1.2 | Breakup Formula | ONGOING

05 | hostile

0 5

h o s t i l e

Days passed, and Joey's broken heart soon began to heal. Time was the best medicine and each day, I watched him become a little more upbeat, a little more cheerful.

I soon began to realise the social influence Joey had in his school. Weeks ago, all Savvy's had were its regular old customers. I had been working long enough to recognise almost everyone. But after Joey began working at the diner, I saw new faces, faces I didn't recognise and hadn't ever seen before.

"Are they your schoolmates?" I asked Joey suspiciously, when I noticed him greeting five consecutive tables, and smile at the last table flirtatiously - the table was, of course, filled with girls who seemed more hungry for him than the food they were ordering.

"Yes," he replied proudly.

"Did you run around topless in school to advertise for the diner or something?"

He laughed so hard I half thought he was going to burst out a lung from his exertions. "I know you enjoy picturing me topless, Kira, but no. I just told some of my friends that I'd give them half a quid off any pies or cakes they bought. This is proper advertising."

"No!" I cried, appalled, "This is charity. You can't just give discounts any time you want. Mikel won't allow it."

"Let's ask Mikel then," he said, mildly.

And I lost the debate. Mikel was more than thrilled to see the increase in customers. Discounts were something he could easily overlook so long as Joey brought in new diners.

"It helps boost our business," Mikel declared firmly, before turning to Joey. "You're a lifesaver. Kira doesn't know what she's saying."

"Kira is standing right here!" I exclaimed, feeling my annoyance grow as Joey shot me a self-satisfied smirk. "And I know what I'm saying. I know about business."

Mikel simply chuckled. "Sure you do, mate," he patted my head obligingly, "Now why don't you invite some of your non-existent friends over to our diner?"

I wished heartily that I could kill him with my glare. Ignoring Joey's probing, curious gaze, I all but snarled at Mikel. "You know that's a touchy topic. Now drop it."

"It's dropped," Mikel returned, smiling lightly, before heading back into the kitchen.

An irrational ball of hurt swelled up in me as I watched his departing figure. I was more than annoyed with Mikel, but I only knew he was joking. If anything, he was merely being brutally honest. Avoiding Joey's gaze, I brushed past him and headed to the nearest table to clear the plates. To my greatest dismay, I felt his presence near me. He hovered behind me uncertainly and when I turned to head back into the kitchen, he took the stack of plates from me.

"Is it true?" he murmured, his eyes searching my face as though he was intent on sifting out the answer just by looking at my expression. "Whatever Mikel just said?"

My throat was dry and I could hardly meet his eyes. "It's irrelevant."

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It was more than a month since Joey had broken up with Fiona. And now, another list had to be made. We were in the storeroom once again that day, and I'd made Joey make a list of Fiona's good and bad traits, while I took over the the task of checking through the inventory on my own. He'd resisted at first, but he was soon absorbed in making the list.