Ghost - Elmax

Chapter 2 : Late

The waking up was hard. Max managed to open her eyes, but she didn't know how. She didn't even remember to have heard the alarm clock. She turned to watch it...

- "Shit!"

The redhead jumped out of her bed. She was late and wondered why her alarm clock didn't ring. She quickly put her clothes on, without taking a shower, barely brushed her hair, running everywhere in the apartment to rapidly get ready.

- "Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit! Fuck you Jane! You couldn't wake me up before you leave!? Nooo! Of course not! Because I'm fucking invisible, with no interest! I'm not a fucking file to read! I'm just your goddamn girlfriend!"

While she was grumbling against no one, Max managed to finish to get ready. She ran to her car, put her keys on, and tried to start the car.

- "Come on, not now!"

The redhead insisted, and the car finally started. She was praying every day for the car to start, she didn't have enough money to buy another one, but with the cold winter they were having, it was harder and harder. She drove as fast as possible, but, with the snow, she preferred not pushing too hard to not provoke an accident. When she arrived, her coworkers didn't stint of remarking her late.

- "You needed a nap, dyke!?"

- "Told you, being a cook is too hard for weak girls."

- "You don't mind, but the real men began to work without you! We're not all pussies like you!"

- "Too busy eating her dirty girlfriend!"

She would have loved to. She ignored them, used to this kind of remarks. And she knew they were just scared because she was the best in this kitchen, and the head chef knew it. He was supposed to give a promotion to one of them, and the only reason she couldn't have it was because she was a girl. She knew she wouldn't get it, but it was fine, she didn't need a promotion to show what she was capable of. When she had her own restaurant, people would run to her door to have a plate. She kept her dream in mind, it was her motivation, the reason she was continuing it.

- "Oh Max! You deign to come!" told the chef, going out of his office.

- "Yes, I'm sorry for my late, it won't happen again," apologized the redhead.

- "It's okay for this time, you arrived just in time for the rush hour."

Max nodded, relieved to not have more problems. The man returned in his office, enabling the other boys to look angrily at Max.

- "You suck his dick, we all know that!"

Max rolled her eyes. One moment they called her "dyke", and the moment after she was sucking dicks, what morons! She didn't wait a second and began to work. It was lunch time, which meant no time to breathe. No sooner had she finished a plate that she had to do two more! It lasted two hours until it got calmer. It was the half of the afternoon, so Max decided to take her break. She went behind the restaurant, in the street with the dumpsters, where the waitresses were smoking. As usual, she was joined by Gabrielle, to share their last troubles.

- "Hey," weakly smiled the black-haired girl.

- "Hey," sighed the redhead.

- "You didn't sleep a lot!"

- "Neither did you!"

- "Yeah...nightmare?"

- "At 2, as usual. You?"

- "No, not this time. He woke up because of his leg," pouted Gabrielle.

- "Right leg?"

- "Yep. It apparently hurt. But he didn't want me to help."

- "I know that. I tried to calm her, but she yelled and asked me to go away. With her sweet and loving tone, of course," explained Max with a sad irony.

Gabrielle had a sad and loud sigh with her nose, before sitting next to her friend on the edge of a condemned window.

- "When will you know if you have a promotion?"

- "Next week, but I know I won't."

- "Why not?"

- "I'm a girl. And I arrived late this morning," told Max.

- "You didn't wake up?" asked Gabrielle.

- "Nope. I didn't hear my alarm clock, and, as I don't exist for Jane, she didn't wake me up."

- "It's like living with ghosts."

- "No. We are the ghosts, trying to communicate with the barely living people, but they don't see us."

- "It's...sadly true. And worse than I thought."

Gabrielle put her head on Max's shoulder and began to play with her hand. She noticed a leather bracelet with a red stone at her wrist.

- "I thought you gave her back?" frowned the black-haired girl.

- "I did, but I took it back."

- "Why?"

- "I told her I would give her back when she came back. She physically came back, but she is still stuck in there. She didn't even notice anyway," explained Max.

- "They will come back."

- "Yeah..."

The redhead tried to not lose hope, but  they came back around three months ago, and for more than one month, everything changed, they became worse and worse.

- "I wanna smoke..." sighed Max.

- "You smoke!?" frowned Gabrielle who straightened.

- "No," lightly chuckled the redhead. "But, with all the stress, sometime I think of smoking, to relax."

- "Don't do that! If stress doesn't kill you, it will be the cigarettes!"

- "I know, I never said I was going to smoke, I just think of it, and maybe telling you will free me of this idea."

- "I hope!"

Max playfully rolled her eyes, but this idea began to become a bit obsessional. The waitresses were slowly coming back inside, meaning it was the end of Max's break. The two girls stood, and, while they were saying goodbye, a waitress stopped next to Max, warmly smiled to her, and blew some smoke on her face before going inside.

- "Who's that?" frowned Gabrielle.

- "Lisa," answered Max.

- "There is something between you and her!?"

- "No! Of course not! I would never do that to Jane! I don't know why she did that!"

- "Yeah, but you're still blushing."

The redhead put her hands on her cheeks, like if she could feel the pink on it.

- "You're not supposed to go to work!?" stated Max with an irritated tone.

- "I will. Just be careful, I know it's tempting, but-"

- "But nothing. There is nothing between Lisa and I, that's all!"

- "Okay! Okay. I just wanted to be sure."

Gabrielle nodded. Max was exhausted, she wasn't surprised by her reaction, but she hoped she wouldn't do something stupid she would regret later. The two girls separated, both going back to their works.