"Johnathan! Table Two needs a refill!!" A coworker told me as he entered the kitchen, carrying a tray laden with empty plates.
"Coffee or Tea!?" I asked, grabbing a tray of my own.
"Coffee, and check on Table Five while you're at it!"
"Got it..." I replied as I carefully placed a pot of coffee on the tray, along with a bowl of sugar cubes and a jug of milk.
"Steady there..." The Owner, Charlie Simmons told me as I rushed by, I gave him a nod before walking towards the dining area.
"Ten more minutes till the next shift!!" I heard him announce, and inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
I was used to hard work and pushing myself to my absolute limit but there was something about crowds, the general din around them, that put me off.
I hadn't exactly been a very sociable person previously, and I wasn't planning on making any drastic changes in that aspect of myself, aside from trying to increase my tolerance limit by a bit.
Seeing as I wasn't planning on following the same path, I needed to improve my people skills, which was one of the reasons I'd decided on working part-time here.
What did I mean by here you ask?? Well... Remember the restaurant I passed by during my mad dash?? Yeah, same place.
Why this one in particular??
Let's just say that this place would earn quite the... reputation later on, and I wanted to make sure I'd be there at the time.
So here I was, serving a group of office workers a fresh pot of coffee and offering them a few pleasantries before making a swift retreat.
"You're doing well..." Charlie commented as I walked back towards the kitchens.
"Thanks" I answered as I replaced the coffee pot and milk in turn "I'll be taking my leave then..." I declared, seeing as it was already Seven in the evening.
"Alright, see you tomorrow," he said before turning back to the stove, a new order had just come in.
I grinned, Charlie in addition to being the Owner was also Head Chef, the guy was a complete workaholic. It was easy to see that cooking was his passion, but aside from that, nothing much else was known about him.
Even those of us who'd been working here longest, knew not of his personal life, assuming the hulking middle-aged man even had one.
Many had already come to a conclusion that he didn't, for the very rarely ventured outside 'Ever present and always in his chef Uniform,' those would be the words I'd use if I were to describe our Charlie.
The Restaurant's general Uniform consisted of a long-sleeved black shirt and black pants, atop which either an apron or a vest was worn depending on whether you were part of the Kitchen or Serving crew.
"You heading home??" Someone asked me, just I was done changing.
"Yeah... School day tomorrow" I answered, "Plus I got the months' review coming up next week..."
"Aw, that's a shame... We were thinking of hitting this place where they got good pizza for cheap"
"Perhaps another time..." I gave him an apologetic grin, as I walked out of the room.
It was only my second week here (I'd waited for a week after school started before applying for the job) I worked the evening shift, which started at four and ended around seven. The timings fit right in with my schedule, seeing as school ended at three and dinner at home usually began at eight.
Night had already set in, but I wasn't heading home just yet, I was planning on making a stop at the store and getting myself a phone.
With my current earnings added to the pocket money I'd managed to save up so far, I had just enough to afford a relatively decent model. Mobile phones at this time though not scarce, weren't exactly commonplace, so shops that sold them were numbered.
'I wonder if she's still mad at me??' I mused, walking out of the store with my new phone in hand 'Maybe I'll go look for her after my review'
A week had already passed since the incident, but contrary to my expectations Alisha hadn't come looking for me 'Did I end up making her hate me??'
The weird thing was, a small part of me was actually hoping that it turned out that way 'She'd be safe, I could watch over her from a distance and...' I smiled bitterly 'Yeah right' the very thought of her with someone else 'Talk about being hypocritical...' I sighed.
I was passing by a supermarket just then 'Hmm... Might as well' I stopped by the vending machine and bought myself a can of cold coffee.
The glass doors of the supermarket slid open and two people, whom I assumed to be mother and daughter, walked out. The vending machine was fairly close to the entrance that I overheard most of their conversation.
"Momma!! Momma!! I'm hungry!!" the girl, who looked to be around seven complained, her hand firmly holding on to the latter's.
"We'll have dinner right after we get home" the mother replied, I couldn't see her face clearly since her left hand was so laden with grocery bags.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Awww..." the girl's mood immediately disheartened.
"Just a few minutes..." the mother told her kindly "Once we get home, Momma will make Amy whatever she wants!!"
"Really!!" her voice immediately brightened "Promise!?"
"Really... So will Amy wait patiently until then??"
"Yes!!"
Hit by a sudden bout of hunger in turn, I tuned out the rest of their conversation and unceremoniously chugged down the rest of my coffee 'I hope Mom's made stew!!' and my stomach rumbled in anticipation.
"Let's go, Momma!!" hardly had I turned homewards, that I saw the little girl pull on her mother's arm, in an attempt to hasten her.
"Wait, Amy...!" caught by surprise the mother stumbled, she managed to steady herself luckily, but in the process, dislodged a carton of eggs from the bag.
I reacted reflexively, by the time I came to my senses, I was already standing next to them with the carton in hand "Here you go–" I started only with my mind to suddenly go blank.
'No way...' I was finally able to get a good look at the mother, and almost gaped at her in surprise.
The person in front of me was dressed in a loose off shoulder pink sweater, under which she wore a white spaghetti top, finished with a cream colored long skirt.
She had instinctively begun backing away from me, no doubt taken aback at the sudden turn of events, but the moment my gaze met hers she froze in place.
