FIRST WORK EVER

Hana picked up her sling bag and phone before she wore her baseball cap and long coat. It's her first day on her first formal work and she was very excited about it.

She didn't want to waste away her time doing nothing so she begged her parents to let her work in a place that she's comfortable with.

"Are you sure you don't want me to send you there?" Hana's father, Rudolf, asked his daughter who's about to leave their house for work.

"I'll be fine Papa. Don't worry about me." Hana answered, kissing her father's head before going to the kitchen to find her mother preparing her lunch. "You don't have to do this, you know..but I'm still thankful."

"It's not safe to just eat whatever food you find outside." her mother, Alice, reminded her daughter before giving her lunch box. "Be careful sweetheart. Call us immediately if something happens."

"Sure sure. I'm off to work now."

Hana waved her hand as she bid goodbye to her parents. The security guard already called a taxi for her so that she wouldn't have to wait for a long time under the sun.

It was a bright and sunny day just like how bright she felt for her first day.

Hana found the cafe and walked inside to find the man that caught her eyes. He was the reason why she wanted to work in Book 'n Chill - the cafe owner, Jacob Mejia.

"I'm glad that you found your way here. Come and sit." Jacob spoke and gestured for her to sit on the chair across him.

"So, you're giving me an orientation?"

"If not me then, who else?"

"I just thought that the previous manager will orient me before she'll leave."

"Forget it." Jacob waved his hand in dismissal. "Anyway, your work is really light. You just have to get the orders and serve our customers."

"That's all?" she raised her voice in question because she can't believe that she woke up early just for a very short orientation.

"Yup. If you have any questions with the process later, you can ask your colleagues. Experiencing your work first hand would help you understand your job."

"Makes sense." Hana nodded her head in agreement to his words. "Where should I place my belongings by the way?"

"Oh right. I forgot. Here." he handed her a key with a locker number on it. "Make sure that you won't lose it."

"Thanks."

"Come on. I'll give you a short tour."

Jacob stood up and Hana followed him right after. "You'll be assigned on the first floor so you don't have to worry about the second floor."

"Okay." she answered simply while she was following behind him. Her smile was spreading from ear to ear and she couldn't help her heart from leaping.

"When you get an order, write it on the sticky pad and place it here to make sure that your colleagues can see the orders." Jacob pointed on the wooden bar where several sticky pads were placed for them to use.

"Most of the time, I make the coffee and tea here. I also spend time baking so, I'm in the kitchen most of my working time."

"Okay."

"You keep saying okay, do you really understand what I'm saying?" Jacob asked his new employee who seemed to be day dreaming behind him.

Hana rolled her eyes at him. "Do you think I'd say 'okay' if I don't? If you think I'm dumb, why else did you hire me?"

Jacob took a deep breath and sighed. "I didn't mean it that way. I was just worried that you'd make mistakes so I want you to pay attention."

"I'm paying attention to every single thing that you said. Do you want me to repeat it?"

"Why are you talking back to me by the way? I'm the boss here, alright?" Jacob just realized that his new employee was actually talking back to him.

"Just because you are the boss doesn't mean I can't say anything to defend myself. Hmp! If you don't want anyone to talk back, you should hire a mute."

Jacob was dumbfounded with her words. In the three years that he ran his business, it was the first time that he encountered an employee who dared to talk back to him.

"Just go to your locker and start working." Jacob turned around and left her. He didn't finish giving her a tour and went inside the kitchen.

"Tsk! What a rude man." Hana murmured before she left the place and looked for her locker.

****

"And that's how I started my first day at work." Hana talked to her brother through a video call. He was working as a ship captain and most of his time was spent in the sea.

"So, what's the point of me working here? Didn't we all agreed that you won't work?" her brother Adam, asked her with a raised brow.

Hana turned silent while she held on to her phone. "I know." she said after a minute of silence. "I know that we all agreed about this. But bro, even if I won't do anything, nothing will change. Can you at least allow me to enjoy my life the way I wanted it to be?"

Adam's throat constricted and he felt so sad for his younger sister. He knew he was becoming stricter as the years passed but he can't help it. She's the only sister he got.

"Fine. Just make sure that you won't overdo it."

"Thanks bro. Don't worry, I've been taking care of myself."

"That's good to know. And Hana?"

"Yes?"

"Don't fall in love with your boss. I don't want you to get hurt again."

Hana chuckled at his words. "Are you kidding me? I've learned my lesson a long time ago. Love? That's the most ridiculous thing in the world.

It's because of this reason that she didn't want anyone to find out that she likes someone. She'll keep it to herself.

"I have to go back to work now. I'll talk to you again some other time." Adam ended the call and went back to work.

Hana put down her phone and stared at the ceiling before she slowly closed her eyes to sleep.

****

The next day, she went to work again with beaming smile. She greeted everyone before she walked to her locker.

"Morning boss!" she greeted Jacob happily when she passed by him but the man just looked at her with weird expression.

"Dress up as quick as you can. We'll be opening the cafe soon." Jacob reminded her with that low and straight-forward tone.

"Yes. I'll be right there." Hana responded before she ran to her locker and get changed. "This is bad." she murmured while wiping her face.

"What's bad?" her colleague came in to check on her. "What's taking you so long? Boss was looking for you."

Hana didn't turn around to see who it was. "I'm almost done." she put the tissue inside her locker and put on a pink lip balm to give her a fresh look once again.

Jacob just looked at her before he took out his key to open the cafe. Not long after, the place was getting crowded and she was getting busier as time went by.

"I'm so tired." Hana complained as she put on her lunch box on the dining table. It was time for lunch. "Boss, can you let me sketch you during my break?"

Everyone turned to look at Jacob before they shifted their gaze to Hana.

"You can't." Jacob answered simply before getting his own food.

"How can you be so selfish? Just one sketch please." Hana begged him.

"No."

His firm answer rendered her silent but she didn't care about it She just ignored him and continued with her life. If she can't do it today, maybe she can do it tomorrow.

When it was time to go home, Hana waited for everyone to leave before she opened her locker and cleaned up her mess.

She only left the place after making sure that it was clean already. Who would've thought that she'd leave something so important behind?