RAIN FURIOUSLY TRIED to brush her hair, applying shiny lip-gloss at the same time. Some peach hairclips adorned her hair. The girl pulled her white L.A. Gear sneakers as she hopped towards her goal, nearly tripping on the rug on the way out of her bedroom. She'd ironed her stupid uniform the day before—Rain had to make a good first impression, after all—and it already had a crease in the collar. Her fingers frantically smoothed it out as she leapt down the stairs and dashed into the kitchen to grab her backpack.
The sun was already shining through the kitchen windows, illuminating her face, and the smell of eggs cooking hung in the air. Her mother stood at the stove and looked up when Rain dashed in, throwing things into her black backpack. "Oh, Rain! How are you feeling?" Before Rain even had the chance to respond—tired—her mother was fussing over her. Her mother straightened out the creases on her uniform. "Now, remember, don't look at those druggies that always wait on the corner by the cassette store. If they try to sell you anything, just walk away, okay sweetheart?" She pursed her lips, clear about her intentions for her daughter.
"I know, Mama." She kissed her mother's cheek, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders. "I'll steer far away from them." She didn't want to ruin her mother's expectations for her, after all. Sorry Mama, your daughter's a raging homosexual. Damn, she was going to Hell.
"I'm just so proud of you, baby," her mother said, holding Rain's face.
The girl smiled, "I know, Mama. Thank you." She glanced at the ticking clock on the wall behind her mother and her eyes widened as she stepped back. "I'm gonna be late! Tell Dad I said goodbye! I'll be safe, I promise!" Rain flew outside, shutting the door carefully behind her.
Warm summer air heated her bones and illuminated her face, creating glimmers on the street around her. Rain jumped on her bike, pedalling frantically as she tried to strap on her helmet. Shit, she was going to be late on her first day. She slid onto the road, waving at the cars which left her space and rode as fast as she could towards Starcourt Mall. The wind rushed against her and ruined the time and effort she'd put into doing her hair and straightening out her sailor's uniform. She screamed internally. If she didn't stick this job, she was practically screwed.
The sunlight speckled over her in luminous gleams as Rain parked her bike outside the mall and locked it. She quickly ran into the centre, ducking around a couple holding hands and weaving between a group of teenagers, trying her absolute best not to get knocked to the ground. She held her helmet in one hand—in the other, that silly sailor's hat that employees were supposed to wear. When Rain made it to the Scoops Ahoy after what seemed an eternity of panic, a girl was already perched at the counter, looking bored out of her mind. She was tall, with long legs and blonde hair cropped at her shoulders. The girl watched the passers-by with a permanent look of slight contempt, as if she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