Her hair was tied up in an unruly ponytail and she wasn't wearing her usual glasses, she'd even managed to change her way of speech but one good look at those hazel eyes, and I was convinced beyond a shadow of doubt "Good evening Ms. Keen..."
My homeroom teacher stiffened but remained silent, and taking my natural talent for worsening awkward situations into account, I wisely chose to do the same.
The silence pertained for a while until a small head peeked from behind Ms. Keen's skirt "Momma..." Amy's gaze curiously flicked between the two of us, I noted that her hair was the same shade as Ms. Keen's but other than that, the two shared no other similarities.
"Momma!! I want pasta for dinner..." the little girl promptly declared, before her gaze refocused on me "I haven't seen you before... Who are you?? Do you know my Momm—"
"Amy!!" Ms. Keen suddenly gave her a stern glance "You're being rude!!"
"But Momma looks scared..." Amy gave her wronged expression "I thought he was a bad person since Momma didn't thank him for helping us"
"Ah..." Ms. Keen's expression suddenly turned embarrassed "I..."
'Oi oi... What happened to that calm and mature attitude of yours?!' I wondered.
"It's alright Ms. Keen..." I decided to cut in, sparing her of any further embarrassment "I understand, you don't have to worry" I stated, hoping that she would get the underlying meaning behind my words.
"Johnathan...Thank you" she finally said with a smile, truth be told I was quite surprised that she remembered my name (Our class had over sixty people)
"You're very welcome" I replied as I gave her a grin, though inwardly I chided her 'You're way to trusting Ms. Keen!!'
"I was wrong, you're not a bad person... you're really nice!!" Amy suddenly chirped in, giving me a smile.
"And you're one smart, little girl!!" I gave her a grin.
"I'm not little!!" she protested.
"Oh??" I pretended to be surprised "But to me, you look no older than five!!"
"I'm seven!!"
"Oh, so you're four??"
"Seven!!" she immediately left her mother's side and made her way towards mine, protesting all the way "I'm seven... I'm seven... I'm seven... I'm seven!!"
"Okay, okay" I hastily relented, ruffling her hair lightly.
"Amy..." Ms. Keen called "It's getting late, didn't you want Momma to make you dinner??"
"That right!! Let's go!!" she suddenly reached for my free hand "Mister you come too!! Momma's pasta is the best!!"
"Ah, about that see..." I began "I have a few things to do back home since tomorrow–"
"You don't want to??" Amy hit me with the all-powerful 'puppy dog' stare.
'Critical Hit!! Fortifications crumbling!! Red alert, red alert!!" alarms blared in my mind, I gave Ms. Keen a desperate glance "The reviews are coming up so–"
"Oh, I see... " Those hazel eyes of hers suddenly seemed to lose some of their luster, the disappointment clearly evident in her voice.
'... Gimme a break!!' I inwardly complained.
"Amy..." she started "Perhaps another–"
"Alright..." I could only sigh in defeat "As long as it's not a bother"
"No bother at all" Ms. Keen immediately assured, giving me a bright smile which was almost identical to Amy's.
"I'll have to give my folks a heads up fist..." I stated, wordlessly reaching for the grocery bags in her arm, having already placed the egg carton within one of them "My phone's new so the number hadn't been activated yet" I explained, "So is it alright if we stop–"
"You can use mine..." Ms. Keen handed me a flip phone, similar in design to my own, only white instead of black.
I gratefully accepted and made a quick call to my father, automatically switching to another language.
"Thanks..." I said as I returned her phone, utilizing the moment to fully admire her form, now that my vision wasn't inhibited.
"We... well... It's getting late so, we'd better start off!!" she abruptly turned around and walked towards the parking lot, leading a bewildered Amy by the hand.
I could've sworn I saw her face redden, but since the parking wasn't well lit, I had no proof to back me up.
She then proceeded to ignore me completely 'Talk about being childish...' I inwardly chuckled.
----------------------------------------
"Thank you..." Sandra's voice suddenly broke the silence in the car.
"What are you thanking me for??" I asked, "Shouldn't it be the other way around??"
She'd insisted on driving me back home after dinner, which by the way was delicious (Gotta agree with Amy there) I tried protesting, but this was one argument I just couldn't win.
"I meant about Amy..." she gave me a smile, the little girl was fast asleep by the time we'd left.
"You never asked about her father" she ran a hand through her beautiful hair, tucking it behind her ear "You were careful not even approach the subject, you didn't even ask me why I didn't want anyone to know..."
"It wasn't my place" I replied simply, which earned me a laugh on her part, though it contained very little mirth.
"You really don't act your age..." Sandra stated we'd already gone from being a 'student' and 'teacher' to something more along the line of 'friends'
"I'll take that as a compliment..." I replied with a sheepish grin "It's the next right... The second last house on the left" I informed, it was well past nine at this point and the roads here were practically empty, except for the occasional patrol car.
Given that, our houses weren't exactly far apart, to begin with, and the current circumstances, the journey barely lasted fifteen minutes.
Sandra parked a little way away from my house, a tactful move on her part, and the car's engine was soon turned off.
I showed no signs of leaving, I could tell from her expression that she wanted to say something, but she seemed to be facing an internal conflict.
Since leaving wasn't an option, I could only be patient and wait until she came to a decision.
"John..." she finally began, her voice barely over a whisper "Well, the... the thing is" she took in a deep breath "What I want to say is... it's about Amy" each word seemed to cause her physical pain "... She... She isn't my actual daughter"