Happy New Years everyone! Let's kick off 2012 with a new chapter! What's everyone's New Years resolution? Mine is to write more chapters for WNEMS and YASIMH, and even AIALBTY, and to... I'm not sure… hmm… Oh! Find some acting jobs. Probably going to be local, but hey, maybe one day you'll see me in the next epic, romantic, blockbuster(:
Love,
Lauren(;
A small bell run overhead as I stepped in the door of a small diner, Maurice's, and the smell of grease and beer instantly filled my nostrils.
"I got a stacked meat sandwich, no tomato up!" called a heavier woman from the kitchen window. She tossed a plate topped high with a sandwich onto the counter, and a young boy, maybe ten, picked it up.
"Got it!" He yelled. He scurried around the main counter and placed it down in front of a grizzly man.
"Here you go, George!" the man smiled and saluted him with his large mug of beer.
"Can I help you?" someone said to my right. I turned around, and my eyes went wide.
"Hey," they said. "It's you!" I smiled weakly at the familiar young man that I had met earlier.
"Um, and it's you!" I replied. He smiled and wiped his hands on the apron tied around his torso.
"My name's Will, Will Calvert." He stuck out his hand, and it took me a moment to shake it. "Nice to see you again, Rose. And hey, you're not in tears!" I chuckled weakly and shrugged.
"Ha, yeah." I said, when suddenly, I realized we were still shaking hands. I pulled back quickly and ran my hand through my hair.
"So," he said, changing the subject. "Would you like a table?"
"Actually, no," I explained. "I'm looking for a job, and was wondering if you were hiring." He smiled and threw his hands in the air.
"Why sure! Mom and Dad are always looking for help! You're hired!" he yelled. I peered at him awkwardly.
"Wait, you own this place?" I asked. He shook his head.
"Nah, Mom and Dad do." I laughed.
"That's pretty much the same thing." I explained. He shrugged.
"Eh, I guess. But hey, I'm just a bus boy." I followed him through the groups of people, over towards the back.
"Let me introduce you to everyone." He said as he pushed open a door, which led to the kitchen. He pointed at the young boy that I had seen before.
"This is my brother, Eric." I smiled and waved. He smiled back.
"Eric, this is Rose Dawson." Will said. Eric wiped his hands on a towel and shook one of my hands with both of his.
"Nice to meet 'ya, Rose! Are you Will's new girl or something?" he asked. Will's eyes went wide, and he turned a bright shade of red.
"Shut up!" he said as he whacked Eric upside the head. I smiled slightly to myself, and followed Will as we continued forward.
The kitchen was small and dusty, and the only one that I noticed to be in there consistently was that little woman from before.
"Ma," Will said, touching her gently on the shoulder. "This is Rose. She's going to help out for a while." The woman turned to me and smiled, simultaneously pouring some type of batter on a hot skillet.
"Well hi there Rose," she said, her voice cheery and bright. And suddenly, she grabbed a towel, and threw it at me playfully. "Table number twelve needs cleaning." Will and I both chuckled.
"Right away, boss," I teased.
The rest of the day went pretty much like that; me bussing tables, Will doing the same, Eric waiting on people, and 'Ma' cooking up the food. When the clock hit six, and everyone was pretty much gone, an older man walked in.
"Hey Pop!" Eric yelled as he ran over to the man and gave him a hug. The man smiled and set down his newspaper.
"Hey, Kiddo! Where's your brother?" he asked. Eric smiled and pointed over to me and Will, who had been chatting it up for the past few minutes.
"Hey Dad!" Will called back. The man smiled and walked over towards us.
"Well what do we have here?" he asked, motioning to me. I smiled and stuck out my hand.
"Rose Dawson, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you." He took my hand gently and shook it.
"Rose is going to be helping out here for a while." Will explained. The man nodded.
"Well Rose, I'm Maurice. Thanks so much for your help," he began. "I hope they didn't drive you crazy while I was out working." Ma chuckled and continued cleaning off her griddle.
"Not at all," I said. "It was my pleasure."
"So Dad," Eric said. "What's going on out in the world?" Will leaned down next to my ear.
"Pop works at the Times," he explained. I gawked a little.
"Oh,"
"Well, nothing new, son," Maurice began. "All of the articles we're posting now really have to do with Titanic."
My heart sank.
"Such a terrible, terrible thing," Ma said with melancholy as she sprayed more cleanser over the counter.
"What's the final count of deceased?" Eric asked. Maurice nodded and went over to his things, grabbing out a notepad.
"Well, there are still some people missing, and some stowaways not accounted for, and then there are the people who didn't have their own ticket at all-"
Jack…
"But the approximate count is… seven hundred survivors and… one thousand, five hundred dead."
A shiver ran up my spine.
Will shook nervously.
"Terrible," he muttered. I stood there quietly, and continued to listen for another five minutes as Maurice gave off more statistics, talked about the terribleness of it all, and how they argued over who they thought was responsible, was something serious caught my attention.
"I'm sorry, Maurice," I said. "Could you repeat that?" Maurice smiled and nodded, and went to his last note on the page.
"Of course; well, it looks like there are a few first class members missing, and there is one warning out for a Rose DeWitt Bukater. Reward is… my god, one thousand dollars!" Ma scoffed, then chuckled.
"Sure wish that Rose was here right now! We could use that money."
"Mom," Will said. "The poor thing's probably lost and scared, alone and-"
"I'm sure she's managing," I contradicted. "I'm sure she can take quite care of herself!"
"What, a little first class thing?" Eric asked, pretending to courtesy. "Pssh, I'm ten years old and I could take better care of myself out here in the city!"
"The girl's probably never worked a day in her life," Ma continued.
"And wouldn't even know what to do with the money even if she had!" Maurice finished up.
But I had heard enough.
"Yes, well," I stammered. "Good night all." I grabbed a few of my things off the table, and then my coat from the coat rack. I quickly opened the door, in case I would cry, and walked out.
I was about halfway down the sidewalk, when I heard the little bell again, and felt someone run up alongside me.
"Hey," Will said. "You alright?" I stopped and looked up at him. He had big brown eyes and a small little scar over his eyebrow. I wanted to ask him how he got it; it was probably an interesting story.
"Yes, Will," I replied. "Thank you."
And with that, I headed back towards my solitary apartment, and began to cry again once more.
I had a feeling that I would be doing that a lot.
OMG! So sorry that this took so long to post! I've just been super busy with basketball and school, but today I'm home sick and figure, "Get this done!" I'll probably post more of this, only because I've already started, but WNEMS depends on how I'm feeling. Review please!
