Work Text:
Today was like any other. Waking up was the easiest yet hardest part of my morning. All you had to do was open your eyes and get up. Yet my eyes felt like they were glued shut. Glued shut with something like God-made superglue. My body felt like it was paralyzed. I felt the lack of movement of an old woman who was in a car-crash. I know that was a bit of an exaggeration but it was hard to move out of bed, extremely hard. My bed was small but it was soft and comfy. My blanket was warm. I could drown in it. After at least 10 minutes of attempting to get out of bed, I forced myself to walk into the bathroom.
My bathroom was connected to my room and my sister's room. It was very small. I can't give the exact measurements but it was around 10 feet wide and 10 feet long. The shower had no curtain, just a glass wall and no door. The walls and floor were tiled with some sort of gray fake marble design. The toilet was a normal toilet, white. The sink was normal, bowl shaped and white. The counter the sink was on had the same gray fake marble pattern. The counter doubled as a cabinet, a dirty one. I hesitantly stepped into the shower. I hate morning showers but I hate stinking even more.
I turned the shower valve to the left, hot water started running down from the shower head. I love hot water, it's calming and relaxing. I sighed in relief as I felt the water on my skin. Maybe I didn't hate morning showers that much. I looked down at my body. Parts of my body were darker and lighter from others. That's from tanning on the beach with clothes that were not for tanning. That was when my tita Maria brought us on a trip to boracay, my skin was ruined that trip. My tits were small and saggy, my stomach had a bit of fat that was noticeable, my legs weren't thunder nor chopsticks. My body was ok but not good enough. I'm still thankful that I'm healthy, even with my picky diet.
I grabbed the thin slab of soap that was on the left from the rack. Me and my sister, Bella, had different soaps. Hers was on the right and mine was on the left. I rubbed the thin slab of soap all over my body, leaving a white trail of bubbles and soap. My sister, Bella Donna Reyes, is 15 and the sweetest person ever. She always worried for me and sometimes helped me in the coffee shop. Usually when she’d volunteer to help me it would be because she wanted to get out of doing homework. She’s still an adorable little girl, no matter how childishly cunning she is. I think my mom really liked middle names that matched with the first. My name is Rosa Bella Reyes. I love my name and I love my mom for giving me that name.
I placed the soap back on the rack and pumped some shampoo from the bottle beside it. Unlike the soaps, me and Bella shared shampoos and conditioners. I pumped some shampoo into my hand, slathering and rubbing it into my short, black hair. The coffee shop passed down from my mom when she passed. I was 19 and Bella was 5. That was a decade ago. I've never renovated or changed the shop. I want to keep it as she left it. As I was scrubbing my hair, some shampoo leaked into my eyes. It stinged. Stinged like God decided that the fires of hell would be infused into my eyes.
I hate this morning.
I washed off all of the soap and shampoo. I forgot to use the conditioner. Oh well, I’ll live. I watched the little bubbles go down the drain. I want to go back to sleep. Stepping out of the shower, I looked around to see my towel nowhere. Where is my towel? Oh, it's on my chair. Sighing, I walked out of the bathroom drenched in water, wetting the floor with the water dripping from my body. I glanced at my towel on the chair. I snatched and wiped all over me. The morning dawn seemed to despise me. I opened the closet, it was a mess. I grabbed a plain white t-shirt from the pile of shirts, black leggings from the messily folded pants, and the apron for my shop. The apron had my cafe's logo on it. “Ate Jane’s” was printed onto the apron in a fancy font. “Ate” Is pronounced literally, Ah-teh. It's a Filipino term used for older women. Very basic name really. My mother made that name, considering she bought the property and set up the entire place. I don't mean to say her name was ugly. I just mean that she could have chosen something creative but went with something basic.
I threw on the clothes and strapped on the apron. I merely helped her before. Now I work there full time. I spend most of my time behind that counter. The space was very cramped. I hated it. But we need money one way or another. I dragged myself out the room, my body weighing down my tired soul. I was very dramatic when I was tired. I made my way through the living and dining room and swiftly stepped down the stairs until I was stopped halfway.
“Ate Rosaaa! You’re going down na?! I made milo for you pa!” My sister called out to me. Bella was always worried for me. She constantly told me that I needed a drink before I went down. That was true but I usually made a drink for myself. She had just finished 9th grade and was currently on break. Milo was a brand. It was basically chocolate powder mixed with hot water to make an energy drink.
