I'm currently in Vegas on vacation, and for the TwiFic Meetup, so this is coming now simply because I have internet access. Enjoy the update. In case you were wondering, I'm also posting this story over on twiwrite . net and am slowly posting all my stories over on archiveofourown . com My penname is the exact same at both locations as it is here. I'm always somewhere.
The next morning, I arrive at Forks just after the breakfast rush like Esme requested. I had no idea how to style my hair, so I go with a ponytail and hope to god I don't get anything sticky in it, cause that always sucks with long hair. If it did happen, I might shave off the sides of my hair like I'm punk, though I'm not really. The last thing I bought on iTunes was the Tangled soundtrack because let me just say Zachary Levi… fucking delicious. I'd let Chuck fuck me anytime.
Before I walk in, I clear my mind of the dirty things I want Chuck Bartowski to do to me and I find Esme in the kitchen. I spend the first half hour filling out the paperwork for my first official job, and half an hour into it, I find my eyes crossing because everything is so new to me.
It's obvious I am completely out of my element and I'm thankful when Esme approaches me with a tall woman with long glossy black hair, pulled into a braid. Hmm…maybe the next day I work I will try to pull off the braid thing, but I might look a little too much like Katniss for my liking, and I don't have a bow to pull the look together.
"How is it going, Bella?"
"This is all kind of new to me, but I think I'm almost done."
"Great," Esme grins. "This is Rebecca Black and you are going to be shadowing her today."
"Rebecca Black huh? I didn't like that Friday song you had. Talk about overplayed," I laugh as Rebecca looks at me oddly. Foot, meet mouth. "You know… that like ten year old YouTube sensation? She was driving in a car but no one looked of age? Oh, forget it." I give up trying to explain it all and feel foolish for even mentioning it, but luckily for me, Rebecca doesn't seem to care. "So, where do we start?"
Esme shows me how to finish the last bits of paperwork and when she tells me that payday is next Thursday and I hand her my void check, I suddenly feel very adult. I feel like squealing at the top of my lungs that I have a job, but I also need to consider that I haven't even started it. I could get fired immediately if I fuck up.
"Okay, time to stop daydreaming. Let's see how you do on your feet, newbie." I follow Rebecca as she shows me the various stations in the restaurant. I meet Aro, the sous chef, and a few of the other kitchen staff, who all seem particularly nice considering they are working in a hot kitchen in the middle of the summer.
After an hour and a half of training, the restaurant starts to pick up with the lunch rush and I follow Rebecca around like a lap dog, fetching things for her and trying to keep a smile on my face. This job is much harder than it looks, but I think it will be worth it in the long run, plus if I'm particularly lucky, I will see Edward again.
It's nearing the end of the lunch rush and I've managed a 15-minute break and over $60 in tips that I will share with Rebecca. Just as Esme grants me a few minutes to grab a late lunch, I see Alice wander in with a shit-eating grin on her face. I told her about the job because I knew if I mentioned it to Renee she would begin asking me when I was moving out. I'd rather get my first paycheck deposited before that happens.
"Esme, can I take my break and wait on my friend?" I motion towards Alice and Esme nods her head and gives me a small smile. I think she's pleased with the work I've done today, but I'm feeling very self-conscious about it all. "You checking up on me?"
I guide Alice towards a table for two near the back and she just smiles at me. "I was on my way to work and thought I would make sure you didn't burn down the place. I like their meatloaf more than I like you." I know I should be offended, but this is Alice, so I turn it around on her.
"You want to talk about meat, Alice?" I hold my hand to my mouth and insinuate a blowjob as an elderly couple at the next table gasps in shock. Alice laughs so hard her hand smacks against the table and her cutlery goes flying onto the floor with a loud clatter. "I am so getting fired before the end of the week."
"Take it easy, it looks like your boss over there thought it was kind of funny." I look past her towards Esme, who thankfully has a smile on her face. Perhaps she's smiling cause she knows I'm dead weight and she can fire me now. "How is it going anyways?"
"Well, I only mixed up one order, but no one died so that's a plus." I shrug my shoulders and hand Alice the menu. "You've been eating here for years, this menu is a formality right?"
"I actually don't have much time to eat. I start at 3 and I can't be late. Like I said, I wanted to make sure this place was still standing."
"I'm a waitress not a cook, Alice. The worst I can really do is give someone with a peanut allergy the peanut butter waffle plate." I pause for a moment, remembering how good that waffle is, and wonder if I can order breakfast for lunch. There must be some perk of working here, right? Other than potentially seeing Edward again… oh, and the money.
"I get off at ten, we should celebrate your first day at work. Meet me at my place and I'll pick up some wine coolers."
