Leanne arrived at the school after getting a call at work from the principal that Sarah had gotten into trouble. When she entered the office after driving directly from the hospital, she saw Sarah sitting in front of the office and Mrs. Simons sitting behind it facing her student. The math teacher was standing beside the principal with a frown on his face. The tension was thick as the three of them waited in silence.
Sarah hadn't said anything since the beginning of detention and was not going to. She knew from past experience that no matter what she would say nobody would listen to her side of the story. So, she stayed silent and waited for Leanne to come pick her up and would take the punishment waiting for her.
"Leanne, please take a seat" Mrs. Simons gestured to the chair beside Sarah. Once Leanne sat down, the principal explained the situation. Leanne listened carefully but did not miss Sarah's hands slowly tightening into fists.
"Now, according to the files of the previous schools Sarah went to, I can see that she would have problems here. Her last grades are from two years ago when she was in grade ten" Mrs. Simons said. "I'm sorry Leanne, but this is her first day of school and she already gotten detention"
"I'm sure we can figure something out" Leanne said.
"Even if she stops getting into trouble, her grades are not high enough. This is a prestigious school and has a reputation to uphold" Mrs. Simons continued.
"She will get a tutor" Leanne replied "please Mandy, it will work"
"This is outrageous. The girl is not good enough to study at this school" Mr. Thorne said but Mrs. Simons silenced him with a glare.
"I will give Sarah one last chance. If she can get her grades high enough by March break then she can stay. I cannot bend the rules for her nor go easy on her" Mrs. Simons said. "Sarah, may I ask you what you have learned in mathematics in your previous schools?"
One thing Sarah hated was people talking about her as if she was not in the same room as them. It was insulting that they thought she couldn't speak for herself, like she had no voice. Once the adults finally decided to include her in their conversation and asked her a question Sarah remained silent. It was none of their business what she did in other schools. As long as a she could stay here for Sunny's sake, she was ready to do whatever it took, even if it meant to hire a tutor every day. The room was silent as the adults looked at Sarah expecting an answer. Leanne cleared her when they didn't get a single sound out of her mouth.
"It doesn't matter at the moment" she said to no one in particular. The woman got up from the chair and gestured Sarah to do the same. "I will ask Matt if he wants to tutor her"
"No" Sarah finally said. Surprised, Leanne turned to face her. "I don't want a guy to tutor me"
"Alright, how about Carly? It will help you bond with her" Leanne suggested and Sarah shrugged for an answer.
"Thank you, Mandy" Leanne said to the principal before opening the door and leaving the office with Sarah by at her heels.
-
Sarah looked out the window, letting the nice ride of the Corvette relax her muscles. She didn't know how stiff she was from being nervous throughout detention but she knew it was not over yet. The girl took a peak at Leanne who was driving calmly wondering what her punishment would be. She knew she wouldn't get kicked out of the house because Leanne had vouched for her a second time. Yet, there are many punishments that are worse than being thrown into the streets. Sarah tried to understand the woman who was fostering her. She didn't get it why a stranger would help her; why she had interest in a poor street orphan. Sarah was trying to figure out Leanne's interior motive. She knew there was one but could not quite figure it out.
"So" Leanne said breaking Sarah's thoughts. The blond woman had noticed the intense stare from Sarah and she was getting uncomfortable. "What happened in class?"
"Weren't you listening to the principal not even ten minutes ago?" Sarah asked shocked.
"I listened but I want to know your side of the story" Leanne smiled reassuringly at Sarah before turning her attention back the road.
Sarah was speechless. No one other than Sunny had ever asked her version of the story. Sure, some heard it but never believed a word she said. But, Leanne seemed interested and genuinely sincere. Sarah reluctantly told her side of the events as Leanne listened patiently without interrupting. Once Sarah finished, she waited for Leanne's lecture on how she should never have done that but she never expected such a different reaction.
Leanne really tried to keep a straight face but she couldn't help but burst laughing. The blond lady went into a fit of laughter and the Corvette wobbled because she couldn't concentrate on driving. Leanne stopped at a stop sign and continued laughing. She had never heard of such an absurd story before.
"Wow, you have guts honey" Leanne managed to say when she had calmed down a bit. She grinned at Sarah and swiped her teary eyes. She noticed Sarah was rigid and expressionless and shook her head. "Relax Sarah, you are not in trouble"
"What do you mean I'm not in trouble?"
