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Cheaper by the Dozen Meets Random Encounter at Hilltop Plaza

by: Mardline Prevot 

Logo of Hilltop Plaza 

Happy Birthday to the one and only King of Pop, Michael Jackson. While y'all are probably blasting "Thriller" or "Billie Jean," I'm out here on a whole other vibe, fighting for my life at the Beauty 4 U. A queen needs her hair elastics for this fall internship grind, you feel me?

I swear, the universe was trying to tell me something today. I walk in, and Blondie's "The Tide Is High" is playing. My brain immediately goes into a movie montage. I'm picturing some dude getting frisked for cash like it's a 90s action flick, and I'm just here for the drama. Then, like a switch, "Dreamin'" by Vanessa Williams comes on. I’m thinking, "Wait, am I the main character in a rom-com now? Is this a sign that I'm about to live my best life?"

Then reality hits me like a rogue bus. I push open the door to a back room, and the water inside is... brown. Like, a horror movie, swamp-water brown. It literally reminded me of Barbancourt, but make it spooky and with wood chips. Like, what is even happening in Bowie, MD? Outside, it’s Mardi Gras, but inside, it's a whole other chaotic mess.

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, a stranger from my department starts getting on my nerves. After everything I went through to land this internship, some person thinks they can come at me with their privilege? Please. I'm a first-generation college student, and I say that with my whole chest. My intelligence, my hustle, my sheer force of will got me here. Not my parents' degrees. So, if you're out here tryna make me feel small, you've got the wrong one.

At this point, I'm over it. Over everyone. This first week is a write-off, and I'm sticking with the real ones. We want two things and two things only: to get that 'A' and to party. That's it. No more distractions. I'm channeling my inner Tupac Shakur and leaving the colonized mindset people in the dust. My vibe is my vibe, and if you can't get with it, then you can't sit with me.

What's the wildest thing that's happened to you on your first day of school or a new job? Tell me I'm not the only one.




























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