Hey guys!
As promised, here's the first chapter of the rewritten version of Skyline. I owe a huge thank you to Sammie and Larissa, my betas, for making this worth reading and mistakes-free :)
For those of you who are new and don't really understand what's going on- I'm rewriting the story and having a beta go over it. Currently, chapters *1-17* are done.
Chapter 1
She stares out the window, the trees turning into a green blurry line, as the Double-Decker glides on the highway. The free newspaper is long discarded, having covered every single page in it during the long drive. Emma left Boston before the sun was even out, opting on skipping the morning traffic. But to be honest, the real reason was the fact that she couldn't wait to be out of this city and have her long-time-coming fresh start.
Emma grew up in the system. Saying that she wasn't fond of her foster home was the understatement of the year; The blonde never really fit in or made friends, and her inexplicable need to never back down caused her a lot of trouble (and a black eye or two). When she turned seventeen she started working for Mr. Baronio's catering business. The money wasn't great, but considering the limitations she had due to curfews and school, in addition to no experience whatsoever, she was simply thankful for having that job. She put on a smile and worked her butt off, earning a soft spot in her employer's heart in the process. Baronio was nice enough to let her keep her money in his safe, since taking cash back to her home, filled with poor foster kids, wasn't the smartest idea.
The money piled up over the course of a year and yesterday, two days after she finally turned eighteen, Emma dropped by his place to collect her earnings. Baronio, being the warm Italian man that he is, scooped her into a tight hug and wished her the best. Neal, his son, was there as well, smiling shyly at her while mumbling a good luck. It seemed like he had managed to overcome his feelings and came to bid her goodbye.
Neal was her first love, and like all young loves, it was passionate and drastic and unavoidably immature. They had quite a ride, growing up together, becoming the young adults they are today. But it was bound to end at some point, and after a few months they parted their ways.
She thanked him as they stood, awkwardly waiting for his dad to come back with her money. Green eyes scanned the place one last time, then, she said her goodbyes and left.
Her hands fiddle with the straps of her backpack. Her entire life is in that bag, everything she holds dear; so for the hundredth time since she got on that bus, she checks if everything is still there and confirms, that indeed, nothing had disappeared since her last check up. She glances up just in time to face the sign indicating New York is fifteen miles away.
She sucks in a breath and closes her eyes. This is it, it is finally happening.
Emma might have skipped Boston's rush hour but New York's traffic hits her hard. Crossing the city to the bus station takes them nearly an hour, helping subside the initial excitement. When the bus finally stops, at 42nd street between Lexington and 3rd, Emma is the first one off the bus.
It is a sunny day, mid-September, and the blonde decides on walking her way uptown.
She stops for a Starbucks along the way. Quite aware of her tight budget, she settles for a simple black coffee. Having nothing but her backpack on makes her walk nice and easy, and she reaches her destination in no time.
She looks down at the piece of paper in her hands, making sure she is at the right place, and nods to herself. The building is located on 81st street between York and 1st and is arguably presentable. But hey, Emma isn't picky. Besides, that's pretty much the best she can do with the money she has saved. The first floor is occupied by a diner named "Granny's". The cozy-looking restaurant and its proximity to her soon-to-be apartment make Emma unbelievably happy. In that moment, the blonde knows that this would be her new favorite go-to place. She approaches the door located to the dinner's right, assuming it's the building's entrance. She searches for the owner's name on the intercom list and presses twice.
"Yes?" someone inquires, her voice terribly pitchy coming out of the old-looking intercom.
"Hey, I'm Emma Swan, we talked on the phone…"
"Oh yes, of course, come on in."
A loud buzz is heard a moment later and Emma pushes the door open. Mrs. O'Malley, or Rosie as Emma was instructed to call her over the phone, is waiting for her on the first floor. She is short, pear shaped and has kind eyes framed by wrinkles. If Emma had to guess she would say that the woman was probably in her fifties.
"Wow! Honey, you are so young" she clasps her hands happily as she examines her from head to toe and back over.
