Ch 180 - Old Pals

Leona stared at Alex, then slowly stood up and walked over to him. The people watching, became a little flustered, especially Darryl, who clenched his fists.

Someone asked, "What's she doing? Surely, she's not going to choose him?"

His friend agreed, "It looks like she's willing to ruin her family over a cob of corn."

"I just can't believe it," said another man.

Alex was also stunned, and his heart fluttered as he wondered, is Debbie finally going to admit that she knows me?

She went right up to Alex, looked him directly in the eye, smiled, and said, "I want to thank you. Your corn was delicious. It made me feel very emotional and, because of this, I know for sure that you are deeply in love with your girlfriend, Debbie. I'm very moved by your love. She's very lucky to have a boyfriend who loves her as deeply as you do, but I'm really not her. However, I really am not Debbie, so I hope that from now on you will respect the fact that your girlfriend and I are two different people. You must stop thinking that I am her."

She felt that his obsession with her was bad for both of them, so she wanted to convince him that he was making a mistake.

When she finished speaking to Alex, she went back over to Darryl.

One onlooker said, "Oh, I was worried then. I thought that she was going to accept him, but she just let him down very gently."

"Hey, the boy is unbelievable. He really thought that he could win her affections with a corncob," said another.

His companion agreed, "He needs to get over it and understand that she's rejected him. Everyone can see that Miss Marvel and Darryl are a perfect match."

Darryl was relieved when he saw that Leona had rejected Alex, and he wondered how he had ever felt threatened by him. After all, he was just a loser from the street. Miss Marvel would never be attracted to someone like him.

He said to Leona, "Miss Marvel, ignore him now. I think there's something wrong with him. You haven't eaten much. Sit down and let's get back to our meal."

"I'm full, thanks. I'd like to go home, please," Leona said.

"Okay, I'll take you back now," Darryl said as he picked up the car key from the table, "let's go."

"You don't have to take me. I can get home by myself," Leona told him. She continued, "Listen, Darryl, I enjoyed having dinner with you today, but I don't think that we're suited to each other. If you like, we can just be friends."

Darryl's smile froze. He was embarrassed by her rejection but wasn't prepared to give up yet. He asked, "Please, can you tell me what I did wrong? Miss Marvel, if you tell me, I will change it. We had too little time alone tonight. You haven't had a chance to get to know me properly."

"No need to, but thank you," Leona said to him with a smile. At that moment, Leona's bodyguard walked into the room. He said, "Miss, the car is outside."

Leona nodded to Darryl and Alex respectively, and then followed the bodyguard out of the restaurant.

Again, the other diners started to comment. One woman said, "I think Miss Marvel just rejected Darryl."

His friend said, "Darryl must feel even worse than that other loser. After all, she let him down gently, but her rejection of Darryl was brutal."

The woman said, "Don't let Darryl hear you say that. He already looks so angry."

Darryl stood on the spot and watched Leona through the window as she climbed into the car and drove away. He felt angry and frustrated. He had been planning this evening for a long time, and even before the meal was over, Leona had rejected him. He felt that she had given him even less chance to prove himself than she had given that loser, Alex.

The whispers of the onlookers made him blush and feel humiliated. He had already paid for the meal, so he simply glared at Alex and left quickly.

The manager quickly ushered Alex out of the restaurant after him.

Alex had started to feel a little more optimistic. Although Leona had still refused to admit that she was Debbie and acknowledge that she knew him, at least she had rejected Darryl.

He remained convinced that, with persistence, he would find a way to convince her.

It was already eight-thirty in the evening as Alex slowly pushed his rental bike up the road. That moment, he heard someone cry, "Alex." He looked up and saw that it was his high school hall monitor Myriam Henley and her boyfriend Jake.

"Did you come to the restaurant by bike?" Myriam asked him.

"Honey, Alex must be the person that we saw being kicked out of the restaurant by the security guards," she said to Jake with a chuckle. "I can't believe that he dared to even go into that restaurant dressed like that."

A BMW drove by. The owner leaned out of the window, pointed to Alex, and said with a smile, "Alex. No one can believe that you asked Miss Marvel out today. It's so funny that she rejected you like that in the restaurant. Haha! you loser."

Myriam was astounded. "You asked out someone from the Marvel family? One of Mr. Marvel's daughters?"

"Yes, this guy still dreams of marrying into the Marvel family, but he was rejected by Miss Marvel in person. He also quarreled with Darryl Brennan," the owner of the car answered her, and then sped away.

Myriam was hysterical. She laughed, "Haha! Alex, you crack me up. You went to the restaurant dressed like that to ask Miss Marvel for a date?" She was laughing so much that she started rocking back and forth. She continued teasing Alex. "By the way, where do you work now? How much money can you make in a month? I think you might as well drop out of school and go to work in the electronics factory?"

