Drop-Dead Gorgeous Ch 1

CHAPTER 1

I was watching some pointless soap opera on television.  It was 2 in the afternoon, and I was on the couch, utterly bored, with no job and no life.  I heaved out a sigh as I turned over on the couch as not to get any "bed sores" from sitting there since 9 o'clock that morning.  I didn't even know what it looked like outside.  I had shut the curtains in the living room because the sun was protruding through too much.  It was hurting my sensitive eyes...  "Kat?"  I heard the call come from the front door.  As soon as it hit my ears, I jumped up from the couch and sat back down in a less lazy position so that my mother wouldn't know I had been sitting there for hours.

I was supposedly supposed to be looking for a job.  Like I even wanted one...  But because I gave up college, this is what my life was succumbed to.  My mother, Sarah, entered the room with a handful of grocery bags.  I knew she would criticize me for not helping her, so I quickly stood to my feet and ran to her side.  "Hey, Sarah," I stated.  I called my mother Sarah.  It felt too weird to call her mom.  To me, that made me vulnerable and helpless.  I mean, I really WAS vulnerable and helpless, because I would be out on my ass if it wasn't for my mother.  I couldn't call her mom.  After my dad passed away when I was 10, calling Sarah "mom" just didn't work for me anymore.  I was never quite sure why I had demoted the name, but nevertheless, she allowed it.

"Have you been sitting on the couch all day?" Sarah asked with some disappointment in her tone.  She was getting used to the fact that I was becoming lazier each day I stayed with her.  "No..." I fibbed.  Obviously, the evidence weighed more than my word.  There were wrappers from chocolate and an empty used glass on the coffee table, and there was an empty bowl of cereal.  So much for being a good liar... I should have gotten rid of the evidence...  "Kat, I'm not blind.  You were supposed to be looking for a job, remember?"  I shrank in size from my embarrassment and guilt for wasting another precious day.  I decided to do one better than just help her with the groceries; I also put them away and started on making a late lunch for myself.  I wasn't about to make Sarah make it for me.  That would have been too much...

"I knew you would forget..." Sarah began.  What was she getting at?  I'm not forgetful.  I'm lazy, that's all...  "...So I found one for you," she finished.  I panicked.  "Found one what?" I asked stupidly.  Sarah looked at me with disdain.  "A job, Kat," she stated the obvious.  I nodded slowly.  Oh the horror!  She found me a job!  What kind of job?  Was I going to be scraping fat off of a deep-fat fryer in McDonalds?  Sarah seemed to understand my silence as panic, so she continued as she finished putting away the groceries I had just neglected.  "It's at the pizza parlor down the street.  ‘Zelda's Pizza Pie' is a great place to start.  I worked a lot to get that job for you, Kat.  Please don't screw this up."  I felt a little tiny knife jab me in the back as my mother said those words.  Apparently, I was a screw up.  Sarah was used to it.  She was almost expecting me to screw it up.

Ouch.  What a jab...  "When do I have to start?" I asked almost afraid of the answer.
"Tomorrow," she simply replied; I could almost sense there was joy in her tone.  "Tomorrow?" I restated.  Sarah turned back to me, this time looking much serious.  She motioned for me to sit with her on the high chair tables that surrounded our little island in the kitchen.  "Kat, can I level with you for a second?" she asked slowly.  I was afraid to hear what she was about to say, but I knew it was something I had to hear.  Maybe it would get me to snap out of this funk I was in since I graduated high school.  "Okay..." I slowly delved into her seeming trap.  "I have given you a long line of rope since you dropped out of college.  I know that it wasn't right for you; you were never one to enjoy school...  I let you have your ‘find yourself' period, but honey, I see that you still haven't found yourself.

"I love you, baby, but I can't let you keep up this lifestyle anymore.  You're becoming so lazy, Kat.  You know I can't stand laziness.  This job will lead to your future.  It may only be a pizzeria, but it's a start.  If I keep cutting you slack, you'll just end up in this same position in 30 years.  I really hope you don't still want to be on the couch in 30 years in your mother's house..."  Wow.  What words...  Lots to contemplate...  I knew she was right.  I needed that extra shove.  I just wasn't sure I wanted it just then.  "So... Tomorrow then?" I said slowly.  Sarah laughed as her eyes seemed to gain a little hope in them.  It was hope for me... 

