Post by ellie mae williams on Oct 19, 2012 23:43:10 GMT -5
Ellie Mae Williams
| BELLE | BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | RESIDENT |
It had been an incredibly long night. Just as Ellie had been about to drift off to sleep, her father suffered one of his episodes that resulted in her getting little to no rest. She spent the remainder of the evening as well as most of the morning caring for him. Though she didn’t regret her decision and certainly wouldn’t have done anything differently, she couldn’t deny that each step she took towards the Coffee Bean now felt as if she’d strapped ten pound weights around her ankles. It was all she could do to shuffle her way towards her place of employment.
As Ellie entered the building, she glanced at the tables along with the patrons who sat at them. After flashing a smile to the few she happened to accidentally make eye contact with as she passed, she continued walking towards the back in order to clock in and prepare for her shift.
With a sigh Ellie slipped the brown hooded jacket off her shoulders and folded it neatly in her arms before setting it down where she usually placed her personal belongings. It was a bit inconvenient there wasn’t an assigned area for her to put her things, but after working at the Coffee Bean for close to nine years she made well to do.
She tied the apron around her waist over the blue dress she wore as a uniform. A loose strand of hair fell from her ponytail in front of her eyes and she tiredly tried to blow it back into place to no avail. After taking a moment in the kitchen to stare at her reflection through the metallic surface of a pan used to make croissants, Ellie decided that despite her slightly disheveled look she still had a reasonably presentable appearance; she wouldn’t (or at least she shouldn’t) be reprimanded by the boss for being unkempt.
It was time to clock in and she had to move hastily before she was officially considered late no matter how long she‘d actually been lingering about. Time seemed to be move quickly--or perhaps she was just moving slowly. Ellie couldn’t differentiate between the two. Although she found it difficult to keep up with the workload, nonetheless, she kept the smile on her face and tried her best if only for the sake of the tips. The only reason she continued to work at the Coffee Bean instead of taking a position at the library was because of the tips.
A few hours into her shift, Ellie leaned against the front counter with an empty tray in her hands. “I’m about to collapse,” she stated to a nearby co-worker as she shifted the tray underneath her arms and rested her head in her hand. “Sleep last night was dismal at best.”
The only response she received was a mocha latte in a Styrofoam to-go cup. “Table three.”
“Thanks,” she responded with a wry laugh as she picked up the container to take to the customer even though table three wasn’t in her assigned area.
Just as she had this morning, Ellie could feel the repercussions from the night before creeping up on her. She slowed her pace slightly as she tried to stifle a yawn. Lifting a hand she covered her mouth with the back of it, her eyes closing ever so slightly as the yawn escaped her lips. It was only for a brief moment she had her eyes closed, but they must have been a very important couple of seconds. One misstep sent the beverage she’d been holding slipping through her hands. There wasn’t much she could do to stop it as it flew towards the customer.
