The Hippie | DISCONTINUED

6: furniture

Opening the door to my new house—home is where the heart is, my heart is back in Australia—I was greeted by the sound of worried voices.

"Mum? Dad?" my voice echoed through the empty halls. I let my bag slide off of my shoulder and fall to the floor with a thud.

The sound of voices led me to the bland living room where my parents stand in the middle with serious expressions coating their tanned faces.

"What's wrong?" At the sound of my voice, their heads snap to me.

"Oh, hi, honey. We didn't hear you come in." My parents attempted to put on a mask of happiness and relaxation but the worry was still swimming in my mum's warm brown eyes and my dad's ocean blue eyes. 

"What's wrong?" I repeated.

They shared a glance, the mask slipping off entirely. "You know the ship with all of our furniture?" 

"Yes?" Wherever this conversation was heading, it couldn't be good. 

"Well, it sank." 

"It sank?!" 

What? Since when does stuff like this happen? I thought boats were all safe and non-sink-able now! 

"Apparently, there was a hole in the bottom that was so small, nobody could see it. They passed through a harsh storm and... " my dad tried to elaborate. 

"So all of our stuff on that ship is gone?" I didn't know why I said it as a question, it was not like they were just going to try and fish it all out of a massive expanse of harsh water. 

"I'm afraid so. But on the bright side, we still have all of our pictures and books and other ornaments." My mum tried to brighten the mood as she always does. 

"Yeah, at least we have them." Our blue sofa, my favorite, comfy, worn sofa that we've always had... I shook off the miserable thoughts and smiled. "Now, we can fully redecorate the house and make it our own!"

"That's the spirit kiddo!" my dad smiled and pulled me into a side hug. 

"I'll get a job at this cafe I saw riding home to help out too!" I must say, it was a really cute, cozy-looking cafe and I'm sure it'd be really nice working there. 

"Oh, no, honey, you don't need to do that. Your dad and I will manage." 

I'm not dumb, there is no way mum and dad can afford to move us all the way from Australia to America, buy a new house and new furniture and stuff to decorate the house. 

"It's fine. I need something to keep me busy so I may as well do something useful." 

"What did we do to deserve a daughter so thoughtful and understanding?" my dad cooed. 

Ugh, I rolled my eyes, parents these days. 

"I'm going to the cafe now. See you later." 

"Make sure you're back by six!"

"Good luck kiddo!"

I closed the front door and started up my scooter. 

°

The outside of the cafe was painted sky blue but was mainly taken up by two huge windows with Fairlight hanging on the inside. Wooden letters spelling 'The Hideout' hung at crooked angles above the door and window giving the cafe a rustic, vintage look. 

Inside, the room was large and split off into three different sections. On the left side was a small stage where three teenage girls stood upon it singing a sweet country song and playing the acoustic guitar. 

Though it wasn't my taste in music, they were actually surprisingly good. Behind the stage, a large bohemian rug had been pinned up on the wall for decoration and a large spotlight shone down from the ceiling onto the stage. Two rows of wooden benches with a miss-match of cushions on them sat in front of the stage with a small audience enjoying the music.

The largest section of the cafe was in the center. An array of vintage, countrified tables and chairs were scattered around. Most of them were taken up by groups of friends of all ages chatting, eating, and drinking non-alcoholic drinks. Despite so many people involving themselves in different conversations, you could still hear the beautiful melody of the performers on the stage. 

And in the far right was a wall of bookshelves with beanbags, cushions and comfy chairs spread out in front of it. The people who sat on them were individuals here for some peace and quiet. Whilst some people were lost in the world of pages, others started intently at laptops, their fingers flying over the keys. Some people merely sat there with headphones on and eyes closed, purely relaxed. 

I weaved my way through the tables in the middle to the bar running along the back wall. Chalkboards with all of the different foods and drinks lined the back wall whilst a huge variety of mouthwatering dessert stood between the workers and the customers.

'Hi, my name is Lola and I want a job please.'

No, I can't say that!

'Hello there, what's that cake? I'll have that and a job please.'

No that won't work.

'Hiya I need a job so my parents can buy some new furniture because ours was lost in the sea. '

Oh no, far too much information.

"Hi, can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked me.