Back to Work

After a long two-week vacation, Amanda finally returned to work at Jhon's cafe. The renovation of the cafe had been completed and that day Amanda was able to return to work.

She felt happy that she could finally work again, to be honest she was a bit bored at home because she didn't know where to go. Even so, during her absence, Amanda learned to cook many things with the help of Camille.

Amanda got ready by wearing a thick sweater and long pants. It was already winter, so even though it hadn't snowed yet, the atmosphere and wind were already cold. She didn't want that to affect the baby.

"Alright everything is ready, time to go to work..."

The woman walked out of the house, and the moment the door was opened, a cold wind immediately blew into her house.

"Uhh... It feels colder here than Zondalia. It's still mid-November," she commented and locked the door.

Eagerly, Amanda walked towards Jhon's cafe. On the way, she met some children who were running around while wearing their scrafes. They were laughing because they were playing chase.

Amanda smiled as she saw them enjoying themselves despite the cold.

"That actually warms them up. Will you do the same later? You can run around later, but not too far, okay?" Amanda rubbed her belly, talking to her child again as usual.

She hoped that when her child was born, there would be many other children of the same age so her child could play with them.

Arriving at Jhon's cafe, Amanda noticed some changes in the interior. She went inside and saw that all the tables and chairs had been replaced with new ones.

Previously, only the tables and chairs could be moved, but now they seemed to be deliberately locked in place. It was like a small family restaurant he had been to.

Even at the table near the cashier, several chairs were placed facing directly towards Jhon. This way more customers could come.

"Looks like it's going to be a lot busier from now on," Amanda said and walked towards the kitchen to meet Jhon.

"Jhon?" called Amanda looking into the kitchen.

A bald man who was busy with his work was seen in the kitchen, he cleared his throat softly in response to Amanda's call.

"Your new cafe looks really good. How are you, after two weeks of not seeing each other?"

"I'm good. Luckily everything was done quickly so we can open the cafe again now," Jhon replied as he put the cake into the refrigerator.

"Right... I'm quite bored at home. It feels nice here. Then I'll start cleaning up." Amanda went to the locker room and put her things away.

The small room was actually used for the servants to rest, there were only two small lockers to store their belongings inside. Amanda would sometimes sit there when she felt exhausted from all the customers. She would excuse herself to go to the bathroom for that.

Wearing her apron, Amanda started the day by cleaning the cafe before it opened in an hour.

"Will it be very crowded because Jhon hasn't been open for a while? Or will it be quiet because they think Jhon won't be open today," she muttered in confusion.

When the cafe opened, there were already many customers waiting to go inside. They looked so happy that the cafe was open again.

They prefer Jhon's cafe to other places because the food Jhon sells is cheap with good taste. There are many other small restaurants around, but they prefer to eat at Jhon's cafe.

"Jhon, Jhon, Jhon! You're finally open again, I've missed your delicious food so much!" exclaimed one of the customers who had just walked in.

"Welcome, Mr. Xavier," greeted Amanda.

"Oh Amanda! It's good to see you again," said the man happily, patting Amanda on the shoulder and choosing a seat in front of Jhon.

Apart from this man, many of Jhon's regular customers came in and expressed how happy they were that the cafe was open again.

That day, one customer after another arrived and as before, the cafe became very crowded at lunchtime.

Since it was a cold day, most of them ordered hot drinks and soup. Even the beach, which was usually filled with tourists, was deserted due to the strong sea breeze.

"I heard it's going to snow faster on the island this year," said one of the customers who was talking to Jhon.

"Doesn't it snow faster here every year than anywhere else?" asked Jhon.

Amanda, who heard this, paused to listen to their conversation more clearly.

"It usually starts to fall in late November or early December. But I heard on the weather news that it could start falling in a few days. I hope it's not as heavy as before."

"Does it usually snow very heavily here?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, it was so heavy because of the blizzard that everything had to be closed. Schools, restaurants and other places. Even the buses to the city center stop running during that time," the man explained.

Amanda asked again if there weren't any snow removal trucks like there usually are in many areas. But the man said that District 36 was a remote district. Such vehicles rarely came and passed through the district.

"All we can do is wait for the snow to subside. Let's hope it's not too heavy this year," said Jhon. "If it snows heavily again, I'll have to close my cafe again," he continued.

Hearing that, Amanda didn't know what to do. If it was so cold now, how would it be during a snowstorm?

'I'll have to buy a space heater to keep warm,' she thought.

Later that night after work, Amanda turned her cell phone back on because she hadn't turned it on all day, since no one knew about her new number at the moment.

There were no incoming messages at all.

Amanda also didn't use any other social media, because then she would be easily tracked too. Making sure there were no incoming messages to her cell phone, Amanda quickly returned home as the night was colder than before.

"I feel like soaking in warm water and sleeping in it..." she said.

On the dark road, Amanda walked alone to return home. Without realizing it, someone kept watching her from the dark street.

"You won't be able to escape from me."