MONALISA
“Irene” I called after her as she headed out of the lecture room.
“Irene” I called again but she wasn’t stopping. I grabbed my bag and rushed after her.
“Irene” I stopped in front of her with a smile and she removed the ear pods from her ears.
“Hey, Lisa” She called softly.
“Hey” I replied, catching my breath.
“Anything wrong?” She asked and I shook my head and then shrugged.
“The truth is that the only person I associate with very much is Francesca and after what happened between us, I barely have anyone and I am not sure who can even be a true friend to me and so…”
“And so you think I will be a true friend to you because I gave you a hint on what your previous best friend and your ex boyfriend were doing?” She cut me off and I went mute.
Maybe Irene didn’t want to be friends. Perhaps she just wanted to be alone and not be disturbed just because she gave me a hint on what Francesca and Bryant were doing.
“If that is what you think, then you are absolutely right” Irene suddenly added and my eyes lit up, seeing a small smile on her face.
“I will be glad to have a friend as pretty as you are” She added and a smile spread my lips.
“Do you want us to hang out sometime?” I quickly asked her, feeling glad that Irene was going to be my friend. I just had the feeling that she was going to be the right friend to me.
“Sometime? Are you busy now?” She asked and I thought for a few seconds.
“Not for the next five hours” I responded and she walked to me, threw an arm around my shoulder lazily.
“Do you have any place in mind?” She asked and I immediately thought of the cafe but cancelled the thought of it instantly.
The cafe had way too much memories of I and Francesca and I did not want to have to be there.
“I guess you have nothing in mind. How about we go to the restaurant right next to the hotel where my mum works? The restaurant serves the best food”
Damn! I never ever knew that Irene could say so much words in just a couple of minutes. 1
“Sure. I am a bit hungry so a restaurant would be perfect indeed” I affirmed and we were on our way in no time, talking about random stuffs, things we liked and our dislikes.
I and Irene were quite different from each other but in some way, it seemed like we were getting along with each other pretty well.
*
“This place really has lovely food” I commented, surprised at how tasty the meal was.
“Right? I love their food so much and I come here a lot to eat since my mum works just over there” She pointed out of the restaurant to a huge hotel that was definitely not unnoticeable.
It was huge and even from the outer décors, it looked expensive and luxurious.
“That’s a huge one. What does your mum do there?” I asked.
“She is the manager. The job pays a lot.”
“I bet it does. Being the manager of such a huge hotel must really pay a lot.” I nodded and then recalled that I also wanted to get myself a part time job. If I could get a part time job in this luxurious hotel, I was sure that I was going to be well paid and I would make mum proud too but it seemed too early to ask Irene about getting a job.
“You have a question you want to ask?” She asked, noticing that I had been staring too long at the hotel.
“Yeah… oh, I meant no.”
Irene threw her head back.
“You don’t have to hold back if you have a question.” She said convincingly.
“I was just wondering if you could perhaps help me ask your mum if there is a part time job I could do there? I could use a job yunno.”

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