Chapter II Sisley’s first day at Cargo City South from the book Airways – I’m not in Hollywood
Sisley takes off to London for her exams. Wednesday a quarter to ten she sits in front of the university staircase, smoking a cigarette when her Phone rings. Sisley looks at the display the phone number of her charming boss, Riveri lights up. She answers the phone. ”Sisley, is it you, where are you? I’m in the office now, when do you come in? I called for the last two days but you did not answer the phone?” Riveri keeps wondering.
“Riveri? I’m in London I got my examen in fifteen minutes, this was agreed! You signed the holiday sheet and we talked about it, remember?” Sisley talks in a hurry.
“Oh, well, you’re in London, you got your exams then kick-ass it, see you next week.” Riveri immediately replies.
”Sure, I’ll do my best. See you next week Riveri.” Sisley replies and puts the phone down. She can hardly believe this was really her boss, asking where she is.
Taking a deep inhale of her cigarette, blowing out the smoke, she’s shaking her head. Two girls and a guy are having a fag, too, next to Sisley, now looking over to Sisley. “My boss, Riveri. Asking where I am? Today it’s Wednesday? He realized after two days I wasn’t in the office, great! This guy? Unbelievable!” Sisley shouts out. They all laugh out loud.
The class starts and Sisley gets in the classroom. She got her media module exams and gets well on with them. Two hours later she’s done and walks over to the café Nero. Some more guys from her university from her media studies, graphics, and business studies are hanging out there. Sisley joins the group. Lee, Kimberly, Tony. ”This was quite interesting questions, wasn’t it? I could have written a whole book about this present Hughe’s scandal, but time was too short.“ Tony states.
“I went to the BBC Organization. I had my training there for six months so this was easy to describe for me, have you heard about this Atkins reporter? They kicked him out, lately. A recording came out lately, one from his Voicemail where he was shouting about a caller this f…. asshole and they had made it public.” Lee reports.
“It’s amazing how such shit happens to those people, actually I liked his show, yeah actually a show about the dumbest caller is not what the caller wants to listen to, too. Maybe they should do something like the caller with the funniest voice that comes better on the radio.” Kimberly suggests.
“Yeah, that be cool, I love that listening to real serious stuff like news in a Dagobert duck voice,” Sisley replies.
“Yeah, I like that, too but some people really have funny voices, I just can’t help it.” Kimberly giggles and imitates some.
“Hey, you girls have great ideas, maybe we should start a project like that, what do you, think guys?” Tony asks.
“Yeah, that be cool, let’s do something together.” Kimberly agrees.
The hour break is over and the next examen starts, they all switch numbers then go back to the campus.
As a distance learning student, Sisley gets seated in any class. This time she’s placed into the Arabic class while she has to create some PR stuff for a campaign. She chooses one topic and starts working out the campaign. While the Arabic class has a test including a dictate. The teacher starts reading a paper in the Arabic language shouting out loud. After fifteen minutes he asks: “Sisley, is this okay for you, can you concentrate on your exams? Sorry, I forgot you are working on some real heavy stuff on your exams.” Ali, the Arabic teacher is asking.
“Oh, Ali and you realize that now that she needs to concentrate, after 15 minutes?” A guy from the second-row comments.
“Sounded to me like you’re upset about something, so I didn’t want to interrupt you. Ah, but that was Arabic?” Sisley jokes. They all laugh.
“Okay, it’s only five minutes more anyway and we’re done,” Ali replies.
*
Back in Germany, Sisley has another exciting day in the office with nothing to do. She goes for a break with the receptionist and starts talking about her London trip, Riveri’s smart call and some other London stories. De Rick’s office door is open. He is sitting at his desk. De Rick can’t hide his interest in Sisley and how he fancies her. He smiles at her and winks her in. “So, do you have any plans for tonight?”
“I’m going to the gym after work and I got a logo design to do. But sure, it’s Thursday night I got to go out! Do you have plans for tonight?”
“No, I don’t go out much here, I’ve told you that only when my boss is asking I join him but we go only to that one place here at the airport.” De Rick replies.
“Do you know Hanauer Landstraße? They have a really nice rooftop bar, have you been there?” Sisley suggests.
“No, but yes, that rooftop bar sounds good to me. I Would like to go there for a drink tonight after work or your Gym?” De Rick asks.
“Sounds, good,” Sisley replies and agrees. “I pick you up at eight o’clock, that’s okay?” He suggests.
“Yes, that’s great, so see you tonight,” Sisley replies and makes her way out winking at de Rick, while one of his other female admires enters his office.
Eight o’clock Sisley is in her flat, she has just finished her logo design for a woman’s fitness club, three sporty women and the text mark in a bright magenta with the words shape. The design looks damn cool. A weeping sound on Sisley’s phone an SMS from De Rick he’ll be a half hour late. Sisley thinks “great” so she got some more time to get dressed up, she puts some makeup on, chooses her favourite three-quarter length jeans and a black silk top finally puts on her favourite sandals that she had bought on her latest London trip.
Arrived at the rooftop bar. All the glamorous people are enjoying cocktails. De Rick and Sisley walk through the crowd to the bar at the end to get a Hugo’s, the summer cocktail of the year, a mix of elderflower, white wine and champagne. They slowly move over towards the dance floor. “So, this is where the jet-set parties?” de Rick asks.
“Jet set? Well if you call it jet-set?”
