"Aree, it's your table." Xavier appeared behind him. As soon as the business started his tone changed into a commanding one.
"Yes, sir." Aree took a deep breath before moving. 'It must be fate. Destiny had brought me together.' With a smile in his heart, he moved.
"Maam, what would you like to order?"
The table of four turned silent. Two boys and two girls. From the talk, he was sure it was her cousins and brother. So he approached her with a bright smile.
"Shouldn't you clear the table first?" The biggest one, the teenager enquired. Before Aree could respond, the boy who had called Minki sister, snatched the menu from his hand.
"Hey can't you see the menu in front of you?" The hall fell silent. Aree's voice was too loud.
"I will take what I want, why does it matter to you?" The boy glared back at Aree.
Aree ignored him, took out another menu and, "Maam, order whatever you like. I will personally recommend you the winter sea course. It will suit your taste…"
"Hey, are you ignoring me?" The table was gaining all the attention it needed. Though the restaurant had just opened still most of the table had filled up and the voice of the boy was like a magnet.
"What do you want?" Aree was irritated too. He wanted to make a good impression to her but…
"What is with your attitude? Don't think just because we are at the same age you can act friendly to us." The teenager joined in.
"Yes, you are just a waiter here, and who do you think I am?"
Aree was about to refute but stopped. With a look at his attire, he turned to Minki, she was hiding her face, not daring to look at him.
"It's just a misunderstanding. I am not what you think." As soon as Aree's hand touched her shoulders she jumped up and it triggered.
"Hey, what are you doing?" It was the other girl who had shouted first and the punch landed on his face from the side.
It wasn't the punch which was painful neither it was fast enough that Aree couldn't dodge but he didn't know how to react looking at Minki who was cowering in the chest of the other girl.
Before the next one can hit its target someone pulled Aree off the path.
"Sorry sir, this boy is still inexperienced. Please forgive him." It was Xavier, pushing down the head of Aree, he gave a full bow too.
"What inexperienced? He touched my sister. I will fu**ing kill him." The boy shouted. "Do you know who I am? I will…"
The teenager stopped him.
"Sorry sir, please forgive him. As an apology, the meal of today will be on the house." Xavier was as polite as he could be.
"Do you think we are begar? Forgive him just for a meal?" The temper of the boy couldn't be reflected from his age. But the teenage behind him was calm, "Fire him now."
"Sir."
"Now, I said." The teenager thundered.
But before anyone could respond Aree moved. Without a single word, he left the restaurant in the attire of the waiter.
"What is with the attitude?" The girl spoke in disdain. Hiding in her chest Minki looked at the back that vanished in the crowd outside.
**********
On the very next day. The car stopped in front of the restaurant again and the girl came out. Pushed opened the door only to be greeted by…
"Sorry, but the restaurant will open after one hour, if yo…" The voice stopped, unable to complete the sentence, the man stepped back.
"Can I meet the boy?"
The man hesitated before answering, "He never came back. He is fired."
'This is to be expected.' Minki hesitated before asking again, "Can I get his contact info?"
"Pl-Please wait a moment." The man ran inside, soon enough Xavier came out. Seeing her, Xavier stopped and bowed, "Sorry madam, for the misbehavior of my staff yesterday. We have fired him, it will be better if you don't pursue that matter anymore."
"No, no. It is not because of that." Minki stopped, hesitated to talk anymore but spoke, "I need to thank him."
"Thank him? For yesterday?"
Minki shook her head vigorously. "He, he had helped me before. I didn't get the chance to thank him."
"Listen, girl, you are young, but I think you should listen to this old man. What happened before yesterday doesn't matter anymore, but after yesterday's incident it would be better if you don't meet him. It will be good for both of you."
"This is our head chef." Xavier introduced Dan, who just came out of the kitchen.
"But…"
"No but. We have no intention to give you his contact information to create more trouble for him."
"But I want to thank him?"
"Thank him? Then what? Get him back to work? If those brothers of your get the hint of it, will they let it pass?"
"I don't know. I was afraid. That he will…" before she could complete the sentence broke into tears and ran back out of the restaurant.
"Idiot" Dan cursed as the car drove off. "That boy is an idiot. To fall for a girl like that."
"Don't you think it is for good?"
"I don't know, Xavier, I don't know. Only time will tell."
*************
"Thank you, thank you for all the support you have given us for the last three years. Hope you will continue to support us after we debut."
The girls on the front were going crazy, so did the boys at the back. It was a farewell program of the seniors of the high school.
'The roosters.', the winner of the country's top high school band competition was leaving too. Soon they are going to debut under the major label of the country. As the last performance as an amateur, they are giving their all.
"This will be the last song. It is not appropriate for the atmosphere, neither go with our genre, but it is written by my very close buddy, Aree. You might have heard about him, the top student of the year…"
Somewhere in the private box, the back of a girl straightened. It was the name she had heard before, but the person she had never seen once in the last six months.
"He would be very angry if I tell you the story behind it but all I can say there are some idiot between you who don't know how to say thank properly to the one who had helped them, this is for you."
The light dimmed, but the authentic cry of the drum couldn't be heard or guitar didn't scream. But the audience was hit by a soft melody as the guitar gently wept.
Let me live,
how I want to be.
All I need
been arranged… for me.
Let me for-get
what I don't need
Waste will it be
if you come to me.
Just let me live how I want to be...
The song was nothing special, sounded like rumbling by a heartbroken kid, but with the strong vocal and the fame of the band, it touched many hearts.
'He must have known that I have been looking for him.' With numerous thoughts in her mind, she ran, only to be stopped the stage security.
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk to the vocalists."
"About what?"
"About a song."
The security broke into a light smile. But before he could respond waves of girls were running towards them. The security grabbed her hand and pushed her inside before stopping the wave.
Little stunned from what happened, she was slow to respond as the band moved to the green room but soon followed.
"Excuse me. Can I talk to you for a moment."
"Which one do you want?" The face of the drummer couldn't be seen clearly behind the long hair.
"Stop it, Roy, she must be the one." It was the vocalist, Pear. "I have been waiting to meet you."
Pear led the way and she followed after a moment of hesitation.
"You still follow men in the rooms, you never learned." The words were spoken with a smile but devastated Minki. She stepped back.
"Don't worry. I am not that low. So what do you want to know?"
"Aree? Where is he?"
"Aree? He had left long ago. He was the top student and passed the exam long ago."
'That is why I couldn't find him.' Minki hesitated, "Where did he go?"
"Somewhere you can't find."
"Did he went abroad to study."
Pear gave a big smile, "Minki Arihat. One of the heirs of Arihat motors. Is there anywhere you can't go to study where Aree can?"
Hearing it Minki was shocked, "It couldn't be. He died?"
"What? You are an idiot. Aree wasn't someone who would die of heartbreak."
"Then?"
"He went to the army. Now leave me, I have to rest."
Minki left without a word.
"Shouldn't have talked about the heartbreak. Whatever she can go to him if she understood that he loved her." Pear could only sigh in the empty room. But he would have vomited blood only if he had known that rather than thinking about heartbreak, Minki was more regretful thinking that due to her Aree lost the job and forced to join the army.