Dream Girls: Piper

Dream Girls: Piper Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

I woke up to a wonderful smell. Someone was cooking. I rolled over and looked at my clock to see it read 8:05 a.m. Dammit, I so wanted to sleep in, but I needed money more than I needed sleep at this point. My measly savings from baby-sitting and waitressing for two years wasn't going to last long in downtown Dallas.

I padded down the hallway to see Stephanie at the stove. "Hey, whatcha cookin'?"

"I've got bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I guess. Two questions... First, why the hell are you up so early? Second, where did all of this food come from?" I groaned as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"I always wake up early after I have a late night. You know this. I crash the following night, which will be tonight. The food, my mom bought when she was here a couple days ago. She wanted us to be stocked up, so we wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Your mom is awesome."

"Yeah, she's really helped us out."

We sat at the table and ate breakfast in a comfortable silence. I could already tell we were embarking on the best couple of years of our lives. I smiled to myself. This was really happening.

"I really don't feel well," Nic moaned, stumbling into the kitchen.

"Gosh, girl. You look like a furry turd," Steph said.

"Speaking of fur, you need some hair of the dog." I got up, moving to my bedroom.

"What? Hair of what dog?" she asked.

Steph laughed again. "Pipe, did you really bring booze with you?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said, walking back in.

"Oh Lord, I don't think drinking more is going to be good for me," Nic said.

"Just drink a bunch of water and take some painkillers. You're dehydrated, Nic," Steph explained.

"Yeah, you better hurry up and get to feeling better. We have to find jobs today," I joked with her.

"I'll jump in the shower; maybe that will make me feel better," she grumbled, walking back to her room.

We all got dressed and practiced our interview questions as we made our way to one end of the city. We tried clothing stores first. I don't know why we thought it would be easier to work in those types of places, but we were wrong. They didn't even let us fill out applications. I wasn't particularly jumping for joy at the thought of working at the Gap, but I'd learned a long time ago that beggars couldn't be choosers. Growing up with a single mother had enlightened me to the value of a dollar. Plus, it wasn't like we had experience to do anything else.

We looked for jobs everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean we started at one end of the city and worked our way back into town. I wasn't sure what we were gonna do, short of selling our plasma. I started to make a joke about it, but could clearly read the frustration on the girls' faces. Now was not the time.

Finally, we gave up and went back to On the Rocks for lunch. After we were seated, I realized they were really busy during the lunch hour. Our waitress looked frazzled as she walked up to take our orders.

"Hey, girls. What can I get for you?"

"You guys are busy at lunch time, huh?" I asked, just making conversation.

"Honey, it's like this all hours of the day. We are so short-handed right now."

"Really? Are you guys hiring?"