Chapter 2

College isn’t easy.

Twenty year old Maia Shelton was coming to realise that.

Barely three weeks into college and the young girl was already fed up. The courses weren’t easy, lots and lots of assignments every day with a submission period of fewer than twenty-four hours.

This was only the first year.

As she sat in class, her hand suspended her head that currently felt heavy from days of sleepless nights trying to meet the submission deadline for assignments. She listened to the voice of the lecturer as he spoke, but nothing stuck.

Good thing for her, it was Friday. So she would have some time to rest as given that her class tomorrow didn’t start until one p.m.

Maia Shelton groaned, a bit too loud because suddenly, all eyes were on her, including the lecturer who gave her a death glare.

She smiled awkwardly as she gradually sank in her sit. Wanting nothing more than for the earth to open up and swallow her.

“Is something the matter miss?” the lecturer asked, dropping the little notebook which he used to lecture on the desk.

“Uh… yes sir. Can I be excused?” Maia questioned nervously.

The professor rolled his eyes looking fed up, still he signalled with his hand for the young girl to leave.

Quickly, Maia gathered notebook and her other belongings and rushed out of the class. She was seated by the aisle in the back of the class, making it easy to rush out of class without drawing in any attention to her.

The young girl rushed to the bathroom, throwing her bag on the floor, and looked at herself in the mirror. Maia sighed at how pale and tired she looked thanks to the eyebags under her eyes, then proceeded to flash some water on her face, then gently pinched and slapped her cheeks to bring back some colour to her face.

Giggles could be heard out of the door indicating that a group of girls were making their way in. Maia Shelton panicked and quickly grabbed her bag and rushed into a stall and stood on the toilet seat.

“I heard Yapaki lounge is amazing” Maia heard the first voice say.

“Right? I haven’t been there but my roommate has, and she said it was amaze-balls. I can’t wait to go there” the second voice said with a squeal.

“I heard they’re seeking to hire bartenders,” the first voice says

“Where did you hear that?” another voice asks

“From some group of girls in accounting class,” the first voice says

“Oh great, I know Dayana will be interested. She’s been looking for a job” the third voice added.

“Yeah, no. Working in a club? With all the perverts that go in there every day? No thanks,” the second voice says, making Maia sense the disgust in her voice.

“Yeah, whatever Shay,” the third girl says, probably replying to the second girl, whose name Maia had come to learn was Shay. Regardless what their names were, the young girl knew she would probably never meet them.

It was suddenly silent, making the young girl understand that the bathroom was empty and she could safely leave the stall.

Looking at herself in the mirror one last time, she straightened her dress and left the bathroom.

Maia Shelton looked at the golden meduim wristwatch indicating five more minutes until her class for Entrepreneurship was over, making the thought of sitting through any class for the rest of the day gruesome for her.

By the end of the class, the young girl grabbed her books and went home, wanting nothing but to sleep off her tiredness.

Maia Shelton’s roommate and best friend Janata was currently sprawled out on the couch, popcorn in a bowl and her phone in hand as she scrolled through what the young girl assumed to be Instagram.

“You look like shit,” Janata commented as she sat up.

The young girl threw her backpack to the ground and sat next to her friend.

“Thanks. I feel like shit too” Maia uttered with a sigh.

“You know it’s okay if you miss school for a day right?” Janata questioned with a comforting hand on her friends shoulder.

Maia Shelton gave her friend a knowing look before rolling her eyes.

Janata McCoy is Maia’s long-time friend from foster care and the closest thing she has to a sister. The young girl left foster care at the age of seventeen after failing her last year of high school.

School has never been Janata’s thing. The young girl wasn’t book smart, but she sure as hell was street smart because, in three years, she moved to a new city, worked her ass off and now she was fine, financially.

Well, not extremely rich but she has a roof over her head, has a job, can afford at least three square meals a day.

Things both girls longed for back in foster care. Although Janata left, they stayed in contact all these years because when Maia reached out about her plans, Janata offered to help.

She took in her friend free of charge, has been feeding her without any complaints and went as far as helping her seek admission into college.

Now, Maia Shelton felt like a burden because she was entirely depending on Janata for everything.

The current reason why the young girl was thinking of going applying for the job those girls were talking about.

“Janata” Maia called out but got no response but proceeded with her question anyways.

“Have you heard of Yapaki Lounge?” this time when Maia spoke up, Janata came rushing out of the room.

“Yes, why?” she inquired, sitting Indian style on the couch.

“What did you hear about it?” the young girl ignored her friend’s question to ask hers.

“You mean asides the fact that it is only THE most popular lounge in Middenhall,” Janata says, emphasis on ‘THE’

“Why are you asking?” she inquires again

“No reason. I was hiding in the bathroom stall when I-“Janata cuts her off, putting her index finger on Mais’s lips leaving the young girl confused.

“Why were you hiding in a bathroom stall?” she asked, making Maia roll her eyes and confusion was written all over Janata’s face.

“Can I finish?” the young girl was getting aggravated

“Sorry go on” Janata apologizes.

“As I said, I was in the bathroom stall when some girls worked in. They were talking about a certain Yapaki lounge, how popular it was and that they were currently seeking bartenders,” Maia explained. Janata’s gaze was already on her, but this time, it had an unreadable expression to it.

“And right now you’re thinking you could apply” she states and the young girl nods.

“Being a bartender is not easy. And I’m not talking about workload, no. I’m talking about dealing with the stares and slangs of perverts, can you deal with that?” she asks.

Maia Shelton was quite aware of all that. On her way back from class, the only thing that lingered on her mind was the opening at Yapaki lounge. The young girl knew all the packages that came with working in a club, but she had no choice.

For months, she has been unable to get a job, and now that she’d found an opening, she refused to let her fear stop her.