Chapter 6 Unexpected Encounter

Freya’s P.O.V

“I’m so sorry, Julian.” I petted his light brown hair that still had some blonde highlights on it. “You’ll have to come to the restaurant with me this afternoon.”

“That’s alright.” Julian gave me a sweet smile. “I like the restaurant. Uncle Roger gives me treats sometimes!”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I took my brother’s hand and started walking in the direction of the restaurant. I hadn’t realized just how long I had stayed in the washroom, just staring at the mirror after listening to the girls and in doing so, I had been late to grab Julian from the Kindergarten. As a result, I was almost late to work, so I didn’t have time to send him back home before heading to Roger’s Diner, the place I work at after school.

Since I was a minor and a part-timer, I was only eligible for the minimum wage, but that was fine too. At least it was something. It helped me earn four hundred dollars a week, which was enough to buy supplies for the entire week and pay off some of my father’s debt that he had taken from our neighbours. Unfortunately, I had only joined work last year, out of fear of Julian starving to death, so I hadn’t been able to pay off much. There were still thousands of dollars to pay back and three months left till I turned eighteen and get a chance at a better wage.

Chris, the cleaning guy who was old enough to be my dad, greeted me as I was entering through the back door. “There you are, lad!” He handed me the huge garbage bags he was carrying, almost making me drop them because of the weight. “Throw these for me, will ya? And don’t drop them! You drop, you clean!”

I nodded my head with a forced smile as I told Julian to wait at the door as I threw out the trash. I didn’t bother reminding Chris that throwing the trash was a part of his job, not mine. He wasn’t exactly the nicest of people and I couldn’t afford to be fired from the job.

Taking Julian’s hand once I was done, I entered the restaurant through the back door, through the kitchen and was immediately flooded with all kinds of delicious scents. I felt my stomach rumble as I had only been able to get a sweet bun for lunch at school with the changes that I had in my wallet. But it wasn’t time to eat just yet.

“Roger?” I asked the owner as I saw him sitting at the back with a ton of bills, and his reading glasses sitting at the very edge of his nose. He was a man in his early fifty’s with salt and pepper hair that he liked to keep long, along with a big beard. He didn’t talk much to his employee’s, and was often strict with management, but he was a pretty decent guy. “Can Julian stay here during my shift today?”

Roger frowned as he looked up from the bills, his eyes holding some amount of anger at my question, but since Julian was with me, he didn’t bother scolding me. “He can stay today,” he said in his gruff voice. “Don’t make it a habit, kid.”

“I won’t, I promise.” I told him sincerely, because I knew having a five year old in a restaurant full of grown men and women was no fun. They cussed a lot and used certain terminology that wasn’t fit for a child, but now everyone would have to watch their words and be tight lipped around him. Especially during peak hour.

Seating Julian at the back, next to Roger, I took out his books and told him to catch up on homework while I changed into my uniform; a crisp white shirt, blue knee length skirt and an apron with the Diner’s logo on it. I placed my writing pad in my front pocket and combed my hair so it didn’t look uneven. It was obvious that the cut wasn’t professional, but at least it was short and neat.

“Freya! Customers!” One of the older waiters called out as he came inside the kitchen with his hands full of dirty dishes.

“Got it!” I ran outside to the dining area, ready to take orders, but I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I was a few feet away from the table.

My heart literally skipped a beat when I saw who I had to serve this afternoon.

Cameron, Derek, Alex and the cheerleaders. And by cheerleaders, I didn’t mean their entire Belfast High Cheerleading squad, but the girls who were always seen hanging off of their arms, their rumoured girlfriends and their besties. The ones who were always making fun of me.

Fuck my life!

Swallowing, I put on my fakest smile as I approached their table. “Are you ready to order?”

Cameron was the first person to notice me, and then, one by one, all their attention turned towards me as several eyes widened and eyebrows were raised in amazement.

“Goodness! The freak show can actually smile!” Derek laughed as he pointed towards me. “What do you think, Trisha?”

I grit my teeth together as Trisha laughed at my face, while placing her hands in front of her face to look like a posh lady. “You called her a freak show yourself! How do you think she looks?”

How? How come everyone I hated was here at this moment? The only reason I chose to work at this restaurant was because it was far enough from school that not a lot of students frequented this part of town. Then why were they all here, at this cheap restaurant, rather than at a fancy Italian restaurant ordering fancy pasta and shit?

All I wanted was just a peaceful ending of the day, was this too much?