"Well, you kept to your idea and beliefs. I like that in someone because the people now days don't dare to defend their beliefs." Leanne started the car again and continued driving. "But honey, you know how this world is unfair, especially when you don't have much space to move freely. One mistake and you are going back to Juvenile prison "
"I know that" Sarah snapped. She didn't need to be reminded about her miserable life at every moment of the day.
Leanne sighed and turned into the golf club parking lot. She parked the car and turned off the engine before facing the girl in the passenger seat.
"You are not in trouble" she repeated "But I do suggest you keep a low profile for a while. You can always come to me if you want to talk or complain about something or someone"
Sarah didn't know what to say. She frowned at Leanne before looking out her window. "Why are we here?"
"Well, it's your first day of work. Oh I almost forgot"
Leanne searched into her overly large sized purse bag. There was so much junk in the bag, Leanne had to dig with both hands to find what she was looking for. Leanne gave herself a mental note to clean her hand bag even though everything inside was useful for her survival though Sarah would disagree.
"Ah-ha, found it" Leanne grinned as she held something in her hands "here" Sarah looked at the IPhone in Leanne's hand with a confused expression not knowing what to do.
"It's for you" Leanne specified. She dropped the phone in Sarah's hand. "In case you need to contact us. Dean, Carly, Ben and I's phone number are already in your contact list. Oh, and so is Sunny's; I bought her a phone too"
Sarah looked at the phone in a weird way and the older woman was starting to worry. Sarah chuckled and shook her head.
"I don't know how an IPhone works" Sarah said "You really have a lot of money to waste woman"
"You've never owned a phone before?"
"This isn't my phone" Sarah told Leanne while waving the phone in her hands.
"Yes it is" Leanne frowned "I am giving it to you"
"I don't take gifts" Sarah scowled "It means I am in your debt now and I will have to owe you"
"That is not what a gift is meant to be." Leanne sighed "Take the phone and you can repay me by passing your grades at the end of the year. Deal?"
"What? No, that is not a fair deal" Sarah replied.
"Take it or leave it but either way, you are keeping the phone" Leanne said strictly and got out of the car. "I'll ask Ben to show you how the phone works. That boy is a wizard when it comes to technology"
Still shocked, Sarah jumped out of the car and followed the blond woman inside the restaurant. This time, the restaurant was full of people which most were students. Everyone was chatting and laughing while the waiters and waitresses sped around the tables with trays of food on their shoulder.
The girls made their way to the kitchen and met with Andy. The club owner was whisking a plate professionally when he saw them come in. He smiled warmly and finished cooking. He gave the plate to a waiting waiter and greeted the girls by the door.
"Hello darlin'" Andy gave Leanne a toothy smile. He turned to Sarah and gave her a uniform. "Hello Sarah. Here is what you are goin' to wear tonight. Since you are late, you will stay and help closin' the restaurant which is at nine. That gives you a four hour shift. We'll see how it goes tonight and work accordin'ly. We are short on waiters tonight, so Mark is goin' to show you which tables are yours"
Andy waved at waiter and Mark young looking boy came in. Leanne waved and whished Sarah good luck. She told her she'd be back for nine to pick her up.
Sarah left the kitchen, happy to be away from the loud noises and small space. The young girl was claustrophobic and hated physical contact, unless it was Sunny. Sarah followed Mark to a set of tables and he left her to her job. There were five tables on the second floor and all of them were occupied. Sarah took a deep breath and dove in. She had waitressed before in diner but it was completely different to serve rich people. Sarah had to speak carefully as to not offend the clients.
All the clients were well dressed and spoke English very well and she had no idea what she was writing on her pad. Most of the dishes on the menu she had never heard of. It was as if she was reading Mandarin for the first time. Not to look stupid, Sarah wrote down what the clients asked for and relied strictly on pronunciation.
What in the world is a Klondike Potato Gnocchi with truffle parmesan fries on the side? And why would people deliberately add peas, sauté lettuce, fava beans and heirloom carrots on their roasted chicken? It's supposed to be roasted chicken and fries with nothing else.
Sarah was working efficiently and fast during a good part of the night. A group of four girls came to one of her tables and started talking and giggling. Only from watching them interact Sarah knew she would hate them. They looked to be her age and wouldn't be surprised if she saw them the next day in the school hallways. All four were gorgeous but also had so much make up on their faces, they would probably be unrecognisable if they took it off. But this is what most kids looked like in this village.
