"Why did you feel sad when you dropped out of school?" I asked her with a serious look. "Hahahaha" she laughed, breaking the ice, "Hmmm....why?" Grandma asked me back immediately.
"To answer that question, shouldn't we first know what school means?" "Then what does school mean to you?" I asked with great curiosity.
"School is ...... hmmmm schoolhhh..... school is a place where everyone's heart is moved to be able to fulfill what they want to achieve, whatever it takes."
"When our hearts are set on a goal, we can suddenly become more emotional. Humans are naturally like that. But grandma thought, the sensation was very different when we were still teenagers."
"I miss school so much, the atmosphere, the smells, and the noise, they never change."
"But I also think school is a scary place, looking at the numbers written on the paper seems like it could be a nightmare, especially if it's red."
"I'm also always worried about how I'm going to get along with my friends... will it change me? Will it make you not recognize yourself?
I don't know, but as long as we're kind and caring, over time they'll think we're a good person, right? "Why do you have to struggle alone, when you have your friends by your side?
your friends?" Grandma's friend said."
"The brain and the heart cannot always run together, sometimes we will experience vacillation, deadlock, and also despair, this is where the use of a backrest, this is where the use of a pillow, when we are tired of our thoughts and feelings, that's where our friends are present. Friends are things that can penetrate the unexpected. hahahaha indeed
it doesn't always work that way, but believe me you are not alone."
"Wawawa, grandma suddenly became a lecture hahahahaha, sorry dean..." said grandma laughing "Grandma is not wrong really, sorry for my impolite question."
"Hahahaha it's okay. So, did you answer your question?"
"Yes, thanks Grandma," I replied smiling.
"Then it's my turn to ask." Grandma said.
"Ok, just ask." I said
"Have you gone to school yet?" Asked grandma
"Hmmmm.... not yet grandma, it's still the vacation period, what's wrong grandma?" I replied
I also continued to eat my asem asen buncis while thinking about her answer just now. She seemed to be very honest about her own feelings, unlike me who always hid them inside. Is that wrong? I don't know either. I honestly didn't believe what she said about the heart, I thought it was a joke and nonsense. Even in middle school I was ostracized and considered weird, they even set me up too. I didn't seem to have any self-respect. Is there anyone who wants to share my burden? But, grandma's words have a point too....
....
Plakkk.... "Ahhhhhhh.... deliciousaaaaa" I said contentedly
with my grandmother's cooking.
"Have you finished eating?" Grandma asked while smiling happily
"Already grandma, the bean paste is really good." "Hahahaha, you're happy too." she replied with a chuckle.
I stood up from the dining chair, took my plate and grandma's plate and brought them to the kitchen to wash.
Prsttttttttt, the sound of rushing tap water
"It's not usually this loud," I babbled in disbelief.
I started washing my plate first and the remaining. I threw the rest of the rice on my plate into the kitchen trash can, then I poured the plate with water, rinsed it with soap, poured it with water again, then dried it. I did the same thing with grandmother's plate, except that there was no rice left on the plate.
After washing the dishes I went back to the shop, took the break board and replaced it with an open board. Then I sat down on the wooden bench where I had eaten earlier. I looked at grandmother
who was continuing to sew a scarf for grandfather, she didn't stop smiling. Seeing her happy made me happy too. I leaned my body on the bench divider, raised my head, and my eyes looked up, seeing the roof of the house that was already dusty, there were spider webs in the corners of the roof and wood that had begun to erode. Seeing all these things, I closed my eyes and widened my mouth, until I realized that
"I'm smiling?" I said to myself.
"This is crazy... I'm really smiling..." I added Without realizing that my tears were flowing down to my chin, I opened my eyes and felt the amount of water that was held in my eyes.
"Am I crying?" I asked myself.
I looked at grandma who was gently knitting a scarf for grandpa, "He's happy... but why am I crying?". I said to myself.
I immediately wiped my tears with my shirt, "What's wrong? I'm a man, I'm not weak.... or maybe I am?" I said to myself. I immediately went to the sink to wash my face so that my eyes wouldn't look glassy. I looked at
myself in the glass of the sink and said "I'm ready!" I went back to Grandma's shop and saw that it was already 1:20pm.
"Time flies like lightning." I said to myself.
I quickly returned to my seat, picked up my bag and carried it on my right shoulder.
I approached my grandmother and told her, "Grandma, I'll go first."
She nodded her head and said to me, "life is like a light, someday you must be a lamp" she said, still focused on knitting. Then she turned to me and said "be careful on the road, dean." She said smiling
"Always, Grandma." I replied confidently.
I left her shop and started walking to my workplace. I worked at a cafe near my junior high school. It was the only place that would accept me as an employee there. I had been rejected almost 10 times for the same reason, not being old enough. I was tired by then, all the reasons I gave were always broken by my age. I was at a loss as to how I was going to live, I had no money, the savings I had accumulated were already very low
so I was very grateful when they accepted me to work at their cafe. Even so, they still gave me special rules because of my age. The boss said that I could only work twice a week from 2pm to 10pm. In addition, I wasn't allowed to deliver online orders and there was also a pay cut. Well, it's only natural that it's deducted, at least the salary I get can be used for a whole month.
