"Mimi! How've you been?" Sara, one of the waitresses, said as I entered the Life Café.

"Hey! I've been okay… I'm actually here about the waitress job. I wanted to work, so here seems like a good place."

Her eyes lit up. "That's great! I'll have you talk to the manager." She hollered back into the kitchen, "Larry! Someone's here for the job!"

A tall man with thick glasses came out carrying a notepad. He gave me a little smile. "This the girl, Sara?"

She nodded. "Yep! This is Mimi Marquez. She's a regular here, and she needs a job."

"How old are you?" he asked me.

"Twenty."

"Any prior job experience?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes. I worked in a club up until a few months ago."

"So you've had a job before?"

"Yes. I've worked since I was fourteen babysitting, working at supermarkets- anything anyone needed until I was eighteen and worked at the club. I've done a lot."

He nodded his head and scribbled something on the notepad. "Mimi, huh? Well, considering no one else has applied yet, you've got the job. You get $4 an hour plus tips. Sara here will help you get set."

He turned to leave. "Thank you!" I called after him. When he was gone, I turned to Sara. "I can't believe it! I'm actually working again! This is amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get too excited. It gets old real fast."

"But at least it's a job and this place is heated," I insisted.

She laughed and tossed her golden, crimped hair. "Come on. We have work to do."

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So this was the first time I had ever been a waitress, and I thought it was fun. Well, today I kind of just followed Sara and this other woman Elisa around to learn how everything works and what to do- it was basically training.

I was there until almost ten o'clock at night, but that wasn't so bad. I'd normally be leaving for work at that time, so this was good for me. And we'd finally have a little bit more money, which we desperately needed. At least Roger would be happy about that!

I said goodbye to the gals at the Café and made my way home. It was freezing, but I didn't mind now. I felt better than I had in over two months.

When I reached the apartment, I entered it and ran up the stairs, eager to tell Mark and Roger. When I entered the loft, it seemed that no one was there, which was odd because the night was still young.

But then I saw Roger sprawled out on the couch. I didn't want to wake him, or he'd have a fit, so I went to Mark's room, but he wasn't there.

Oh well. I guess I'd be alone tonight unless someone came by or Roger woke up. That didn't bother me.

I went into the bedroom and got changed into leggings and one of Roger's sweaters. I was going to go fix something to eat- there wasn't much else to do.

There was nothing edible in the cabinets. Were we really that bad that we didn't have food? I thought Mark had went shopping earlier this week, but I don't know where our food has gone…

"Mimi, where the fuck were you?"

His voice made me jump. "I was working," I answered flatly. So much for my celebration.

"You've been gone for eight hours, and you didn't even think to tell me that you were leaving?"

He's been acting so much like my father lately. "Look, Roger, I told you that I was heading over to the Life Café, but you just can't accept the fact that I have a job! And there's nothing you can do about it! Every time you go out I don't need to know where you're going! We're not a bunch of immature teenagers who need parental guidance!" I yelled at him, then dashed into the bedroom and slammed the door.

"Fuck you too!" he yelled, then I heard the bang of the closing of the front door.