jones ✧ s.stan

65

TEXT MESSAGES - [Sebastian-Emma]

stank:
Ems, I just landed
Can't wait to kiss you

emma:
Hold your horses, cowboy
I'm still at work

stank:
:(

emma:
I have one last appointment,
I'll be home soon to kiss you

stank:
You better, Jones

*

REAL LIFE

"I'm just really overwhelmed with all of the stress." Lucy sighs, placing her elbows on top of the large desk. "I thought I was just going to sell some clothes for a few hours, go to school, study and repeat."

"Being a student and working at the same time is not an easy task, Lucy." Emma starts. "But you're a very determined person and you've managed to organize your schedules very well. Plus, you were very excited when you got the job last month. I sense it's not the anxiety that's wearing you out, it's something else." Ems smiles. "This is a safe place, you can open up."

"This is surely not the safest place," Lucy pouts, moving her hazel eyes around Emma's office. It's old, small and the only light it gets comes from a small window behind the desk. Emma hated the place from the first day. But it's not the aesthetic that matters, she said to herself then, it's helping the kids. "But I feel safe with you." Lucy confesses.

Emma brings out a huge smile and a sense of relief surfaces in her eyes. "That's why I'm here."

Lucy pauses, but there's no hesitation in her tone. "The girls who work there... Why are women so fucking mean?! You're not mean, women should be more like you, Mrs. Jones."

"Are they mistreating you, Lucy?" A worried voice slips through Emma's glossy lips.

"Well, they basically humiliate me because I'm the youngest there. We work on commission so that doesn't make it any better. They're always stealing my customers. They take advantage because I'm new there."

"Lucy," Emma sits straight. "Sadly, in life, there will be many people that will try to take advantage of you. That's a fact. It shouldn't be that way but it is. This won't be the last time someone will try to take you down. Those girls feel threatened by you. Because you're a hard-working young woman! You've accomplished so much - you work, you study and in no time you'll be on your way to college! Against all odds!"

Indeed. A few years back, Lucy was one of the worst students in school. With problems at home, she missed so many classes, failed so many tests and yet she's here. Making it.

"I guess that's true," Lucy bows her head.

"It is. And I'm very proud of the woman you're becoming. So set their behavior as an example and never make anybody feel the way they're making you feel."

"Okay... I mean, every experience is a lesson, right?" She quotes what Emma said to her during their last session. Lucy grabs her backpack and grins. "I have my last class right now before I got back to the store."