"We will end the class today, don't forget next week's assignment. Thank you." Kalea closed the class she was teaching directly because one of the lecturers could not attend the class and gave the responsibility to the assistant who was none other than Kalea. The girl tidied up the books that were the materials in the class. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. In two hours, she had to be at her second workplace, the family restaurant.
Two days after her meeting with Arthur, he hadn't sent her any messages. Kalea didn't bother because she realized that their relationship was just using each other. She wasn't going to mention anything, and Arthur was doing the same. They knew their limits, that's what Kalea thought until now.
Kalea had to get ready to go to the next place. After she put the students' assignments on the lecturer's desk, Kalea rushed straight to the bus stop. It didn't take long for the bus to arrive and Kalea boarded the bus and sat in the back seat. She took out her earphones and turned on some music to accompany her on the street. The girl looked at the street scene with so many cars passing by. The sky was orange and getting darker. However, Kalea was still on the move, working tirelessly. For the sake of supporting a mother whom she still loves even though her treatment of Kalea is inversely proportional to what she has always tried to do.
It took Kalea an hour and a half to reach the restaurant. She immediately ran to the back door of the restaurant and greeted the employees there.
"Hi, Lea! You've arrived?" asked one of the waitresses who had the same profession as her. Kalea nodded slowly and smiled slightly.
"Yeah, it doesn't seem too crowded today," Kalea replied. She glanced around at the tables that weren't so full of customers.
"It's like you've just started working here. You didn't forget that the restaurant gets a busy at night, right?That means when you're working from now on, haha!" her friend said with a laugh while Kalea smiled wryly. She was feeling very tired today and hoped that the restaurant would be a little less crowded. However, her hopes would be dashed after her friend made her realize that fact.
"Lea! You've finally arrived! Come on, to the lockers! We have to take turns," a short-haired woman invited and took Kalea by the arm to go to the employee lockers.
Kalea began to change into her waitress uniform. She also dressed up a bit and sprayed a little perfume on her body and clothes. It made her friend a little disbelieving, because Kalea had never done that before.
"You don't usually dress up, Lea."
Instantly speechless, Kalea turned to her friend awkwardly. "T-that ... does it look weird, Quan?" asked Kalea a little scared.
"No! Not at all! I was just a little surprised by it, haha! I think you're getting prettier too," Quan praised sincerely. She sniffed the perfume that clung to Kalea's body making the cat-eyed girl uncomfortable. "You smell so good, what perfume are you wearing?"
"Just ... perfume in general," Kalea replied as she put the perfume into her bag. However, Quan had already seen and took over the perfume impolitely.
"Isn't this brand quite expensive? I wouldn't be surprised if it smells like a classy lady!" Quan uncapped the perfume and sprayed it on her wrist. Kalea blinked, unsure of how to respond. "You must have saved up a lot of money to get it, huh?" she guessed, smiling and handing the perfume back to its owner.
"Um, yeah ...," Kalea replied simply. She was certainly lying, there was no way she could tell the truth about what she had been going through lately. "Quan, you better go home soon. You must be really tired today," Kalea said, changing the topic.
Quan nodded unsuspectingly. "You're right, I want to get home quickly and eat my mom's cooking," Quan confided as she put on her clothes. She patted her flat stomach with a pitiable face. "I'm so hungry."
Kalea just smiled bitterly, she was a little envious that there was someone waiting for Quan's return and even her friend could eat a mother's cooking. Kalea had even forgotten to feel that way, it had been a long time since she had eaten her own mother's cooking. The girl closed the locker door, she looked at her face in the small mirror that was attached to the locker door. Even though she only put liptint on her lips and thickened her eyebrows a little, Kalea already looked pretty. A natural beauty, but she couldn't hide the sad look on her face about all the problems that had happened to her.
"I'll go first! You'd better catch up too, you know what managers is like, right?"
"I know," Kalea replied, smiling at her friend so as not to worry. After that Quan walked out of the room leaving Kalea alone.
After Quan left, Kalea looked down, she sighed heavily then forced a smile because her job was all about friendly customer service. No matter what, she must not bring her feelings into her work. It was the same with being a sugar baby for Arthur. It's not a relationship that involves true love. Rather, they are for each other's benefit. Kalea must not get carried away with her feelings for the handsome man, no matter what.
After feeling ready to work, Kalea walked out of the staff room and started working. Walking back and forth to serve the families who came to the restaurant. And sure enough, as the night wore on, more and more customers arrived, overwhelming all the employees. Often, Kalea was even sexually harassed by men.
"Okay, I'll repeat the order...," Kalea refrained from swatting away the brazen hands that groped her thighs. The waitress outfit at the restaurant where she worked was neither a miniskirt nor a dress that showed cleavage. But still, she was always treated like that.
"Ah, please bring us some vodka," pleaded the man in his forties. One of the men's friends was still fondling Kalea's thighs.
"I'm so sorry, Sir. We don't serve alcohol," Kalea said, trying to remain polite.
The man laughed lightly, as he looked back and forth with his four friends. "That's too bad. We would have liked to have a drink with you, Miss."
Kalea only smiled slightly in response, even though she had already cursed at them many times. "Well, if there's nothing else, please wait a moment for the order," Kalea excused herself quickly and removed the damn man's hand from her thigh. She quickly walked to the chefs and gave them the order notes. She couldn't rest for a second, because there would be more people raising their hands to order food or other requests.
Kalea was already immune to the men's flirtatious stares at her. Even though this was a family restaurant, it didn't stop people with lecherous behavior from doing something disgusting to the waiters. And sadly, Kalea couldn't report this to anyone.
She had heard that instead of reporting it, it was better to stop working here because no one would take your side. It was sad, but Kalea wasn't able to quit the restaurant due to financial constraints.