busy feet, remember still ~ Jack

[SHAYLA JACQUELINE LEVY]

Shay yawned as she pulled herself out of bed, then screeched as she saw the clock “Damn it”, her limbs flailed as she untangled herself from the blankets. She ran a comb through her hair, then chucked it up into a messy ponytail. She quickly packed a bag with her work uniform in it and threw it over her shoulder and pulled a coat over her pyjamas.

She was going to be late. She'd overslept. Slept through her alarm. This was more common than she liked to admit, but this time she was really pressed for time as she jumped into her car, and started the engine. She may or may not have jumped a couple of lights on the way to work, but still she got there in time. With minutes to spare in fact. She quickly changed and rushed into the dining room, tidying up her hair as she did so.

After the breakfast rush finished, Shayla made her way to the Staff Lounge, intent on flopping into one of the sofa's in the lounge. She opened the door and undid the little apron around her waist, and chucked in on the closest armchair, before flopping down into it. She looked around and yawned, allowing herself to sink into the armchair, she even kicked off her shoes, and curled herself up.

“Hey... Jack, right?” she smiled, as she spotted one of her co-workers, remembering to call him Jack and not John. She liked Jack, he seemed nice enough, and she had to admire his hair. Why did it always look so damn silky. Shay's hair, to her, often looked a little limp and lifeless. As co-workers, Shayla knew him, she'd seen him around in the staff lounge and had talked to him in passing before. Another yawn passed her lips and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. “Lordy, I'm tired” she chuckled.

Shayla liked to laugh. She felt laughing was good for the soul, or at least it was what her grandma had always told her. Grandma Levy had always been her favourite. In fact she would have killed for some of her grandma's cookies as her stomach growled quietly. She wished her hadn't locked her bag in the boot of her car, she'd chucked in a couple of bags of crisps. Her hand rested on her collarbone as she uncurled herself from the armchair.

[JOHN ADAM DAVIDSON JR.]

OUTFIT

Jack never had to worry about being late to work since he lived at the resort in one of the less desirable rooms. That had its own challenges though, but mostly he appreciated not having a mortgage or a rent to pay. As long as he worked, he got the room. Technically the cost came out of his paycheck, but it didn't vary season to season. AS such, he often got the earliest shift, which didn't bother him. Jack was a bit of a morning person.

Given his early rise, he was already due for a break and had gone to the longue to get a snack. Jack was flattening a stubborn dollar bill when a familiar face flopped down on the couch. "Hey Shayla," Jack remembered with a friendly smile after she had greeted him. He forced his bill into the machine before punching E7 which released a bag of peanut M&Ms. He cracked open the bag and dropped into an arm chair.

"It's only 10:45." He said looking at the clock. Surely no one could already be tired at such a time. But Jack figured it depended on how one spent their time.

[SHAYLA JACQUELINE LEVY]

Shayla smiled back, stretching out before rolling her shoulders back. “How are you?” she asked to be polite. She crossed her legs beneath her leaning forwards in the chair. When he told her that it was only 10:45, she waved it off “I'm just contradictory” she laughed, and held back another yawn. “I overslept, because the builders next door couldn't keep to humane work hours” she grumbled half-heartedly. “Seriously what builders work till 2am?” she rolled her eyes, pursing her lips at the same time.

“Enough about builders, how was your shift?” she asked, Shayla liked working at the resort, it was decently paid, and she got to do what she was good at – waitressing. She'd been working as a waitress both in NYC and in Aspen for a good 5 years now, including the time when she was indeed training to be an actress and not a police officer.

She tugged her hair from the ponytail it was in, and shook it out, so that the waves settled down around her face once more. She linked her fingers together, and stretched them out above her head one final time. Unlinking them, she rubbed at her face. “Alright, I'm awake now” she mumbled to herself more than anything else. “What do you want to do? I mean you can't want to work on the front desk forever” she asked suddenly, smiling up at Jack.

Everyone she'd talked to, much like in the book (and film), One Day, were hotel worker-slash-something else, like there was waitress-slash-author, maid-slash-actor, chef-slash-chef. Okay, maybe the chefs were in the business because they wanted to be chefs, but still.

[JOHN ADAM DAVIDSON JR.]

Jack shrugged. "Alright, you?" He said, popping a couple M&Ms into his mouth. He was a little tired, and a little bored. He wanted to go out with friends, or just relax-- day dreaming at work wasn't exactly the same.

He winced and took a sharp intake of breath to show he could relate to how bad that was. "Oof, I'm sorry." he said. When Shayla said they worked until 2am, he shook his head. Working past 8pm was illegal in most states, as was working before 7am. 2 am fit neither of those categories. "That's illegal, so you could complain to the city about the noise." Jack offered.

