Finding Heaven

The next morning, I woke up with a start. I was late.

I ran straight to bath and slithered on my winter uniform.

Crapcrapcrap! I’m going to be late!

After successfully looking through a pile of folded clothes in my closet, I found a long brown cowgirl-y skirt and a black-vested blouse.

This doesn’t look like a costume though, I mused.

Well, whatever.

I folded them neatly and packed them into my bag. I decided to wear my winter boots so it didn’t add up to the things I had to bring.

I locked the door behind me and knocked on Alex and Max’s door.

“Alex, Max!” I shouted.

No response.

I looked at my watch. 7:28 a.m. They’re probably at school already—I think.

I started to jog, the cold breeze greeting me as the sun completely rose up behind the clouds.

~

7:38.

I made it.

Thank God, I made it a few minutes before the bell rang.

Emily nudged me with her elbow, “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up. I thought you were at school…”

“It’s okay,” I said. “Are Alex and Max already in?”

“I think I saw Max earlier.”

They should’ve at least knocked on my door, though. They were my neighbors!

The homeroom representative stepped up onto the podium and started making announcements I didn’t even bother listening to. I was still out of breath from running, duh.

“…can start changing into their costumes…” I caught from the rep.

Emily grabbed her paper bag and gestured for us to change.

I sighed and followed her reluctantly.

Well, here goes.

~

“What are you wearing?” The rep looked at me like he’d just seen a ghost. And yes, he is a hundred-percent gay. “I don’t want such clothing in our café!”

“You’d said we should wear as we prefer,” I reasoned crossly. “This is a cowgirl costume—can’t you see that?”

“Cowgirls show skin! You look like a bag of woven cloth with mismatched colors! Seriously, don’t you have any tastes at all?” Mr. I-know-what’s-best rep said.

I smiled sardonically, “I woke up late. I practically picked the clothes randomly, and I think they’re matched pretty well.”

He shook his head adamantly, his blonde hair bobbing along. “No. Come with me. I will give you what fits you best.”

He ransacked a large backpack (which I assumed was his) and threw me a folded white cloth and a pair of small wings.

“That should fit you,” he said smugly like he was some sort of specialist. “Your boots should match well with that too.”

My winter boots were whitish-grayish-something in between, so yeah, of course it would.

I spread the white cloth over and my jaw fell open as soon as I’d seen it fully.

It was a sleeveless white knee-length dress which looked like a silk night gown.

“Oh, hell no.” I mumbled. No way in hell was I going to wear this crap. Alex might see me…Oh my freaking sweet-tarts. “Is this even allowed?”

“You should see what our other classmates are wearing,” The rep smirked.

“I don’t agree to this.” I threw it back to him.

He caught it mid-air and then tossed it back to me, “This will help you get more customers. Remember the offer? The person who gets assigned most gets the largest share of profit.”

Money.

I needed money.

Badly.

I took one last look at the rep and then at the dress. If it weren’t for the cash, I wouldn’t have agreed to it.

Call me money-faced or whatever. In our daily lives today, money is a necessity. I can’t just go around depending on the money Uncle Robert and my parents send me, can I?

I’ll just have to hope that Alex will be busy with his own class and won’t come to our café.

~

Emily looked at me with some sort of unnecessary astonishment.

“You look amazing!” she exclaimed as soon as she saw me.

I looked back at the curly red-headed, gray-eyed, money-faced girl in the mirror.

You really are an idiot, Dakota. You don’t look like an angel. You look like an idiot, I insulted myself. Somehow, teasing myself amused me at times like these.

“I don’t want to go out there,” I said.

Emily, wearing her creamy pink and black, frilly and lacy, polka-dotty Lolita costume, grinned, “I told you already. You look beautiful. You’d probably hack a lot of customers.”

A lot of lecherous customers, yeah, I scoffed mentally.

Emily and I walked out of the dressing room shortly after we’d finished. I could feel eyes on me.

“Don’t worry,” Emily consoled. “They just can’t believe you would wear something like this—you know, since you prefer wearing baggy stuff and such. You are pretty, you know.”

“Right,” I answered with heavy sarcasm, although none of it seemed to affect her.

The class rep clapped once while he stood over a chair, “Let’s do this. We’ll definitely get the most number of visitors!”

The whole class cheered excitedly like a group of children being treated to candy and ice cream and toys.

I just sighed and whispered to Emily, “Let’s just get this over with.”

~

Customers kept on coming.

And yes, people have been designating me as their server.

“Dakota Roth, isn’t it?” An upperclassman asked. “I’d like some mocha frappe, please,” he said it in a tone one would assume to be flirtatious.

I cursed mentally as I faked a smile, “Excuse me, sir.” I said through gritted teeth.

I walked away and leaned over the counter they’d set up a while ago. I looked over at Emily. A lot of people had designated her as well since the café opened.

“One mocha frappe, table thirteen.” I stated. Catherine Schmitt, a ‘worker behind the counter’ nodded, and started mixing and blending.

