Chapter 49: First Day At Work

Chapter forty-nine: First Day At Work

Elena

I woke up almost an hour ago, I had spent all of yesterday relaxing and familiarizing myself with the Pack. Alisha had shown me around a few places and it seemed easy enough to navigate. I learned that humans also live within the Pack boundaries. Although the majority of the population were werewolves or humans mated to wolves which is also new to me.

Having been a wolf for ten years, I had lost touch with a lot of myself. Unlike girls of my age, l didn't go to hair salons to get my hair touched up and taken care of which was why Alisha had trimmed some of my hair off last night. I had gone to bed at a reasonable time and woken up a full two hours before my shift started. I was never one who enjoyed early morning but this one I had been excited about.

It was my first day, I had practically skipped all the way to work this morning. I even waved at a few of the guards on patrol as I left the lodge and traveled towards the Pack center. Since my shift was so early, very few people were out and I got to enjoy the scenery. With each passing day, this place felt more like home. I am building a life for myself here, a life I never thought I would ever get to experience.

I didn't visit Bernard yesterday because I knew he needed his rest. I had promised myself that I would go to his room after my shift and keep him company. I had only been away from him for less than 24 hours but I missed him so much and it physically pained me. My smile grew bigger as I sighted the bakery. This is one of many steps that I would take to become independent and stand on my own two feet. I am proud of myself, my parents had raised me for the first part of my life and I had raised myself for the second part. I had taken so much to get to this point and I am glad that finally I was able to reach here.

Veronica had already opened the bakery and I walked right through the front and I could smell the bread baking as soon as I entered. I walked to the back kitchen where I found Veronica elbow deep in some dough mixture. She popped up and smiled as soon as she heard me enter.

"Good morning, dear. You are right on time." Her hazel eyes gleamed as she continued to knead through her dough.

"Morning, Veronica." I smiled back.

"Where do you need me?" I asked, she nodded her head to the far left of the kitchen where a tray of uncooked meat pies was set.

"Could you please glaze those with some beaten egg before I put them into the oven? Take out the scones from the oven and place them on the cooling rack when you are done. But first, put on your apron on the counter over there." She instructed me.

I walked over to the counter where a folder of black aprons was. I pulled the apron over my body and tied it behind me and when everything was fastened that was the only time I noticed that my name had been embroidered into the material. That small little touch had me grinning from ear to ear, it was her thoughtfulness that made me appreciate Veronica so much.

I got to work on the tasks that she had set out for me. We worked efficiently as a team. Veronica ordered me where I needed to go and I followed her instructions seamlessly. It astounded me how she had managed to do these morning baked goods all by herself. By the time we were done with everything, it was eight o'clock in the morning and people had started coming for their morning coffee and breakfast runs.

I filled all her displays with all the baked goods in the front and I flipped the chairs off the tables and placed them down. I made sure that all the tables were clean and the centerpieces for each table were still looking appealing and vibrant. Some of her workers came in just as I flipped the closed sign to open. There was Mike who worked as the chef of the cafeteria and Leonard who worked after my shift as a waiter/barista. The bakery didn't run with many workers but from what I had seen so far, it ran efficiently enough.

Veronica walked up to the counter where I was getting the register ready for the morning rush. Her face was beaming as she looked over at me. I don't think I have seen her happy aura drop once since this morning. Her presence was so infectious that you just wanted to be wrapped up in it.

"Good luck out there and remember to just slow down, be patient, and breathe. Your first few morning rush will be a lot but you will get the hang of it soon enough." She said to me.

She is definitely right about the first morning rush being hard. So far, I had messed up four coffee orders, given a person who is allergic to nuts a peanut homemade protein bar and I had somehow managed to burn the milk while using a frothing machine.

At ten o'clock, the morning rush had died down and I had finally gotten the hang of things when it came to waitressing and being a barista. My legs felt like they were made of jelly but I was in high spirits. I had made it through nine of the hardest parts of my shift and I am still standing. I had a few more hours before my shift ended.

I looked into the register and saw Jack Morgan walking in with a backpack swung over his shoulder. He was wearing form-fitting jeans and a tight shirt that showed his very toned physique.

"Hey Jack." I greeted.

"What can I get for you today?" He walked up to the counter with this noticeable confidence in his step. Many of the gammas who I have had the pleasure of meeting were hardly as confident as Jack portrayed himself to be. Many of the gammas within this Pack were more timid and reserved but Jack was rather extroverted and filled with enough self-confidence for a whole continent.

"I want a double shot of espresso, please." He responded.

"Take home or eat here?" I asked.

"Take home, I need to get to work soon." He replied and I turned away from him and started working on his order. Thankfully, I had finally gotten the hang of it and no mishaps looked to be in my near future.

"So, how is the first day going?" He leaned against the counter as he watched me work.

"Very well, I survived my first morning rush and I didn't slice my fingers off when I was slicing ham this morning. So, I would say that I am thriving right now." I responded.

"Look at you." He teased me.

"But I had the feeling that you would do just fine in this job. You seem like the type of person who adapts easily." I looked up from the coffee that was currently pouring into the take home cup.

"Really?"

"Yes." He responded.

"This is one of the reasons why I think you will be great at fishing. I was thinking we should go fishing on Sunday afternoon if you are up for it." I shrugged.

"I am always up to learning new things. What time are we going and can I invite my friend?" The smile dropped from his face slightly.

"The problem is that the boat only fits two people, so it can't fit all three of us." He replied.

"Oh." I muttered.

"I guess it will just be you and me then." I said and the smile returned to its full brightness on his face once more.

"Great." He said and I handed him his coffee and took the money from his hand. When I had sorted out his change, he grabbed my hand. He pulled out a pen and started writing something on my hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am writing down my number so that we can plan properly." He replied.

"But we lived in the same building, you don't have to do this." He pulled back and winked at me.

"I know, I just wanted an excuse to give you my number. Smooth, right?" I let out a soft laugh at his antics.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes on me, I followed the weight of the stare and came face to face with none other than Bernard.

When did he get here and how come he didn't tell me that he is being discharged? A small pang of hurt hit my chest that he didn't even tell me something so monumental. I would have wanted to be there when he walked out of the hospital.

He was standing at the entrance of the bakery with a stoic look on his face. His expression was unreasonable and I could tell that he wasn't happy.