Nebbia | english

6| land of the birds

S A F F R O N

I woke up to the sunlight streaming through the glass window. I could barely open my eyes so I squeezed it in and turned to the other side. A girl was facing the kitchen counter, pouring milk into her cereal. I scanned the room and it took me a while to realize that I wasn't on a moving train, like the past couple of days. I was on a two-seater sofa with my legs leaning over the edge and a blanket on top of me.

My friend, Amy, was already up to work, and standing here was Jade, her roommate. I completely removed last night from my system, from the moment I stepped foot into this city to the second I finally got in and slept on their living room couch. The sleep didn't go smooth either, mostly because of sirens crossing the road at any minute of the day and partially because I was in a new place. I have always had issues adjusting to new environments, and the fact that I haven't been too far away from my comfort zone didn't help.

After getting up, I removed the blanket and fixed the pillows back to the sofa. My backpack was on the side, with all my necessities and a few pair of clothes. Brushing my teeth, I bolted to the shower box. This was going to be my first full shower in three days and I couldn't wait to feel clean again. Living on the go had its pro and cons and this was one of the latter.

I thought that after turning the tap on, the water would have turned warm, but this wasn't the case. I quickly put soap, and conditioner in my hair and ended the shower as soon as possible. After getting out of the box, I wrapped myself in a clean towel and let my hair air dry.

When I glimpsed at the mirror, it was hard to focus. My eyes were still blurry from the sleep and the lack of oxygen in my cornea. I grabbed the container of drops and put them on my eyes, one by one. I couldn't live a day without them.

Deciding what to wear wasn't such a big deal, considering that I only had three casual t-shirts, a white silk shirt, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, and a pair of leggings. By the time I was out, Jade had already left. I didn't plan to make myself breakfast, I just grabbed the cereal and poured them into a bowl to swallow them dry. The bunch of newspapers piled up on the coffee table caught my attention. Was there anyone reading them, anymore? As I scanned through the pages, I noticed job adverts on the bottom half of the paper. I spent the next few minutes cutting them down and highlighting the address with the marker on the table. I finally knew what I was going to do this morning.

The weather was still nice so I planned on walking to the first address in Brooklyn. After nearly twenty minutes of exploring the district, all by myself, I came to Amelia's Bakery. I walked in, wearing my most confident smile.

"Good Morning." The lady behind the stack of sweets greeted me. "How can I help you?"

"Good morning," I replied, looking at all the sweets displayed on the stand. "Actually, I was curious about an advert you put in the newspaper. It seems like you need a helper."

"Oh yes, I'm shocked that people still read that. We wanted to do something simple and this was the cheapest option for us," she confessed, shaking her hands on her apron. "By the way, do you have your resume?"

I was startled for a second. How come I didn't make a resume when I thought about looking for jobs around the city? This was the single most stupid decision I have ever made — or didn't make, to be more accurate.

"Not really."

"Have you ever worked in a bakery shop before, young lady?"