Trash
Chapter 1
By: hermioneeeeeee
A/N: This story is set in muggle London. None of the characters who are actually magical have magic in this. Everyone's a muggle!
It was dark and late. Hermione wiped her brow as she slung another trash bag into the dump.
"You better get back in here right now! We've still got customers you lazy-"
Hermione drowned out the rude comment that her boss had made and sighed. She adjusted her uniform and went back inside the diner. They were shorthanded tonight. They were almost always shorthanded now. Hermione wasn't surprised; Mr. Grey had a quick temper and didn't respect his employees. However, Hermione couldn't resort to finding another job. There were no other occupations that Hermione could apply for besides this lowly one. She hadn't been able to attend all of college due to her parent's deaths. Having nobody to provide for her, she had had to drop out and start working a job. Hermione had been residing in a quaint apartment so she could at least live somewhere even if it was tiny. She didn't have time to feel sorry for herself; she didn't have time to do a lot of things that a normal nineteen-year-old could do. Hermione continued to fill out orders and wait on people. By the time it was 11:00, Hermione was exhausted and mad. Who would be eating at a diner at 11:00 pm? Honestly!
"You didn't get my order right. I asked for a small burger, regular fries with ketchup, an extra pickle, a large soda, and an eight ounce tub of coleslaw. You gave me a regular burger, large fries with no ketchup, two slices of pickles, a small soda, and a four ounce tub of coleslaw. What kind of waitress are you?" the customer demanded.
"I'm very sorry, sir." Hermione said as apologetically as she could.
"No, no. I don't want your apology. I want my food."
"Sir, we close in-"
"Have you ever heard of the saying: 'The customer is always right'?"
"I will go fix your food immediately." Hermione said, walking off. She wiped away her angry tears and filled out the order. Thirty minutes later, Hermione was walking out of the kitchen with two trays full of food. The customer took his food without a word of gratitude. Hermione saw her manager give her a mad look and beckoned for her to follow him.
"What did you do? I'm going to lose a customer tonight because you were careless! One wrong move tonight and you are fired! This is not an empty threat!" he whisper yelled, grabbing Hermione's arm.
"Ow! I promise, it won't happen again." Hermione replied nervously. He let go and Hermione walked away rubbing her arm.
"The bill. I need the bill." the man said. Hermione printed it out and gave it to him. He snatched it, scribbled his signature, and dropped some money down on the table. Hermione counted it carefully.
"Sir! You didn't pay the right amount! Sir!" Hermione shouted after him.
"Well, it looks like somebody's paycheck is going to be lower this month." he snarled.
"What now?" Mr. Grey sighed.
"He didn't pay enough." Hermione answered meekly.
"I know what I said about firing you but, I don't have enough workers here. You're staying but only so I don't have to lose this place." he said sleepily. Hermione thanked him and walked to her apartment.
She unlocked the door and threw off her shoes. The cool air felt nice on her warm body. Hermione changed out of her tight uniform and into her pajamas. She flopped onto her back and sunk into the mattress. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Draco rolled over and found that sleep was unwilling to visit him. He heard the door next to his apartment room open. Who would be coming back at midnight? Probably someone who had friends. Unlike him. Ever since the death of his parents, Draco had closed off his social life. His friends eventually stopped talking to him and he stopped caring. Your parent shouldn't die when you're nineteen. He bit his lip. Nobody else his age had to cope with all of this. It wasn't fair. Draco got out of bed and splashed his face with some cold water. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.