter story. Bear with me here.
Mitchsen
High Shool AU
Beca threw the covers back as she jerked awake at the blaring of the broken alarm clock sitting on the beat up nightstand. She glared at the infernal device for daring to interrupt her blessed rest that seemed so far and few between these days. Her staring contest was broken as she startled at the sound of the front door slamming shut. Her foster dad. Thank god this one actually had a job so she didn't have to deal with him this early.
She scrubbed a hand over face before moving towards the hall bathroom to shower. First day of senior year, Woo-fucking-hoo. The brunette grumbled to herself as she brushed her teeth while waiting for the water to warm up. It never did.
As she finished getting dressed in a t-shirt and faded jeans, Beca literally wrestled her off-brand sneakers that were way too small onto her feet. After emerging victorious, she grabbed her bag from the foot of the bed and headed downstairs.
As she passed through the living room she barely spared a glance at her foster mother who was passed out drunk on the couch at 6:00 in the morning. She made a quick stop in the kitchen to check for food. She looked in the empty cabinets and fridge to see if the drunkards had purchased anything other than booze on their last "grocery store" outing. They hadn't.
She sighed before walking out the front door and starting the walk to Wood Lake High School. There's not even a fucking lake around here.
As she walked through the downtown area, she came across a small diner situated right along Main Street. She had a couple bucks in her backpack and figured she could make up lost time by running the rest of the way to school. She entered the diner, a bell over the door announcing her arrival, and grabbed a seat in a corner booth.
A nice looking blonde in her middle ages approached her not long after she sat down. "Hello, welcome to Thomas' Diner, my name is Elaine. What can I get you?"
Beca doesn't even look at the menu. Why would she when she doesn't have the money for most of it? "Uh, just black coffee and toast."
"That doesn't sound like much, sweetie. You sure that's all you want?" The older blonde asks in a motherly way that Beca finds just a bit intrusive.
"Uh, yeah, that's plenty." Beca smiles politely at the woman.
"Well okay, I'll be right back with that."
As Elaine walked back towards the kitchen, Beca's eyes landed on a table towards the front of the restaurant. She watched as the group of teens gathered around the table got up to leave. She was so enraptured in her spying she didn't even notice Elaine had placed her order in front of her until the woman had walked away towards the group. Most of the group had filed out the door by now but a blonde and redhead lagged behind.
Beca ate her toast as she watched the blonde kiss Elaine on the cheek, "Bye, mama. I'll be back after school to help out." A pang of envy shot through Beca at the scene between mother and daughter but she refused to acknowledge it.
"Alright, honey. Have a good day. I love you. Bye, Chloe."
The redhead gave a wave as she and the blonde headed out the door. The blonde called over her shoulder, "Love you, too. Tell daddy bye for me please."
Beca glanced at the clock on the wall and quickly chugged the rest of her coffee when she noticed she only had twenty minutes before school started. She threw just enough money on the table to cover her breakfast and a tip and ran out the door. Elaine stared after the brunette as she began to run down the street.
Arriving at the school with only three minutes to spare, Beca rushed to the front office to pick up her schedule. As she walked into the front office, she was met with a glaring receptionist. "Can I help you?" the lady asked.
"Um, I need to get my schedule."
"Name?"
"Rebeca Mitchell," the brunette responded, raising an eyebrow at the woman's rudeness.
The receptionist printed it out and handed it to Beca without speaking another word. As she walked out of the office, Beca ran straight into someone else. "Oh shit. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. You must be new. I'm Jesse."
"Beca. What gave me away?"
"You actually apologized. I don't know if you've noticed but this place is populated by jerks and douches. Not many of them have manners." The guy says jokingly. "Actually most of the town is. Anyway, what's your first class? I can help you find it."
Beca glances at her schedule. "English, with Mrs. Rowe."
Jesse grins before responding, "Awesome. We have that class together."
He turns and begins to walk down the hallway and Beca quickly falls into step next to him. "So, where are you from?"
"South Georgia," Beca responds as they come to a stop outside the doorway of a classroom.
"Here it is. Come on," Jesse leads her into the classroom. He smiles at the teacher as he goes to take a seat at a desk in the second row.
Mrs. Rowe is a tall woman in her late thirties who smiles entirely too much to be a high school teacher. Beca approaches her to introduce herself.
Mrs. Rowe sees Beca just as she finishes speaking to another student. "Hi, you must be Beca. The principal sent an email saying you would be starting today."
"Uh, yeah," Beca responds, not at all comfortable with such a friendly individual.
"Don't worry. Overall this is a pretty laid back class. There's no assigned seating so just grab a seat wherever you're comfortable."
Beca gives a single nod before heading to the back of the room, ignoring Jesse as he gestures at her to sit at the empty desk to his left.
