So for the rest of the afternoon, I am taking orders, giving orders, cleaning tables and sweeping floors "thanks for your help Raya" says Zalika "no problems Z" I say "honestly Raya I don't understand Chloe" says Zalika "I do she's a skiver" I say "maybe so but at least you're here to help out so that means a lot as sometimes she doesn't bother getting cover she just leaves you to it" says Zalika "aww chick I know what you mean" I say smiling "honestly hun if you want like I can do the last few customers on my own I'll get someone to cover for you if you want chick as you've been a real helping hand this afternoon" says Zalika "you sure?" I say "yeah, of course, Stacey fancy a job" shouts Zalika seeing Stacey just walking into the kitchen "um yeah can do," says Stacey "okay chick chuck an apron on and I'll see you in a minute," says Zalika smiling, I run upstairs and grab my coat and bag, Curtis comes up "you finished now?" I ask "yeah Raya you getting the bus or getting a lift off Mollie," says Curtis "I'm getting the bus back unless she's messaged me whilst I've been working," I say "right," says Curtis I take my phone out 3 messages Chloe Co-Worker- "thanks for covering for me Raya," says the message "fuck off" I whisper annoyed as hell "Chloe I'm guessing?" says Curtis "obviously," I say my ever so common eye roll comes through, "thought so," says Curtis nodding slowly, "Hun fancy some dinner thought we'd get a Chinese seeing as it's a Friday" Auntie Mollie I reply to the message "can't have a Chinese tonight as I'm going out with Willow, Curtis and Jamie so I'll get a kebab or something whilst I'm in town x" I text back and send the message through 3rd message "hey love you okay x" sent from an unknown number and then I recognise the number as I pull the card Nathan gave me earlier that day "oh it's Nathan," I say looking up at Curtis "it's up to you what you do babe can't tell you different" says Curtis "anyway I'll meet you downstairs", Curtis heads off downstairs, his head bobbing as he goes down each one, I smile at the message Nathan sent me but don't reply instead my auntie Mollie has sent me another message "okay darling are you okay getting a bus back from work or do you want me to pick you up?" says the text I reply back "yeah I'll be fine getting a bus back Auntie Mollie love you x" says the reply I send it and head out.
I get downstairs Zalika and Stacey give me a wave and Zalika's grin looks bigger than ever I honestly think though that the reason Chloe skives so much is because she's racist which is horrible but also kind of explains why whenever Zalika's got a job working with Chloe, Chloe has to find an excuse whether it's any of the following:
1. I feel sick
2. I've got a doctors appointment
And her 3rd and famous one Something's Happened Excuse something being one of these, "My grandmother's in hospital" "I have a family emergency" "I need to have a break" or my favourite one which myself and Curtis both know isn't true is the "I'm depressed" excuse it's like no you lazy little fuck you're just too unbothered about your job and I get paid more than she does.
"See you Monday love!" says Martin "you too Martin," I say smiling a gentle smile before meeting Curtis at the doors.
The bus ride soon came and went like it often does me and Curtis sitting side by side as we wait for our stops, sometimes Curtis gets off at my stop as he'll pop in to see my Auntie Mollie but tonight he got off at his own stop which is a few minutes away from my house. Eventually, the bus gets to my bus stop and I ring the bell, get up and walk off the bus and take the short five-minute walk to my house, the second I get to my house I open the door and shout "I'm home! Auntie Mollie" just then a figure jumps out at me "hey hey girlfriend" it's Willow "hey talk about getting here early" I say "yeah well gotta make an entrance" giggles Willow she turns around and does a twirl "so what do you think?" she's wearing a sparkly sequined skirt midi skirt with a white bralette "you look stunning girl" I say with a smile "I know right?" says Willow "well what you waiting for? Get ready haven't got all night babe" "I know but I need to shower and sort myself out and it's only 5.00 pm" I say "okay then chick I'll be down here waiting" says Willow "okay thanks" I say before rushing upstairs to my bedroom.
I stay in the shower for 20 minutes anything to pass the time on the feeling of the water running down my back and neck, my arms all the way to my toes, the twenty minutes fly by almost but at the same time make me nervous as hell, I sigh a sigh before heading out of the shower, grabbing and wrapping the towel around me before going into my room.
