Seeking Employment

Who: Olivia and Mya
When: Very early Morning
Where: Mya's Diner

Sleeping in a real bed had done wonders. Okay, so it was a motel bed, with a semi-stiff mattress and questionable sheets, but it was a bed nonetheless. She felt better, and while Olivia wasn't vain, she knew she looked better. And so she hoped that her cleaned up appearance would help her while she searched for a job. She wasn't picky by any means. Olivia learned early on after leaving home that you took what you could get when you could get it.

But first Olivia decided to walk to Mya's Diner for breakfast. If that girl yesterday was right, the last thing Olivia wanted was to be asking for applications with her stomach growling like a wild animal. As Olivia stepped inside, her mouth practically watered for the coffee she could smell brewing.

She slipped onto a stool at the diner and grabbed an abandoned newspaper resting beside an empty plate and half drunken glass of orange juice to keep her busy while she waited for service.

Mya was helping out as she normally was, especially on a busy Saturday morning. She finished clearing off some plates from the counter after filling up the cups of coffee of the few empty ones belonging to the customers who'd taken a seat at the counter. Once she finished placing the plates carefully in the bus bin she stopped in front of the girl who'd just sat down at the counter. "Good Morning, can I start you with something to drink?" She asked with a smile.

Tearing her eyes away from an article about a particularly gruesome murder the night before, Olivia focused on the young woman standing in front of her. The woman's smile was contagious.

"Coffee," Olivia said, adding quickly, "please." As the young woman pulled a coffee cup from beneath the counter, Olivia set the paper down and frowned at the headline. "This sort of stuff doesn't happen often around here, does it?"

"Like that?" Mya asked, glancing briefly at the article, but not letting her eyes dwell, she'd read it earlier, and it only gave her chills. Mya picked a cup of coffee off the back counter and filled it up for Olivia, placing it before her. "No, not like that." Mya said, her upbeat attitude not as upbeat as it normally is.

"I guess that's something," she murmured. Every town had their problems and secrets and Olivia had seen gruesome things happen to people before. They still weighed heavily upon her, as she had been capable of helping them and hadn't.

Shaking the feeling away, Olivia wrapped her hands around the coffee mug to warm them and smiled at the woman, pushing past the depressing topic. "I think I'll have the pancakes. I had them yesterday," she said, realizing fully that she was rambling, switching from a horrific murder to the topic of pancakes. "Probably the best I've had."

Mya nodded. "I'll put your order in right away. I'm glad you liked them." Mya stepped away to put in the order, writing it down on a pad and sticking it in the order queue. She walked back over to the girl. "What kinda syrup?" She asked.

Quirking an eyebrow, Olivia hesitated. There was more than one kind of syrup?

"Uhm." If the hardest decision she had to make today was what kind of syrup to put on her pancakes, Olivia would be all right. "Strawberry, I think." Olivia glanced behind her at the busy diner. Tapping her fingers on the counter, she hesitated again. "Are you usually this busy?"

"Strawberry? Good choice." Mya moved to grab the falvor and deposit it next to the napkin holder. She glanced around at the guests. "Well, it is a Saturday morning." Mya chuckled. "And we do have the best pancakes in town."

"I have to agree with that," Olivia responded with a small smile. Of course they were the only pancakes she had had, but that really wasn't worth mentioning. Clearing her throat, she glanced around again before leaning forward. "Are you hiring?" She didn't really see herself as a waitress, but it seemed like it might be a good idea. She had waited a bit in Chicago, and while that had been a disaster, she imagined working a diner would be a tad bit easier.

Mya nodded as she heard her order called. "Just a moment." She said gesturing to the girl before going to the windowed ledge that looked into the kitchen to fetch the plate. She put on a side of butter and walked back to the potential hire. "Your breakfast is served." Mya said, setting down the plate. "And yes, we're always looking for good help. I can get you an application when you're finished eating." She said with a smile, some good news in a bad news kinda day.

Olivia picked up her fork, restraining the urge to dig into the pancakes with abandon. "Thanks, I appreciate it," Olivia said before stabbing her fork into the food. "Though I have to tell you now, you may recognize my address as the Venture Motel in town. I'm not quite settled yet."

Mya just shrugged, she wasn't concerned with -where- her employes lived (well a little, she didn't want to see anyone homeless), just that they showed up for work. Mya let the girl eat and ducked into the office for an application, she set it by the register and continued to help the other guests who sat at the counter, and clear off the abandoned places.

Olivia didn't really care that she was shoveling heapfuls of pancake into her mouth. At least she was swallowing before the next bite. She occasionally glanced at the newspaper still resting next to her plate. She was counting on a town like this to be dull for awhile. She imagined perhaps things like this garnered the front page because of the rarity of the crime.

She wanted Mayberry, not Newark.

Olivia finished eating, knowing full well she would regret eating so fast later. She took her time, however, finishing off her coffee.

Digging through her bag she found a few singles and set them down before slipping from the stool and wandering to the counter to pay.

"Was everything ok?" Mya asked, having moved to the register when she saw her table get up. She wiped her hands off on the towel hooked over her apron. She punched in the price of the pancakes and gave her the total.

"It was fine," Olivia said, handing Mya a ten dollar bill. It was amazing how quickly two hundred bucks disappeared between a motel room and food. She noticed the application set next to the register and pulled it toward her. "Do you mind if I fill this out here?"

She'd have to embellish a bit, considering her last two real jobs were complete disasters.

"Not at all." Mya shook her head, would make it easier to set up an interview. "Do you wanna use the office? It's a little more quiet in there." She offered, it would also have a stable place she could write on and she wouldn't have to worry about moving out of the way.

"Sure, thanks," Olivia said with a small smile. Once she was inside of the office, she began to fill out the application, chewing on her bottom lip as she filled in the necessary information. She filled in the motel's address and phone number, though she wasn't sure how much longer she would be there.

Previous employment was difficult. She'd had three jobs in Chicago, four in D.C. and three in New York, of which only one was really legit. Exhaling slowly, Olivia listed the ones she deemed necessary, including the waiting job in Chicago. If Olivia was lucky, none of her former employers would need to be contacted. She marked down her available hours as any, including the third shift. She didn't mind working graveyard shifts at all. Perhaps that would be a bonus.

Scrawling her signature at the end, Olivia grimaced at the entire thing and hoped it would be good enough.

After a while Mya peeked into the office? "How's it going?" She asked, stepping in for a moment as the counter had cleared out for a moment, and some of the tables had slowed enough for the staff not to need her. "Done?" She asked, noticing the back page of the application.

"Yeah, I think so," Olivia said, handing her the application. "I...move around a lot, so that's why...with the jobs...but I'm here for, er, the long term." Shut it!. Sighing, Olivia managed a small smile.

Mya chuckled. "We hire for the short and long term. Sometimes people just need a job to earn a bit of cash on their way through... Anyhow you wanna come back about three? I can do an interview then." She said, her manner changing slightly from her 'waitstaff' mannerisms to her 'owner' ones.

"Absolutely, I can come back," Olivia said, relieved. Grabbing her bag, she gave the young woman a small smile. "I'll see you at three."