"Hey, Myriam, what are you talking about? Alex is too good for the electronics factory," Jake joked. "He's one of the best students at Preston University. He wouldn't be seen dead at a factory. He's planning to be a top manager of a multinational business. Am I right, Alex?"

"All right, let's leave him alone. Let's go to a different restaurant to eat. I still can't believe he thought he could afford to eat somewhere like this," Myriam said as she looked snootily at Alex, took Jake's arm, and walked away.

Alex rode his bike back to his rented room.

**

For the next twenty days, Alex continued with his plan. Every day, he waited for an hour at the gate of Arlington Heights. But he was not as impulsive as he had been previously. When he saw Leona walking out of the building, he just stood quietly on the street and watched her. He was satisfied just seeing that she was well. Of course, he observed several other rich young men trying to court Leona, but none were successful. After nearly three weeks, however, she was still looking at him with puzzlement and anxiety, and he realized that she was starting to lose her patience with him.

One day, Lindsey calculated that Alex had been waiting there for more than a month, and she couldn't understand what he was doing. She told him, "You better not wait here anymore. My sister really isn't this 'Debbie' that you think she is. Waiting here like this isn't going to get you anywhere."

Alex was used to a lack of comprehension from everyone who saw him. With a cool smile, he said, "Thank you, but she's the meaning of my life. How can I live without her?"

"Is it really worth it? You must understand that my sister can't be with you." Lindsey frowned slightly. Alex didn't answer. He just sat quietly opposite the gate of Arlington Heights.

Lindsey told him, "My sister is about to start school. She's studying at Richmond University. She's hardly ever going to come back here. There's no point in you waiting here anymore."

"Okay, thank you for letting me know," he replied calmly, but inside, his heart was hammering. Lindsey looked at him for a few seconds, then sighed and walked away.

The next day, Alex followed Nelly to the RFK Memorial stadium to set up the pancake stand. Nelly was becoming frustrated with Alex's visits to Leona every day and threatened to reduce his pay. She had already deducted money from his salary that month.

Business was good for them at the stadium, and they made more than two hundred dollars that morning.

At lunchtime, a girl approached the food truck and said, "Two pancakes please." When she saw Alex, she said, "Alex, it's you."

He looked at the girl carefully and recognized her as one of his old high school classmates, Phillipa. They had never paid each other much attention in class.

He smiled and said politely, "Phillipa, what a coincidence. You're also here in Washington, D.C." But she ignored him and called to her friend, "Myriam, come over here."

A moment later, Myriam came over. When she saw Alex working in the food truck, she smiled at him scornfully.

Phillipa took Myriam's arm and said with a smile, "Myriam, you told me a few days ago that Alex was here, but I didn't believe it. Now I know it's true."

Myriam sneered, "Hmm, I also said that he found a job. I didn't realize that his job was selling pancakes. It's hilarious."

Phillipa was still surprised. She said to Alex, "Yes, Alex, what are you doing? You're a student of Preston University. Even if you needed to find a part-time job, you should have found something decent. You shouldn't be doing something so menial."

Myriam and Phillipa were studying at a university in Washington, and the new term was about to start. They had returned to the city early.

Although the university that they attended wasn't a particularly good one, Myriam had found a rich boyfriend. For that reason, Phillipa wanted to stay on her good side. She knew that in the future when she was looking for a good job, Myriam's boyfriend could help her.

"Phillipa, don't bother. I could tell when we were in high school that he had no ambition to improve himself. It looks like he's no different now," Myriam sneered.

Myriam was proud of herself and looked down at Alex. At that moment, pungent smoke wafted into her face.

Myriam and Phillipa started choking. They quickly took a few steps back, bent down, and coughed. When they finished coughing, Myriam pointed to Nelly and asked angrily, "What are you doing?"

She saw that Nelly had burned the pancakes and was tilting the pan to let the smoke blow straight out toward them.

"What's the matter?" Nelly asked with a smile. "I'm sorry, but it seems that I've burned your pancakes. Do you still want them?"

Myriam was furious. "You have to cook fresh ones for us right now," she said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm tired, and it's too late to make fresh ones. If you want these, you can have them for free," Nelly replied with a smile.

"You stupid cow. What do you mean you're too tired?" Myriam shouted as she glared at Nelly. She was ready to push her way into the food truck, but before she could move, Nelly tilted the pan and a stream of hot oil dripped onto the ground by her feet. Myriam squealed and stepped back.

"Forget it, Myriam. Let's go and get food somewhere else," Phillipa said. She took Myriam's arm and pulled her away.