"Huh..huh..huh..huh..huh... Sorry I'm late," I said, opening the cafe door hastily.
"Ha? Dean? What's wrong with you?" Tera said surprised by my condition.
"I'm late, sorry. I'll accept the consequences." I clarified my words while bowing my head.
"Dean... What the fuck, You broke through the heavy rain, you realize that right? What exactly happened to you, I don't understand."
"Ah, that's not important.
"YOU WERE RUNNING ON THE ROAD WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA IN THE POURING RAIN YOU IDIOT!!! What is it that make you say sorry to me? WHAT THE FUCK!!" Angry Tera snapped at me.
"Ee..hm..te..calm down..a..I..."
Tera approached me, pulling my collar forcefully to the back of the cafe, more precisely the cafe's staff toilet. he pushed me into the toilet. "Hurry up and take a shower right now."
"b.. but.. the cafe?"
"You don't want me to hit you, do you? Dipshit?" Tera said seriously looking at me.
"Ee..huhhh..fine" I said relenting.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"I can handle the cafe so hurry up and take a shower." Tera said as he left the staff restroom.
I closed the toilet door and took a shower. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked myself.
After finishing the shower
"It's still raining, isn't it?" I said while wearing a special cafe apron.
"Alright it's ready... time to work!" I added I started walking, every step I took sounded like it was asking me. Is Tera going to yell at me again? Is Tera still angry with me, or has he forgiven me? I'll accept whatever the consequences of my delay are, no matter how severe they are, because I promised. "Let this iron sliding door decide my fate." I sucked in as much breath as possible, slapped my cheeks, and closed my eyes.
"Yosh, let's go!" I said confidently.
I slid open the metal door, and quickly picked up the broom in the corner of the cafe, but it wasn't there. "Are you looking for this?" Tera asked.
"Ha? Broom, give me the broom, I'll clean up." I said with a bit of bravado
"I've already swept the cafe." replied Tera casually
"Then I'll just wipe the glass." I said while looking for a chamois
"Are you seriously wiping the glass in the pouring rain? Well whatever, but it looks like the thing you're looking for is attached to my hand." He said casually
"Alright then I'll..."
"Wipe the table?" Cut him
"Ha?" My reaction was shocked to see the vine in Tera's hand.
"Alright alright, what do you want?" I said relenting.
"Sit in front of me." Tera said.
I followed Tera's orders, sitting in the chair in front of him.
"Don't look down! Raise your head and look at me!" Tera ordered.
"I can't, especially after making you angry" I said honestly.
"You idiot! Fucking Hell" Tera said with a forced smile and a sigh.
"Drink the hot coffee." he said as he gave me his hot coffee.
"Eee... Thank you, I guess" I said a little worry.
"Is the burden of your life too heavy, 0ean?" Tera said with a sigh.
"You did something reckless this time, it's not a matter of you being able to handle it, but it's a matter of underestimating. I'm telling you, even strong people have limits, don't go too far, don't think you can do everything. Every action always has a risk, you should be able to think about the risk."
"I've thought about the risks before"
"Oh yeah? Then why don't you dare to look at me?"
"E.. hmm...I don't know, but I don't want others to be hassle because of me." I replied
"I understand your stance, but at the expense of yourself, do you have to?" Tera asked.
"....." I didn't answer him
"Huh... take this paracetamol medicine after dinner" said Tera who was about to stand up from his chair.
"Hmm, what about the consequences?" I asked
"For what?" he answered while walking towards the kitchen
"Because I'm late, my assignment is yours to do." I said
"If I say no?" He asked
"I'll insist, I won't be able to calm down if you do" I said with a forced look
"Huh... you're this, alright! Buy me tofu later after the rain stops." He replied with forced
"That's it? You've told me to buy tofu so many times before" I asked "That's enough to make up for my high blood pressure 30 minutes ago" he replied turning his back to me.
"Fine if that's what you want." I replied with a face moody and confused.
"I'll go to the kitchen first." Tera said while sliding the metal door behind the cashier.
I shifted my gaze, looking outside. I saw cars passing by in the
The rain was still very heavy, the sky was already quite dark, even though it was still 3pm. I leaned my head on my right hand, looking at the vehicles going in opposite directions, I slowly began to close my eyes, a little more, "TINNNNNN!!!" The sound of a car horn brought me to my senses, but there was something strange. The street I saw this time was very quiet, there was not a single car near me but why was there a car horn sound. As I approached the glass of the cafe, I was surprised to see a black figure right across the cafe. she was only looking at me from a distance, I couldn't see her clearly.
'Is she angry?" I thought, "Why are they angry?" I asked, “Is it because of me?" My guess
she's going to say something
TINNNNNNNN!!!!
BRAKKKKKKKKKK!!!
"HA?" I was so shocked, I opened my eyes wide.
