Tuesday, 12:29 PM.
"Wait, wait... did I hear that right? The cocky and arrogant Abel Eastwood is gonna work part-time as a server?!"
"And with Mairi as well? Dude... you sure you don't want to go to the infirmary?"
These two clueless friends not only hop out of their seats — nearly toppling over their milk cartons to Abel's precious shirt — but they also had the need to elevate the pitch of their reverberating voices. It was like they were trying to broadcast the entire cafetaria of his plans, but the rumbling murmurs managed to drown out their stupid squeals.
Abel confirmed neither of their incredulous questions, throwing them his best narrowed eyes and deep frown. Their reactions were comically dramatized too; their jaws dropped open as their forks fell off their hands, while Charlotte nearly choked on her food. Do you guys think so lowly of me?
"You all made it sound like I'm too lazy to do anything," he protested. Also, please close your mouths. Thanks.
"Oh no no! Absolutely not! Why would we think like that?!" Adrian fired back, frantically gesticulating his hands in front of his friend's face. "If you were that lazy, you wouldn't even bother designing costumes for your cosplays!" He forced out some chuckles.
Hmm, ain't that familiar. I wonder who that could be.
"Yeah, he's right!" chimed the orange-head, barely finishing on her sandwich. "It's just that... you never once talked about getting a job, but then here you are. It's like something struck you all of the sudden. What the heck happened?"
Welp, this was gonna be a long explanation, so Abel inhaled a large amount of air before expelling it out of his lips.
"All thanks to my father and his good deeds," he scoffed and turned away. "That old geezer whined about how I had been squandering all of their money for 'those dress-up shit', so they're not giving me anymore." Just impersonating that man was enough to tickle his nerves. "They probably didn't know I got most of my allowance from cosplays, but they're too busy with their lives to give a shit."
Both Charlotte and Adrian gave no response; they merely glanced at each other before reverting towards their friend with their brows creased. Well, he was not really expecting comments or advice. He just wanted them to listen, and that was enough for him to release everything out.
"It's fine with me," Abel went on. "It's not like I'm gonna use their damn money. They can keep it to themselves and use it whatever they want. I can then get support from my jobs and they won't be complaining."
Now they can leave me in peace.
"Goddamn, your dad's masterpiece." Adrian shook his head. "Last time he tried getting rid of your costumes for your showcase. You even have to stow them in my room."
What a pleasant memory to recall.
"If he does that again, I swear to God he would be sorry," growled Abel as he shoved a spoonful of his mac and cheese into his mouth, hardly chewing before gulping them down. "Well, I won that showcase in a landslide. Best comeback ever, heh." He tugged one of the corners of his lips. I deserve that win. Good riddance.
Charlotte sighed. "Good lord, and here I thought he was a good dad back then."
"... Yeah. Back then," whispered the blue-head as he gazed at the tiny remains of his lunch. And then, out came the stabbing laughs of a child — the same one that had been tormenting him inside out — resonating inside his mind. Fuck, I shouldn't be zoning out like this. Get that shit away from me.
"Putting that aside..." She thankfully chased the silence away before it could hover over them, but then she broadly grinned. "I'm surprised you're willing to work with Mairi. You've always been so highly strung around her."
Before Abel could say anything, Adrian butted straight in, "Like I told you girl, this dude's really interested in her." He giggled and wiggled his brows.
He's not gonna stop with that, isn't he? Yesterday was the same too. These beautiful friends had been poking fun at him just because he paid a visit to the restaurant, although he had made it clear he was coming to sample the food, not for Mairi.
"Stop making weird assumptions." Abel retorted. "She's offering me a job and I'm accepting it, that's all."
"My ship still sails." Adrian smirked. "It's just a matter of time before..." he snapped his fingers. "...something fun will happen."
"Huh, whatever floats your boat." Yeah, you can keep dreaming.
"Once you get in, we'll definitely stop by," said Charlotte before she suddenly smacked Abel's shoulders. "Don't get too full of yourselves, yeah? Keep your ego at check. It's your first real job."
"Heh, it might be, but I'm pretty confident with my skills so there's nothing to be nervous about." Abel sneered. "I used to cosplay and acted as one before too."
"But this is not cosplaying, Abel..." She groaned, rolling her eyes. "I guess I have to leave that to Mairi. She's the only one who can actually handle you."
Adrian snickered before he sank his teeth into his burger, tearing it apart.
At least have some faith in me, Lotte... Regardless, she had a point. He had to face that mystifying woman almost everyday, dealing with every one of her ploys. No doubt she would fool around and would constantly instigate him with what she had claimed to be compliments. Perhaps to her, compliments were like insults; handing them all around like they were those meaningless brochures.
"I always say what I think, and I personally think you're cute." Mairi's distant voice mentally resounded, dismissing all of his beliefs at once. What was worse, his mind fully registered the irrelevant details of her blank look as she closed in upon him.
Damn it. If I really can't get hold of myself, nothing's gonna go well. She's gonna keep using me as an easy target.
He covered his mouth and peered at his lunch tray. Now that he would be seeing Mairi frequently at his new job, he had to at least adapt to her.
***
03:38 PM.
"So Jeanne, this is Abel. He's my friend I told you about, and he's interested in working here," introduced Mairi as the blue-haired boy stepped forward with no hesitation. She subsequently stirred towards him. "Abel, this is Jeanne. She's pretty much our manager."
