another world || nct

exhaustion

I slumped my body against the counter, feeling my remaining energy and body heat seep into the cool material beneath me. My eyes slid shut continuously, and it took almost all of my willpower and self-awareness to remind myself that I was, indeed, at work. I had to mutter to myself that there were people who needed tending to despite barely being able to count the number of customers seated in the diner on one hand.

Now was not the time for napping. The sentence was something of a mantra, except it didn't work seeing as with every soft click of the clock, my body yielded a little more to a dream like state.

The soft sound of someone clearing their throat was almost deafening in the quiet diner. So deafening that it managed to jolt me from my slumped position into a rigid stance, the edge of the counter digging into my lower back as a result. I rubbed at my eyes furiously before lifting my eyes from the dirty, tiled floor, to the only other worker present.

My boss' managed to glower at me with tired eyes across the short distance between us. Most of the other employees referred to him as Mr. Westbay; unfortunately for me, considering I was frequently in trouble, we were on a first-name basis. Mr. Westbay was older than me, significantly so - possibly in his late 40's, early 50's. He owned the small diner that resided in a plaza, so it was frequently overlooked. His worn leather-like face currently sported a scowl meant for no one else but me.

"What are you doing?" He grumbled, his voice scratchy from years of smoking.

I cleared my throat, ran a hand down my face, before letting a soft sight slip from my lips. "I was uh," I struggled to form a coherent sentence through my sleep-shrouded thoughts, "resting my eyes?"

However, the sentence came out more as a question and Zachary Westbay regarded me with nothing more than a sneer.

He was used to this behavior from me, but still had yet to fire me - I was the only employee willing to stay well into early morning hours at such a low paying diner. So the issue wasn't pursued and I was hardly punished. The only thing that constituted as any sort of reprimanding was the glares that I occasionally felt being burned into my back. Mr. Westbay ran a hand down his tired face, his eyes clenched tightly shut, before he sighed softly.

"Whatever. Just," he waved his fingers towards the dining area, "go clean up and get ready to close. It's almost three and we open again at six."

I felt my body slump in exhaustion at the reminder, a groan leaving my lips as Mr.Westbay retreated into the kitchen to clean up whatever dishes were left. Had it not been for the soft chime of the bell above the door filling the quiet diner, I wouldn't have willed my body into motion from where it sagged against the counter once more. I struggled to push myself up into standing position, my hands weakly grabbing at the edge of the counter, and turned towards the dinning area. I took a deep breath in an attempt to mentally prepare myself for another group of stragglers to come sauntering in.

I blinked in surprise when I was greeted with an empty diner. The last of the customers had vacated, opting for leaving enough money for a bill and tip on the table instead of rousing me from my sleep. I ran a hand through my hair and tugged it free from its pony-tail, sighed softly under my breath, before leaning once more against the counter.

I had barely let my eyelids flutter shut, exhaustion once again washing over me, before Mr.Westbay's voice filled the place where the low chattering of the customers had been.

"Damn it Astra," Westbay's voice came out more of a growl, and it made my fingers twitch slightly with fear where they rested against the cool counter top, "I don't hear you moving at all."

From where I had propped myself up against the counter, I could faintly hear my boss shuffling around inside the kitchen -pots and pans sloshing around inside the industrial sink- preparing to walk back through the heavy kitchen doors to "scold" me once more.

I forced my heavy body away from the counter quickly, stumbling for a second before catching myself mere seconds before my body crumpled to the floor. My heart had thudded into a race, and my breath rushed my lungs in harsh gasps. It took a few long seconds before I managed to bend and move my body to my will. I grabbed weakly at a washcloth that had been soaking in sanitizer for the better part of an hour.

I slid easily over the counter top, my feet landing on the other side with a soft thud before the soft tapping of my feet against the tiled floor filled the silence of the diner as I shuffled from table to table, wiping furiously at invisible stains.

With the hypnotic motions of wiping down the tables in circles, I allowed myself some time to briefly debate on why I remained at this dingy restaurant. There were higher paying places on the north side of town where street to street was choked with restaurants and stores, ranging from McDonald's to Wal-Mart.

However, Westbay was the only one who promised to work with my schedule for college and actually followed through. I couldn't count on both of my small hands how many places had let me go, each reason trickling down to the simple fact that I had taken too many days off due to studying.

I sighed under my breath, my body feeling heavy once more as I leaned my weight on my palms, pressing the heated skin against the cool table. The final booth was furthest from the door, giving me a few seconds to make a run for the safety of behind the counter should someone decide to rob us or-

My thoughts scattered as the bell above the door chimed softly, my hand freezing mid-wipe. I left the rag where it lay twisted on the booth table, nearly tripping over my feet before I made it safely behind the counter, shutting the little door and straightening my apron before I lifted my gaze from the registrar to the late night squatters.

The air become quickly oppressive as my gaze locked on the three males that were making their way to the registrar. The trio walked with a predatory lope, and even describing it as a "walk" was an understatement. They all walked as if they owned the place, their eyes flickering over the small diner with disgusting twisting their features.

The one who led the trio was a few inches shorter than his companions, but still considerably taller than I. Though the trio all walked with a predatory aura, the one in front walked with more swagger. As if he knew that he was attractive and would flaunt it at any chance possible. His hair was a dark brown and parted prettily down the middle. The dark brown locks that fell across his forehead complemented his golden eyes nicely, the color of his eliciting a small flare of interest within me. His skin was tanned slightly and his plump lips lifting into a toothy smile that stretched ear-to-ear as he stopped walking, his gaze meeting mine.

I had no time to assess the other two before his angelic voice filtered past those tantalizing lips. It wasn't deep, nor was it high. However, it was a wonderful sound and I'd give anything to keep those lips moving and his voice filling the silence of the diner.