the water was cold and dirty as Sid reluctantly reached in and grabbed the cloth from the bucket. She winced at the thought of weeks worth of other people's old food brushing against her hand, but that didn't stop her from doing her job. "Jesus Christ, what do i do this for?" she said under her breath. She knew though. She needed the money. it was all she could do to pay the rent of her shitty apartment each week and still have enough cash leftover be able to eat. Pulling the cloth out the stale water, she slapped it onto the table and started wiping it down, her movements angry and rushed. paying too much attention to her own frustration, she knocked over the bucked which poured its foul contents all over the table and her black waitress skirt and apron.
"fucking hell!" she said, not all that quietly. in most diners, an employee swearing like this wouldn't go down all that well, but this was Boston, and not exactly the best neighbourhood. Most people that lived here were Irish immigrants looking for work, and no irishman Sid had ever met had an aversion to saying bad words. more like an attraction, she thought to herself.
Sid picked up the bucket and slammed the cloth into it. She could feel the water soaking into her clothing already. "Just what i fucking needed."
"Sinclair, what the hell is going on over here?" gordon walked over.
"this just gets even better." she said under her breath.
Sid looked to the sorry excuse of a human coming towards her. Her boss was probably the worst part of her already shitty life at the time being. As soon as he came with in a couple of metres of her, Sid could smell his trademark body odor and cuban cigar cologne. his few strands of thin, greasy hair was combed over the top of his head, and there was sweat on his lip below his nose. he was grossly overweight, so much so that he sometimes struggled to walk through the gaps in-between tables and chairs. He wore a white t-shirt with countless stains and a gold chain necklace every day, and sometimes Sid wondered if he ever actually had multiple copies of the same clothes, or he just never changed at all.
"Sorry, i knocked over the washing water. It won't happen again." she said looking down and starting to soak up the water with the cloth.
"It better fuckin' not happen again, or that'll be the last straw for you. I have a lot of fuckin' work to do an' i don' have time to be supervising your fuck-ups all day everyday." Sid wondered exactly what it was that gordon did all day, but she didn't dare talk back, she needed this job. She needed the money.
"I promise." she muttered, trying to sound apologetic, when all she really wanted to do was shove her middle finger up into the air and walk out.
"good. it's Not all bad though, i don't mind seeing you… like this…" He motioned to her wet clothing with a sleazy grin and a wheezing laugh.
She ignored him and continued to mop up the water until he wobbled ungracefully away,his guts pushing past chairs as he went.
not with out a look or two back at her ass of coarse.
She never thought that she would ever have to work in a hole like this, but things had changed, and she did what she needed to do.
"filthy fuck." She whispered under her breath and felt hot tears burning her eyes.
"Ya got that right, why is a nice young gal like ya' self still working here for tha' piece a' scum?" The voice came from right infront of her, and she was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the person it came from had been standing there. Sid looked up to see not one but two young guys sitting at the next table.
they were dressed identically, black tshirt, jeans. the one that spoke had a sort of dark blonde hair. The other had dark hair, and was rocking back on his seat,
"leaving' aint a crime ya' know, ya shouldn't have ta' put up wit' that kinda shite from 'is sort." said the dark haired one.
Sid wiped her eyes with her wrists, and sniffed defiantly.
"I would if i could, trust me." she muttered. Normally she would have told them to mind their own business or just ignored them, but she found it pretty hard when they were basically reciting her thoughts.
"i'll be guessing' ya' need the work?" Said the blonde guy.
"O'coarse she needs tha' work, Con, ya' moron. Ev'ry one 'round ere needs tha' work." the dark haired guy said. "Sorry for my brother 'ere, he can be a right idjot on occasion."
"he's right, sorry bout' that." the guy con sounded genuinely apologetic. These guys certainly weren't the diner's usual customers. Yes they were irish, she could tell by their accents, but they sounded like they actually cared. usually when gordon gave her shit, the people sitting at tables didn't pay any notice, or laughed along with him.
Sid, finishing soaking up the water said, "don't worry about it. anyway, it's okay, it's not that bigger deal."
"not a big deal?" Con said, trying and failing to stop himself from raising his voice. "This is serious shit 'ere. Ya' can't be comin' ta' work an' being treated like that. Fuckin' disgusting. Jesus Christ"
"yeah? well thanks for giving a fuck. Makes a change for the better around this shit hole." Sid was surprised. Even just hearing that these two completely random guys getting angry about gordon and his usual shit made her feel a little bit better. just that little bit less alone.
"No problem at all. and don'cha worry bout him either, miss. his kind get wha' they got comin', don' they Con?" Murph gave a knowing look at his brother, which was returned immediately.
"Thas' right Murph. They do."
Sid looked at them suspiciously for a moment, then shrugged it off.
"have a coffee each, on the house." Sid poured them one each and received two winks in return. She walked away feeling just a little less helpless than before"