De Rick smiles at her “Yes, jet-set people who are one week in a city like London and the next day standing, on a roof-top in the next city like Frankfurt. Just like you do. Didn’t you just come from London and are you just standing on a rooftop in Frankfurt, partying?” de Rick reviews Sisley’s travel agenda from the previous week and makes his definition of jet-set visible to her.
She smiles “Well, if you say so, yes, that’s where we party here in Frankfurt.”
A couple comes over. The guy approaches Sisley. “You two look like honest people. Could you have a look at our bag? We want to spend a little time on the dancefloor.” Both agree and they keep an eye on the couple’s bag.
“Oh, no one has that ever said to me before. That must be your look, Sisley, so trustworthy.” De Rick comments.
“Oh, I look trustworthy, do I? I thought I look like you might want to commit some crimes, tonight, don’t you?” She asks and moves her hips to the rhythm and smiles at de Rick.
“Yes, you do look so innocent but maybe I am wrong.” He smiles and comes a little closer towards Sisley and both swing to the rhythm of the night. “It’s really a great location here, I don’t see this normally, the only thing I see is the airport.” De Rick is impressed by the city’s skyline.
“And you don’t go out once in a while with your mate Rob?” Sisley asks.
”Yeah, we do but we only go to the restaurant near the airport.” De Rick explains.
The couple returns. “Thank you very much, you are really nice guys. It’s great when you are around people that you can trust like that.” The guy offers the two another drink and they have some small talk. “Yes, we just came from Bali today, so it’s a great place for overcoming your jet lag but now it’s time to get some sleep, so we wish you a nice evening. Bye,” the couple says.
“It was nice meeting you, good night.” De Rick and Sisley shake hands with the two.
“Whatever was in the bag, I hope it was legal and they did not rob a bank. When someone talks so bold about trustworthy people this gets one suspicious, doesn’t it?” De Rick jokes.
Sisley laughs. “Yes, that’s true, but you talked bold about my trustworthiness, too, so you must think I’m a thief, do you?“ Sisley spins his theory.
“Well, I don’t know if you want to follow the couple, who knows where we end up?” de Rick keeps joking and pulls Sisley a little closer who replies.
“Well, I’m good where I am right now and, yes, it’s a wonderful night being around such beautiful people.” Sisley has finished her Hugo’s and the two make their way to the dance floor.
“Jet set as I say, they came from Bali, you came from London just last weekend, so how was it, you were so excited yesterday when you were talking to the receptionist talking about London, what did you do so special there, no one would be so excited about exams, would you?”
Sisley smiles. “Yes, exams were quite good so far, my charming “boss call” did I tell you about? After two days he’d realized I wasn’t in the office for two days, so he called me on my mobile when I told him I was in London doing my exams.” Sisley tells her story.
“He realized after two days that you didn’t show up?!” He bursts out in laughter. “He’s such an idiot!” De Rick states. “Anything else? Come on you girls always talk about the guys don’t you?” he asks teasing Sisley a little.
“Do we? You talk about all the girls, like the waitress, receptionist and who else you were seeing, that’s why we have to talk the same kind of stuff, that’s what you think?” Sisley tries to slow down on an answer.
“Oh, come on you girls talk the same way about us as we do about girls.” He plays on her.
“Maybe?” Sisley questions.
“So, it’s something I shouldn’t know about?” He asks and says: “Okay!”
“No! What do you want to know, just ask me? But maybe we should make our way to the door now, we got to go to work early tomorrow.” Sisley brings in.
De Rick smiles. “Ah, you are trying to escape my question, I have to be in by twelve only, so, we still got time.”
“Yeah, but I have to be in early I got this presentation to do.” Sisley explains.
“Ah, okay, let’s go, it’s the quarterly result, that silly stuff is it? I have to do that, too! But I will wait till Tom calls me to do it otherwise I will tell him on Sunday I have no time to do it, he should have told me earlier.” And he smiles like a dog with two tails.
“Oh that’s you’re strategy, is it?!”
“Saves me work and I can use my time for better things. Drinking coffee with you, for example.” He smiles.
Sisley and De Rick leave the roof terrace taking the lift down. The lift-boy is nicking with his head and comments. “Looks like you guys had a good night, you’re looking good guys!” Both smile.
“Yes, definitely worth coming back here.” De Rick replies.
They walk over to the car taking the drive back to Sisley’s apartment.
”Wow, you really know where to go out, I’m impressed, it was a great night, I did not know you have a place like that here in Frankfurt.” De Rick is impressed.
“So, you enjoyed that evening?” Sisley smiles. “Me too.” She confesses. De Rick stops the car in front of Sisley’s flat.
“It was a really great night, we should do that again.” De Rick suggests. “It’s the perfect summer night, yes we should go out together again.” Sisley agrees. She kisses De Ricks cheek and gets out of the car. “Bye, De Rick, see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Sisley, see you.”
Sisley walks up to her apartment. The first thing she does taking off her shoes once she’s in the living room area. She goes over to the fridge, taking a sip from the grapefruit juice bottle. Her mobile phone rings. “Sisley?” It’s De Ricks voice softly calling her name.
“Yes, De Rick is it you?” Sisley is surprised.
“Yes.” De Rick keeps his soft voice.
“Anything wrong?” Sisley wonders.
“No, hmm, I would like to ask you something but I don’t know if you would want that?” He stumbles.
Read the full story here Airways – I’m not in Hollywood
Natalie Hush 