She slouches down in the seat, silently watching as more students shuffle into the room. She recognizes the blonde and the redhead- wait, the waitress called her Chloe- from the diner as they enter the room and sit in the very first row. Chloe sits in front Jesse after pecking him on the lips.
She noticed the blonde's eyes scan the room and pause momentarily to glare at her. Beca simply smirked back. The blonde's glare intensified before she turned to sit down.
Beca slouches even further down in her seat as Mrs. Rowe begins the class.
The previous events continue in similar fashion as she goes from class to class. Eventually, the day drags on into the afternoon. Jesse finally gave up on his attempts at befriending Beca when she once again ignored him at lunch. He had tried to call her over to the lunch table he shared with Chloe and the blonde that Mrs. Rowe had addressed as Aubrey. Instead she chose a nearly empty table at the far wall of the lunchroom. Since she didn't have lunch money anyway, she ended up leaving the cafeteria and going to the library about halfway through her lunch period. She had found a quiet alcove in the library and dozed off until the bell to go back to class rang.
When the final bell had rung, she joined the herd of students shuffling out the front doors. She drew her bag higher on her back as she began the long walk to her house. She took her time as she wasn't necessarily stoked about having to see her foster parents. At least this placement wasn't too bad. They just drank a lot, forgot to buy food, and generally forgot she even existed.
She once again passed the diner she had stopped at this morning. She noticed the "Now Hiring" sign posted in the window and decided she might as well see about it. After all, the bastards she lived with weren't going to give up precious booze money to buy food and she had to eat at some point.
The bell announced her arrival once again and she sat at the counter this time. Elaine came out from the kitchen. "Hey again, sweetie. What can I get you?"
"Uh, actually, I'm here to see about maybe getting a job."
"Oh, ok. Give me a minute. I'll get my husband, Thomas," Elaine seems genuinely excited about the prospect as she disappears behind the swinging doors of the kitchen.
She comes back a moment later followed by a tall, dark haired middle-aged man.
"Hello. Thomas Posen." He wipes his hands on the towel draped over his shoulder before offering a hand to Beca.
She quickly shakes his hand. "Beca Mitchell."
"So, I hear your looking for a job."
"Yes, sir."
"Can you pour coffee?"
"Um, yes," Beca arches an eyebrow at the sudden question.
"Can you carry plates?"
"…Yes"
"Perfect. You're hired."
Beca stares at the man in shock. Elaine stands looking at them both with an amused expression on her face.
"Seriously?! You're like not gonna ask if I've ever been in prison or something?"
"Have you ever been in prison?"
"No, but-"
Thomas cuts her off, "You're hired. I like to pride myself on being a pretty good judge of character and I feel like I can trust you. Can you start now?"
Still in shock, Beca answers, "Yeah, sure."
Thomas smiles at the girl before heading back to the kitchen. Elaine chuckles as the brunette stares after him in shock. "Come on, I'll show you around."
She leads Beca to the back room, where she stashes her backpack, before leading her into the kitchen. "So this is where you pick up orders and then you take them to the table. It's pretty simple." She leads Beca back out to the counter and shows her how to work the register. She shows her how to quickly write down orders and gives her an apron.
"Chloe and Aubrey should be coming in any minute now. You'll cover the booths in that section." Elaine gestures to the booths on the left side of the door.
"Aubrey will cover the other half, Chloe will cover the center, and I'll cover the counter. I'll also be in the kitchen helping Thomas out when he needs it, so if you need anything just give a shout or come find me, okay?"
Beca nods as she ties the apron around her waist and puts her order pad and pen in her pocket. Elaine smiles back at her until her attention is drawn to the door as Aubrey and Chloe enter. "Hey, girls, how was school?"
"It was fine, Mama. There's a new girl though, she seems a little-"
Aubrey cuts herself off as she notices Beca standing there smirking at her. "I seem a little what?"
"Weird." Aubrey finishes. Beca simply continues smirking in that manner that is really beginning to annoy Aubrey.
"Aubrey Posen," Elaine scolds.
Chloe just laughs. "Weird can be a good thing. Weird is cute," Chloe pipes up with a wink.
"It can be, but that's not what I meant."
Elaine glares at Aubrey. Beca's smirk never fails but her eyes do hold less of a mischievous sparkle and have dulled with the slight sting of hurt.
She watches as Aubrey and Chloe head behind the counter to grab their own aprons. She sighs before letting herself get lost in her head as she goes about setting up the tables for the dinner rush.
By the end of the day, Beca is exhausted. She made a pretty solid amount in tips so she stops at a grocery store on her way home and grabs a sandwich from the deli. She eats as she walks and by the time she actually makes it home it's well past 11:00. She bypasses the living room where she knows her "guardians" will be passed out. She goes straight to her room, doesn't even bother turning the light on, and collapses face first on her bed. She just barely remembers to set her alarm before falling asleep.