First day pt 2...

February 2005...

Almost immediately after the bell rang for lunch, all three of them breathed a huge sigh of relief before making their way to a different counter where a set of stools were aligned. Amanda sat down before bringing a little food flask from her bag and began eating.

She was in the middle of eating her food when she placed her spoon on the table and turned to look at the two of them , who were also eating their food, and asked, " When does the lunch break end?" Mary, was who's face was already stuffed with food, struggled to swallow her food before saying, "The lunch break starts by around 12:00, but it usually ends by around 12:20 to 12:30. Depends on whether there is an order or not".

"So that means, someone can order for something during our lunch and we might have to sacrifice our break to attend to the customer?" Amanda asked.

"Well, sometimes the customer could be nice enough to wait a few while". Jacob said before diverting his attention back to his food. Amanda also continued to eat her food .

The place was quite for a while before the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

Amanda packed her food flask and carefully put it back in her hand bag.

For a while, there weren't any orders until suddenly they started pilling up again. The orders kept coming in and for a while it seemed as though they wouldn't stop.

All three of them were in full work mode as they tried their best to complete all the orders as soon as possible.

As soon as Amanda was done with her last order, she quickly rung the bell and almost immediately, Ryan came rushing into the kitchen and took the plate from Amanda's hands before rushing out again.

...

Time flew by like the wind, because Amanda was so caught up with her baking, she didn't realize when the café closed.

From what she discovered through research, the café usually closes around 5:00 to 5:30 pm, depending on whether there's any work that needs to be done.

Amanda , Mary and Jacob cleaned the kitchen and arranged the tables and chairs before turning of the lights.

Before leaving the café, Amanda turned over the 'Open' sign before walking out through the front door.

Amanda made her way to her car that was parked just a few metres away from the entrance door to the café. She opened the door to her car before sitting inside. She started the car and once the engine started to blare, Amanda was already on her way home.

Amanda took a turn to the street that leads to the apartment when she noticed the fuel tank was low. She stopped her car by the side off the road for a while to think about were the closest gas station was. She remembered that on her way to the café, she saw a gas station not far from there.

She started her car before driving a short distance, she turned her car a bit before driving on reverse and then taking another turn to go back to the gas station.

The road wasn't that full so it wasn't that hard for Amanda to turn the car around.

Amanda drove a bit towards where the café was until she saw the gas station. Fortunately, there where only a few people there and only one person was Infront of her. While waiting in line, Amanda remembered the conversation she had with Adam during her lunch break.

...

"Hello mum". Adam said.

"Adam, how are things at home. Have the two of you eaten anything?" Amanda asked, worried, as she held the phone tightly in her hands.

"Everything's fine mum. Don't you worry. Savannah is just in her room".

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief before saying, " So have the two of you eaten?"

"Well, kind of. We took pancakes this morning".

"Have you guys eaten anything since I left?" Amanda asked waiting patiently for a response but got none. For a while the phone was silent. Amanda knew what that meant immediately, so she just took a deep breath before saying, " Don't worry, when I come home, I'd bring home some fast food, and if possible I'd buy some groceries as well".

"Okay mum".

"I'll come home soon, I promise". Amanda said before cutting the call.

...

In the midst of her thoughts, Amanda didn't realize that the person in front of her had already gone. She quickly snapped back into reality and drove her car to where the gas tank was. Amanda kept her eyes glued on the screen as the numbers kept increasing, for before it finally stopped.

Amanda pulled out her credit card from her hand bag before giving it to the guy. He pushed a few buttons on the P.O.S before giving it to her. Amanda typed the numbers before giving it back to him.

Amanda's hands began to shake and sweat as he printed her receipt.

As she drove out of the gas station, Amanda couldn't stop thinking about the same thing. Her kids hadn't eaten since she left home, they most be starving. All she wanted to do now is to go to the nearest fast food restaurant and order take out before coming home.

For a while it made her wonder how she'd manage to bring the kids home from school everyday if she wasn't able to close early. School starts soon and they've already missed a lot, they shouldn't have to be waiting 2 hrs everyday to get picked up from school.

She thought about paying for a school bus. Maybe it won't be a bad idea.

Amanda increased the speed of her car before taking a swift. She drove for a while before taking a halt and stopping the car in front of Herlens.

If not for Mary, Amanda won't have known the easiest short cut to Herlens from the café. For now, that's the only and closest restaurant Amanda knows to the apartment.

As soon as she reached the restaurant, she almost immediately parked the car before jumping out of it. She took a quick glance at her watch and realized it was already quarter past six.

She quickly closed the front door of the car before walking into the restaurant.

It almost seemed as though the restaurant was a bit more lively than it was the last time they came. All the bright and lively colours, the loud music playing in the background and people's chatter made the restaurant feel a lot more lively, it made her feel like she didn't want to leave.

Amanda already made up her mind about what she was going to order so it wasn't much of a struggle for her. Without wasting anymore time, Amanda made her way to the counter...

"Hello, uhm Jane". Amanda read the name's of one of the cashier's out loud as she waited patiently for a response.

Once the lady she called out to finally noticed her, she stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Amanda, " Oh, welcome to Herlens, what would you like to order?" The lady said, smiling warmly at Amanda.

"I'd have 2 large fries, 2 cheese burgers and 3 milkshakes ".Amanda said without any hesitation.

The lady typed on her monitor for a while before looking up to see Amanda and saying, "Would you like it to go or you're eating it here?".

"I'll take it to go". The lady continued typing on her monitor for a while before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Okay, it will be ready in a while". The lady said before Amanda left the counter and went to a random seat at the corner.

While waiting for the food, Amanda's eyes skimmed through the room. From the colourful walls, to the decorative flowers. The place looked so dreamy and wonderful. It was almost a pleasure that it wasn't too far from their apartment.

While lost in her thoughts, Amanda didn't realize a waiter was standing right behind her.

" Ma'am", the waiter said as he lightly tapped Amanda's shoulder. Amanda abruptly turned to look at who was behind her and when she saw who it was, she calmed down. "You order..." The waiter started but couldn't finish his sentence because Amanda quickly grabbed the nylon of food from his hand.

"Thank you". Amanda said to the waiter before walking away. She quickly rushed out of the door and to her car. She opened the front door and jumped inside the car before closing it. She kept the food in the passenger seat before starting the car and driving off...