I'm back~
This oneshot sprung up from a spontaneous idea I got while watching the Cowboy Bebop movie and the fact that I've wanted to write something from Namine's POV for a few days now. I actually started writing this at around 2:30 in the morning and didn't finish until 4:30, even though I had to get up early, hahaha. But when you love something, you need to make sacrifices and I love to write.
Not much else to say, so enjoy!
Working as a hostess at a restaurant really got you thinking about doors. Doors weren't just portals in and out of buildings. They were more than that. They were the entrances of worlds, of dreams and ideals, of life and death. Or maybe I was just over-thinking things again.
I'd taken the job as a hostess the year I started college. In this day and age, having your parents pay your way through just wasn't viable. Or so said my mom during my junior year at high school, when we had to pick colleges we wanted to attend. I'd registered at a college maybe…6 hours from my home state. Far enough to give me room to grow independent, but close enough to give me a safe place to go if necessary.
So when I was accepted to my college of choice, I was ecstatic! And…then I was bummed out. I knew I'd have to get a job somewhere. The job had to be easy enough that I wouldn't worry about it on top of worrying about studying, so I took the most mindless job I could find – being a hostess.
And mindless it was! Day in and day out I greeted people, brought them to their seats, and forgot their existences not 5 minutes later. I don't want to sound rude, but I didn't have time to remember everyone I met. I needed to get through college so that I could finally achieve my life's dream of being an artist. Say what you will about liberal arts students, but they went through just as much pressure as "practical" college students.
Still, being a hostess did have some perks. For one thing, there were a few interesting people who came in. Like this one guy I met once, Luxord I think his name was. Anyway, the guy was a total ladies man; a British accent, a nice little moustache-beard combo, piercing blue eyes and he was charming. Really charming. The night he came in, he was with not one, not two, but three girls. And they were all over him! It was insane how he just walked up to the podium I stood behind, leaned in, and gave me the type of smile that sent chills down my spine. A smile that could either belong to a serial killer or the type of man who could get anything he wanted.
"So, my dear, I'd like a table for four. Unless you want to join, that is." That accent he had was mesmerizing.
"Um, I-I'm fine. Four you said?" I stuttered.
He dodged the question. "Are you sure you don't want to dine with me? Trust me; it'll be worth your time." When he moved his head, the tiny silver hoop earring slanted in that direction. In his hand was a deck of cards, and he shuffled them perfectly without working.
"I'm…I'm good. Alright, four it is, then. That'll be a 10 minute wait." I gestured towards the wooden bench lining the wall. "You can sit there for now."
He frowned a bit, and then his cunning smile returned. "I see." He took my hand, bowed his head, and gave it a little kiss. I was too stunned to do anything. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, miss…."
"Namine."
Why did I just tell him my name! I thought.
"Namine. Such a pretty name for such a pretty girl! My name is Luxord, and these-" he pointed to the three beautiful women behind him, "are my good friends."
Good friends my ass. "That's very nice. Well, if you'd take a seat…."
And he did. Two of his girls sat beside him and one sat on his lap. He just leaned against the bench's backboard, hands behind his head, and smooth-talked his way into their pants that night. Probably, anyway. I couldn't hear a thing he was saying. But he stared at me the entire time.
On his way out of the restaurant, he slid a 50 dollar tip into my breast pocket, somehow without touching my breast at all. Not that I'm complaining; he was a bit too charming. He was dangerous. And I did get a 50 dollar tip, enough for the nice white sundress I'd been saving up for.
The second good thing about being a hostess was knowing the kitchen staff, including the waiters. These people were actually cooler than you'd think. Like my red-headed friend Kairi, who was a waitress that worked the same shift as me. We were hired at around the same time and we went to the same college where we shared a photography class, and all of that helped us to become close friends. She was a bubbly, hot-headed girl who could out-drink most guys I knew and still be just as graceful as if she had just stepped out of some sort of tango class.
Then there were the two head chefs, a married couple only a few years older than I was. Ventus and Aqua were almost too odd to be together, at least in my opinion. Aqua was tall and level-headed, a good leader, and she was very organized. Obsessively so. But on the other hand, Ven was short and he always had his head in the clouds. Not to mention the fact that he was bad at organizing things, which usually bothered Aqua to the point that she'd scold him like a mother would a child. But hey, they'd been married for just about 4 years and I couldn't see anything really wrong with their relationship, which made me really happy for them.
~!~
I remember having a dream a few weeks after I was hired that involved the big door at the front of the restaurant. Some force compelled me to walk out the door, which lead to some sort of angelic world. Everything was glowing and golden. The air was sweet and the sun was pleasantly warm. But at the edge of this golden universe was a huge, dark purple storm cloud. At first I enjoyed the safety and solidarity of the new world, but eventually I grew nervous. The purple cloud loomed over the city and covered everything in shadow. Lightning ripped through the sky and hail assaulted the trees and the buildings. The wind that blew from the storm was bitingly cold. The only salvation was the restaurant and so I ran as hard as I could. The storm cloud kept advancing and with each of my steps towards safety, the storm became more severe.
When I reached the threshold of the restaurant's door, I almost made it. My hand nearly passed through, but then everything turned to ash. Everything. The dream world was no longer a golden paradise; it was the burned remains of civilization, of life. But there was still the door. I turned away from the wreckage and walked through and that was it. I woke up screaming.
No more coffee before bed. I thought.
~!~
Still, I think my favorite thing to ever walk through that door was Roxas.
Roxas was a kid I kinda knew from high school. I remembered being in a few classes together over the years and we knew each other through some friends of friends. I think I might've hung out with him once, and that was with a large group of people. Suffice it to say, we didn't really know each other beyond "Oh, you went to Twilight Town High!". I'd always thought that he was cute, though, and that he was a really sweet kid. Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and a lovable personality made it hard not to like him.
