i watched as nicole practically sobbed, hugging her parents tightly, saying goodbye to them.
we were at the airport, getting ready to board our flight to LA. my mom couldn't make it, her job getting in the way of things once again. i understood and i didn't mind. i had said my goodbyes to her last night before going to sleep so now i was just watching nicole cry like the emotional person she is as she bid farewell to her parents.
"vivienne, come here." nicole's mom, pamela, said, as he opened her arms and pulled me into a tight hug that i gladly accepted. "we're gonna miss you so much sweetie."
pam was like my second mom. she'd always been so kind to me ever since nicole and i became friends back in middle school and i could truly say that i loved her and that i was going to miss her so much as well.
"i'm gonna miss you so much too, pam." i said, as i pulled away from her embrace and went over to hug nicole's dad, richard. "you too, rich. don't think i forgot about you."
he chuckles and hugs me back, patting my back softly. "take care of nicole, will you? protect her from those dirty college boys. god knows what this girl would do if you don't keep an eye on her."
"dad, i'm right here," nicole says, "and i'm not a little girl, i don't need viv to keep on eye on me. she's younger than me, for god's sake!"
"wow, by three months," i say, "and don't worry, rich, i'll keep an eye on her for you. she won't do anything crazy while i'm around."
he laughs and says, "that's what i like to hear."
"you guys are no fun." nicole whines jokingly before laughing and hugging her parents one last time before we start walking to the terminal to board our plane. i turn around and give pam and rich a wave goodbye as we walk into the terminal and out of sight from them.
this felt so unreal. last time we had went to LA was a couple months ago to check out the UCLA campus and our apartment that nicole and i's parents were helping us rent out but now we were actually going and not coming back for a long time. we were going to be college students and living in LA. i never thought i'd be a west coaster but, here i was, moving to los angeles.
the plane ride from maryland to LA felt extremely short and before i knew it, nicole and i were getting our bags and walking outside to find a taxi, the sky already dark. it wasn't hard to find one and we quickly got in, making our way to our apartment.
"don't you just love the fresh air here?" i ask nicole jokingly after she had paid the taxi man for the ride and we were walking towards our apartment complex. "it's like i can just feel the smog filling up my lungs."
"yeah, it's wonderful." she replies, walking up the stairs towards our apartment, me trailing behind her. "almost as wonderful as when you smoke your damn cigarettes around me and i breath in the second hand smoke, i love that."
"oh, shut up." i poke her side as i throw the cigarette i was smoking to the ground and stomp on it and she unlocks the front door, opening it. we walk in and set our bags down by the door.
the apartment was small. the living room being the first thing you see as you walk in and a small kitchen behind it. it had two small bedrooms and one bathroom. it was nothing luxurious but it was just what we needed.
last time we were here, nicole and i had gone furniture shopping so we already had a couch and our beds but that was pretty much it. besides that, the house was practically empty.
"home, sweet home." nicole sighs, sitting on the couch. "we need to decorate it though because i am not living in a depressing ass apartment."
"we can go shopping later," i say, closing the front door behind me. "we really need to."
"oh my god," she says. "i'm so excited! i'm gonna be a college student and i have my own place. do you know how long i've been waiting to say that?"
i chuckle at her excitement and pick up my suitcase, walking over to my room.
the room was plain, much like the rest of the apartment. the walls were white and a queen sized bed sat in the corner. that was it. we really had nothing, it was like we were starting from zero and i kind of liked that.
the wooden floorboards creaked a little as i walked over to set my suitcase on the floor near my bed. i kneeled down on the floor and unzipped it, taking out a large hoodie and putting it on.
i walk out and walk over to nicole's room, finding her doing the same thing.
"jesus christ," she exclaims, "why is it so cold in here?"
i shrug my shoulders, smiling at her. "let's go to target. you're right, this apartment is depressing as fuck."
we had to get an uber to drive us to target since we had to leave our cars back in maryland but our parents promised they would bring them to us as soon as they could.
