Raul and I really ended up getting along well. Aspen was right. He puts up a tough front, but underneath he’s really just a big ol’ teddy bear. I cracked that side of him easily with my enthusiasm to work. He might be pretending to be nice since I’m doing him a favor, but something tells me he’s genuine.
“Everything okay?” Raul asks me and gives me a thumbs up.
I shoot him a thumbs up back. “All good here boss,” I reply.
He gets back to drying glasses with a rag like he just was and I head back to the kitchen once again. I place the chopped up hamburger meat on the stove and let it cook. On the side I add the onions and peppers and once everything is cooked in its own time I mix it all together. Then I top it with cheese for about thirty seconds so it melts over everything, but doesn’t disintegrate. The smoke surrounds the air around me and I realize I probably smell like a philly cheese steak sandwich.
Every girl’s dream.
If I’m being honest, working today has really given me a different perspective on life. Life's too short to live doing something you don’t want to do. My parents wanted me to go to school, myparents wanted me to get a degree in a suitable career. My parents this, my parents that, it’s always what they want. But what about what I want? I have to follow my own heart and do what I want to do. Especially since it’s my life and will determine my future.
I’m just not sure if I’m thinking straight. I mean it’s only been one day. I can’t possibly change my whole life based on one day.
Could I?
I mean that is what love is. One day you meet someone and if you like them and choose to be with them, your life has now changed forever. Love means forever change.
This job just really has me thinking. I could imagine myself working here, snowboarding in my free time and making clothes on the side. I don’t want to go to school where I’m forced to follow one path and one path only, that’s no fun.
I get bored too easily for that.
I’m a spontaneous person. I want the ability to be able to change my mind whenever I want and by having a career, that kind of prevents me from exactly that. But having a job that is fun and not so much of a commitment is more up my alley.
Who am I kidding? Derek will be back in a few days and continue working his job. Everything will go back to the way it was. All I did was keep his apron warm for him. He doesn't need me. They don’t need me. I’m just a substitute for a couple days and that’s it. I need to just get over these feelings I have and swallow my pride because my parents will cut me off if I drop out and then what?? How will I be able to afford anything with the amount they get paid here?
My parents have always told me they would cut me off forever if I dropped out of school, that is the only reason I am still in it if I’m being honest. Otherwise, I would have never enrolled. I hate school, I hate how stupid I feel when I’m there and I hate how pushy they are about you picking a major. Like sorry I don’t know what the fuck I want to do with my life Bridgett.
I’m getting agitated just thinking about her. For an academic advisor who’s supposed to help you throughout your college career, she isn’t very helpful. She’s lucky I haven’t tried to get her fired.
I take my philly cheese mixture and divide it into each egg roll wrap and roll it all up. Once I’ve rolled six of them up, I stick them all in the wired metal basket and drown them in the sizzling oil to deep fry. They go in for less than a minute before they’re ready to be taken out. I plate the food and pass it off to Raul who serves it up to the gentleman sitting at the bar by himself.
That was the last plate of philly cheesesteak egg rolls I made for the day because everyone else wanted a burger, chicken strips or a salad. All things that didn’t take any effort.
I feel my phone buzz in my apron so I check to see who it is and it’s Lana. I completely forgot to call her this morning. Shit, I answer her call instantly.
“Hey, Babe, what’s up?” I say to her.
“What’s up?! Hello Gen? Are you alive?! I’ve been texting you all day!” She says in a worried tone.
“Really? I’m sorry I haven’t been on my phone! I’ve been working,” I tell her and then I realized how that sounded.
“Working?! So you’re moving there now? What the fuck?” She says. It’s rare to hear Lana cus so this is funny, I can’t help but laugh.
“Why are you laughing? Do you know how worried I’ve been?” She asks.
“I’m sorry Lana you gotta relax, really, I’m fine,” I assure her.
“Okay, well, what are you doing? Why are you working?” She asks.
“Well, your hot tub lover had an emergency back home in Louisiana, so he had to go take care of business and I’m here just filling in for him,” I tell her.
“I’m not gonna even ask,” she says.
“Good, it’s confusing anyways. But look, I’m sorry. I got here last night and then we went out for pizza and—”
She interrupts me, “PIZZA??! ARE YOU OKAY?! DO I NEED TO CALL 911?” she practically screams. Lana is the opposite of calm when it comes to a life or death situation. But it’s my fault because I forgot we made our code word to bepizza.
“I’m fine, Babe, I’m sorry I forgot that was the code word,” I tell her.
