Chapter 4: The Redhead Waitress at Sweetbrew Cafe!

"You sure do know a lot, no wonder you call yourself the gossip queen", Alena remarked with a smile.

"hehe, it's nothing much. It's my speciality. I'm not the gossip queen just like that you know", Natasha winked and giggled. One could literally see her nose elongating in pride. Gossip got her excited like nothing else. If only gossip could bring her good grades in the exams.

"So how did you get Markus off your back??", Natasha asked with curiosity and concern.

"Uhh, I didn't actually. He confronted me again the other day", Alena said nervously.

She felt a bit awkward, a flashback of unpleasant memories ran through her mind.

"What?! I knew it! He's like a hounding dog, he never leaves his prey alone. What happened?? Is everything okay?", Natasha looked really worried and concerned. Alena felt nice to share a bond like this with Natasha. She was happy to see her friend cared about her. They had grown close so quickly.

"Umm, actually what happened is that he confronted me while I was walking home alone. Fortunately 'Kai' was there", she made sure to emphasize his name, knowing it would hook Natasha even more than she already was.

"What? Kai was there???", Natasha shrieked in surprise.

"Then what happened?", Her eyes were glued to Alena, shining intently, as she waited for Alena to spill the beans about the whole incident.

"He punched Markus in the face, Markus was bleeding, his cheek swelled up immediately"

"Wow, that's totally like a movie. It's so much like how the rumours describe him."

"What do you mean?"

"Actually he's one of the most feared guys in the school. The reason why everyone fears him is because there's a rumour of his violent nature, it is said that he can beat a 100 people at once"

"Haha" Alena giggled, "What rubbish!", She waved it off dismissively with her hand.

"Regardless, it's shocking that he was there. Isn't it strange that he came out of nowhere? As if he knew. How could he be passing by just by chance??", Natasha pondered over her thoughts as if trying to solve a mystery like Nancy Drew.

Alena snapped her fingers. "Natasha", Alena called her name to pull her out of her trance and get her attention, her brows knit together and she rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal", Alena stated dismissing the subject.

***

It was 3.30 pm in the afternoon, Alena was working in the shop. After taking the orders of the customers, she was telling the orders at the counter. Right after she finished, she glanced around to check if there were any new customers so she could take their orders. She noticed a familiar looking face sitting at the previously unoccupied table no 7, situated in the middle section of the seating area.

She went to the table to take the customer's order.

"Welcome to Sweet brew cafe, what would you like to eat? Can I take your order, sir?", the waitress with beautiful ginger locks spoke with a smile. When her hair was untied, they reached till her hip. They were pretty long.

The customer who was absorbed in his book, put his book down, placing the bookmark carefully inside to make sure he didn't lose his spot and looked up at the source of the sweet feminine voice. When he saw the girl the shock was evident on his face which was soon replaced with a warm and pleasant smile.

"What a pleasant surprise! It's nice to meet you here"

"Likewise, I'm surprised to see you here", Alena replied with a smile. It was the same kind boy who had bumped into her and helped her gather her books on her first day of high school.

"What's your name?", He looked for her name tag, Alena wore a maid outfit, black and white. "Alena Flameheart? That's a beautiful name"

"Thank you", she said with a smile.

"I'm Rey Serizawa by the way", he said with his charming smile, confidence exuding from him.

Alena was dumbfounded as soon as she heard his name. "Y-you mean? THE Serizawa?" Alena stuttered, and continued, "The son of the legendary business mogul Akira Serizawa? The man behind Serizawa private industries limited? The man who owns the Serizawa Educational Institutions Group?", She spoke in an instant without taking a breath, the shock hit her so hard that she forgot to take a breath and huffed as soon as she completed. She needed a moment to breathe and to digest the information in general.

The boy with chocolate brown hair chuckled. "Hey, hey! Calm down. It's not much but, to answer your questions -- Yes!", He emphasized the yes loud and clear, with his widened eyes. He was still smiling humbly, despite being the son of a multimillionaire. How crazy was that? He was so chilled out, that it felt like it was no big deal to him.

Alena chuckled. "I'm sorry about that. It's just that I couldn't help it", she smiled innocently, sticking her tongue out. She didn't realize it but Rey was taking a keen interest in her innocent, clueless self. He found her intriguing.

"It's alright. Why don't you sit down? Let's talk and have a coffee together?", he asked, inviting her with the intent of getting to know her. He was interested in her, thus wanted to spend time with her. In fact, he dropped reading just to spend time with her. He felt that it really was his lucky day to have come across her like this.

Alena laughed. "Excuse me, your forgetting! I'm on duty right now. Sorry I cannot accept your offer. Also, I like tea more", she smiled, knowing he was trying to hit on her. But she didn't want to accept it. "Anyway, we are off-topic. So what's your order, sir?"

"Aww shucks, that's a bummer", he pouted, making a puppy face. His puppy face made Alena giggle. "Bring me a cappuccino and a red velvet cupcake please", he ordered.

She scribbled on her pad and confirmed the order before leaving, "Okay sir, noted. A cappuccino and a red velvet cupcake, that's all?". He nodded his head and she left quickly.

The store wasn't full to its potential but it was still a bit busy currently. The working hours were decent and the owner was a family friend. Most customers only came to see the two beautiful waitresses that worked there, and one certain redhead was good at capturing their attention as usual.

Rey waited until Alena finished with her work. He insisted to drop her home. Alena wasn't keen on it, knowing he must be busy but he said he wanted to ensure her safety and insisted that he takes her home, at last, she gave in and went with it.

The spring breeze was fluttering the leaves of the trees. They both got on his Rolls Royce Phantom, a beautiful black colour, the shiny paint glinting even under the streetlights.

"So? I'm taking that we're friends now", Rey extended his hand for a handshake.

Alena's lips broke into a smile. "Not quite yet", she smirked at him. To which he pouted.

"But why?", He said with his eyebrows knit together. "I thought this marks the beginning of our friendship, officially. What am I supposed to do to gain your trust then?"

"She chuckled, "how can I trust that you won't spill the beans about my job here? I need assurance of that before trusting you", she squinted her eyes in distrust.

"Awww come on! That's it ?? If you ever want your secrets safe, that safety lock protection, that guy is me, it's me. People entrust me with their secrets all the damn time you know? I'm that trustable. Doesn't my face say so?", He leaned his face a little closer to hers. From the sudden closeness, Alena blushed and felt awkward, as a quick reflex she turned her head around.

When he realized how close they were, seeing Alena's reaction, he apologized. "Ah, I'm s-sorry. It wasn't on purpose"

She turned around and smiled at him, "It's alright. I trust you. So then, friends?", She extended her hand for a handshake this time. He shook her hand with a gleeful look on his face. He was like a dog who saw his master after a long time wagging his tail.

He resembled a dog. If he had a spirit animal, Alena thought it would be a dog. She giggled to herself.

He was embarrassed at his quick response and blushed, looking the other way. He loved how warm Alena was, he couldn't help but feel attracted to her energy. She had a strange magnetism to her aura, her personality. He was drawn to her. His cheeks burned thinking about it.

"Oh! It's here. Please stop", as the car halted, she got off the car and turned around, "Thanks a lot for dropping me home", she smiled and left.

Rey's heart was beating a little fast as he watched her leave. "See you tomorrow!", He shouted peeking out of the window.

She turned and waved at him and his care left as she entered her house. Alena was feeling extremely tired. It had been a long day.

Before she realized she had already made some good new friends at her school. School life was fun and exciting.