The Heart Never Lies

After a few weeks, I settled in fairly well. I had a lot of free time on my hands despite helping Rainbow in her shop. After looking over bills together we decided it was time for me to get a job. Being fresh out of high school though, I didn't really know how to do much of anything. I tried working in retail, but they wanted to put me at the register and I had a slight problem counting out American money. I wasn't quite quick enough and ended up irritating the customers and the management.

That job didn't even last three days.

I'd probably still be unemployed if I didn't offer to walk Layla home from work one night.

See, Layla doesn't like to walk home by herself because it's usually dark by the time her shift's over, but she lives close enough to her workplace that she feels it'd be a waste of money to take a cab. Windsong or Rainbow usually meet her there, but they were both too busy that night so I volunteered Just like they did, I managed to get there before the sun set and just hung around until she was done.

"Addie! Thanks for coming tonight," Layla said after I took a seat at the bar.

"It's no problem! I've been wondering what the place looked like anyway." Layla was a waitress at a hole-in-the-wall bar called "The Pit." It was owned by a guy named Rob who looked intimidating as hell-- over six feet tall and well over 200 pounds-- but turned out to be sweet as can be, if you were on his good side. Rob liked to take the hands on approach when it came to running his bar and nearly every night worked as the bartender. He waved to us when I sat down, but shook his head and winked.

"He means, 'You can has stay, but no drinkies,'" Layla translated for me with a laugh. "Eighteen may be the age where you're from, but you'll be needing a few more years over here."

"Of course," I laughed. "As soon as I'm old enough to buy it I just had to move!"

"Haha, that's life for ya!" Layla looked over her shoulder and saw that one of her tables needed attention. "Hey, before I go, would you like something to munch on while you wait? It's on me."

I perked up at the offer of free food. "Ooh yeah, how 'bout some chips?"

"Sure thing!" While she was refilling drinks a funny look crossed her face. She came back to me. "When you say chips, do you mean like potato chips or french fries?"

I had to laugh. "Wow, I didn't even think about that! Little language differences and all. Er, like fries."

"Alrighty then," Layla laughed as she jotted the order down. She was back with the chips-- er, fries-- fairly quickly. The bar itself was empty, save for me, so Rob seemed to feel like taking a break. I heard a pop and looked up to see him sliding a coke down in front of me.

"On the house, kid," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," I said, taking a sip. "But I'm not a kid." He laughed; it was hearty and rich and I couldn't help but smile.

"Struck a nerve, huh?"

"Eh, sort of." I shrugged while munching on a "fry." "I moved here a little while ago to be away form my family. My older brother is pretty... popular back at home and it just seems like everyone is always looking at me like I'm just the kid sister. It's frustrating." Rob nodded sympathetically. It was a relief to talk to someone who didn't know Tom and could listen without bias. "I just want to be seen as Addie, not 'Tom's little sister.' Just Addie."

"I know how that can be," Rob said. "I'm the middle child out of five, so it can be pretty rough. But it gets better once you get out into the world and do some self-exploring. After all, how can you expect other people to know who you are when you aren't quite sure yourself?"

Huh. That was some serious food for thought.

"Oooh, Rob, are you flirting with our young friend here?" Layla appeared by my side, her short waitress apron in her hand. I took this as a sign that she was finished.

"Why of course not!" Rob took my empty plate and soda can.

"You should be! If he doesn't flirt then you're in serious trouble," Layla informed with a wink and a smile.

"Does life advice count?" I asked.

"From him? Definitely. He won't give advice if he doesn't care. Good for you, Addie."

Yes, good for me. Bad for me though, that Coke went straight to my bladder. When I came back from the restroom Rob and Layla were discussing something and both were smiling. "Ooh, do I detect a hint of romance in the air?" I ask mischievously. Layla nudged me in the ribs while Rob laughed again.

"Only if by 'romance' you mean 'job opportunity.'"

I gasped. "Really?! You're offering me a job?!"

"Layla informed me of the bad luck you've been having in the field of employment," he teased, "and one of our girls had to quit recently, so we've got an open spot of you'd like to fill it."

"Oh my god, yes!" I knew I must've looked ridiculous, grinning ear to ear, but I was so excited I didn't care. I had to restrain myself from throwing my arms around his neck. "This is so great! Thanks so much! When can I start?"

"Woahhh, easy kid, calm down." Rob laughed at my enthusiasm. "Have you ever done any waitressing before?"

Craaap. "Er, no, but my pep can make up for lack of experience, right?" Luckily, Rob found this amusing.

"I'm sure it can, with Layla showing you the ropes. How does next week sound?"

"Excellent, absolutely fantastic," I beamed.

After leaving I playfully nudged Layla in the ribs. "Look at you, smiling 'cos you're so proud of yourself."

Layla raised her open hands in defense. "Sorry, I'm just really happy! I'm really looking forward to working with you. Being a waitress isn't exactly glamorous," she admitted, "but The Pit's a fun place to work. Rob's a good boss and the other employees aren't too terrible." Her voice strained a bit towards the end and I had to laugh; seems like there's someone she didn't get along with. I was about to tease her on this when my mobile went off. I answered after Layla waved away my apologetic glance.

"Hello?"

"Addie! How are you, love?"

"Hi, Mum! I'm fine, just got a job!"

"What, at this hour? How did you manage that?" We kept our conversation going well after Layla and I reached her flat.

"Wanna come up for a bit?" she whispered. I nodded and smiled. As Layla walked around her living room I tried my best to get off the phone. Okay, so maybe it was my fault that Mum wanted to talk so badly because to be fair, it had been a while since we last spoke. Thankfully, Dad called her in the background and she let me go. Layla came back into the room as I sunk into a large green cushion. "I'm gonna take a quick shower so I don't smell like fried food and beer. Help yourself to anything in the apartment. Food, books, TV, cat... I won't be long."

For the first time I noticed a very large, long-haired cat laying belly up on the floor. Layla knelt down and buried her face in the soft blonde fur. "Hi baby," she cooed to the giant feline, who began to purr like a diesel engine. "This is Puss Puss," she told me in between baby talk. He rolled over and caught sight of me. Once Layla went into the bathroom he stood up and started walking towards me.

"Hi, Puss Puss!" I reached my arms out, eager to pet him, but he stopped midway and flopped back down on the hardwood floor. He cocked his head to the side and watched me with golden eyes. Silly cat, expecting me to pet him. Which I did.

Ugh, I can't help iiiit. Loving cats too much was a weakness I shared with my brother. Oh, I should call him, let him know I finally got a job.

Layla's singing stopped me. What had begun simply as a familiar tune turned into something I knew while it was being written.

"My sky has turned vanilla... like sugar sasparilla..."

No way. I sat straight up, startling the fat cat. Careful to not make any noise, I crept over and pressed my ear to the bathroom door.

"Don't wake me up, baby, I'm in love... and I'm dreamin' so much and I don't ever wanna stop...
Don't wake me up..."

Woah. Woahwoahwoah. I flopped onto a cushion, unable to get rid of the shock.

Layla was a McFly fan and seemed completely oblivious as to who I was.