"So, what happened?" a girl's voice asked in wonder, with a hint of fury in the expression on her face.

"What do you think, Dee?" Reina claimed while running her fingers along the side of her face to place a few stray hair behind her ears. "She's taking out the cost of the broken glasses and pitcher from my paycheck"

"How much?"

Reina sighed and her friend knew the answer to her question. "Rei, you can't let her take advantage of you like this!" Deanna Thompson lectured. "She cannot treat you like this! All you have to do is report her to the ministry and...and..."

"And what, Dee? She can push a few buttons on her cell phone and call up her deal old powerful daddy as she gets off the hook and continue to make my life a living hell? I don't think so!" Reina cried out desperately. "I'm so...I'm so sick of this, Dee! I'm so sick of this kind of lifestyle. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! It wasn't supposed to be like this!" her voice trembled as she tried as hard as she could to fight off her tears and prevent herself from crying.

"I know," Deanna comforted. "And you know what?" someday, it will be better for you! I promise!"

"Yeah right!"

"I'm serious, Rei! Someday you will have a life on the other side. Someday, your luck will change and you will get the happiness that you deserve! And then you can go and get that degree of yours and get a job that respects you and you will hold your head up high and you will remember this conversation right here and you will realize that I was right; that I was always right!" Deanna said in a solemn but genuine voice. "You'll see! And Hailey will see, and the people that ever doubted you will see, and the rest of the world will see!"

Reina looked up at her friend that was smiling on her. "Thanks, Dee!" she smiled back while wiping away her tears and clearing her voice.

"Now let's get out of here!" Deanna winked. "I'm starting to feel like the smell of this joint is beginning to soak into my pores!" she claimed as the two of them were sent into a roar of laughter and began to stand from the greasy booth they sat at and began to head out the door.

Reina grabbed her purse as she began to go on a scavenger hunt inside for the keys to her car that sometime seemed more like a box with four wheels than an actual vehicle. "Rei, watch out," Deanna called out from behind.

Reina jerked her head back to look at her friend, "What did you....ooohh!!" she grunted as her purse were sent to the ground and she leapt a few inches back from where she stood as she ran into someone. "Twice in one day!" she grunted as she automatically knelt down on the ground to pick up her belongings.

"We have to stop meeting like this," a casual voice called out. Reina tilted her head upwards to find Nick standing in front of her with a boyish grin plastered on his face. He knelt down with her, "Let me help you with that, seeing as how this was...well how about we say this was your fault this time around so we can call it even, between you and me?" he smiled at her, looking straight into her eyes.

"Uh...uhm...uh..." Reina stammered and choked in her own words.

"Do you remember me?" Nick chuckled, unable to hold his interest in the character in front of him that resembled more of a comic relief more so than anything else.

"Uh...uhm...uh..." Reina continued to stammer

"Do you say anything else other than 'uh...uhm...uh?'" Nick laughed once more as he handed Reina her purse and got up, holding out his hand for her to hold on to.

Reina ignored the offer to help her up and stood up as she tried to fix her messed up hair and straighten herself up. She gazed up at him, as if in tranced by him, with mouth wide open.

So, you didn't get into too much trouble from today, did you uh...I'm sorry I didn't catch your name"

"Reina!" Deanna interrupted as Reina started to stammer once more. "Her name is Reina...Reina Reves"

"Reina Reves?" Nick smiled. "Queen of dreams"

"Pa...par...par...pardon?" Reina finally managed to utter out

"Your name...Reina means 'queen' in spanish and Reves means 'dreams' in french, so queen of dreams, that's what your name means," Nick stated, the smile on his face not fading away

"Oh," Reina gazed with a hint of confusion

"Alright then," Nick sighed while shifting his eyes side to side. "I uhm...well it was...interesting bumping into you...again!" he smiled while patting her real quickly on her shoulder. "See you around!" and with that, he walked past both Reina and Deanna and headed for the cash counter of the small diner.

"Since when do you stutter?" Deanna questioned as the two of them continued to exit the diner and headed for the parking lot, with Deanna giving Reina the twenty questions.