He shrugged again when she asked about his shift. "Oh you know, it was a shift. There was this family with like a little parade of adorable children." Jack mused, trying to remember who had come in that morning, no one famous so far today.

This was a question he had been asked often, what did he want to do with his life. Honestly, he still wasn't sure. He didn't mind working for the resort, working his way up. He did have a BA in literature, so maybe he would teach. "Honestly, still not sure. What about you? Most don't live for waitressing." But of course, there were exceptions.

[SHAYLA JACQUELINE LEVY]

Shayla smiled and said "I'm pretty good, except for the whole being tired thing," she brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, and rolled her neck once. Shay sat up a little straighter, tilting her head so she could look directly at Jack. She cracked her knuckles and linked her fingers together in her lap.

"You don't need to apologize, I should get my neighbours to do that' she chuckled briefly. Shay seemed to contemplate what he'd said. "I could" she said, then smiled up at him "then again if they want to work till that late, they might not be there long so, I guess if it gets done quickly I can put up with it" she mused aloud and gave him a little shrug. As long as it was done quickly then Shayla wouldn't mind. She was able to deal with a few nights lacking sleep. She was the oldest of three siblings, she was sure she had been kept up as a child by screaming babies. "Thanks though, for the advice" she added as an afterthought.

"A parade?" She asked, wondering how many children the family had to have to count as a parade, though Shay wished she could have seen. Maybe they would go to dinner in the hotel, she genuinely liked children, not in a weird way of course, she wanted her own, but she was not about to give up working like her mother had. She was not prepared to do that.

"Me, I wanna be a police officer" she said nonchalantly. "I do not want to be stuck as a waitress all my life. You know I want to help people in a better way than bringing them their food" she explained, though she still hadn't gotten around to applying for the academy. She supposed she should do that before it got too late. Though there was once a time when Shayla would have answered 'I want to be an actress' and still deep down she did want that, but she was just being more practical.

[JOHN ADAM DAVIDSON JR.]

"Well, good luck with them." Jack said, "Do you know what they are renovating?" He asked her. When the resort was fixing up the pool/hot tub, the racket was so loud because it echoed off the tiled walls and floor. Hopefully whatever Shayla's neighbors were doing wasn't anything too extensive. Sleep was important and Jack wouldn't be a fan of being kept up at night, especially since he wasn't really one to stay up. He was an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy.

He chuckled. "There were 4 of them, all of them were pretty little. One holding a doll and one marching around... it was really funny." Jack explained, acting out a few of the kids expressions. It had been a sweet little family, with pretty well behaved children, but if you had so many so close together in age, you probably got good at keeping them in line.

"Oh, why don't you work security then?" Jack asked. If she wanted to be a police officer, what was she doing in the dining room? Or why wasn't she just going for it? Policemen are never out of work.

[SHAYLA JACQUELINE LEVY]

Shayla rubbed her hands together as she smiled "Uh, they were..." she paused trying to remember what they had told her, "I think they were renovating the bathroom, or the kitchen. One or the other." she gave a small shrug. "I'm just hoping the later they work the quicker it'll be done" she added with another smile. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, as she resettled herself on the armchair.

"They sound adorable" she said, chuckling as he acted out some of the expressions. "I can't imagine having four children, sounds like a lot of work" she shrugged again, biting into her bottom lip. Shay wanted children as long as she didn't become a housewife. She wanted to work for a living. She pushed all thought of her mother out of her mind. The two didn't exactly get on. "I seriously wish I could have seen that" she smiled at him.

Shay thought for a moment. "When I applied for the job, I didn't really know what I wanted to be, and I haven't really thought of applying for something else since" she answered. "I kinda like working as a waitress. I mean it's not so bad" she let out a short chuckle. "It's easy enough work" she mused. "I'm just... keeping my options open" she nodded once more.

[JOHN ADAM DAVIDSON JR.]

Jack nodded. "Hopefully." But he wasn't too sure, and either way probably another neighbor would call to complain if she didn't. It was hardly good of them to keep the entire neighborhood up for the sake of their kitchen. But the rich people here, and probably anywhere, liked to worry only about themselves.

He shrugged lightly. Jack was the sort of person who liked families. he had the temperament of someone who could be a stay at home dad, or at least a dad that came home often and tried to work from home as often as he could. He didn't like the idea of being an absent father. "I like kids." Is all he said on the subject, adding, "They have to eat sometime, so you probably will see them."

While Shayla explained her thinking, Jack nodded to show he was listening, but he wasn't totally sure about her approach. "But now you know, so you should do something to move forward." he said, thinking that maybe he should enroll in some online classes. Jack felt a little directionless now, and maybe he could be an english teacher.