Taking a deep breath Sarah walked to the table and plastered a smile that never reached her eyes. All four looked at her and Sarah could already see the prejudice and disapproving look in their expressions. Sarah was very good at reading body language because it was a talent she learned while living through unhealthy situations. Reading body language was a required talent for Sarah during her life.
"Hey there" Sarah said animatedly "I'm Sarah and I'm your waitress tonight. What would you like to drink?"
"Oh my God, it's true" one of the girl said.
"I can't believe the Murray's would actually foster trash" another one said.
"Is it true you went to prison because you killed someone?" the first one said again.
Sarah's smile went wider as she had predicted such reactions. The rumors really spread fast in a place like this.
"Do you really want to know?" Sarah sweetly asked the first girl. The girl was taken aback by the come back and seemed hesitant. Sarah turned her attention to the two girls who had not spoken yet. "Is sink water enough for now?" The girls shrieked and shivered in disgust by the idea of drinking tap water.
"I'll have a glass of white wine" the third girl said and the rest agreed. "Make it a bottle then"
"Aren't you a little young to be ordering wine?" Sarah asked.
"Don't question us. You are a waitress, your job is to serve not question" the fourth girl spat but Sarah didn't acknowledge her. She stared at the third girl in the eyes and waited for an answer.
This girl had dark brown hair, almost black, with striking blue eyes. Sarah noticed a pale blue snowflake surrounding her iris. She had a small curved nose and her pale skin was spotless.
The girl was not used to be stared down and immediately hated to be questioned about her decisions. With a sweet smile, she shrugged her shoulders and answered.
"We learn to drink at a young age, like everybody else. I believe we are ready to order"
Sarah stared a little longer before writing down the name of the expensive bottle of wine. She also wrote down the orders of the girls and walked away without a smile. She heard the giggles behind her but shut them out of her mind.
Sarah continued to serve and walk around her tables while ignoring the girls. One thing she liked was the tips she received. 'Rich people really had money to waste' she thought. From one of the tables, someone snapped their fingers to grab her attention as if she was a dog followed by giggling. Sighing, Sarah looked to find the first girl waving at her while the rest of them stared at her like prey. Sarah made her way to the girls table and raised an eyebrow.
The third girl smiled sweetly at her and pointed to her half eaten plate of pasta.
"Sorry, but there is a hair on my plate and I refuse to eat or pay something that has been infected"
Sarah looked at her in disbelief at first but shrugged her shoulders. She picked up the plate along with the fork and brought it upward. With the fork, she jabbed the pasta and took a huge bite. Sarah closed her eyes and moaned. The taste was simply the best. She had never tasted something so good in her life and savoured the taste until she was forces to swallow. Once she was done, she opened her eyes and was met by four shock faces.
"Disgusting" the second girl said but Sarah shook her head.
"No, what's disgusting is four girls who have so much money they can buy a helicopter but are too pathetic to pay for a simple diner. How can hair fall into a plate if all the cooks have fish things on their heads and I brought your plates in front of me while my hair is tied backwards?" Sarah looked at the girl with the snowflake eyes.
"What's disgusting is that you are refusing to pay a man who does his best to please and satisfy your hunger. The old man didn't have to open a restaurant but he thought about your wellbeing and you repay him by conning him out of his money." Sarah too another bite "You know, if everyone did what you did, then the old man wouldn't have the money to buy the food. No money, no food. No food, no customer. No customer, no restaurant. No restaurant, no playground for girls like you. Where are going to hang out and eat if this place closes down because of you?"
The girls were speechless as they watched Sarah ate. She moaned again before turning her attention back to the snowflake eyed girl. "So what kind of cake do you want for free? I would suggest the chocolate cheese cake because I never had it and it would be nice if you put your hair on the food again. I have never eaten something this good before"
The girl stared at her with fire in her eyes. "Tiramisu" she managed to say threw tight lips. Sarah smile again and left the table. She came back with the dessert and placed it in front of the girl. No one said a word but Sarah could feel their eyes burning at the back of her head. She didn't care though, because she had had much worse before.
Sarah knew she shouldn't have done that but she simply couldn't help it. She absolutely loved to piss off people who believe they are better than anyone. It always got her into trouble, trouble she didn't need at the moment but her mouth sometimes moved before she could even think about closing it. Sarah was not sorry for her reaction but the only concern was how far they could abuse their money to get back at her. If they dug into her past, Sarah knew she could be done for the rest of her life.