Roxas walked in during my second year working as a hostess. He came in on a stormy night with a taller boy who also went to our school, Axel. The restaurant was totally empty that night, mainly because of the thunderstorm that was flooding the roads. The two were soaking wet when they walked in.
Axel, about a head taller than Roxas and I, looked down with a smile. "Nice night out, right?" It sounded like he was teasing me.
"Axel, come on, don't bother the hostess like you always do." He leaned towards me, apologetic. "I'm sorry for him."
"No, no, it's fine." I laughed. "So it's just the two of you?"
"Yep, me and my lover here!" Axel put his arm around Roxas' neck and pulled him close.
"The hell are you doing?" Roxas tried struggling out of Axel's grip, but he only laughed and tightened it.
"Well, if you two lovers will just follow me." I laughed as I walked them to their seat.
When they were seated, I walked to where the waiters waited to wait to find Kairi, who seemed to be the only person working that night's shift.
"How many?" She asked.
"Two, but…would you mind if I waited on them tonight? They're old friends of mine." I looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Well…" she scanned the restaurant and found that there was no one else to be waited on. "I guess so. Have fun!"
Over the years, I'd picked up some tips on how to wait tables. The main things were to smile and to always agree with the customer. That last one was especially important. It was essentially the difference between a happy customer and an angry, unstoppable suing machine. Getting into an argument with a customer was not something you wanted to do if you wanted to keep your job. Or at the very least, it wasn't something you wanted to do if you expected a nice tip.
I waited a few minutes before I returned to the table.
"Have you guys decided what you wanted yet?"
"I'll have a burger and a coke." Axel said.
"Same, but with a milkshake instead."
I smiled, wrote down the orders, and told them I'd be right back with the drinks.
When I entered the kitchen, most of the cooking staff were lounging around, leaning against walls and talking. It had a been a really slow day, especially because it'd been pouring since the morning and it only got worse as the day went on. Still, Aqua was a little surprised when I walked in with some orders.
"Isn't Kairi on duty, Nami?" she asked.
"Yep."
"So why're you here?"
"An old friend stopped by."
"Isn't that wonderful, Aqua?" Ven appeared from nowhere. "Nami's reconnecting with old friends!"
She sighed and took the paper with the orders from me.
"I need a milkshake, two burger dinners, and a coke, stat!" she called out. Immediately, the cooking staff got to work and in no time I delivered both drinks.
After the boys got their beverages, I swung a chair over from a close table and sat on it backwards.
"You really don't remember me?" I asked. Roxas just tilted his head.
"You know, you do look familiar. Do I know you?"
I thought back to the way I looked in high school and then laid part of my hair on my right shoulder. "Ring any bells?"
"…Namine? Is that you?" he looked surprised.
"Yep! Took you long enough to figure it out."
"Wow, didn't expect to see you here; what's up?"
"I'm attending college at Destiny Islands Uni."
"Really? I'm going there to!"
Huh. Wonder why I never saw you?
"Me too!" Axel said with a mocking tone, before smiling a bit.
I laughed before I excused myself. When I came back, I had the food with me.
"Thanks." Roxas said after I handed him the plate.
I resumed my earlier seating. "So what brings you two out here on a night like this?"
"I'm trying to figure out why this idiot is marrying his girlfriend who, in his own words, is 'the world's biggest bitch'." He pointed at Axel with his knife on the word 'idiot'.
"Hey, love's love, right? Larxene may be a huge bitch with a hair-trigger temper, but she's my huge bitch with a hair-trigger temper."
I stole one of Roxas' fries. "I have to agree with him, Roxas. Love knows no bounds. Whether or not his girlfriend is…nice has nothing to do with whether or not they love each other."
He just raised an eyebrow. "I guess that makes sense, but why would you marry someone if you're just going to fight all the time?"
Axel shrugged. "That's just the way it is."
It was nice catching up with Roxas and talking with Axel for the first time. I felt like I was back in high school when, believe it or not, things were simpler. But all good things come to an end, and soon enough the two of them had to leave. Too soon, if you ask me.
"We gotta hang out sometime." Roxas said. I handed him the check. "I thought I already paid?"
"Just look at the receipt. But wait until you get back to your dorm." I told him. He nodded, smiled, and ran out to meet Axel.
On the receipt was my phone number.
~!~
About a year after Roxas walked into the restaurant, we started dating. He had invited me as his date for Axel's wedding, where I also met Larxene (who was just as bitchy as they said). Roxas and I really just meshed together, and, while we disagreed on certain things (like which was the better zombie movie: Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland. My vote goes to the former), life together was simple and easy.
But there was one day, about 6 months after we started dating, when I thought I saw the world from my dream.
I stepped out of the restaurant that August day, and everything was bathed in the golden sunlight of the setting sun. The world was warm and golden and inviting, just like it had been in my dream. But there, in the corner of my eye, was the advancing dark purple cloud. It seemed so real, so dangerous, that I nearly feel to my knees. I could only watch as it destroyed the city and headed towards me.
Oh God, I'm going to die.
Oh God, I'm going to die.
I don't want to die! It can't all end! Not like th-
Beep!
A car horn blared. I looked in front of me to see Roxas, waiting in his car, smiling like there was nothing wrong in the world. And when I looked around, there really wasn't. Everything was in its place and there wasn't a storm cloud anywhere in the sky.
Behind me, the restaurant door was shutting, as the place was closing early for the day. And in front of me, Roxas had opened the passenger side door of the car.
When one door closes, I though, another one opens up.
So, did you enjoy it? Did it suck? I won't know until you review! Even if it's just one sentence, just one word, I don't care. Reviews are love, hahaha.
And in other news, my blog has a few more posts, so I hope that, if you check it out, you enjoy it!