The next morning my loving mother woke me up at 6 in the morning.  I couldn't remember the last time I woke up that early... since high school.  It was odd to see that it was still dark outside.  The sun still hadn't risen, and it was deathly quiet.  No one in the world was awake yet.  I groaned and tried to turn over and ignore Sarah's persistent poking of my side, but it was no use.  "Kat, you said you would do this..." Sarah reminded me.  Technically, I never said the word, "yes," but she was right.  I slowly slid to the edge of the bed and let the weight of my body drop me to the floor.  I was tempted to just fall asleep right there on the floor.  It was comfortable...  "Kat, get up," Sarah demanded again.  This time I made an effort to push myself up with my arms against the top of the bed.

"Ugh..." I groaned as Sarah turned on my light.  Too bright!  Too bright!  I must have gone blind for a few seconds because as I tried to make my way to the bathroom, I smacked into the wall.  My coordinates were a little off; I slammed into the wall right next to my open door.  I heard a snicker escape Sarah.  "Not funny!" I stated with anger as I managed to make it to the bathroom and turn on the shower.  Maybe a shower would wake me up...  Nearly an hour later, I was through in the bathroom, and trying to find something to wear for my first day at Zelda's.  My mother reentered with a little pile of clothing in her hands.  "What are you doing?" she asked.  I turned to her in confusion.  What did she mean what was I doing?  I was getting dressed.  I couldn't just go to work in my pajamas.... Could I?

"I'm trying to find something to wear," I replied.  Sarah began to giggle.  "What?" I asked in annoyance.  "Kat, Zelda's wears uniforms, remember?  You won't be wearing YOUR clothes to work.  Here; put this on.  It's your uniform."  She handed me a red polo with a pizza logo on the right corner, and some khaki pants with white tennis shoes.  I was supposed to wear this?  A girl who is into fashion and carries name brand clothing wherever she goes is supposed to wear THIS?  I sighed; I wasn't going to complain.  A nineteen-year- old shouldn't complain about clothes.  It was time for me to mature.  I did have a job after all...  I quickly got dressed in the oversized polo and khaki Dockers and headed downstairs.  "Okay, Sarah.  I guess I'm off for my first day.  Aren't you proud of me?" I said a bit sarcastically.  But Sarah did seem proud.  She even got a little misty-eyed as I walked out the door.

It reminded me of when I started kindergarten.  She looked just like that when I walked into the school with my little Barney lunch pail.  I rolled my eyes and walked down the street to Zelda's.  Now, Zelda's was a really nice family diner, and Zelda was a great lady; I met her a few times.  I just wasn't sure how it would be working for her.  As I walked down the street, not really paying attention to my surroundings, I ran into someone carrying a hot cup of coffee.  The coffee spilled all over my "new" uniform; and it was HOT!  "Watch where you're going!" I yelled, even though technically, I was at fault in this case.  I wasn't even looking up when the stranger approached.

As I looked up at the stranger I had just collided with, I looked up into the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.  They were a brown, almost golden hue, but they seemed a little dull, as if he had seen things he never wanted to see.  Maybe he was in the army... My older brother was in the army, and he had that same dullness to his eyes whenever I looked at him.  He was missing in action, and we didn't really talk about it much.  It was too painful.  As I panned out from his eyes, I noticed a strong jaw structure and a rather handsome looking face staring back at me.  He had brown hair with a tint of golden, just like his eyes, and it was spiked up towards the middle of his head in that old David Beckham hair style.  I realized that I was drooling, so I got back to being angry at him.  After all, he just poured hot coffee on me...  "Sorry," he muttered, looking away from my face as if he couldn't stand to look at me anymore.  Geez, was I that ugly?  I thought I was kind of on the cute side... 

He moved passed me and was gone just as quick as he had come.  What was up with that?  He runs into me with scalding hot coffee, then as soon as he gets one look at me, BAM! He runs in the other direction as fast as he can.  There was nothing wrong with me... "Humph," I muttered as I began to walk towards Zelda's again.  Who cares if he didn't find me attractive?  He wasn't anything special either... Who was I kidding? He was drop-dead gorgeous...