Lost_Star

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With a soft thud, the door to the bedroom I had woken up in shut behind me. My feet fell a little awkwardly on hard wooden floors due to the length of the heels that covered them; however, they weren't the only thing I was struggling with as my hands were caught in their own battle, wrestling with the hem of a black dress that, despite its tightness, had barely managed to stretch to my knees. The process of putting it on had taken more time than seemed reasonable for clothing, and it left me wondering more than once whether it was going to fit.

As I exited the room, I took in what greeted me—a scene of refreshing familiarity. I was looking into some kind of shop; unused chairs stood beside a variety of tables that sat around the room in an unordered pattern. The shop's decorations followed the same pattern—quite a collection of flowering paintings and various memorabilia of unknown origin cluttered the walls. Besides this, there really wasn't much to excite my interest about the place, well, besides the obvious fact that it was the second building I had been in this new world. To sum up my evaluation, it was a little chaotic with a welcoming aura.

Still, I couldn't help a small smile from peeking out of the corner of my lip. I didn't know how long it would last, but I really wouldn't mind laying low at a place like this. I wanted to take in this warm feeling a little longer, but my attention was diverted as I saw the girl named Maraim leaning on top of a wooden counter, staring off into space. I stood a moment, unsure of how to proceed with this woman whose actions were incomprehensible to me, but finally, my curiosity won out over my social anxiety, and I let out a small cough, rousing her attention.

She blinked, then turned towards me with a reassuring grin plastered over her face.

[Mariam] “Oh hey, you're finally done. My clothes probably didn't fit you well, right? It's only a temporary measure until you get your own stuff. So don't be too embarrassed if it…”

Her words froze as her face underwent a rapid change in color. She muttered something I couldn't catch under her breath before she continued.

[Mariam] “Anyways, you can worry about how good you look in my clothes later... For now, let me show you around a little bit. Oh, and if you have any questions, make sure you ask. As your elder, I'll definitely answer them.”

Ignoring the first part of her sentence, which I half suspected was meant more for her than for me, I doubted whether there was that much difference in our age. Then again, I wasn't about to mention this to my host, who was less than subtly motioning for me to pay attention to her by wildly waving her hands towards me. I resignedly nodded my head, following her lead.

[Mariam] “Hey, sorry to interrupt whatever you're thinking about, but umm, well, it's getting late, and I thought maybe we could get the basics out of the way. Let's see, where to start?”

She paused for a moment, the tip of her pointer finger tapping lightly on her chin.

[Mariam] “Ah, why don't I show you what I do around here?”

She suddenly reached over the counter she had been leaning on a moment ago and pointed to a metal box sitting in the corner.

[Mariam] “I work over there at the register, or well, I mostly work over there. I also bake the pastries and make the coffee in the morning. Oh, and I also do the cleaning too.”

As she spoke, her words began to trail off a little. Hearing how overworked she was, I felt a mix of sympathy and nostalgia. It reminded me of my coworkers complaining about their busy schedules. If it was back in my old life I would have tried to comfort her by telling her some non-existent promotion was no doubt right around the corner. I managed to catch myself before I made the situation even more confusing, but when I thought about the cakes I had taken freely earlier, I felt a little bad that I had been taking advantage of her without offering anything in return. Besides, even she said it was fine for me to stay here without working. Was it really? I mean, looking around the place, it was clear she wasn't exactly flush with cash. The least I could do is chip in and help out at least while I was staying here. It's not like it was going to be that hard anyway, right? I mean, I was a survivor of the 996 office culture; in comparison, some pseudo coffee shop was probably nothing. Maybe I can finally put some of my precious world experience to some good use. Yeah, that's right! If anything, she'll be the one asking me questions.

Despite my inner confidence, I was only able to gather enough courage to let out three words.

[Iris] “I'll do it.”

As nothing else escaped my lips, I inwardly sighed at my own lack of abilities in this area. When Mariam's face lit up, apparently having caught the meaning of my remark, however, contrary to my expectation, this expression soon turned stern as she spoke softly.

“Iris, you don't have to rush yourself, you know? Despite how I look, I'm more than capable of handling this shop myself. It's also not like I don't have any help. My grandpa comes by to give me a hand whenever he's well enough to. I'm... I'm sorry if I was taking things a bit too quickly; it's just not every day that I get to talk to someone like this. For now, why don't you go get some rest, and we can talk more about our next move tomorrow.”

Punctuating this sentence, she lightly placed her hand on my shoulder. I was too stunned to do anything for a moment before my thoughts finally caught up. Did I just get rejected by someone who had no other options? I thought I had hit my low point, but this might take the cake. Yes, I knew she was just worrying about me, but after all the effort I had put into even making the offer, it still doesn't stop it from hurting. I wasn't about to let this go so easily after having my pride insulted like this.

Shaking my head, I replied with my most persuasive argument.

[Iris] “I'm doing this for myself.”

While it was what I was thinking, I had hoped to say it a bit more eloquently. Ah, whatever, it looks like it got my point across. Mariam's face lightened up a little, and she removed her hand from me as she examined me like a jeweler might examine his works.

[Mariam] “If that's what you want, I'm not going to stop you. Well, I don't expect you to start right away, but if you wouldn't mind telling me if you have any skills, so I can think about where to fit you in?”

She paused slightly before continuing.

[Marim] “Oh, and thanks, Iris.”

Letting out a breath, her normal carefree expression returned to her face.

Hearing her question, I racked my mind trying to think up anything of use. Embarrassingly, I ended up in a dead end. Look, it's not my fault that I was able to live off my parents' life insurance through college, managing to avoid the summer jobs that my peers had. While I was simultaneously wondering how my past life had so thoroughly underprepared me and of something to save a bit of face, my eyes landed on a mop lying in the corner of the room. Suddenly an idea struck me as I thought back to what she had said.

As I opened my mouth to speak, my hand pointed out towards the mop.

“I can clean.”

Marim followed my finger with her eyes. Nodding at my statement, she seemed to think for a moment before accepting my suggestion.

“Yeah, that can work. Honestly, the cleaning takes up too much time, so that would really help out a lot. Uggg, it used to be so much easier when Dylan was here, but now, as you can see, this place is a bit of a mess.”

She gestured at the room which, to my eyes, actually appeared pretty clean before continuing.

“Now that's settled, don't think too much about it for now, just relax here for the rest of the day.”

Saying this, she turned around, walking towards a door marked with a faded sign reading “ staff only.” I was just about to get up to follow her when she turned around with a smirk on her face.

“I saw how much you enjoyed those cakes earlier. I'm gonna go make a fresh batch; feel free to look around while I do it. It should only take a minute.”

The words had barely left her mouth when the door closed behind her, leaving me alone in the lobby.