After three days of reading the paper, checking websites, I finally got a call back for Ruby Tuesday's. I dressed as if I was going to a job interview at some big firm. I figured I was over doing it a little bit but I wanted to set a good example, I was running out of time. Classes started in four days and I wanted to have a job lined up before I had to worry about classes and homework. I have been doing well with my budget, staying on a strict less then twenty dollar a day budget. I only need food and a few supplies at this point. I went to the restaurant and checked in with the hostess. I sat at the table she took me to and as I waited for the manager I went through everything I wanted to say before the interview started. A women with black hair cropped around a very serious face, sat down. She didn't ask my name or anything, just started hammering questions at me like a drill Sargent. I was a little taken aback by her head on approach but I didn't shy away from the questions. She asked why I had moved to the city, what I was going to school for and what hours I could work. I figured that was a good sign. After twenty minutes with a women I deemed not very happy with her job, I was offered a serving position. The hours were exactly what I needed, I would be working the dinner shift five days a week and since my classes were done by two, Id have plenty of time to do a little homework before my shift. I looked around the restaurant and it was packed, people going in and out. I had never seen a two level Ruby Tuesday before, I wondered how many tables I would get at one time. I got pretty used to large sections at the pizza shop. Not many people liked to show up for their shifts and I was often left with the overflow. I suppose all the constant over worked nights paid off in preparing me for the big city. I was asked to come in the next day to start my four days of training and testing. When no one was looking I put a menu in my purse. I needed to get ahead of the curve. Knowing the menu would be half the battle.
Later that night I went home after finding some dinner and stopping in a clothing department to find a few pairs of black pants and some black shirts and some slip resistant shoes. I spent more than my budget but it was things I needed. I still had to pay and pick up my books in the morning for class. That was the last thing on my prep list for school. I picked up some school supplies randomly over the last few days. I was ready to go. I had a place, a job and even a few new friends in the building. There were a few girls my age on the second floor. I could tell like me they didn't have much of a family. I was sure a few of them were caught up in the drug scene a little bit. But everyone was friendly and welcoming and minded their own business. The walls were thin and I could hear pretty much everything people were doing around me. But instead of annoying me, it comforted me, like I wasn't really alone. If something happened and I yelled for help, someone would come. It was the first time I felt like I was an actual person in this world, who existed for a reason. I wasn't just here to survive or to get out of a bad situation. I was here to finally start my life. On my own terms and I everyday I felt more and more vibrant and more sure that I made the right choice to come here.
I went back to my job the following day after running all my last minute errands for school. I only had a four hour shift and most of it was spent watching videos and filling out tests and paper work. It seemed to be basic and easy, there was no really hard French things to say or anything like that so I can manage. I wasn't familiar with wines but that is something I could learn as I go. Most people knew what they wanted anyway, I could always make up a good reference, which would be the most expensive of course. I met a few of the other servers, they seem to all be in a click together. There was clicks at the pizza shop, and I had some friends to but I'm here to make money. I never cared much for the small talk. However, although I was surrounded by people, I was starting to miss my friends from home. They never really understood me and they think im crazy for being here, but they didn't laugh at me or say I couldn't do it, for that they were good friends. They were probably back home, with new boyfriends, trying to settle down like they seem to do so early there. Its the life they wanted, but I couldn't stomach the idea of never amounting to anything. I tried to convince them that school was the way to go, even if it was just a community college, but like most people from back home they didn't see the need for it. I gave up after awhile, and promised I would call and tell them all about the big city. So after my first day, after a hot meal and a long bath, I called home to talk to my best friend Sarah. We were neighbors and grew up together. In her own way she was special, she didn't have much but she was always positive and upbeat. She was content in the life she had, so how could I begrudge her that. I told her about my place, and my school and about my job at Ruby Tuesday. She told me I was silly for going all the way to New York city to get a job at Ruby Tuesday when there was one five miles from home. I didn't bother explaining that I was actually here for school, another reality that seemed to boggle her mind. If I already know how to sow and make clothing then, why do I have to go to some fancy school. I tried to avoid things that she wouldn't understand but that left little to talk about. I told her about some of my neighbors and that I was making friends. I told her about fall in the city and walking through central park. She asked if there was bums everywhere. I started to get angry with the things she wanted to know about, but I supposed it was normal for someone who had never been here. I guess I was already defending the city I lived in. It filled me with pride to tell her these things, even if I knew they would be laughing about me at their next field party. It hit me then, that these people wouldn't be in my life forever. eventually I would stop calling home, stop trying to make them understand. But for now I was desperate for someone to be at least a little bit proud of me. I after all, had found my way in one of the biggest cities in the world. When I hung up my mood was no longer up beat. I felt a little jipped out, a little sad that no one really gets it.
Over the last few days before school, I finished my training and got my first serving shift. I was surprised to see I made three hundred dollars in tips on my first night in four hours. I worked harder than I ever worked, I didn't have a second of down time. But the clock moved fast and I never had an empty section. People seemed to be enjoying themselves and I assumed I was doing a good job. My usually grumpy boss actually smiled at me a few times that night. I think she appreciated the fact that I didn't waste time or bother her with a lot of corrections. I am a bit of a perfectionist and I like to make sure everything I do is efficient and correct. I noticed a few of the other servers giving me thumbs up or saying hello as I passed. I think they two were testing me to see if I was someone they would have to work around, or someone they could work with. I listened to their banter in the serving area, even laughed a few times at their silly reenactments of their bitchy costumers and I learned that more than a few of them were aspiring actors and models and I wondered if they would ever make it to the pictures, would I ever be able to say, "hey, I knew that person when they were serving tables." The possibility of that made me smile. Only in New York city. My mood began to pick up as routine settled in. I went to orientation and to my first classes. I was happy to be getting things started. I didn't mind that there was already homework and projects, and I didn't mind that my feet ached when I got home. I was doing something with myself. But for as good as I was doing, I still felt lacking. I still felt alone. I needed to make some friends, I needed to have some fun. To remind myself, that life was mine now to control. Maybe I would try a little more to make some friends at work or in the building. I'm sure I could find someone I could confide in and do things with. Its not that I'm uncomfortable being on my own, but after awhile you just want to turn to someone and say.."did you see that?" Even surrounded by millions, you still needed someone. And aspect I didn't foresee before now.
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