“Bella, I'm fine!” I reassured her. I was fine really. There weren't really many customers so I didn't exactly have to tire myself out at work. If you could call it work. I would make atleast 3 drinks and pack 1 snacks the whole day. It was quite the small village so barely anyone came by. Darna was the only consistent customer. She came every weekday morning before she went to work.
“But I made milo na for you! Ate, I can't finish two milo’s! Hala ka dyan ah! What if you get so tired at work?! It will be because you didn't drink milo.” There she goes, reprimanding me again. I never got that tired at the coffee shop. Plus all my energy doesn't revolve around milo. Bella is a very smart girl but she took Milo seriously.
“Fine, fine!” I ran back up the stairs. I saw the mug of milo on the table. I quickly grabbed it and chugged it down. It wasn't much, the mugs were not that big after all. I wiped my mouth and cleaned my hand on a tissue. Bella decided to put a box of tissue on the dining table in case we ever needed it while eating, great decision. I ran back down the stairs.
“Ha!? You're done na?!” I always gobbled down my food and chugged my drinks down very fast. She never got used to it.
“Yeah! I'm going down na!” I heard her say some sort of goodbye but I was already downstairs as she finished saying whatever she said. The stairs had a little hallway space. At the end of the tight hallway was a door that led into the coffee shop. It was a small, cute space. The walls were white and the floor was a wooden brown. There was a normal looking clock on the wall, it was a bit hard to see because, for some goddamn reason, it was high up there. Near the ceiling like they were magnets. I hated that. The menu was written in a fancy font in chalk on a chalkboard that was on the wall. The counter had all the necessary things, coffee maker, some flavor thingys for some of the drinks, a heater thing where the grilled cheese and snacks were stored, a cupboard for the utensils and dinnerware, a cabinet for the takeout cups and boxes, a shelf where I put the dolls I make dresses for on, and other stuff I don't remember the name of.
My mom didn't really train me to work in the shop because I was supposed to be a Tailor. The shop was supposed to pass down to Bella. I am sort of a tailor. I'm not professional but I make dresses for dolls and try to sell them. They sometimes sell. Ive sold only two but for good prices. Sewing is still my passion but working a cozy life in a coffee shop isn't that bad either.
I looked at the clock. 7:54. Six minutes before I can open the shop. Darna should be here around 8:15, so I can make her drink at 8:10. Darna might be early today as well. Just as I was thinking, I heard a knock on the door. There stood a short, old woman with black hair in a ponytail and a beige dress with a black jacket. Darna. I rushed over to the door, flipping the sign from closed to open and letting her in. Darna gets early access because she's a regular.
"Hi!" She greets me with her hand beside her face. I say hi back to her. She steps into the shop and embraces me, wrapping her arms around my torso, and I do the same.
"Oh! How are you, dear Rosa?" She asks me in her usual jolly tone. Darna is such a sweetheart to be around.
"Im the same as usual. I'll get you your usual so you can be on your way." I walked over behind the counter to get her her Americano.
"Idagdag mo isang grilled cheese. Ngayong araw ang nakababahalang." (Add in a grilled cheese. Today is stressful.) She often switches from English to Tagalog and sometimes Taglish. Darna works as a team manager for a company I dont remember. I remember her saying she had an important presentation today yesterday.
"The presentation is today right?" I put double espresso into the takeout cup filled with hot water.
"Yes it is." She responded with a sigh. "Its great! Ngunit may feeling ako na hindi sapat yung presentation." (I have a feeling that the presentation is not enough.) I put on the lid onto the drink.
"Im sure its amazing. You worked hard on it and put in effort! that's what counts." I grinned. Cheesy moral words always cheers her up.
"Ay! Ang mabait mo naman!" (You're too nice!) I chuckled, grabbing a grilled cheese from the heater with tongs and placing it into a takeout bag.
"Regular Ikaw dito. Deserve mo and lahat ng niceness sa mundo!" (Youre a regular here. You deserve all the niceness in the world!) I told her in a cheerful tone and handed her drink and snack and she gladly grabbed it.
"Salamat naman sa inyo, Rosa!" (Thank you so much, Rosa!) She walked over to the door to leave. "Say hi to Bella for me!" She waved goodbye and left the coffee shop.
"I will!" I waved her goodbye.
this was cringe and a writing exercise so im just gonna leave this here