"Well…" Emma chuckles awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"I have great news for you, sweetheart." Rosie announces cheerfully "You said that the size of the apartment didn't quite matter as long as you're alone and it's within your price-range right?"
Emma nods. She is well aware of the fact that living alone is an expensive privilege, and in New York City, no less. But the price of living with so many kids growing up has taken its toll on her and she is ready to take on extra work to ensure that for the first time in her life she can have some privacy.
"One of the smallest apartments that we have here is available again." Rosie smiles cheekily "I call it 'The Shoe Box'. It's almost a studio apartment, I would say, with a main living space and a bathroom." She elaborates as they climb up the stairs.
They stop once on the third floor, which is a relief considering the no-elevator status of the building, in front of a wooden door, the number 9 carved in it.
"As I said hon, significantly smaller but also cheaper" the middle-aged woman adds as she opens the door. Emma enters the place and scans the room. The apartment, if you can call it that, is indeed tiny. The single room contains a bed, a desk, a living area with a couch and a TV, a kitchen and a small bar stool to separate the kitchen from the rest of the room. The bathroom is small and generic looking, but clean. This 'Shoe Box' is adorable. A little smaller than she has hoped for, but cozy, and dare she say, homey.
"How much for this one?" she asks when they finish the short tour.
"975 dollars a month, including maintenance and some of the utilities. The other apartments start at 1250 a month."
This is a big difference. Three hundred dollars a month can cover food and transportation expenses, it can make her life and workload (once she finds a job) a lot easier.
"I'll take it" she smiles at Rosie and the latter beams right back at her.
"Great! When would you like to enter the apartment?"
"As soon as possible"
"How about now? It is empty." the older woman spreads her hands, gesturing to the space they are currently in.
"Sounds great"
After that, Rosie goes down to get the keys. Emma pays two months' rent in advance and signs the contract. With Rosie's instruction, she makes her way to the groceries store to buy some food and other necessities.
It is already late-noon when Emma finally wakes up from her slumber and starts unpacking. Recounting the money she has left, she realizes she has to find a job, and sooner rather than later. Still feeling the lingering effects of her nap, Emma decides to go grab some coffee at Granny's.
She places herself on one of the bar stools and waits for the skinny, brunette waitress to approach her.
"Hi," the brunette greets cheerily, "a new face!"
"Indeed I am" Emma smiles back, already feeling rather comfortable with her. She seems nice enough, her smile broad and eyes twinkling.
"What can I get you?"
"Black coffee, please"
"No problem"
The brunette comes back a minute later, a cup of steamy black liquid in hand. She sets it in front of Emma and leans back on the marble counter. "I'm Ruby"
"Emma." she takes a sip and moans at the biting taste of the caffeine "That is some good coffee!"
Ruby smiles in return.
"So… where are you from?"
"Boston, just moved here. To this building, actually." she replies, eyes glancing up to indicate where her new apartment is.
"Oh really? I live right across the street." Ruby provides happily "We should hang out sometime, I could introduce you to the city." She offers, looking truly excited at the prospect of making new friends. Emma, in turn, is thankful for the welcoming environment. Ruby can help her a great deal.
"Sure, that sounds great." She pauses for a moment, contemplating whether or not to ask about a job there. She doesn't know the place that well to determine if it is crowded enough for money making or not, but she has a feeling that in order to properly provide for herself she will have to go for a fancier waitressing gig, one that will bring some serious cash in. She was probably keeping quiet for too long, drawing her companion's attention.
"What's on your mind?" Ruby inquires, looking at her intently.
"Err, the thing is-" she scratches the back of her neck "I need a job." She pauses.
Phrase yourself properly, Swan.
"But I need, like, a well-paying job, do you happen to know about any good restaurants around here that are hiring?"