When Sarah went back to the table of girls and they paid for their meal. Once everyone had paid, Sarah looked at the receipt of the snowflake eyed girl and raised an eyebrow.
"No tip?" she pouted.
"Tip is optional" she said quietly. Without taking her eyes of Sarah, the girl stood up and grabbed her coat. "I only tip good service"
The girl was less than an inch taller than Sarah which gave Sarah the ability to stare into her eyes without tilting her head up.
"Vivian, let's go. She's not worth it" one of her friends said.
Vivian put her winter coat on and went around Sarah without another glance and walked out of the restaurant with her friends. Sarah stared at the door for some time trying to figure out what will happen next. She knew she made a red mark on her back and only hopped the girls weren't from her school.
-
Sarah finished her shift without a glitch. She helped clean up and close the restaurant quietly. Leanne arrived at nine precisely and walked in the building. She saw Sarah work and smiled a little but continued to walk to the kitchen. She found Andy washing the oven and cleared her throat.
"Hey Andy" she said. "How was everything?"
Andy got up and gave her a tired grin. It had been a long night and he was ready to pass out. He was not as young as he used to be and his back was really getting sore.
"Not bad. There were a few complaints but nothing major"
"What kind of complaints?" Leanne asked nervous.
"The Kingly girl told me to watch her more closely, is all"
Leanne exhaled in relief. Vivian Kingly and her friends were one of the richest people in town and did like to remind everyone about their status. Leanne knew it was hard to please the Kingly's so she was not worried if Sarah was disliked by them.
"Thank you Andy and have a goodnight"
"Night darlin'. I hope to see Sarah tomorrow, yeah?" Andy drawled. Leanne nodded her head and waved goodbye. She walked out of the kitchen and found Sarah patiently waiting for her with her old coat and ripped hat on.
"Remind me this weekend I am brining you shopping" Leanne told her as she made her way to her car.
"But I have clothes" Sarah argued.
"What you have on is not clothes" Leanne responded "If you want to survive here, you will come shopping and let me buy. Think of this as a survival necessity"
Sarah frowned and glared at the older woman who just smiled and pointed to the car door with her finger. Sarah hated it but she knew Leanne was right. She got in the car and heard a phone ring beside her. It took a few seconds for Sarah to remember that it was her phone that was ringing.
"Aren't you going to get that?" Leanne asked with a smile. Sarah searched her pockets until she found the object and pressed the button.
"Hello?" Sarah asked confused.
"Konbanwa Onee-san" Sunny's cheery voice screamed on the other end of the call.
"Konbanwa Sunny" Sarah greeted. Hearing her sister's voice calmed her right down. Sarah took a deep breath and let her body relax from all the stress she had accumulated during the day.
"We got a phone" Sunny giggled "Isn't it great? Our first real phone"
"One we didn't have to steal anyway" Sarah chuckled. Leanne's head spun to face her and Sarah shrug innocently at her. "Why are you calling? We are going to see each other in two minutes"
"I wanted to be the first one to call you silly"
"Thanks" Sarah said sincerely. "How do you like it so far?"
"It's great; there are so many things to do on it. Ben has been teaching me how to use it and I can't wait to show you" Sarah could virtually see Sunny jump up and down in anticipation. She had never seen Sunny so happy before and it warmed her heart. It had only been two days living with the Murray's and Sunny is walking on the clouds with happiness.
It was neither the money nor the house that made the Asian girl smile, it was the people. It was Leanne and Dean who treated her like a normal girl. They didn't ask questions nor did they look at her with pity. It was Ben who took a liking of her and became her first real friend. It was Carly who helped her with girly things Sunny never thought she would do in her life. This was the life Sunny wanted for both her and Sarah. Her sister kept warning her about everything being a trap but Sunny had a good feeling of the Murray family. She didn't think anything of this was fake.
"Open the door Sunny" Sarah said through the phone. Sunny, who was sitting on the sofa, jumped up and ran to the front door. She jumped into her sister's arms and laughed.
"Someone is happy- oof" Leanne puffed when Sunny gave her a bear hug. Sunny then grabbed Sarah by the hand and dragged her to their room.
Dean popped his head out of the living room and looked at the vanished girls. He then frowned at his wife but she shrugged her shoulders and went to kiss him. Her family was sitting in front of the television waiting for her to come home. Leanne smiled and sat in between her two children. She looked up to the stairs one last time hoping that one day he girls would feel comfortable enough to join them on TV Night.