Windows on the World (OLD VERSION) [BEING REWRITTEN]

[₂] ᵂᵀᶜ

The elevator ride felt eternal. The way up to the restaurant was made even slower by changing between the express skylobby elevator and the local elevator and the constant stops on other floors. In fact, at first, she could barely figure out how to reach the restaurant when she was on the ground floor.

Phoebe's foot tapped against the floor of the last elevator. She kept tugging at the hem of her stupid dress shirt. They were going to hand her a uniform, but Joanna wouldn't stop nagging about giving the right image upon her arrival, and Phoebe's way of dressing on a daily basis was not well-suited enough for that purpose.

When the chime announced the stop on the 107th floor, Phoebe had been drifting away in thought, and almost in sleep, as her noisy yawns and heavy lids gave away. It had been a while since she last had to wake up so early. But given that summer was already ending, perhaps it was best to get used to it already.

As she stepped out of the elevator and out of the lobby, the whole empty and spacious restaurant came into view, and so did the rest of Manhattan, which could be seen through each vertical opening in between the steel beams. Taken aback by the sudden realization of how high up she was, Phoebe became overwhelmed, lured by the windows to take in the sight. Thankfully, she did not suffer from a fear of heights.

A tap on her shoulder made her jump and turn around immediately and almost defensively, startling the person behind her in the process.

"Oh! I'm sorry, my bad!" A young girl, not much older than Phoebe, took a step back. Her wide smile tried to hide embarrassment. "You must be Phoebe!" Breaking her perfect posture, the young woman stretched out her hand for Phoebe.

"I am."

"My name's Georgia. I'm supposed to be in charge of you today, so if you will, please follow me." Georgia was cheerful, and apparently, in a genuine way. She led Phoebe through a door at the back to what looked like a changing room. "We have your uniform waiting for you." She pointed to a pile of clothes; a white suit, resembling that of a pilot's uniform by the golden rims in the sleeves and shoulder pads. "Have you been a waitress before?" Georgia asked once Phoebe had taken a glance at the uniform.

Phoebe looked up, wondering if there were any concerns about her lack of qualifications. But she was honest. "Only in a small bar. Nothing like this."

"You'll get the hang of it in no time, then. It's the same basics but on a bigger scale." Much bigger compared to her small town, old-people-bar. "I'll have you stand by, observe so you can see how things work here, and only wait on small orders today, alright?"

"Sounds fine by me," Phoebe nodded happily, reassured by the fact that it wouldn't be too much of a chaotic first day. She was relieved that they didn't want her to jump right into action as soon as the clients started pouring in.

"I'll let you change. Then you can come meet the others." When Georgia turned away, Phoebe's attention was brought to the girl's frizzy ponytail. Georgia's hair was even curlier than hers, yet she didn't conceal it.

Phoebe used the full-length mirror in the room to check that everything was in order. Her make-up, though nothing like she was used to, fell across her features naturally and neatly. The uniform fit as it should've, but the new, polished shoes were a little too tight against her toes.

She looked tidy, well-dressed, but normal. The only thing to stand out about her was always the color of her hair. But being a dark red, it didn't bring as much attention as a bright ginger would.

When she was done, Georgia gathered some of the other servers.

"For the moment you'll be working more with Sophia, Doris, and Luke." As Georgia pointed at each one of them, they waved or mouthed a 'Hello'. "Once you start school, you'll meet Heather, Blanca, and Abdoul, who usually work the evening or weekend shifts. I start college in September, so I will also be working with you then." She concluded with anticipation.