She seemed to be overly worried about the brunette's reaction. Ruby just smiles and happily volunteers the name of the restaurant her boyfriend works in. She says it is a fancy one, but Peter can help her get in. Emma finds herself thanking her again and again, but Ruby just waves it off, seemingly happy to be of help. She sticks around for a little longer, chatting to Ruby whenever she is free. It is early in the evening when she gets back to her shoe box, Peter's number saved in her contacts. She is tired and drained, the excitement that kept her going since five in the morning has already worn off, and she decides to call it a night.
Ruby keeps true to her word. Peter calls, announcing he has gotten her an interview on Monday morning. That gives Emma two days to wander around the city, freshen up her wardrobe and rest, well aware that this is a privilege she won't have once she gets a job.
At exactly 10 o'clock on Monday morning, Emma arrives at Antony's. The Italian restaurant does seem pretty fancy, but not overly posh, and Emma hopes she can make some good tips here. The interview goes well, Emma provides a letter of recommendation from Baronio and talks about her past experience. The test shift passes smoothly; having dealt with hundreds of people wanting their food all at the same time, maintaining a decent level of service to a handful of tables is fairly easy. As expected, Emma gets a call that same day. Antony's wants her.
The logic is pretty simple: the faster she masters the menu, the faster she can start getting paid some real money. She memorizes the menu every night for the course of a week, all while working her ass off during shifts to get the hang of the restaurant's chain of actions during service.
Emma passes the menu test and is assigned as a full-paid waitress. She starts with the minimum limit of shifts, five a week, and goes up from there.
A month later, the blonde is up to four double shifts a week and two shifts each weekend. In her free time she hangs with Ruby at Granny's, watches TV at home and sleeps. She desperately wants to start working out, but she keeps coming back from work way too exhausted. Her workload is crazy, and yet it barely covers her living expenses and some spare change for saving purposes. Thinking back, Emma is thankful for her shoe box and its relatively low rent.
It takes her a while to figure out how to pay taxes right, to remember paying for cable, figuring out the perfect grocery list, but for the first time in her life Emma feels in control, like an adult, and she loves every minute of it. She even makes a habit of buying something for the apartment every couple of weeks, slowly but surely, making it her home.
The loud banging on the door jolts Emma awake.
"Who is it?" she stammers, trying to get her heartbeat under control.
"Who could it be, Em?" Ruby states impatiently from the other side as Emma gets off the couch and makes her way to the door. "Can you stop the investigation and just open the d… Oh hi." She smiles brightly, bypassing Emma on her way in. The blonde remains in place, one hand clutching the door knob and the other furiously rubbing her eye.
"Were you asleep? Again? It's like eight, you old lady."
"Shut up, Rubs. I'm so tired." Emma whines, reclaiming her place on the sofa next to her best friend. Ruby fiddles with the remote, looking for something worth watching.
"That's because you work like crazy." Deeming some talk-show good enough, Ruby sits back, facing Emma. "You need to cut some of your shifts."
Emma sighs, shaking her head.
"You know I can't do that. I need the money."
"I know you do" her friend nods sympathetically, probably experiencing the exact same financial problems Emma is, being a young woman in New York City.
"It's not even the amount of hours that kills me, it's the physicality of this job. You have no idea how exhausting it is to open the entire restaurant and close it on the same day. My back is killing me and my hands hurt like crazy sometimes."
Ruby just shakes her head. "You need to find a different gig," She determines, and as Emma opens her mouth to respond she quickly adds "You don't have to drop waitressing completely, just get an office job and do night shifts. Or just the weekends. Everybody knows that's where the money is."
Emma considers it for a moment and deems the idea reasonable.
"That sounds nice, but how am I supposed to get a job? I don't have a college degree nor any experience with office work. There's no way someone will hire me."
They both fall silent, trying to come up with a solution.
"Don't worry, we'll figure this out." Ruby pats her knee reassuringly.
"Oh! And don't forget your promise, Em," she smiles wolfishly at her "Since you're not doing nights this weekend, we are so going out." She bites her lip, quickly adding "Someone has to take the dust off your lady parts."
"Ruby!" Emma exclaims, shooting daggers at her, but Ruby just laughs until Emma has no choice but to tag along.