She woke up early, checking the time it was 7:30 am. Shoot! If she didn't get dressed she was going to be late for work.
She quickly brushed her teeth and rinsed out with mouthwash. Obviously so her breath wouldn't smell when she was checking in customers .
She quickly put on her uniform. It was an emerald green, long two lipped shirt a little below her waist. It was long sleeved and had gold laces at the rims of her sleeves and edge of her outfit. The matching pants also had gold laces, but had golden buttons running along the side of her calf.
The hotel uniforms are specially designed to meet every employee's individual style. However most of the female employees wore emerald green blazers with matching knee skirts.
When Sana first started working there, she told the manager that she wanted to wear something more modest.
In Islam it states in the Quran that a woman must dress modestly and it was customary in Pakistani culture for a girl to always carry a scarf.
She requested one to match her uniform from her manager, who agreed.
Sana grabbed her green scarf that was embroidered with golden flowers, shined with silver beads and rhinestones, laced with golden ribbons. It was one the most beautiful ones she owned.
She always kept the scarf with her whenever she went for work. The reason being that she did not want to miss her prayers.
There are a total of five prayers:
Fajir(morning prayer before sunrise)
Zuhr (noon to early afternoon)
Asr (afternoon prayer)
Maghrib (evening to sunset)
Isha ( night prayer)
Her work shift would extend over Zuhr, Asr, and Maghrib and sometimes even Isha.
Her Boss allowed her to take 15 mins off for each prayer. In turn in which she was grateful for.
Though she didn't wear a hijab she always liked to keep a scarf handy, so she could wrap it around her head to pray at any time.
She loved to drape it over her chest like a blanket so she could see the full extent of the patterns. Even though she wasn't the most conservative Muslim, she still felt comforted by the modesty of her scarf draping over her. But mostly she liked to wear it because it gave her strength and comfort.
Given her traumatic memories, Sana needed something to hold on to desperately. Allah(god) saved her life and in turn she became more religious and devoted to Him. She even turns to Him for comfort and her scarf was a symbol of her devotion and strength, but also her religion and comfort.
Sana quickly gathered her belongings and went downstairs. There she saw her family sitting around the table. Her little sisters Anwari (14) and Thana (8) were munching on chickpeas, when they glanced up. Her father looked up from his newspaper.
"Leaving already?" He asked though he knew the answer.
"Yes Aba I have a long shift today." She smiled.
"Absolutely not!" Her mother shouted in protest "You haven't even eaten breakfast yet!"
Sana and her sisters all rolled their eyes simultaneously, when their mother's back was turned. This earned a chuckle from her father.
"Amma I will eat when I get there. There's a huge cafe in the hotel remember?"
She pressed a swift kiss on her mother's annoyed face and proceeded to do the same for the rest of her family.
Just as she reached the door, she looked back and saw her family waving at her. Even her mother was waving.
"Drive safely." She ordered. "Try to come home before dinner." Her father said waving. "Bye Baji! (Older sister) have fun at work!" Her sisters said in unison, waving frantically.
Her happiness overflowed as she waved back "Thanks I'll be back soon" she promised.
She loved her family dearly. She was glad to have them after all that she's been through. She only wished she hadn't had to keep everything hidden from them.
As she stepped into the car, she couldn't help but feel the same feeling of anticipation in her gut from last night.
She tossed and turned all night thinking about it and the feeling tingled through her. The feeling refused to disperse.
This was also the reason why she left for work earlier than usually. This rise of suspense only fuelled her ever growing curiosity.
Guess I'll find out today she thought as she closed the door behind her and started to drive.
"There you are! Hurry up and clock in you're gonna be a minute late!" Her friend Alice ushered her in the hotel.
The Omni Royal hotel was really meant for royalty. The lobby was huge filled with indoor water ways, koi fish ponds, mini bridges and small gardens that encircled the two cafes and the three restaurants sitting by the coast.
The lobby also contained indoor Palm trees that decorated the mall Galleria, along with giant glass windows facing the beach. Glass chandeliers hang overhead glimmering in the light. Their light is mirrored in the ponds, making the lobby seem brighter than in actuality.
She inhaled closing her eyes, then releasing her breath. "Alright time to get to work." Alice her friend and coworker nodded in agreement.
She had been working for 4 hours now and yet the tingle of excitement didn't fade. Her anticipation was making her stomach churn.
She looked at the clock. It was almost a quarter til 12. So far she checked in 13 people and gave 4 tours to new guests who requested it.
And yet still the feeling did not go away. No new guests have arrived.
"How long til lunch time?" Alice groaned in exhaustion
"15 minutes." Alice face palmed the reception desk with her head.
"Come on you can do it, just be patient" Sana soothed.
"I'm gonna go to the restroom. Be right back " she waved, walking away.
Sana licked her lips in apprehension, only to find them dry. She sifted through her purse to find her chapstick. As she was about to grab it, something caught her eye. She pulled out only to come face to face with a Stray kids pin.
It was black and small but the logo shined bright with red and white.
She smiled at her forgotten love of Stray Kids. It was her sister Anwari and her friend Alice that had gotten her into them. Her parents would criticize them if they had found out about them, so they keep the excitement to a minimum. She chastised her sister for getting her into them at her age.
She always loved those boys. They had a strong bond of loyalty towards one another that created a sense of family within the group. She always admired how hardworking they are and even in the event of exhaustion they still have energy to instill laughter and joy among not only eachother but Stays as well.
But the real reason she loved then was cause all their songs resonated with her in terms of not only her traumatic experience in Pakistan but the struggle to maintain her Muslim values.
Although her life has gotten easier now that she was in the workforce, high school she was bullied a lot for always wearing her hijab. One kid had ripped off her hijab and since then her and her parents decided to refrain from wearing the hijab.
Sana did not have very many friends back then nor does she have very many now other than her co-workers, thanks to her PTSD.
During those dark times Sana had often felt alone and would often isolate herself until she heard Stray kids did she begin to stand up and stand strong.
She always felt misunderstood and alone, at least until she heard about Felix Lee.
"Excuse me?" A polite voice in an unfamiliar accent took her from her thoughts.
"Oh I'm so sor-" she looked up eyes widening, all the air left her lungs, leaving her out of breath. The tingling feeling erupted into butterflies in her stomach.
"Its alright. Would you happen to be the receptionist?"
She swallowed nervously and nodded.
"If you could check us in we have three rooms booked for reservation here under the name Stray kids" said Felix Lee giving her a warm smile.