Learning to Fly - 2

Chapter Two - Finding her feet

Carly woke before her alarm and lay there for a moment. No parents fussing in the kitchen, no cats crawling under the duvet and kneading her bare skin, and no dustbin lorry reverse alarm from the street outside her window. Only bliss and serenity, despite the bustling she could hear below the attic rooms the staff occupied, it was all so different.

Stretching in a luxurious, deliberate and slow fashion, she glanced across the room, the other bed was empty, obvious the young lovers had found somewhere more exclusive to spend the night. Not that Carly cared really. This was a big day for her, and she wasn't going to let concern over her missing room mate influence that.  

After a quick shower she headed down to the foyer. She needed some breakfast and wasn't sure how or where she could find any. There was so much that she hadn't found out the previous day in her excitement of arriving there. The large reception desk that flanked the whole of one wall was deserted, so she waited anxiously for someone to appear. Finally a head emerged from below the level of the desk, a familiar buzz cut that uncoiled to reveal a full height of well over six feet. Those penetrating brown eyes staring at her in the same way they had the previous evening. Lucas.

"Hi..." she offered awkwardly.

"There are staff elevators and stair cases. Staff do not attend this desk." He didn't scowl, but it wasn't far away, and she was irked by the air of authority as he looked down his nose at her.

Carly groaned inside, the last thing she needed was animosity from him, or to do the wrong thing. "I've just arrived, I don't know any etiquette here, I don't need you giving me a hard time because I disturbed your night of passion last night. I want breakfast, can you tell me where a member of staff gets that meal, or do I have to phone one of the managers and explain how unhelpful the staff here are?"

Carly almost stunned herself. She'd never been assertive in her life, but suddenly she realised that this was a new life for her, she could be who she wanted to be. And she wanted to be in control of her destiny...for a change. No body knew as the meek unassuming girl from her home town, she was here and she could shape her own destiny.

Lucas was smiling wryly, "it bites! OK. I'll remember that. The staff restaurant is in the furthest corner of the basement, near to the kitchens. You can get there via the back stairs." He gestured across the foyer.

Giving a dazzling smile and a snappy, "thank you SO much for your help!" She turned on her heel, feeling ten foot tall. 

The staff canteen was a windowless room but already at half seven it was full of various members of the hotel staff, some dressed in the white shirt and blue suited uniform of reception and the bars and restaurants, then there were the ski and snow board tutors all dressed in salopettes and ski wear emblazoned with the crest of the resort. She had no uniform as yet, but presumed she'd be kitted out in the red polo shirts that some of the other people in the canteen wore. 

Selecting cereal and toast from a large cart at the centre of the room, and a large mug of strong black filter coffee, an essential item to start her day, she headed for a quiet corner of the room. 

From her seat she could observe the comings and goings of the resort,  and the interactions between certain members of the staff. It was amazing how much you could glean from just observing discreetly. As she was about to leave, a tall dark haired man appeared at the door and immediately the room started to buzz with excitement.  He could only be described as pretty with his blue eyes and perfect features, but he had a charisma, a charm and a confidence that told her he was admired by both the men and the women.

He grinned as his eyes moved lazily around the room, acknowledging everyone who had recognised him and waved. Carly knew he was someone both influential and popular, it seemed he was hero worshipped. She knew his eyes would meet hers soon, so she dropped her attention back to her breakfast.

After finishing her cornflakes, Carly then drained her coffee mug. She had twenty minutes before the meeting with Danica, she liked being early, so she stood and emptied her dishes into the containers in the corner as she'd observed others do. 

Danica's office was on the first floor in the Management Suite, and the older woman was sat behind a desk when Carly was shown to her office. Glancing up Danica smiled, "hey, I like people who are early!"

"I'm happy to hang around until nine if you're busy." Carly immediately had so much respect for this woman, she was the epitome of all that Carly wanted to be. Successful, independent, but also so accommodating, understanding. She'd sought Carly out the previous day to welcome her, make her feel at home. She had no obligation, but Carly already knew that Danica was the sort of woman who went the extra mile. She'd noted that as a desirable attribute, she wanted this move to catapult her on to bigger and better things. 

Again she smiled, "not at all, come in and sit down. There's so much red tape when new staff start." As Carly came into the office, Danica busied herself stacking the various forms needed before she could work, or more importantly get paid.

Danica was brilliant, telling her everything she needed to know, from holiday allowance to how to get to the airport, Carly jotted everything in a small note book, knowing that she'd never remember everything. 

Two hours later after the paperwork, the guided tour and the allocation of uniform, Carly was finally shown into the creche. Today the suite of rooms were filled with children. Four were painting in overalls far too big for them. Two slightly older boys kicked a football against a goal net that was painted on one of the walls, more sat near the doll house and played with the dolls and mini furniture, then she finally saw a few adults, spaced through the room. When they sensed Danica enter the room, one of the women stood up wiping paint from her hands and crossed the room. She was beaming from ear to ear, 

"Hi Danica! This must be Carly?" Carly nodded a reply and shook the extended hand offered. "I'm Rochelle! I'm the team leader here in the creche. Can I show you around?"

