Nathalie finished washing the wound and walked into the kitchen to throw the Q-tips away. She then walked back into the living room and chewed her lip thoughtfully, “Come...” She said, pulling Autumn up from the floor and heading into her room.
She searched through her bag and found a t-shirt for Autumn, “Here, take this.” She handed it to her and Autumn put it on with a weak smile.
She searched through her bag and found a t-shirt for Autumn, “Here, take this.” She handed it to her and Autumn put it on with a weak smile.
“Where are we going?” Autumn fixed checked her hair and face in the mirror, making sure she hadn't smudged her make-up. Nathalie shrugged and grabbed her keys from a hook on the wall.
“Grocery shopping, job hunting, I don't know...”
“But we have jobs...” Autumn frowned, making Nathalie sigh.
“Yeah, but it's not exactly the best paid job in the world, now is it?”
“I guess...”
“And living in this apartment,” Nathalie laughed. “We'll be needing two jobs.”
“Yeah... Yeah, you're right...” Autumn grabbed the hairbrush lying on a chair in the hall. “Can I borrow this?” She asked, holding it up.
“Oh, yeah, sure!” Nathalie said, “But let me get rid of that...” She took the brush from Autumn and pulled off the blonde hairs that had gotten there when she had used it. “There, like new!”
“Thanks,” Autumn smiled and brushed through her hair. “I'd use my own, but it's probably in Sweden...”
“Yeah, no problem,” Nathalie could tell she was starting to think about him again. “Let's go!”
“So where do we go first?” Autumn said, hearing the door swing shut behind her.
“I don't know, do you have any work skills?”
“Not really...” Autumn admitted, “I mean, I can skate and dance, but I've already got that job.” She smiled. “What about you?”
“No, nothing major. I used to handle the dishes at my parents' bowling alley, but that's about it.”
“Should we split up and meet back at the apartment later?” Autumn suggested.
“Uh, yeah, we can meet back here and then go find a grocery store?”
“Sounds great. Oh damn it...”
“What?”
“I don't have my resume or anything...”
“Let's hope we can get jobs that don't require resumes, then...” Nathalie laughed. “See you later!”
“Yeah...” Autumn sighed and the two walked off in different directions. “What the hell can I do...?” She muttered to herself as she strolled down the street in the brisk air.
Because she was looking at her feet while walking, she accidentally walked into someone on the sidewalk, “I'm so sorry!” She exclaimed and looked up, but the person had already hurried off. “Fine, then...” Autumn rolled her eyes and looked at the stores surrounding her.
On the left side of the street, there was a sign saying “Wendy's Old Fashioned Cafe” and it had caught Autumn's eye. Curious as to what an old fashioned cafe was, she crossed the street and opened the door. Before entering, she saw a tiny sign in the window next to the door, reading “Help wanted”.
Autumn's eyes widened when she stepped inside: there were people on roller skates taking the orders, and the walls and furniture were, indeed, old fashioned.
“Table for one, sweetie?” One of the girls had skated up to her with a menu in her hands.
“Uh, no, thanks...” Autumn shook her head. “I was actually wondering if I could see the manager?”
“Sure thing...” The waitress blew a bubble with her chewing gum. “I think she's in the back, follow me.”
Autumn did her best to keep up with the fast skating girl, and when she reached the offices, which were behind the counter and the kitchen, she knocked three times fast.
“Yes?” A voice inside the room said. Autumn waited a few seconds before she realized that she had been given permission to go in.
“Hi...” She said, closing the door behind her.
“Is there a problem with your food?” The woman said, almost jumping out of her chair. “That cook, I'm telling you...” She muttered.
“No, no... I was just, er...” Autumn paused while the woman got back into her seat. “I saw the help wanted sign...”
“Oh,” The woman started looking through some papers on her desk. “First of all...” She said before handing over the piece of paper she had been looking for. “Can you roller skate?”
Autumn nodded slightly, “Yeah, uh, well I played hockey as a kid... It's almost the same as ice skating...”
“Yes...” The woman looked down at her desk again, and Autumn caught a glimpse of the sign standing on it. It revealed the woman's name: Wendy. Autumn wanted to smile, she had named the cafe after herself. “Well, fill this out and come back tomorrow. I'll get one of the girls to teach you how to act, alright?”
“Okay...” Autumn took the paper and eyed it quickly when she headed for the door.
“I never caught your name, honey?” Wendy said, causing Autumn to stop and turn around.
“It's Autumn.”
“That's a pretty name.”
“Thank you...” Autumn cleared her throat. “When should I come in?”
“We open at nine, so you should probably be here by eight thirty. Sound good?”
Autumn nodded, “I'll make it work.” She reached for the doorknob and turned it. “Goodbye.”
“Have a good day!” Wendy managed to say before Autumn closed the door behind her. She exhaled loudly and smiled for what felt like the first time that day.
-
Nathalie didn't know where she was going or where she should start looking, but she headed down the street and turned right around a corner. She almost skipped along on the sidewalk, putting in her headphones and listening to her iPod as she looked for places she would be able to work.
On her way, Nathalie passed several cafes and restaurants, but she had never been very good with handling other people's food, so she kept on walking.
All of a sudden, Nathalie heard something growl above her and she looked up just as the rain started to pour. She gasped and hurried into the closest building to avoid getting soaked.
“Jesus...” She looked around to see where she had just burst in, and it appeared to be a bowling alley. Nathalie shook her head. “The irony...” She thought and walked further into the room.
“Hello,” A middle-aged man greeted her when she sat down by the bar. “Can I get you anything?”
