Windows on the World (OLD VERSION) [BEING REWRITTEN]

[³] ˢᵉᵖᵗᵉᵐᵇᵉʳ

Phoebe returned to him right after it was done. When she set down all his food before him, he corrected angles of the cutlery as soon as she placed them, which had only been slightly perpendicular.

Phoebe made a face, and then proceeded to attend to other tables. However, a woman stepped right in front of her path.

"Hey, Cindy! It's me, Elena!"

Phoebe couldn't help but giggle. "It's Phoebe, actually. Phoebe Bradley."

"Yeah, figured it couldn't be Brad Pitt. That would've been awesome though." Elena clicked her fingers. Phoebe decided that Elena was the only fun corporate she'd ever known and would ever come to know. She and Dana would totally get along. "Anyhoots, I really wanted to come see how you were getting on but it's been pretty hectic at the office and I couldn't get round to doing it until now."

"You definitely have more pressing matters than checking up on a complete stranger, so no worries." In the distance, Mr. Israeli Salad waved for her attention. "Why don't you find a seat? I'll be with you in a minute," Phoebe said before going over to him.

"Is everything okay?"

"May I have some bread?" As soon as he asked, she turned around to go and get it, but he spoke again. "Oh, and some salt? And pepper?" Before she could hurry away, the man made yet another request. "More napkins would be useful as well."

Impatiently, without biting her tongue, Phoebe spoke.

"Next time you come alone, you might want to consider sitting at the bar." She pointed at said place. "Loners eat there. It's kind of restaurant policy."

"Ouch," he said, pretending to be hurt. "you really don't like me, do you?"

Phoebe didn't say anything, because she didn't know the answer to that herself. Just like she wasn't sure about why she treated this man without any patience.

"I'll get your bread, salt, pepper, and napkins.. Sir." Phoebe tried not to forget that he was still a paying customer, and talking back to him would get her nowhere.

Maybe she was taking out all her unresolved business on him, despite not having anything to do with it. But people who irritated her, even in the slightest, could easily become Phoebe's fortuitous targets.

Forced to accept another hundred dollar tip from him almost threw her irritation over the edge.

Phoebe packed up at the end of her shift, after seeing Elena out of the restaurant and wishing one another well on their endeavors. Elena said she'd drop by frequently, and Phoebe was glad if it meant work would be more bearable.

Walking to school alone on her first day shouldn't have posed as much as a challenge as it did for Phoebe. The build-up to the moment she would enter the building, walk the corridors, and meet her classmates was inevitable. So she rose above it, like she always did. But it would have been nice to have someone to accompany her.

She arrived just in time but got caught up in administration while she was given some orientation and her schedule. Everyone else had already found their seats when she got to her first class, leaving Phoebe a place at the front, closest to the teacher's desk. They all avoided it like the plague. Except one boy, who was too busy making covers in his notebooks for each of the subjects. Light brown, tight locks draped over his forehead as he hunched over the desk to write and draw.

Phoebe sat next to him, yet, he still didn't acknowledge her presence.

"Hey," she said softly. However, he'd been so focused on his task that he got startled either way.

"'Sup?" He mouthed his greeting rapidly.

"I'm Phoebe."

"Mike," he introduced himself with a simple nod of his head. "You're the only new face around here." He stated matter-of-factly.