As I get into my room I start to moisturize my legs sitting on my bed, rubbing the moisturizer in forcefully almost as if Willow will come in any minute with her big, loud and bold "come on girlfriend" as she does "Auntie Mollie can you do my hair?" I shout down to my auntie "yes let me get the curling iron" shouts Auntie Mollie back to me, I pull the dress from the bag and squeeze myself into the dress, leaving my shoes for the last showing, after getting my dress on I go over to my dressing table and put on my beige foundation, blending it in with a brush try not to make it too streaky "god it never looks right with the brush only my chin looks decent" I whisper to myself, my phone pings "hey Raya with a winking emoji" says the text it's Nathan with a photo of him attached to the message he's smiling this really cute, happy smile and his eyes just crinkling as they do he's honestly handsome and so perfect but why be interested in me as I'm nothing special compared to him he's like a Greek God mixed with a Male Model for one of those phoney perfume ads you see on TV and it still makes me melt even more so, he's wearing a navy shirt with a Firetrap tee-shirt underneath and I'm so plain Jane I wear makeup once every other day, I wear plainish clothes the skinny jeans, the same tee-shirts and trainers and ballet pumps and I wouldn't get the same attention from guys the way girls would swoon back for Nate even and not to sound graphic here but he'd get the same type of attention Curtis gets where a girl would show she's flexible if it meant giving a man like that a blowjob kind of sick way of putting it but it's true. I decide to text back "you off out tonight?" I respond before carrying on with the rest of my makeup, eyeshadow next I grab a palette and choose to go almost a sparkly, sultry colour first I start with a nice purple colour called Heavenly, I dab my eyeshadow wand with the heavenly colour and run it along from my left eye and my right eye before, I take a blending brush and blend it all in and then I use the same brush to dab the smoky grey colour, again I run it back and forth giving me a wild smoky eye look, before using my favourite mascara Maybelline Falsies I give my lashes 2-3 coatings before putting the mascara wand back into the tube and twisting it back tightly, lipstick next I go with my old favourite "Jealousy" a reddish-pink shade, I smear the lipstick all around my mouth making sure I dab any bits that go beyond my lips making sure to wipe it with a makeup wipe, I look in the mirror quickly whilst waiting for the lipstick to set and dry, I tilt my head and furrow my eyebrows somethings missing?... that's it eyeliner, I then grab my eyeliner a soft kohl pencil and fill the bottoms of my eye (my god does this feel like shit as the saying goes beauty is a pain but it's worth it), after doing my eyeliner I blend it in so I don't look like some Frankstein monster with her eyes sunk in, my phone pings twice "Nate- Yes I'm heading out tonight with Jay and Jordan what you doing?" says the text from Nathan I smile, "Heading out with Willow and Curtis tonight having a dance and that" I reply, I send the text next text is Willow "come on girl gotta strike whilst the curling irons hot with the laughing emoji" "I'm on my way" I reply and send her my text, I sigh before my phone pings I don't answer straight away due to the fact I have got up to put my shoes, I grab a little handbag and put inside, my Jealousy lipstick, my purse with a bit of money for the taxi at the end of the night I mean usually me, Willow and Curtis will all chip in when it comes to that I have £50 pounds the forty for drinks and the other ten for the taxi back, I shove my purse inside the bag, before grabbing my phone "maybe I'll see you with a cheeky wink emoji" says the text from Nathan "maybe not cheeky wink emoji" I tease in the text back, I put my phone in my bag and head downstairs.
"Oh, you look gorgeous!" shrieks Willow as she sees my full outfit put together, "thanks Willow," I say blushing almost "come on let's get your hair sorted for tonight then," says Auntie Mollie, I go into the kitchen where my Auntie Mollie has 2 cup fulls of Pink Gin WKD out in her famous flute glasses the rose gold ones one's obviously mine the others so obviously Willow's, Willow sits on the kitchen side and all you can see is her perfect mocha coloured legs with her toes in these really nice silver heels the type of heels that if I tried to walk in them I'd fall flat on my face with taking one step, she's just sat there so perfect and pretty her eyelashes done by an actual beautician and she just looks like your typical perfect woman, I sit there whilst my auntie Mollie puts soft curls to my rather boring and plain hair, I sit there "need your medication," says Auntie Mollie going to the kitchen drawer and pulling out my packet of pills "yeah thanks," I say, she hands them to me, I take the two little pink pills and swallow them "do you want a plain drink?" asks Willow "no chick their only tiny so I'll take them without but give me 5 minutes for them to start kicking in before I have any alcohol" I say, Auntie Mollie buffonts my hair at the top when she's done and adds a few bobby pins along with some hairspray to hold it all into place, as soon as my Auntie Mollie's done my hair Curtis then appears through the door wearing a mosaicy type of shirt in a snakeskin type of texture it's kind of hideous to say the most but I bite my tongue and reach for my WKD glass, take as sip as my Auntie Mollie goes over "oh Curtis don't you look handsome" says Auntie Mollie, Willow's there trying not to make it obvious that she's dying with laughter inside, her drink bubbles, I slightly slap her as if to say "Wills shut up", "how you doing Curtis?" I ask "I'm good um... Jamie won't be joining us," says Curtis "oh why not?" says Willow "he's busy at work," says Curtis "you mean he's bumming someone else?" says Willow with a cheeky grin "Willow!" Auntie Mollie and I say in unison "what I was joking?" says Willow loudly in defence "not funny Wills" says Curtis "come on you two I want to go out and have fun tonight not listening to Gok Wan and RuPaul at each other's throats" I say "yeah" says Willow "finish your drink I'm phoning for the taxi" Willow walks off to ring for the taxi service Ashtown Local, her phone rings as she waits for the voice mail to pick up her call.
Curtis and I sit in the kitchen together "can I just say Raya that dress shouldn't have been ditched earlier it looks unreal on you?" says Curtis I smile and take a pack of cigarettes out of my handbag "thanks Curtis" I say before asking "where's the ashtray?" "here you are babe," says Auntie Mollie passing me her crystallized ashtray which was a present to her from one of her ex-boyfriends, I take out my rainbow lighter and flick it to light up this cigarette "I wish you wouldn't smoke Raya like you're too attractive for that babe," says Curtis as I exhale the smoke, before flicking the ash into the ashtray, before putting the cigarette back in my mouth and inhaling the smoke in and exhaling the smoke out and blowing it in Curtis' face, Curtis wafts his hand in front of the smoke "bite me," I say clenching my teeth a little "really chick you're better than that and the second you stop the smoking the better life's gonna be for you," says Curtis "yeah but you know the reason why I started it'd take a special something to turn that around for me," I say as I finish the last of my cigarette and squish it in the ashtray "come on guys the taxi's almost here it'll be outside in two minutes" says Willow "right we best go" I say "wild night out here we come" says Willow as she sort of dances out the door "right be safe" says auntie Mollie "I will love you" I say giving her a kiss, she gives me one back "love you too" says Auntie Mollie, I grab my bag and give her a wave before heading in the taxi.