the slums || jj maybank

two. not quite right

two. not quite right

Skye entered the dimly-lit restaurant in the shirt given to her by Mr. Carrera, it tucked into a pair of skinny jeans. Skye wasn't the largest fan of jeans; they were tight, constricting. She inhaled, slowly approaching the hostess area. She searched for type of guidance, her left hand reaching up to twist one of the shorter pieces of hair that fell outside of her tightly pulled back, high ponytail. Her right hand clutched her drawstring tightly in her palm, the bag suffocating in her iron grip.  

 She was approached by a girl of a similar height, her frame a bit larger. Her loss, dark brown waves rested behind her shoulders, a headband covering her forehead. High-waisted skinny jeans fell at her belly-button, a white t-shirt with a bird a sunset nearly matching the cut of her pants. "I'm Kiara," the girl explained, smiling over at Skye. "You were hired yesterday, right?" Skye nodded in agreement, noticing Kiara quickly look her over; this was something she was used to. "Thanks for starting on such short notice, we've been kinda swamped lately."

"Yeah, I'm happy I was hired in so fast," Skye agreed. She subtly gave Kiara the up and down similarly; the difference was, Kiara didn't notice. The girl was thin with slightly wider set hips. Her complexion was darker, and beaded jewelry decorated her neck and wrists. In all honesty, she was stunning.  "I'm Skye. Was there maybe somewhere I could put this?" She referenced the bag that presently contained all of her belongings.

"Oh, yeah," Kiara nodded, led her to a small closet behind the counter in the hallway. She opened it up, and Skye spotted light jackets in colors of black and red, as well as some purses and totes resting at the bottom. Skye set her bag in as well, it joining the mess of personal belongings. "I was just gonna show you around a bit and train you today." Skye nodded in agreement, following Kiara around the restaurant. "This is where the schedule will be posted. Here, I can send you it for this week. My dad hasn't put it up yet." Kiara fished in her back pocket and pulled out her phone. "What's your number?"

"I don't have a phone at the moment, actually," Skye confessed. Her tone was flat, and she spoke right through the words with no hesitation. "It broke on the way here and I haven't had time to get a new one." Truth be told, she left her phone at home; Skye figured that if she didn't have a phone, it would be harder to track her. The last thing she was going to do was be messy and aid her father in his ultimate search for her.

Kiara paused for a moment. "No problem, I'll make you a copy." Kiara began to walk towards the office, Skye in tow. Skye stood outside the door, waiting for Kiara to handle the copying. "You can come in," Kiara called from inside the office. Skye was used to staying out of places where she didn't feel like she was meant to be. Her father had engrained that in her brain.

 Kiara stood behind the chair, moving the mouse to the computer. The printer whirred up, a document being produced. As it was working, Kiara grabbed an apron out of the box in the corner. She passed it to Skye, her mumbling a thank you.

"So, where you from?" Kiara asked, grabbing the schedule off of the printer. She folded it in half, so it could fit into the apron pocket. Skye tied it around her waist, the beige color complementing the t-shirt and the denim. She passed the paper to Skye only after she was done putting the apron.

She walked out from behind the desk, walking towards the door. Skye followed closely behind, not wanting to miss a beat.

"New York," Skye answered truthfully, figuring she needed a slight explanation for her subtle accent. The town was a lie, however. "Poughkeepsie, actually." Skye's goal was to come as normal; she didn't want to seem overbearing, nor seem like she was afraid of conversating.