New Rogues In Town

Chapter 1: First Day Jitters

"Cat, hurry up. You're going to be late on your first day."

"Okay mom." I know already geez,' I joked with Joya, my best friend.

Today I,  Catherine Elizabeth Riley, Cat for short.  am beginning my new job as a receptionist at Miller's Automotive Body Shop. I'm pretty excited. I've always loved cars and was hoping to learn a few new things while I'm there.

I'm originally from Georgia; most people describe me as a sassy southern belle, although I completely disagree. I'm certainly not into fancy smancy shit like balls and ball gowns, all the stereotype of being a sweet southern peach. I'm surely not sweet; nope, that's not me. But, I do unfortunately have a small southern drawl that makes people look at me like I am from a foreign country. I try to hide it as much as I can. Having a country nickname like Caty Beth is terrible enough. Thank God no one is around to call me that anymore. It's not that I am totally against the Southern states but they do have a reputation of being slower mentally than the rest of the nation. I always think of that movie with Reese Witherspoon in it, Sweet Home Alabama, where Jake says "Just because I talk slow don't mean I'm stupid." Well, that's damn true.

I only have one friend, one person in my life; my best friend Joya, that's all I need. I recently moved to Portland, Maine with her, so she could attend The University of Southern Maine. Supposedly, they have a pretty great criminology program. She's always been interested in detective type stuff. Joya's always been there for me and I know it sounds cliché but, she's one of those people that walks into a room and everyone stops and looks. You know, the girl that causes your breath to hitch and butterflies to stir. She's amazing. Me, not so much.

We are complete opposites. She's so sweet and delicate. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She is very humble, hardly ever raises her voice, and is kind to everyone. She's sort of hippie like, definitely a flower child who just wants peace. We laugh together, cry together, hate together, well mostly I hate and she calls me incorrigible. Our favorite thing to do is read books and eat ice cream, even when it's 10 degrees outside. Joya is short compared to most people, standing maybe at 5'2. She has fair liquid white skin, raven black hair and pretty, luscious ruby red lips. Her eyes are literally the color of coal. You would believe her parents selected Snow White's genetics from a clinic or something. She has the same whimsical, playful persona as her mother. She is quietly intelligent like her father was. They were both really great when they were alive.

Looking in the full length mirror, I smiled. Damn. I look good, wearing a pair of red New York and Company trouser pants and a white quarter sleeve that has large chevron print stripes on it. I pair my outfit with a black blazer and some leather peep toe shoes. I straighten my caramel colored hair and braid my over grown bangs and pin them on the side. I apply some mascara to make my brown eyes pop and my signature red lipstick. My lips, my greatest assets, were pretty plump and I love red lipstick. I'm kind of a vintage junkie and it reminds me of the 40's, which I love.

It was 7:40 a.m. I needed to be at work by 8 a.m. Thank goodness Joya convinced me to settle for our nice airy apartment close to town, even though it cost a little more. We decorated our dainty living room in earth tones and only had one small love seat and an old recliner. Our TV, a small flat screen, sat in the middle of the room. It had all been left by the previous tenants. They also left a few DVDs and we're grateful for those. We read most of the time so we don't worry with spending a lot of money on cable or movies, but every now and then we rent them or watch the DVDs that were left. To the left of the living room is a tiny kitchen. When I say tiny, I mean we both barely fit in there together. On one side there is a long countertop with the stove in the middle and three blonde cabinets above and below. Then on the other side we have a white old school vintage refrigerator  which I find really cool but it does not hold much food. Next to it sits the small sink. We mainly eat take out or eat on plastic plates anyway so we don't use it much. Directly in the center of the back wall is our bathroom and then our bedrooms are on each side of it. It is really nice, small but nice.