Danica smiled then disappeared leaving Carly in Rochelle's capable hands. She was a matronly woman, petite in height but rather curvaceous.  Her accent was French and as she led Carly across to the desk in the corner of the room, she started to explain that she'd worked in the creche for six years, her husband was a local to the resort and ran a bar in the town centre. 

They sat at the desk and talked policy and protocol for a few hours, Carly learned there were eight hour shift patterns, with ranging starts and finishes, and scheduling in some weekends. The children were booked in advance usually and the staff rota depended on numbers, but there was a basic shift pattern, fortunately whilst she had to work some weekends, the creche closed at six, and she would never work evenings. Interestingly she was also entitled to free lift passes and ski hire if she wanted it, but only after the residents had taken their equipment. 

So as she turned to a group of three year olds wanting to make fairy wings, she smiled to herself. There was absolutely nothing negative about this job...so far.

They only had a ten minute break for lunch, so Carly was more than grateful to finish her shift at five pm. Taking the back stairs she jogged the four flights of stairs to the staff accommodation, glad to stretch her legs and get her heart racing after hours stuck in one room. The sun was starting to set and it was already starting to get dark, but the glow of the remaining light hitting the snow outside meant that a bright glow still illuminated the shoe box as she closed the door behind her. 

The opposite bed had been tidied and the duvet was straightened. But there was no sign of the mysterious Camilla. Carly was tired, her plans for the evening involved dinner, then a call to her folks, then sleep. Sad as it was that was all she could muster. 

She'd heard her room mate come in, but her alarm clock had told her it had been well after midnight. Carly had rolled over and fallen back asleep. There was a time and place for meeting her roomie, and now was neither. 

The next morning Carly woke before her alarm. It was a beautiful sunny morning, she wondered if she'd ever get used to living in this winter wonderland. In the walking boots she'd hastily bought prior to coming here, and several layers of clothing, she headed out for a little exploration. 

The resort was a small walk from the town centre, though it wasn't much of a town. Without the skiing she could imagine it would be a ghost town, but instead, already at this early hour, the ski wear shops, the cafes were all starting to open. People were making for the routes up to the slopes despite it being a while until the ski lifts opened. Carly spotted a small cafe that seemed a little less busy than the others, so she made for there and sat in the window. 

Ordering bread and various jams, she sipped at her coffee as she waited. Carly had always loved people watching, and now here, with her anonymity, she could do so undetected. It almost made up for the loneliness the first two days had left her with.   She so desperately wanted this opportunity to work, partly because it had always been her ambition, and partly because people almost expected her to return with her tail between her legs after not very long,  that she couldn't even bring herself to admit that she missed home. Last night she'd had a text from Jo, her best mate from home, but couldn't brig herself to answer it. She had nothing really to tell. A bit like Dick Whittington thinking that London's streets were paved in gold, she'd honestly believed that a new life would appear the second she stepped off the aeroplane. It hadn't worked that way at all.

Rochelle was such a wonderful woman, she was, Carly guessed, maybe ten years older than Carly's twenty five years, but she had a mothering hen side to her that instantly relaxed Carly. She ran the nursery in a very orderly fashion, everything was tabulated or timed, without being rigid. Carly loved her work. As the end of the day approached, Rochelle and Marta, the two women working with her for most of the day, called her over.

"We're going to one of the bars tonight, will you meet us?"

Carly looked up from her seat, cross-legged on the floor, "that sounds good. Where and when?"

Both women lived in the town, and they named a bar, describing where it was in relation to landmarks that she already knew. They were planning to meet at eight. Perfect for her.

The resort was on the fringe of a village that sat at the bottom of the maze of ski runs that flanked this section of the Alps. A few miles down the valley was a much bigger town. Most tourists lived there and either drove or got a bus to the base of the mountains, that was part of what gave the resort it's exclusivity, it's proximity to the lush snow that these holiday makers craved. It did however mean that she had to trek the few miles down to the town, via the winding snowy roads. 

So after dinner, she was dressing for a night out in her room when the door opened and the now infamous Camilla stood there.

"Hi!" she offered rather snippily. But Cary decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Hi! Sorry we haven't had chance to meet properly, I've been a bit hectic, you know settling in?"

Camilla nodded, "you're creche?"

She could tell by the tone of her voice that she thought it as definitely a lesser job, she probably worked in the spa or beauty parlour. Carly chastised herself, her mother would be furious if she knew she was being so judgemental. 

"Well officially child care, yep. It's fun." She lowered herself back on to the bed and looked up at the other girl. It was the first time she'd seen her in day light and she was amazed. She'd never seen so one look so immaculate. Her hair was cascading in long blond curls around her shoulders, her skin appeared to have been exposed to tropical sun very recently, and her eyes were circled in dark kohl, mascara, and her cheeks enhanced by dark blush. "What about you?"

Carly couldn't imagine any other job that Camilla could possibly do, she wasn't a chef, barmaid or ski instructor, that was for sure.

"I'm an office manager." 

It made sense, Lucas, her. She nodded, "sounds great."

Turning her head, she checked her hair in the mirror,  and then fastened her shoes. She was about to leave the room when she had second thoughts, turning to Camilla she smiled, "sorry we hit it off badly. It'd be so much easier to share this room if we're friends." Then with a beaming smile she left Camilla looking rather flummoxed. As she strode down the corridor she couldn't lose the smile, it was definitely two nil to her.