The loud, near ear-piercing sound of my alarm woke me from my dreamless sleep. I cracked my eyes open and slowly untangled myself from my sheets. With my clock still squawking, I stared up at the popcorn ceiling of my apartment and let an audible sigh escape from my lips.

Good morning to me. 

I turned, sat up, and pressed the snooze button on my alarm clock. Reaching beside it, I picked up my phone and was surprised to see a few messages from my friend, Steph. I tapped on the text pop up and punched in my password when my phone requested it.

Oh. 

In a short burst of messages, Steph had wished me a happy birthday and requested that me, Connie, and her go out in celebration later this afternoon.

Hmm, I'll have to tell her that tonight won't work. I'm pretty sure I've been graced with the nightshift this evening, and a 1 am birthday party does not sound like something I'll be up to today.

I placed my phone back down on my nightstand and got up to head toward my closet. My outfit doesn't honestly doesn't matter much because I'll be in uniform most of the day, but there's a small part of me that wants to dress in something a little brighter just because I can't most times. With that in mind, I threw on a blue pair of baggy ripped jeans and an oversized orange shirt with an old band name and logo plastered across it. I have no clue who the band is, but I thought the T-shirt was cute when I was browsing the racks at a thrift store and decided to grab it. I then slid on a pair of ankle-high socks and moved to my bathroom to finish getting ready.

In about 20 minutes, I had brushed out my hair and put it into a clip, applied some simple makeup, ate a quick cereal bar for breakfast, and located my car keys. Feeling accomplished, I turned to walk out my front door when I heard a distant buzzing from my room.

Oh shit, my phone!

I walked a few short steps and turned a corner to find my phone right where I had left it when I woke up. I lifted it and opened my messages again to find more texts from Steph berating me with "we have to meet up," and "don't ignore me, Ally!" I chuckled to myself.

This girl will never give up on anything once she's put her mind to it, huh?

Just then, a notification came down from the top of my screen. "Happy birthdayy Allyy :DD," it read. It was from Connie. I tapped on it before it could vanish and messaged her a quick thank you before returning to my conversation with Steph. "I'll meet up with you guys this weekend if you're free, does Sunday work?" The quick reply of "absolutely! And you better not flake this time" was all the confirmation I needed to continue with my morning. I expected a few more texts calling me out for bailing on my last birthday party, but that wasn't anything new with Steph. 

A year ago, a friend of mine was in a tough spot and asked me to cover for them. I said yes without hesitation, but it wasn't until I had finished for the evening that I realized I'd forgotten that I'd made plans with Connie and Steph for my birthday. When I was finally able to clock out and get my phone from my bag, it was too late. When I checked it, I was astonished my phone hadn't exploded with the amount of messages that it had received in the last few hours. I skimmed through the countless pleas for my whereabouts and cringed at my failure to be there for my friends. I ended up texting them both an apology, and promised I'd do anything to make up for wasting their time. They were forgiving but not forgetful, and I've never been able to hear the end of it since.

That was.. yeah, that was bad.

Glancing up, I realized that the exchange had lasted two minutes too long, and I'd best be going before I missed my first shift of the day. I slipped my phone into my back pocket and headed toward the front door once again.

I groaned.

I had just shut the door to my car and wanted to collapse when the memories of today all hit me at once. 

"That lady was one of the craziest ones yet," I said with my eyes closed and head toward the ceiling," I mean, who in their right mind thinks the solution to getting served the wrong drink is to shatter every plate at their table?"

An angry, senile old woman I guess. 

All of the compartmentalizing I had been doing for the previous few hours was starting to fall apart, and the emotions that I had shoved down to keep my service  industry smile made me want to punch my dash. 

What the hell am I going to do now? My boss'll be back in town from her vacation tomorrow and she'll be pissed for sure. Ugh, that grandma always has a stick up her ass.

In my defense, I hadn't realized what she was going to do until the ceramic shards and cutlery were already skidding across the floor. In my initial state of shock, I also didn't clock that she was already diving for two more plates that would end up in pieces on the ground. 

Five plates and two glasses tragically lost their lives tonight before she was stopped. She was eventually escorted- screaming and cussing- out of the building after about ten minutes of her temper tantrum. I had to stay after to clean up the mess and only just managed to stumble myself out of the ransacked establishment.

I leaned back into the driver's seat and groaned again.

Some birthday I've had.

Suddenly, a thought popped into my head and I sat up.

Fuck this. I've been 22 for a day now, had a cranky old lady throw silverware at me, and just officially finished my last shift at 2 am. I should take some time to unwind before I have to endure this all over again tomorrow.

I bent forward and turned my car on.

Al's here I come.

After shifting into reverse and backing out, I drove for around ten minutes before I pulled into my apartment complex's rugged, asphalt car lot. I parked, grabbed my keys, and headed up toward my second story apartment. Quietly, I unlocked my door and closed it gently behind me before I headed toward my room to fix myself up.

I stared into the mirror as I touched up on my mascara and applied a significant amount of concealer beneath my eyes to hide the evidence of the multiple jobs I work each day. I also brushed my hair again and sprayed in a decent amount of dehumidifier to tackle the remaining frizz. As I continued to shuffle around my bathroom though, my mind began to wander.

Today was a wreak. Sure, I've had worse, but this one's gotta take the cake for this month. God, makes me think of that other woman who tried to spit on me after I told her we didn't carry the product she wanted. She was a piece of fucking work.

I sighed and put my hands on the counter on either side of me.

And to think I still have hope of getting into college. Hah, what a joke.

I've always dreamed of finally saving up enough money to go, but it's more of a fantasy at this point. I've been drowning in work just to keep myself afloat, so college, although my ultimate goal, has been pushed to the back of my mind in order to keep me focused.

Well now this really makes me want to drink. Can't do anything right, can I?

I removed my hands from the sink face and shoved them in my pockets.

I need to go before it gets too late.

I scanned myself in the mirror. With only the goal to unwind tonight, I kept on my orange T-shirt and blue jeans. I also sported some Converse high tops and small spinel earrings that I had laying around. After taking one last look, I turned toward my bathroom door.