"i'm really gonna need to get a job as soon as possible," i sigh as we walked into target, nicole getting a cart. "because i'm going to have to be paying for uber rides until our parents can bring our cars over here."
i've only been in LA for about two hours and all of the harsh realities were starting to sink in. how the fuck was i going to pay for everything? i had only brought like two thousand dollars with me from what i had saved up for about a year and a half. sure, that sounds like a lot of money but it really wasn't now that i thought about it. i had so many things to buy and at this rate, that money was going to be gone in a week. the only thing nicole and i had covered was rent, as our parents promised they were gonna pay our rent for the first year of us living in the apartment but besides that, everything else was up to us.
i made a mental note to go job hunting first thing tomorrow.
nicole and i walked through the isles of target, being wary of how many items we put into the cart. i grabbed a couple decorative items for my room and some chips, nicole doing the same, and then we went up to the cash register to check out.
after paying, we got another uber and went back to the apartment, both of us exhausted and ready for bed.
as i walked into my room and laid down on my bed, today's events hit me all at once. in less than 24 hours, i had hopped on a plane from maryland to los angeles, moved into my own apartment, and realized how hard being independent and living away from my mom is going to be - and although the idea of struggling with money on my own scares the shit out of me, i was excited to start this new chapter of my life.
-
the next morning, i was out job hunting like i had promised myself i would. it's in moments like these where i truly realize how much of a dumb bitch i am.
i had called an uber and asked him to take me to the nearest mall. i have only been in LA once before so to think i'd be able to navigate around this city by myself was really stupid but i didn't want to bother nicole and have her come with me. i know how she gets when you wake her up "too early", and although it was already 11 a.m., i didn't feel like having a cranky nicole looming over me, complaining about how it was "too early for this shit".
i walked around the mall alone, looking at the shop's windows in search of any 'help wanted' signs. so far, i had found two. one at this weird souvenir store and another one at justice. i don't know about you, but i really wouldn't want to work at justice. i'd be bombarded by memories of 12 year old me, a total whore for that god awful store, wearing those horrendous pink glittery outfits on the daily and that's something i don't want to go through.
i mindlessly walked around the shopping mall some more, being on the verge of calling it quits on this job hunt i was on until something caught my eye. it was another 'help wanted' sign. it was taped onto the window of some record store that, by the looks of it, didn't attract many customers. i sigh and enter the lonely shop.
"welcome to groove's," a tall redhead that was standing behind the register greeted as i walked in. "let me know if you need anything."
"actually, i came in because i saw you guys are hiring." i say and look around the store for a little bit. dozens of boxes filled with records and shelves with cd's lined the store, a couch situated in the middle. it was pretty much empty of people besides her and i.
"oh yeah, okay!" the redhead says and starts shuffling around the front desk where the register was. "the applications are around here somewhere... aha! here they are." she hands me one and smiles. "you can fill it out right now if you'd like," she says. "there's pens on that coffee table right there." she points towards the small wooden table in front of the couch that was in the center of the store.
i give her a small smile and mutter a quick 'thanks' before walking over to the couch and taking a seat. i grab a pen that was on the table and quickly start to fill out the application. i quickly finish filling it out and stand up from the couch, heading over to the register once again to hand it in.
"here's my application, thank you so much." i say to the redhead, assuming they'd call me for an interview later and i could just leave. i was done job hunting for today. it was surprisingly exhausting.
"cool. when can you start?" she asks me and i raise an eyebrow. did i really get the job this quickly?
"uh," i say, confused. "i've got the job? don't you normally need to interview me and all that before hiring me?"
"hm, you're right." the redhead says. "mitch! come here!"
my eyes widen a bit at her sudden increase in volume. she smiles at me and i return it hesitantly, quite honestly weirded out by the situation i was in. out of the corner of my eye i notice a door to the right of the strange redhead and an older man walking out of it.
"yeah?" the man, who i assume was mitch, asks. he was tall and had grey short hair. if i had to guess, i'd say he was in his early sixties.
"this girl here wants to be interviewed." the girl informs him, smiling at him. mitch turns towards me and smiles.
"is that so?" he says. "okay, so tell me, uh- wait, i don't know your name."
suddenly being overcome by nerves, having not been mentally prepared to be interviewed today, i stare at him like a deer caught in the headlights until i realize he was still waiting for my response.
"oh. uh, my name's vivienne." i spit out, mentally slapping myself for acting so obviously nervous. this was no way of making a good first impression. at the rate things were going, any chance i had of being hired was down the drain. i couldn't have just taken the job and kept my mouth shut. no, i had to ask about being interviewed, didn't i?
"vivienne," he says in almost a thoughtful tone. "hm, i like it. i had a girlfriend in high school named vivienne once, a long time ago."
upon hearing this, the redhead behind the counter laughs. "sorry," she says. "it's just i've heard this story about a million times and it's so funny how nostalgic he gets."
i smile at her, genuinely and not uncomfortably this time. her breaking into laughter helped sooth my nerves a bit and helped get rid of some of the tension i was feeling within myself. why i was feeling it, i don't know - shyness, i guess. i guess that's just what happens when i talk to new people.