"What are we seventeen again? Don't be such a pussy and get something good." Alice recoils at the word pussy and I usher her out the door with the promise to see her later in the evening. I have to work tomorrow, but I don't start until five, I'm doing the dinner shift with Rebecca again.
"You were out a lot today," Renee remarks as I open the fridge looking for something to eat. I managed a quick bite at the restaurant, but then things picked up until my shift was over. Of course, I'm not yet ready to tell Renee about my job yet.
"I figured you probably wanted some privacy. I noticed you haven't painted anything since I moved back the week before." It was a lame excuse, but it was true. My mother was someone who was fully ensconced in her art when she was working. There were times growing up that I went and picked up groceries for the week, but I mainly got microwaveable pizzas and Lifesavers popsicles, since those were my favorite. I never said I ate well as a child, unless I was at Alice's place and her parents made sure I had something from each of the food groups on my plate.
"I got quite a bit done before you came. In fact, I have a showing in two weeks down at the Carnegie Gallery. You should come with Alice." I find the fixings for a sandwich and quickly put it together as I look at my mother in surprise.
"Is Garrett going to be there? Do I need to pretend that Alice is my lesbian lover or something, or can she just be my friend?" I snark as my mother rolls her eyes, something I've grown used to once again. She never could appreciate my brand of sarcasm or snarkcasm, as I prefer to say.
"Yes Garrett will be there, and Alice can just be your friend. Don't be ridiculous, Bella."
"Whatever you say, sis," I reply as I finish off my sandwich and head towards my room. "I'm going over to Alice's and will probably stay the night, so if you want to install your sex swing, now would be the time to do it."
"Oh Bella, if I had a sex swing, you would know about it already," my mother deadpans as I continue to walk away and wonder if it was possible that I was switched at birth. Which then brings me back to the nagging question I have had for as long as I can remember – who is my father?
"So you want to do, what?" Alice questions as we lie on her bedroom floor staring at the stick on stars and constellations she put up there the day after she moved in. They're tacky, but in my inebriated state, they are kinda fun to look at in the dark.
"I want to find my dad."
"Did you mention this to Renee?"
"The last time I asked her I think I was ten and she told me I didn't have a father and I was conceived by immaculate conception. I think she was high on something at the time, but what did I know. I had to fucking research what immaculate conception was to understand her." I groan and roll over onto my side, staring at Alice like she holds the answers to all of my questions. "You have a dad, even if he is a bit of a tight ass, and I wish I knew the name of mine. Does he have a tattoo? Does he like Indian food? Does he jaywalk?"
"I see you are digging deep on this one," Alice laughs as I smack her on the shoulder. "Oh, you were being serious."
"Yes, I was. I just don't know what to do. How do I go about this?" I've thought about it a bit over the past few years. It seems the older I get, the more I want answers into my parentage. I know it's pointless to look at my birth certificate since the only person listed is my mother. She claimed 'unknown' under the name of my father, but I know that she must have some inkling of who he is.
"What if Renee truly doesn't know who your baby daddy is? I mean, she is a bit flaky and is still pretty promiscuous. I don't think she has changed that much in 22 years, do you?" I flop onto my back and scrub my face in frustration. All I am looking for is a name, something… anything, but I have no idea how to start.
"I know; Renee may actually have no idea who he is, but I just don't think that's true. I think she loved him, at least enough to want to keep his child."
"Didyme."
"What about her?"
"She's your mother's best friend and has been around for like forever. You should ask her." I reach over and grab Alice, planting a kiss on her lips in excitement.
"That is a fucking great idea." I'm literally on cloud nine as I think about calling up my mother's friend and inviting her to Forks for lunch. I can talk to her on my ground, so to speak, and try and pry as much information from her as possible. After all, she is my godmother. Maybe I can use that angle to get her to talk.
"Can I offer up another idea?"
"What's that Einstein?"
"I think you should record all of this." Umm… what? "If you are serious about trying to find your dad, why don't you make a documentary about it? Record your victories and losses, how you feel and all that shit. Isn't that why you went to college, smart girl?"
I ponder Alice's suggestion for a moment and accept the blunt she offers me as I notice the stars seem to blend together. I could totally do this. I could turn this into a movie. People did this shit all the time, right? Look at Morgan Spurlock; most of his documentaries are him doing random shit like in Super Size Me where he ate McDonalds for a month. I can barely stomach it once a month, let alone every day.
"When you get it done, you can enter it in the TriBeCa film fest. You'll be interviewed in all the papers and magazines as the local girl who does good, and then when you get nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars, don't forget to thank me."
I think Alice's thoughts are a little far-fetched, but she's right. I should try. I'm trying to find my dad, why not find myself at the same time?