I woke up to Wake Me Up by Ed Sheeran, my alarm, and groaned. A 6:30 wakeup after working the late shift is torture. To my surprise, I was literally face down on the floor, entangled in my sheets. I must have been super restless in my sleep. Groaning, I fought my way up and into the kitchen. I was 22, and barely getting by on my waitress' salary to pay the rent for my New York City apartment. The place consisted of a bathroom and two tiny bedrooms barely bigger than closets. I was greeted in the kitchen by my best friend and roommate, Andrea. Being a recent graduate of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), she had a breakfast of Nutella and bananas on toast all ready for me.
"Geez, Andrea, looks good girl!" I could never understand how she could be such a good chef and stay as skinny as she was. It was actually almost annoying sometimes. Andrea smiled and dipped her spoon into the Nutella.
"No problem chickie." We had the weirdest nicknames but that's what I loved about our friendship. "What's your plan for today?" I asked her.
Andrea sighed as she replied, "I'm working till 5 at that new little Italian place Umbertos and then I'm bussing tables at the diner from 8 to 11." I gave her a look.
"Andrea are you serious? That is so unhealthy!"
She shrugged. "Grace, I've got college loans to pay off and experience to gain!" I had to hand it to her. Andrea is the most hardworking, dedicated person I know other than myself. Not to be snotty, but I honestly feel like I work my butt off. Together, we are both super dedicated to what we do. If I haven't mentioned this already, I have bigger plans than waitressing at Ellen's Stardust Diner. I'm Grace Masciale, a singer/songwriter/guitarist trying to make it big. Yes, that sounds cliche and cheesy and ridiculous but it's true. Ever since I was 15, I've known that music was my passion. I've fantasized about making an album and going on tour and having a big house and winning a Grammy and most of all, about making people happy. I fell in love with One Direction when I was 15, and I saw how they touched the lives of their fans. It would be so amazing to be able to put smiles on people's faces and feel satisfied. Oh gosh here I was distracted again. I tend to zone out a lot. Andrea noticed it too.
"GRACE. DO YOU HEAR ME?!" I came back to reality.
"Oops yup I'm here. I better go get changed. I'm working two shifts at the diner and then I'm playing at the open mic at the coffee shop."
Now it was Andrea's turn for 'the look.' "I wish you had told me and I would have rearranged my shift to come see!"
I felt bad. Andrea was so supportive of my dreams, and I forgot to keep her in the loop.
"I promise I'll remember to tell you next time!" And with that I ran out of the room to get ready for my busy day. Little did I know how busy it would really be.