Page 18 of Our Forever Starts Tonight

“I have to go,” I sputtered out between snickers. “I’m gonna be late as it is.”

“Fine,” Arden said, roping me into a hug. “Call me later.”

“I will.”

We waved goodbye and I set off for my job with Devario and Arden’s words ringing in my mind. Tristan had said I looked good when we first saw each other, but I wasn’t sure if it was just courtesy or if he actually meant it. Hopefully he shared their same sentiments. I certainly felt that way about him.

“Evenin’ kid!” The homeless shelter I worked for was a refurbished three-star hotel just outside of the city. A man named Billy—a kind, older guy with ruddy cheeks, salt and pepper hair, and a wide grin—greeted people at the front reception desk. “I ain’t realize you was workin’ today.”

“I have a party tomorrow, so I swapped with Shaina to come in tonight instead,” I explained.

“Party?” he said, furrowing his brow. “You don’t like people though.”

I giggled. “Yeah, you’re right about that. This is a special case though. An old friend invited me. I’m hoping to reconnect with him, so I’m going to go and deal with the widespread disease that ispeople.”

He chuckled. “Alright, well Zami is back there already, and I believe Lucky’s coming in too today. It’s been slow so far. Soup’s in about two hours though.”

“From uptown or downtown?” I asked.

“Downtown,” Billy replied.

“Yeah, it’s gonna hop up then. Thanks Billy.”

Billy waved a hand. “No problem, kid.”

Beyond the front desk where Billy was sitting, I could head back into what had formerly been the hotel’s kitchen, but was now our functioning kitchen for feeding any guests that came through our door. To the left were all the ovens, sinks and prep stations, and to the right were a few tables set up for us to take breaks, along with a long line of lockers for staff to put their stuff in. One of these lockers was my regular one, so I made my way towards it and started to pile my stuff into it.

“I thought I heard someone dinking around back here.” A familiar voice echoed off the tiles. “Hey Aria.”

I smiled. “Hey Zameera. How’s it going?”

“Even better, now that my favorite employee is here.”

A scoff came out as I shook my head. “I bet you say that to all your employees.”

“Trust me, I don’t,” she replied, giggling.

I got the rest of my stuff put away and pulled out my work apron. I pulled it over my head and stood up, shutting the locker as I did. I turned to see Zameera sitting at one of the staff tables with a wide smile on her face. She had thick, frizzy black hair and caramelized skin a few shades darker than my own. Perfectly round rimmed glasses shielded her dark brown eyes, and sparse freckles covered her nose and cheeks. She was my boss, and as far as bosses go, I got pretty lucky. She was awesome.

“Sit,” she said, motioning to the chair across from her at the table. “You’re technically not on until 6, and we’re pretty light anyway. Tell me about your new school.”

I grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler reserved for staff and then slid down into one of the chairs. “This is going to sound a little shocking, but… I actually really like it.”

“Yeah? That’s great! Much better than the old place?” she said.

“So far,” I responded.

“See?” she reached across the table and thumped me on my head. “All that flak you gave your poor mother and it’s working out.”

“I know, I know. I already apologized to her,” I said.

Zameera was only a handful of years younger than my mom and lauded over me like a surrogate. My mom and I were almost identical in personality, apart from her optimism for my pessimism, so we butted heads fairly frequently. When I was having issues with my mom but still needed that motherly advice, I came to Zameera.

“What’s so good about this new school?” she asked.

“Well, the debate club is incredible. It has its own dedicated room with real podiums and timers and stuff, and I’m making new friends there too. So far, the one I’m closest with is this punk chick named Arden. She’s awesome, if not a bit jaded from being at the bottom of the totem pole.”

Zameera raised an eyebrow at me. “Thatsounds familiar.”

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