“Lira!”
I was taken aback, and not the first today. A slender hand is waving in front of my face, trying to get my attention. I gaped back in surprise.
A vision of a long, bony hand tipped with dark pointed nails flashed in my mind.
I quickly shook the vision away, like haphazardly wiping a white board with an eraser. Unfortunately, the pen used was a permanent one. A hint of the black ink remains.
“Lira, I’ve been talking to you for five minutes already.” A woman smaller than me (which is surprising) is standing in front of me, hand outstretched. Her sleek, short black hair streaked with neon green highlights is fluttering softly along with the breeze coming from the ceiling fan.
“I don’t think that you heard any of it at all...” She pouted in dismay. “How lonely it is. People do not even have the time to pay attention to someone who’s speaking…”
“Sorry Yvonne.” I apologized. She’s always like this and everyone in the restaurant is used to her energy. She loves to talk and feels like people don’t listen enough (more than enough actually). That’s the reason why Fred assigned her into doing the promotions and events for the restaurant. She thrives there effortlessly.
She directed her eyes into me, slowly moving them up and down, as if scanning me for any disease or for something different. Then she squinted; maybe she can see the remnant of that guy in me.
“Fred mentioned what happened last night. Are you sure that you don’t need the time off? It feels so bad from what I heard.”
“I’m okay, really okay.” I assured her, smiling widely. That must have finally convinced her. She smiled back as she cleared the appetizer baskets in time for the afternoon batch.
“That’s good to hear then. Hey, as I was saying…” Her smile got brighter; I could feel what’s coming next.
“...can I handle him today?” She pleaded with those big, rounded blue eyes. Like a cute puppy.
I knew it. It’s our usual diner, the one always wearing his shades. She would be racing to attend to him whenever he’s around. She finds his cold, mysterious, and distant demeanor fascinating. That look appeals to some people, apparently. Including Yvonne.
“Yvonne, he’s all yours.” I said, giving in to her request immediately. I even raised both of my hands as I chuckled. He gives a huge tip whenever he’s here but since Yvonne came in early to help, it’s a small consolation to her. I can see that it excites her; a red bird peeked its small head out of her hair. It’s fluttering happily in between her hair strands. She placed down the stack of baskets and held my hand.
“You just wait Lira, I’ll crack this guy up SOON. Yesterday, for the first time in forever, he just didn’t order like he usually does, he even tried to do some small talk. He’s asking if the attending staff members are just the three of us. Can you believe it? He chatted!” She is swinging our hands as she speaks. Her high energy sets the mood, but it sometimes drains me of mine; and I can feel that it’s happening right now.
“He’s starting to warm up to me, I can feel it!~ AND HERE’S ANOTHER ONE, listen, I think I got a GLIMPSE OF HIS EYES!!! LIRAAAA!!!!”
She finally let go of my hand to cup her blushing cheeks. The small white-chested red bird is now flying around our heads, loudly chirping.
I smiled back at her, letting her go on with her excited ramblings. I’m pretending to listen but my mind still goes back to the same vision, over and over.
And a question about earlier is still left hanging on my head.
—
I rushed into the restaurant after my brother left. A is quietly watching me as I shovel my breakfast and prepare in a hurry.
“See you later when I get home. Wait for me here.” I told A as I was about to close the main door. He purred and started to walk back into his favorite spot.
Fred.
I can’t help but to worry about him. I know that he messaged me yesterday the moment he got home, but I still need to make sure.
I reached Frederick’s in a short amount of time. I ran all the way without stopping which made some of the people walking around look at me with concern. Panting heavily, I reached for the door with a “CLOSED” sign on it.
“Sorry but we’re still closed–” Yvonne’s chirping voice sounds so loud in the middle of the serene early morning. She turned around, and was surprised to see me standing there. She’s busy wiping the window by the entryway.
I must have looked like that yesterday.
I was surprised too; it’s still too early for her shift. She usually arrives around noon for the mid-day shift.
“Lira! I thought you’re taking the day off today?” She said in a greeting, the wet rag that she’s holding is sopping water on the floor.
“Fred.” The one word that matters to me right now.
“Oh, Fred? He messaged me last night if I could take the full shift today because you’ll not be able to make it. But you’re here…” I could hear the disappointment in her voice; it could have wasted her precious time this morning away from her studies.
Seeing that I’m still waiting for an answer, she pointed at the staff door.
—
I slowly moved towards the door. I could hear some activity inside, something with clicking and typing on the computer. I took a peek quietly. His back is turned towards the door; his soft, blond hair tousled casually today.
He is busy fumbling on his mechanical keyboard. The soft rhythmic tack tack sound can be heard. He stretched his arms upward, leaning back on his chair.
There he is. I smiled. I felt the nervousness go out of my body in an instant. I snatched my phone from my pocket, hovered it in front of me, aiming patiently towards him.
The sound of the tack…tack…tack goes on. He insisted on having that in the staff room to keep him entertained as he did the admin tasks.
He turned around to reach something on the cabinet when he saw me.
Click.
I intended it to be a secret thing only for me, taking a candid photo of him out of the blue. What I didn’t expect is for him to turn in my direction and for my phone to be so embarrassingly loud.
“What..” he muttered, automatically shielding his face from an invincible projectile with his left arm. I laughed out loud. He opened his eyes upon hearing my laugh.
“Wow, what a fast comeback. I didn’t see that coming.” He laughs. He stood up and walked towards my direction. He leaned on the staff room door, eyeing me with a hint of humor on his face.
“I didn’t even take a photo of you last night, but you got mine. That’s unfair.” He complains indignantly.
“Hey. I’m here for today’s shift.” I said. Now that I see for myself that he’s safe, I can continue on with my day here at work. It’s better to be here and move my body than to overthink and get paranoid at home.
I moved to go inside the room.
“Wait, are you sure that you’re okay?” He insisted. He smiled back when I said yes but he’s not budging from his spot by the entryway. He doesn’t seem too happy to see me.
“Uhmmm… I’m going to get my things inside.” I finally said. He started to laugh but I could see tension forming on his jaw. It’s starting to annoy me. Why does he seem so nervous?
“I’m going in.” I said firmly; directly and intensely looking at his eyes to make a point. He averted my gaze. After a while, he let out a sigh as he moved out of the way. I walked in curiously, then stopped abruptly to scan the room. The usual small, stuffy, cramped staff room greeted me.
What’s the big deal?
On the right side is another doorway that leads to the kitchen, so we can go in and out without having to pass through the hallway and the dining hall. Beside it is a small weathered leather sofa, adorned with worn out pillows. The small center table in front of it is full of magazines, random notes, receipts, and snacks.
Right in the middle is a row of lockers and storage cabinets for supplies. Each of us have our own lockers to store our personal things (or in some people’s case, their supply of preferred snacks). We don’t really lock them as intended since we just stuff our extra clothes, aprons, and toiletries there.
Two wooden desks on the left, one for everyone’s use (which are stacked with files and other office supplies) and one for Fred. A comfortable computer chair is in front of it.
My eyes fell on the bright computer screen on his desk. A faded figure is right in the middle of it. The curiosity overcame me, and I moved closer to squint in front of the screen.
The clean, beige walls. The tables that are adorned with red table cloths. The rounded, heavy, vintage wooden chairs. I can imagine and smell that room even from the screen .
It all looks painfully familiar.
Now I can see why he seems nervous.
He’s playing a CCTV footage.
—