"zip it, donna." mitch sends her a glare jokingly and i can't help but smile again at their interaction. "yeah, yeah," he says, "i had a girlfriend named vivienne when i was younger and she was great but i guess i'll just leave it at that and not overwhelm you with my apparently excessive nostalgia. anyway, sorry, got a bit sidetracked. so you're looking for a job but aren't willing to just take it, you have to get interviewed."
"well-" i begin to interject, wanting to tell him i didn't have to be interviewed, it was just a question i had since that's how these things usually go but he interrupts me.
"no, i respect that." mitch says. "keeping things professional, i get it. well vivienne, i'm gonna be real honest with you, this isn't a real professional establishment. i'm just a guy who loves music but i guess, for your sake, i'll play the part of the professional businessman. so tell me, do you like music?"
"uh," i start, "yes i do. of course. who doesn't?"
"great answer!" he yells and i'm taken aback by his loud volume. i guess people here just like yelling. "you're hired. that's all i needed to know. this is a record store, liking music is pretty much the only requirement, sweetheart - but aye, i'd say that was a pretty good interview, eh?" he nudges my arm with his elbow playfully and chuckles. "it was nice meeting you, viv. i'm looking forward to working with you." after saying this, he smiles at me once more and heads back towards the door he came out of just a few minutes before.
i just stare at the door, dumbfounded and kind of speechless at what had just happened. that was the easiest job interview ever - well, if you'd even consider that an interview.
"would've probably been a whole lot faster if you had just skipped the interview, huh?" the redhead, who i'd come to learn was named donna, says, chuckling a little. "mitch isn't really a serious guy, half the things that come out of his mouth are jokes. he likes to run this store as simply and smoothly as possible, without too many extra hassles and i guess to him, interviewing employees is one of them."
"yeah," i reply. "i guess so."
"but hey," she says, "it's worked. he's been running this store for almost thirty years and his wacky way of running things hasn't really caused him any trouble. i mean the store's still up and running, right?"
"guess so, yeah." i smile at her.
we start talking about when i could start working and we decided on monday next week, which was only four days away. before i left the record store, donna told me that i had chosen the perfect time to start working there as she said that mitch had managed to book a famous artist to have a record signing in the store next week. she said that they expected a lot of people to show up (which would be a huge contrast the the amount of people inside the store right now) and that she was glad that they'd be getting an extra pair of helping hands as it was just her and mitch before.
i quickly thanked her and left the record store. i didn't really bother asking who the famous singer that'd be coming next week was. one, because i wanted to get out of there. i had spent all day making conversation with strangers in search for a job and i was exhausted. i wasn't really used to this much social interaction and it drained me. and two, because no matter who this singer was, the thought of meeting someone famous was nerve wracking but exciting nonetheless and i liked that. i guess i was just gonna have to wait and see who this mysterious celebrity was.
i made my way up the stairs and towards my apartment after taking an uber from the mall. i was excited to tell nicole about the job i had gotten. if i was being honest, i was surprised how it easy it had been to find one after only one day of searching but i definitely wasn't complaining.
"nicole!" i exclaim excitedly, once i had gotten inside my apartment and into nicole's room, where she was laying down in her bed using her phone. "guess who got a job today?"
"well i'm guessing you because there's no way in hell you'd be this peppy if you hadn't found a job." she says, laughing a little and i couldn't help but join her. "where at?" she asks.
"this record store named groove's at mall." i answer her question. "oh but wait! that's not all."
nicole raises her eyebrow in confusion and amusement at my excitement and i continue. "they're having some celebrity come in next week to sign some records for people and guess when i'm starting? next week! so i'm gonna be there."
"woah, no way." nicole says, excitement becoming evident in her tone as well. "who?"
"don't know, didnt ask but it doesn't matter, it's exciting either way." i tell her. "all that matters is that i got a job and i'm gonna start making money soon."
she agrees with me and we start talking about our future and how excited we were to finally be starting our lives. for eighteen years, we were controlled by our parents in one way or the other and although we love them dearly, it feels great to finally be independent and get to make our own choices as adults.
i was ecstatic. not only was i starting both college and a new job next week, and living in a new city in a new apartment, i was also getting the chance to meet a celebrity which was a bonus. it gave me something else and exciting to look forward to. for once, after analyzing everything last night and freaking myself out, i felt like my life was coming into place.