Love, Corinne

chapter one

Calloused hands pressed firmly on a vanilla envelope, closing it. Slim fingers gently grabbed a group of the envelopes and placed them neatly inside a small cardboard box.

The hands moved across the unusually clean desk, and grazed across a thick red velvet ribbon. Velvet met with cardboard, as the box was tied up, envelopes inside, wrapping up tightly.

A deep breath of relief came from a curly haired beauty, who smiled upon the quaint box.

"Well, I've said what needed to be said. Now I just hope you'll listen, you were never good at that," the girl muttered to herself.

"So much is going to happen in life, we're just finishing up a little leg of the journey. I'm excited to see what'll happen, and even more excited to carry on my journey with you."

Her dark oak eyes crinkled with a smile before standing up from the desk, carrying the box with her.

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The restaurant's dim light cascaded on the movement of bodies in booths or shuffling around. A haze of talking and laughter swarmed everyone's ears. If I wasn't working all day, it would be been a comfortable sight.

Quickly grabbing trays of food, I ducked down and over fellow waiters and waitresses to deliver dinner to my tables in waiting. I passed paintings of Chinese folklore and framed handwritten calligraphy. Setting down trays as I moved along, my feet padded along the red carpet keeping a steady work pace.

The restaurant buzzed with life and waiters and customers wandered around the building. A warm scent of Americanized orange chicken and traditional jiaozi consumed the area. My nose had been craving the food since my lunch break.

As I set down the plates of food, I tucked a few stray strands of caramelized brown hair back into their bun. Quickly walking back to the kitchen to grab the rest of the meal platter, I was stopped by a rather angry voice hollering to get my attention.

I turned back to see a middle aged woman and a small child with her. Lines formed a deep frown creased into her face as she crossed her arms. I mentally prepared myself for whatever she might have to say.

I stood in front of the booth and smacked a warm smile on my face, "Hello, how could I help you?"

She huffed. "I found a hair in this nasty food. I'd like a refund and a new plate of food."

I looked down at her plate of half-eaten Chinese food, then back to her. "I am very sorry, ma'am. Unfortunately we don't offer food refunds but we can replace the meal itself," I began to explain.

"Listen here, Mrs-," She took a look at my nametag, "Mrs. 'Liv'.

"I came here to give my kid a treat and then you say I can't get my money back for the chef's fault? Let me see your manager," the woman grunted in anger. Her nostrils were visibly flaring.

I made a quick glance to a young kid with an almost identical forehead to hers. The woman's matte black hair was brushed into a modest beehive bun. Her kid sat uneasy in his seat, unable to process what was happening.

"Of course, he'll be right with you," was my final response before fetching the man of the building.

I found him at the front greeting new customers. "Hey, Josh, I've got a very angry woman who wants a refund. She's on table 23."

The man turned to me and a small glitter of annoyance crossed his eyes. "Oh boy, I'll see what I can do."

"Good luck."

The salt and pepper haired man walked off to the table and I made my way to the kitchen once more.

Night pressed on and, as per usual, I was met with many breeds of people. The restaurant was rather popular in my recluse state of South Dakota. I took turns with my fellow staff members waiting tables and greeting customers, each hour passing by quickly. By the time my shift was over, I was sinking into my shoes with drowsiness.

After cleaning up my final table, I was met with a blonde and blue eyed boy leaning against the booth walls. "You ready to go?" he asked. His eyes followed my movements as a tired half-smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah, just gimme a minute to check out," I replied. He went off, I assume to do the same.

We met together outside. It was almost sundown as the sun was in a full circle just barely above the horizon of hills and trees. He stood by his car, waiting.

I clenched my fists and stared at the vehicle. Taking a deep inhale, I took shaky steps to the car and sat inside.

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hello!

thanks for reading chapter one :-) its a tad short, and I understand things are a bit slow. but hey, we gotta start somewhere.

if you see any typos or anything of that nature just let me know. other than that, I hope you have a lovely day and I'll see you next chapter :-)

<3 kenley