Atlas Grove, once a dancer with dreams of dancing under the stars, now lives petrified in the shadows of abuse. To escape her living nightmare she must keep her head down and work hard, being her senior year this is her last chance to get out. Altho...
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Nearing Rubys Diner I straighten out my waitressing uniform, a dated themed, short, red dress that has white pin button running up the left-hand side of it, accompanied with a white waisted apron- customised with my name- and a pair of red shiny knee-high boots. Most girls complain about the small heel on them but from years of pointe shoes, blisters and broken toes, these are rather comfortable in contrast. The uniform also comes with an optional red tie cardigan which I have wrapped around me to try and conceal any marks I might have on my arms. The uniform matches the retro-themed diner, one of the most popular places for milkshakes and burgers around Brookhaven.
I push the door open, met with the smell of fries and heat from the grills in the kitchen. The place is only moderately busy but it's only about five, people will be getting out of work and coming for dinner after extracurriculars so I presume it'll start building up soon. Although I'd prefer if it stayed like this, the lack of sleep last night and exhausting first couple days has drained me of most my weekly energy supply.
I put my card in the clocking in machine on the wall in the small cloakroom and shove my things into my designated locker, attaching my name badge to my chest. I use the small mirror to tie my hair up into a high poney tail and apply some more makeup.
Ruby's quiet strick on things like uniform and appearance, she likes a high ponytail, straight accurate uniform and at minimum a line of red lipstick. I don't mind though, having a uniform and applying some form of makeup can be quiet therapeutic and it's not like the uniform is ugly, it's rather cute. I also don't mind because Ruby's very generous with wages and tips, if I'm going to be able to get out of this town at the end of the year I need to have financial stability, even if I get the scholarship I'll still need stuff for living and travelling.
I like the job too, I've been working here for nearly three years, you always get the friendly regulars and I've met some really nice people working here, speaking of which Layla struts into the cloakroom, pulling her hair out of her rugged ponytail.
"Hey, Atty! I thought it might have been you, I saw a streak of blonde hair enter earlier." She opens her locker door and combs through her knotted curls.
"Yeah, pulled the short straw and got the late shift." I lean back against my row of lockers, the cold metal travelling through the thin material onto my back.
"Well, at least you've got me, what's better than that?" Layla slams the metal shut and spins on her toes with a smile. She strides towards me, linking our arms and waltzing us out of the room. Layla's been working here for the same amount of time as I have since we started in the same summer, she's the closest thing I have to a best friend and she knows the most about me, she's actually adopted too which makes me feel really at ease around her, I find people usually get really awkward when you say you're adopted which is why I refrain from telling anyone.
As it's still fairly quiet I've taken the task of filling the hundreds of sugar and salt shakers from the storage room. I keep two separate piles to make sure I don't actually slip up and pour them into the different containers or someone will be in for a nasty shock.