“A job?” Nathalie laughed and took the headphones out of her ears. The man blinked, not sure how to respond.
“Are you serious?”
Nathalie frowned, “Why?”
“We're actually looking for someone...” The man smiled slightly. “Are you interested?”
“Uh...” Nathalie tried to make out if he was joking or not. “What's the job?”
“You know, everything... Dishes, oil the bowling lanes, fix stuff at the back if the pins are stuck...”
“Um, okay... You don't need a resume or something?”
“No, I think you can handle it once you've learned. I have someone who can show you the basics.”
“Okay, so do I have to fill out some forms or something?”
“Oh yeah,” The man walked back to his office and returned with a piece of paper. “Just your basic information: name, social security number, address, phone number... And sign the bottom.”
Nathalie filled out the form and handed it to the man. He held out his hand for her to shake, “I'm Thomas, I'm going to be your manager.”
“Nathalie...” She replied and got off the chair. “When do I start?”
“Come around on Friday around nine, we open at ten.”
“Okay... Thanks a lot!”
“Happy to help!”
“Hey, excuse me? The pins are stuck...” One of the guests shouted from one of the lanes.
“Coming!” Thomas shouted back, “Pardon me...” He said to Nathalie and hurried back behind the lanes. Nathalie nodded and looked out the windows, seeing that the rain was subsiding. She decided it was probably best to head back home, since Autumn would be back soon and they had to do their grocery shopping.
-
Autumn had been waiting for ten minutes when Nathalie appeared, “Hey!” She said with a smile. “Did you manage to get a job?”
“I think so...” Autumn said. “How about you?”
“Yeah, at a bowling alley!” Nathalie laughed. “What are the odds, right?”
“You got hired on the spot?” Autumn looked confused.
“Yes! It was crazy, I ducked in there because it started to rain, and I just had to fill out a form and then I was done,” Nathalie shrugged. “So should we try to find a grocery store?”
“That is pretty crazy... And yeah, I passed one on the way, it's not far...”
“Alright, let's go!” Nathalie hooked arms with Autumn and let her lead them to the store and through the doors. “Wow, this place is huge...”
“Nah, it's all right...” Autumn shrugged and grabbed a shopping cart. “What do we need, exactly?”
“Uhh... Everything?” Nathalie laughed and looked around. “Let's just go over the basics, I think... You know, eggs, butter, bread, milk, juice...”
“This is going to take a while, isn't it?”
Nathalie nodded, “I'm afraid so...” She scanned the shelves and picked out bread, eggs, apples, oranges, butter, ham and cheese. After that, she frowned. “Why isn't there any milk here?”
“... there is.” Autumn said and grabbed a bag containing a white liquid.
“But... How does that...”
“You put it in a container,” Autumn said, looking at Nathalie as if she was stupid. “You've never seen this before?”
“Uhh, no... We've got cartons in Sweden...”
“Oh right, I remember that,” Autumn cleared her throat. “Anyway, we should probably go get a container for the milk as well.”
“We can get that in here?”
“Yes... Seriously, stop it, you're freaking me out.”
“Well, well, well, fancy running into you here...” Both Autumn and Nathalie swirled around at the sound of David's voice.
“Oh, hi,” Nathalie said. “Shopping, are you?”
“Yeeah...” David pulled Oliver forward. “We figured we can't eat out every night.”
“No,” Oliver said shyly. “Hey did you see where the milk is, I can't find any cartons...”
“We have bags...” Autumn blushed and started collecting potatoes in a plastic bag. She tied a knot on the bag and put it down in the cart.
“Oh right, Canada...” David laughed. “So what are you up to later?”
Nathalie smiled, biting her lip, “You know, just moving in properly and stuff, you?”
“Not sure yet, Ollie just set up his xbox, so we might check that out, won't we Ollie?” He pulled Oliver in and put his arm around his shoulder, ruffling his hair at the same time.
“Y-yeah...” Oliver smiled slightly, obviously uncomfortable. “We should probably go, we have practice too...”
David nodded, “Right, 5.30, was it?” Oliver replied with a single nod. “See you Friday.” He winked at Nathalie before walking off with Oliver.
Nathalie sighed, “They're adorable, both of them...”
“Yeah, let's finish shopping and go home.”
“Okay... He was totally staring at you by the way...” They made their way to the check-out counter and waited for the line to move forward.
“He was not...” Autumn looked into the cart and felt her cheeks flush red.
“Then why are you blushing?” Nathalie grinned, shoving her lightly with her hip. “You can at least go for coffee with him or something.”
“Yeah, I don't know,” Autumn started putting the groceries on the belt. “I'm not sure I'm ready for something yet...”
“You don't have to start something... Just hang out, talk. You know how to do that, right?” Nathalie picked up the final things and walked up to the cashier. She took out her Visa card and paid for everything.
“Oh, you didn't have to pay for that...” Autumn said, changing the subject.
Nathalie shrugged, “I'm sure you'll pay for groceries in the future, it's no big deal.”
“Thanks,” Autumn smiled as they put everything into plastic bags. “And of course I will.”
After spending half an hour trying to work out how to fit everything into the fridge, freezer and cupboards, Nathalie and Autumn went into their separate bedrooms to change.
They headed out the door together and made their way to practice through the now pouring rain.
“An umbrella... The one thing we forgot to buy...” Nathalie laughed after lunging through the entrance doors.
“We'll have to pick that up later...”
“Yeah, definitely...”
A few minutes later, they both hit the ice, excited to start their new jobs as ice girls. They were both thinking similar things: “I've missed skating” and “I've missed dancing.”
