Chapter 1 BE NICE SASHA

Sasha Jones Morales

“Tell me Cadwell, why do decrepit rich men like to be called Daddy ? Don’t you find that disgusting?”

I hear him sigh on the other end of the line, it's borderline if I don't see him rolling his eyes.

"What?? It's true, no?? They are fathers or grandfathers, they are children who call them that, it’s weird and disturbing.”

“Sasha if you don’t hurry you’ll be late again.

“It’s okay, I’m coming, give me five minutes, I took the shortcut.”

I find myself behind an old lady who is walking at one kilometer an hour on a very narrow sidewalk. This is the shortcut I have to take if I want to get to work on time. Impossible to pass in front of him since this sidewalk is at the side of the road, so I risk being hit by a car. I am so young and well preserved it would be a great loss on the other hand for her….

“Can you hurry up?”

“Be nice Sasha” my best friend lectured me. I had completely forgotten that he was on the other end of the phone.

I roll my eyes and switch my phone from hand to hand.

“Ethan I feel like a turtle is faster than her, I remind you I'm about to be late and you want me to be nice??”

“You know I’m not deaf, right” She laughs with her trembling voice

“I sure hope so” I reply “What time is it Ethan?”

“It’s six fifty-four p.m.”

“ Eighteen fifty what??? I retort, widening my eyes, “Oh damn…”

The sound of a horn threatens to make me deaf like the old woman in front of me and it is quickly followed by indecent sentences coming from the male gender. I raise my middle finger in response and don't bother to look towards the car in question. I sigh, noticing that I'm not really moving forward with this turtle in front of me.

“Really, you old guys are getting everyone drunk. I moan after hanging up.”

“When you’re my age…

“I hope I’m dead by now.” I retort by taking off my pumps

Brief.

When you have to go, you have to go

I anticipate the arrival of the next car by trying to see the space that separates it from the car right after it. I think I have time to go down the road and run past the old woman.

I've done it before, no reason to die.

One. Two…..

I run and manage to get in front of the old woman.

“You’re crazy, my word, you could have done it!”

“The next one will probably be the right one… with a little luck.”

I take a deep breath before starting to sprint to get to work on time. I have about two minutes left.Come on Sash you can do it!I arrive at the staircase that I take every other time and climb the steps two by two. I have the strong impression that my lungs are in danger of letting go and risk ending up in the bottom of my stomach, endurance and I have never been a good match.

Miracle!! I arrive at the entrance to the city center, I run back down the street and arrive in front of the second entrance of theUPSIDE DOWN.

The door opens to reveal my best friend and I barely have time to complain about my obstacle course before he has already taken possession of my things to put them away before throwing my apron and my service shoes at me.

"You're the best"

“Sasha!!” This voice startles me as I desperately try to put on my work shoes.

“SASHA!!!”

Ethan helps me tie my shoelaces and we both stand up at the same time before our boss enters the locker room.

I force a smile and he stares at me with narrowed eyes. He probably didn't expect me to have already arrived.

“Hurry up, there are so many people today!

I raise an eyebrow and check my watch

“It’s six fifty-nine and my shift starts at seven, why are you shouting like I’m late?”

My insufferable boss glares at me and I roll my eyes, tying a knot on my apron. I grab my clipboard after giving Ethan a smile and head into the room to start taking orders.

“And Ethan walks out of there you don’t even work here and you have no reason to be here!” I hear without my best friend who is none other than his nephew”

Take heart, just a few months before you can quit this shitty job. One year, the diploma andadios!

“Good evening and welcome to UPSIDE DOWN, can I take your order?”

And that’s how most of my evenings, and three days of the week, go together. Hypocritical smiles, having great self-control in the face of remarks or insults. Fortunately, the food at UPSIDE DOWN is one of the best in town because the smell would have ended up nauseating me.

“Ethan, I’m done, shall we go back?”

