6. My Sister Monique

Monique is my sister, not biologically, she’s my cousin. According to what my grandma said, maybe my great grandpa and Monique’s great grandpa shared a same grandpa, it was too far for her to describe, but in a word, we have the same ancestor. We were quite close, like biological sisters. She just finished the National College Entance Exam in the summer of 2012. We got in touch when I was back home from school and acknowledged she had a job at West Street as well.

Monique worked at a bar on West Street called Solo from 6pm to 2am, 500 meters away from where I worked. Our shifts were totally staggered, so I got to meet her a lot during her shift. Not like most bars featuring loud and rock music, people went to Solo bar to drink and listen to some light music.

As a waitress, Monique’s job was not that busy. She took orders from the guests and served them with drinks, beers and alcohol. And she could listen to music, that’s the part Monique favored most about the job. The reason she went to work at Solo was that there’s a singer she liked, the singer was Bug. She liked him very much since she first listened to him sing on West Street. She asked Bug what’s the name of the song he sang and he replied. Not long after, they became colleagues. Isn’t that fantastic? Listen to the singer you like sing every night.

After her shift was over, Monique would go to the rooftop bar on West Street to drink a cup or two, so she could make friends with the tourists having fun there. Many foreigners liked to go to the rooftop bar. The drink there was quite affordable, cheaper than most bars. The guests there were young, so were the waiters. Monique is very good at making friends. She’s a person to get along with,  a good listener, always wears this big smile on her face. I admired her spirit, always so brave and does what she wants following her heart no matter what. She made a lot of friends that summer and that became a valuable part of her life.

We shared what was going on and what was bothering us on work when we met. As a matter of fact, I was the one who always complained. I’d complain my colleagues, my supervisor, the guests and everything. As I see it, I suppose I was just being pretentious at that time. She lived at the bar she worked, as free as a bird. While I stayed at my aunt’s in town, I’d shut myself in the room after dinner and shower, I had no on to talk to. So I told Monique verything when I had the chance. And what I got from her was always interesting people and intriguing stories. You will like Monique for her character if you meet her.