“Wel—“ I was about to greet a customer when the door opened, but then stopped abruptly when I saw who it was.

My face flushed with embarrassment.

“Dakota?” An amused smile curled on his lips.

I turned around abruptly, hoping he’d just go away and drop it.

Letting him see me like this… was too much to bear. Again, I was at a loss of words. My heart reacted so much that it was hard to control.

Dammit, stop throbbing! I scolded it mentally, although I knew that it wouldn’t do any good. My heart hasn’t been following my brain’s orders nowadays.

It’s sad, really.

Someone suddenly tapped me behind and I was going to kill whoever it was.

“What?” The tone of my voice was threatening.

“Um,” Emily winced. “Are you o-okay?”

I calmed down. It was Emily… silly me—and yes, Alex. Annoying Alex was beside her.

“You look—“ Alex began, obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

“Hideous, thanks.” I finished for him, giving him my ‘exclusive-for-Alex’ death glare.

His eyes scanned me head to toe, making my chest pulsate even more. I was sure as hell that I was as red as a tomato now.

Alex seemed to be oblivious to it. Thank goodness.

“I was going to say awesome, but sure, hideous would be one word to put it if you want,” he chuckled.

Oh my God, his laughter sounded so angelic and—

Ewe, Dakota, my inner voice cut in. You’re going insane.

Yes, I am,I answered, not really sure who the hell I was talking to.

“Anyway, I’d like you to serve me a cup of hot chocolate.” Alex grinned seductively. His amused lips were slightly parted, and his eyes were directly fixed on mine.

My stomach knotted and twisted into who-knows-what, but not really in a baddy, evilly way. I dunno—it was hard to explain.

And it’d better not be butterflies, I warned myself.

I reluctantly gestured for Alex to take a seat on table eight. He did.

“One hot chocolate, right?” I forced myself to smile.

Alex’s long-lashed eyes bored from mine to the menu. He closed it shortly. “Hot chocolate, thanks,” he decided.

And then he grinned.

Everything seemed to fade, and it was just him and me—just Alex and me. Everyone else seemed to be out of my sight, out of reach, distant.

Just last night, I was with him on the bay... riding on his motorcycle...

“Dakota…” Alex was about to say something that time. Whatever it was, he had decided to keep it to himself.

Last night. Alex… There was something different.

“…you alright?”

I snapped back into reality. I looked wonderingly at Alex, “Yes?”

“I said, can I have you instead for a siding?” Alex grinned again—so enticingly that I could feel my cheeks almost smoldering.

Then, after realizing what he’d just said, I snapped, “Idiot!”

He laughed, “You’re so cute,”

SHUT UP ALEX! GRRRRR.

I quickly grabbed the menu from the table, and was about to turn away, when a warm hand grabbed mine.

“I’m serious,” he said. His eyes were solid blues—somewhat protective. “You look…” Alex’s gaze fell to the table and he started playing with the hem of the table cloth. “What I’m trying to say is… some guys might…”

Protective, alright.

So he was like a brother.

That’s all there is—

But why do I feel as if… I’m not really…

“It’d be better if you change your costume before I go,” he continued, still hiding his face from me. “I have to go back to class and I won’t be able to… you know… watch over you.”

“Okay.” was the only reply I could say before I walked away.

~

“Absolutely not,” The rep replied sternly when I asked him if I could change my costume. “You look stunning! Your fiery red hair contrasts the whiteness—the purity of the dress!”

Since when did my hair become fiery? As far as I know, it was just plain red.

“I feel nervous when I’m wearing this.” I reasoned.

“Nonsense. Get your ass back in there!”

I sighed.

Emily trotted next to me and gave me one of her comforting smiles. She tied her shoulder-length black hair back, I noticed. Maybe I should too… “You okay?”

“Yep,” I said. “How long ‘til break?”

“Five more minutes.”

At times like these, five more minutes feel like five more hours.

~

The rest of the day was as boring as hell, so again, I’d rather skip the details.

Alex and Max met up with Emily and I outside our class and offered for us to go home together. Emily agreed without even asking for my opinion.

That’s how life is. No one asks for your opinion anymore. Sigh.

Alex jogged towards me, since I was walking ahead of the three of them. “Hey.”

Ignore, ignore.

“Hey!”

Ignore, ignore, ignore.

“Okay, time’s up.” Alex said and then blocked my way.

I glared at him, “What?”

“I noticed that you’re avoiding me.”

I scoffed nervously, “No.”

“What’s the problem with you? Is it because of last night?”

Blood rushed to my face.

Behind me, I could hear Max and Emily whispering to each other, “What happened last night?” “Did something happen between them?” “Beats me.”

“That’s not it,” I explained, averting my eyes from his. “My head hurts, that’s why.”

He didn’t say anything more and positioned himself beside me.

We were about to exit the school’s main entrance, when I saw a familiar figure waiting. The person seemed to have noticed me—a guy?

I can’t believe this. It is him.

“Dakota!”

He ran towards me excitedly.

I was going to ask him what he was doing here, but was abruptly cut off when he—

He kissed me.