"Nice to meet you," beamed her friend, gingerly shaking the extended hand of her manager. Of course, he totally nailed that first impression with his fully spirited grin and his charismatic — a word Mairi suspected he would exploit to describe himself — demeanor. For a guy like him, it was a breeze.
"My, you're such a bright and handsome man!" Jeanne exclaimed, as if she had just seen him for the first time ever. "Exactly what we need to be a server here."
Bright and handsome? Mairi blinked. "But yesterday, you were calling him a grumpy-"
"That's what I thought, but I was wrong." Her manager briskly cleared her throat, putting too much stress on her words. She quickly reverted back to Abel, who fleetingly raised an eyebrow at her. "So this is gonna be your first time working?"
Such a smooth way of changing the subject.
"Yeah, but I'm ready to learn what it's like and get some experiences," Abel affirmed, his blue eyes glittered with great tenacity; giving off the same energy as when he challenged her in a cosplay showcase. This guy clearly knew what he was doing; he wasn't merely blurting out nonsense.
Surely Mairi had no regrets telling him about the job. He obviously contemplated the offer and ended up texting her during her night strolls in the park. Seeing his message popping up on her screen, she already knew he would have a change of heart. He never told her the reason behind it though. Maybe my reasoning convinced him?
Abel and Jeanne continued conversing as they walked towards the edge of the vicinity, perhaps for further discussion. And so for now, everything went as planned. Not only did the restaurant get an extra helping hand, Abel also got what he wanted. That's what killing two birds with one stone is like.
Meanwhile, customers had been raising their hand for attention, so she made a dash towards them. Now that Michelle — the server with a very memorable record of spills and 'I'm sorry's — showed up, Mairi wouldn't have the need to run all over the place during lunch hours, but she would be constantly wiping off most of the mess.
She doesn't even have to cosplay. She's a walking anime character.
As the chiming of the doorbell disrupted her thoughts, Mairi bolted out to the front, flipping her ponytail beforehand.
"I'm picking up my order," revealed a man as he rolled his cuffs.
"Sure, what's your name?" Mairi gingerly scanned through the piling bags of food. Lots of online orders today...
"Jethro."
"Jethro..." she repeated, "Ah, here you go." She grabbed and lent a tiny bag — probably just dumplings — to him.
"It's too bad you ran out of sweet and sour pork." Out of the blue, this dude spoke out. "I just had a really productive day so I was really looking forward to buying them. I guess this small restaurant's finally gaining some traction, huh?" He proceeded to chuckle.
Throughout her work, it wasn't uncommon for customers to initiate some conversations or ramble on about their mundane life. Mairi would quietly listen and nod, but in a few instances, her brain had chosen to block most parts of their stories or drive her to handle other customers. And in this case... it seemed like she would rather use her ears for something else important.
She didn't know why. She just felt like it, so she merely stared at him.
"Oh well, these dumplings will suffice. Thanks," said Jethro before he whirled on his heels, and to the door he went. Ah, I forgot to wish him well. Have a good day, sir.
In the meantime, Abel and Jeanne had wrapped up their interview, but the former... his eyes were narrowed into slits, zooming towards the entrance as his jaw gripped tight. It looked as if he was... glaring right at the spot where that man was last seen. Not to mention, he was clenching his hands.
Mairi glanced once more at the door, before she peered at her friend. "You know him? You were looking at that guy so intently."
Abel was silent for a moment, but he abruptly retorted, "Nope. Not a clue."
"Hmm." Ain't that the most obvious lie ever.
"So Mai. I've decided to hire Abel," Jeanne announced as she tapped his tensed shoulder. "He's gonna cover most of the night shifts on weekdays and probably on the weekends too. I'll be training him tomorrow, but it would be nice for you to assist him too."
"Sure thing. I'm happy to help," Mairi agreed before Jeanne responded to a customer calling out for her. It seemed that Abel had won her over, and as the sign of his victory, he snuck in a smirk. His previous scowl had dissipated in less than a second. Yeah, it's like nothing happened.
"Heh, I'm sure I'll excel at this job in no time. Having no experience means nothing to me." Abel boasted, crossing his arms. "New stuff excites me."
"I know you'd say something like that, but I'd like to see you try first." Mairi breathed. "Hopefully your huge confidence will pay off this time."
His brow twitched as he frowned. "Now you're definitely making fun of me."
"Kidding." Mairi couldn't help but to smile. He really caught that reference. "I do genuinely like your boldness. Just don't let it blind you completely."
At first, Abel produced no remarks. He abruptly turned his head away — in a blatant attempt to hide his expression — as he shifted his hand behind his neck. He sighed quietly and fiddled with the straps of his backpack. "Yeah, yeah. Your advice is greatly appreciated." he grumbled before he ambled past her for the entrance.
"Well then, I shall see ya tomorrow."
It seemed like he refused to make eye contact as he pushed the door open. However, before disappearing into the outside world, he glanced over his shoulder and slightly raised his hand. "See ya."
And for the first time in forever — the Frozen song was going bonkers in her head right now — Mairi was liberated of every single chains that had shackled her down. It was as if the crisp evening wind tenderly brushed her suffocating soul. She could just throw all of those troubles away as her heart eased off.
The sensation had her jump on her spot though, because she never felt... this carefree. Right, that was the perfect term. Carefree.
It was such a shame the world never allowed these moments to last for long.
***
a/n: oh gosh, I finally updated! It's the best feeling ever to finally get back on track. T_T Thank you for reading, and hope you have a great and awesome week! ^^
I'm curious about your thoughts about Abel and Mairi so far :)