I saw it, the shadow stepped into the street
which suddenly became crowded. she... she... got hit... NOOOO!
B... B... WHY?" Suddenly I heard the sound of car horns, the sound of zinc, the sound of a piano being played with a high frequency ringing sound. I heard the noise of the people, I heard the sound of a heartbeat.
All in unison, very noisy, and unpleasant to hear
'AAAAAAAAAARRGHHH!!"I SCREAMED, covering my ears.
"WHAT? WHAT?" I said while looking in all directions.
My breathing was already irregular
"SOUND!...
RAIN!...
ZINC!....
STREET!....
VEHICLE!....
CLOCK!....
ME..." I added, guessing everything I saw.
"MUSTS" I said already half on my knees while holding my head which felt heavy.
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG... NG/NG...
"MUSTSS...."
"HAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!"
"Prssttttttt"
the sound of automatic air freshener "Hah...hah...hah...hah.." the sound of my messy breathing. I can also feel the beat of My heart is beating faster than ever.
I started to open my ears again, the ringing sound is still there, my sweat is still pouring out. I slapped my right cheek and I felt pain.
"This is real!" I said softly.
I started to stand up slowly, drinking water and adjusting my breathing which was still chaotic. I also remembered the voice that woke me up earlier, the automatic air freshener.
"This time is different!" I said softly. "RINGGGG" the sound of the cafe doorbell opening The first customer of the day finally arrived,
I started to catch my breath, stabilize my heartbeat, wipe off all my sweat, and focus on serving the customers.
Today I work together with Tera. Tera is my senior, he's 10 years older than me. I don't really know his background, but my assumption is that it's not good. It can be seen from his hard attitude, assertive, and also stubborn. For him, responsibility is number one but health comes first, which is why I was scolded. I don't know how long he's been working here. On my first day, Tera was already working here,
in the kitchen to be exact.
"Huuuh, I guess we're out of luck today." I said to Tera sitting at the counter.
"Rain?" he replied looking at me who was cleaning the counter.
"He,um" I replied
"Whether we're lucky or not depends on how dependent they are on us." Tera said, turning her gaze to his cell phone.
"Ha? Eee." My response was confused by Tera's words "Alvin is on his way here, he's free today."
"You see, my shift is until the store closes today." Tera just shrugged her shoulders,
showing that he didn't know either.
"The boss said you'll be home at 7pm today." Tera said, looking at the message from the boss. "Why?" I asked.
"I don't know, maybe the boss knows you broke through the torrential rain this afternoon." Tera said while joking a little.
"You gave..." I was cut off.
"No, I'm not like that, Dipshit. Tomorrow you just ask the boss, the boss comes tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock." Tera said to me as he walked towards the kitchen.
"Cih, I'm not that weak" I whispered.
I proceeded to clear the table, carry plates and glasses to the kitchen and restock the coffee supplies.
6.30 pm
"Hoy Dean, don't forget to bring the medicine I gave you earlier." Tera shouted from the kitchen.
"Okay." I half shouted back as I sat on the cashier's chair.
I just stayed silent after finishing my work earlier, no customers came again until now, it was still raining heavily outside, the water had started to rise, fortunately the cafe building was made higher. I sat leaning against the wall, reading Tera's book, Tera's taste is always different from the others, the book I read is about the concept of time. In it there are many discussions about crossing time, modifying time, alternate dimensions, branching time, and also the dangers of time paradox.
'Did Tera really read this book? "I asked myself.
"Great," I added to myself. 6:46 p.m. Plink....plink....plink....
"The rain stopped?" I asked uncertainly.
I opened the door of the cafe and checked
outside, "it finally stopped" I said with relief. But, as I looked down, the cafe seemed to have a new fish pond.
"Teraaa, the water has reached the second step, how?" I shouted a little so Tera could hear me.
"Just open the stone that has a handle next to the stairs" Tera shouted, I guess.
"Okay" I replied briefly.
I searched for the stone Tera was referring to, because the water was quite murky I had to feel the rabbits by hand.
"Found it!" I said while holding the handle of the stone.
I pulled the square stone and at that moment the water was absorbed into the sewer that I had picked up earlier.
"Yep, bye bye fish pond. Wait, maybe a fish pond could be a good aspiration for this cafe" I said while holding the stone handle "What do you think Tera?" I asked excitedly. "I'll bet the boss will reject it before you finish your speech." Tera said with a little
laughing.
"Ha? How so?" I replied confused.
"I don't know, I said that before, the boss prefers fountains and carvings to decorate the cafe." Tera explained from a distance.
"H mm mm mm"
I put the stone covering the water channel back to its original place. I just realized that the buildings around the cafe were dimly lit, only a few of them seemed to be shining. The sky was still overcast and very dark, I didn't see the moon today either. There was also a power outage around the cafe, the heavy rain today was the cause, but it felt like the rain was really stabbing because it was so strong. I raised my right hand to the sky, looking at my palm, everything was very visible in one palm! I also put back the stone covering the water channel and entered the cafe.
To Be Continued....