I can't wait just to get out of here, it's 9:46 p.m. and all I want to do is go home. And like every Thursday, Ethan sleeps at home.

“I’m here” He walks towards me and places his arm on my shoulders.

“Let’s go” I reply with a smile

My apartment is located five minutes from the restaurant so I always go there on foot, even if I don't really enjoy walking in these streets when night falls, I know how to defend myself but I remain a 23 year old woman doing I'm six foot six and I'm always more reassured when I'm with Ethan, he's the perfect fake boyfriend.

“He’s not a crush, leave me alone Ethan”

“This is the first time I’ve seen Sasha Jones in such a state. No, but are you blushing and everything?”

“I’m absolutely not blushing, aren’t you ashamed to lie like that??” I retort as he starts laughing

I take out my set of keys when I arrive in front of the apartment and open the door. Ethan enters and I close it behind me before following him.

“I love your apartment so much”

“Yours is three times bigger, let me tell you.”

“Yes but I don’t know, yours is warmer and cozier” He replies as I roll my eyes.

I’m sure he was trying to fit the word “cozy” somewhere. He has loved this word ever since he heard it at the furniture store.

I live in a tiny two-room apartment in the city center. I really like my apartment and I was lucky to be able to afford it and I owe it only to my hard work.

In high school I was the superficial bimbo that everyone hated and I don't know if I was like that or if they made me, but I ended up being obsessed with my looks. Thanks to popularity, I always managed to get out with excellent grades because the heads of my high school were happy to do my homework for me or because certain teachers favored me. So I came out like a boss with a multitude of prestigious universities ready to welcome me into their establishments thanks to my excellent results obtained without any merit.

That's the whole problem with the education system, they don't care if you understand anything, the most important thing is that you get a higher grade than your classmate.

I never joined the colleges where I was accepted, I didn't see the point, especially since I didn't understand anything about the fields offered.

And then, unlike the pests in films and series, I wasn't rich and being pretty and popular in high school doesn't do much good once you leave and you don't have anything in your head about it.

The only thing I can do is draw and my mother never accepted it, she wanted to force me to accept the scholarships that were offered to me, whether for Yale or Harvard, but he was beyond it. question. In the end my parents did something I never imagined, they cut me off.

Fortunately I met Ethan, he took me in and thanks to him I got a little job in his uncle's restaurant.

He saved my life.

“Did you get any presents today?”

“Affirmative, I barely had time to drop them off earlier before having to go back to work”

I grab the Hermès tote in front of the door and the other bag

“Hermes again??” He asks with a frown. I nod and he rolls his eyes

“What are you betting on?” I question him with a smirk

He crosses his arms and I immediately know what he's going to say so I say it at the same time

“Birkin”

We burst out laughing and I was asleep. It’s always the same thing to believe that Hermès only produces one model.

“He’s cute” I admit, taking out the brown leather bag.

“An eleven thousand dollar bag will always be cute Sash

“That’s true”, I smile “Help me put it in a good light I’m going to put it up for sale tonight”

I can't wait to be able to stop doing this, even though it's how I managed to get through it.

Once I posted my photos, it was without further delay that Ethan and I resumed our usual gossip in front of a good series

…………

I groan as the ringing of my phone wakes me.

“Stop that thing..” mutters the half-breed sleeping next to me.

I take the device and answer it before putting it to my ear

"What?" I blurt out while yawning

“Sasha?”

I immediately stand up and my movement startles Ethan. He turns his head and stares at me with one open eye before straightening up as well, probably noticing the terrified expression on my face.

“Sasha is that you? I’m sorry, did I have the wrong number?”

“No…no it’s me”

"Awesome! You missed me so much "

The enthusiasm in his voice still warms my heart. Maybe it's because it's been a long time since I heard such a familiar voice.

“Ella, why are you calling me?”

There is a pause of a few seconds that seems to last forever. Then it’s as if I felt his smile on the other end of the receiver

“I’m going back to New York tomorrow”

OH NO.