Lance suddenly woke up. He sat up from his bed. He brushed some hair away from his eyes. He looked at his wristwatch. "It's still 10:20..." He then tapped his tummy with his right hand. "I'm hungry," he said. "I wonder if the cafeteria is still open." He went out and proceeded to go.
The personnel in the cafeteria counter had just finished cleaning and went out of the door when Lance came in.
"Oh, no!" he panicked inside as his stomach growled. He looked to see if there are still something available to eat. He walked towards a vendo machine on the right side of the entrance to just buy something warm to drink instead of food. To his relief, a hot chocolate drink was still available. He put a bill, pushed the button of his desired drink and it dropped on the output plus his change on the upper side of the machine. He opened the can and started drinking slowly since it was still warm. As he subconsciously turned around, he saw something by the corner near a window. His eyes seemed to sparkle when he saw someone. He wanted to move his feet towards that someone was a bit hesitant. That someone was Claire who was eating a vegetable salad.
Nevertheless, he approached her. "Hi!," he greeted with one hand raised.
Claire looked up to see that person. Her facial expression seemed like she's trying remember who he is, again.
Lance felt awkward and embarrassed. "My name is Lance. If you can remember...?".
"Ah," she said as her expression changed. "Yes, I remember now."
He smiled a relief. "Are you here on vacation, too?"
She reluctantly nodded since she's a worker here and she wanted to cut him off already. She slowly looked away and continued eating.
He knew as much that she didn't want to talk. So he just nodded and decided to leave but his stomach betrayed him. It growled so loud that Claire looked at him in disbelief. He turned red in embarrassment. "Uh, that was, uhm..." he tried to make excuses but those were the only words he could say in that moment.
Claire put a hand on her mouth to stop her from laughing. He felt more embarrassed.
"Here," she said as she handed out a clubhouse sandwich that was sealed in a plastic sandwich bag.
"But..."
"You can take it. I'm full, anyway."
He nodded and took it. "Uhm, can I... join you?" He knew he said that without thinking.
She just let out a shallow sigh for him not to see it. "OK."
He felt a little happy which looked obviously in his eyes and the smile in his lips. He sat on the chair opposite him. He ate and glanced at some paperwork on the corner of the table. "Thank you for this sandwich, really."
"You're welcome," she said without looking at him
"I actually never expected I could see you here."
She didn't respond. He felt a chilly wind enveloped their spot. Just as he was about to break the ice, she finally spoke up. "We have a curfew at 9:30 PM," she softly said. "Why are you still up?"
Hearing her speak warmly compared earlier, he felt very happy for some reason. He just felt it. His eyes expressed it. "I suddenly woke up and felt that I was hungry. How about you?"
"I actually work here. I had just finished doing the inventory of ingredients available for me to prepare new dishes for next week."
"Wow!" he said in surprise. "So you're the chef here. The foods were all sumptuous. I've enjoyed eating it very much. We all loved it."
"Is that so? Thanks," she replied.
A long silence followed. Once again, Lance broke it. "How long have you been working here?" he asked. He's really a happy person, judging from his sincere smile.
She didn't maintain a straight eye-to-eye conversation with him. "For almost a year," she replied.
"The spring's temperature is perfect. How do you maintain that?" he asked.
She answered any question he asked her about the hot spring house. Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a female voice coming from the door.
"CLAIRE!" she softly called out.
Claire and Lance turned to the woman at the door. She was the receptionist of the house. She wore a pink loose pajama and a sky blue jacket. Her hair was not tied anymore. She also removed her make-up. Her arms were folded in her chest. "Claire!" she repeated.
Claire quickly stood up. "Yes, ma'am?" she replied.
"Why are you still awake?" she asked. "It's turning 11:00 now!" she said, looking at the wall clock. "One of the House's policies, which is the very strict one, is to stay in your room as early as 9:30," she continued. She was reminding her. "I don't want you breaking it."
Claire tried to explain. "I'm still doing my..." But the receptionist cut it. She turned her gaze at the guy she was with.
"You are..." the receptionist started to speak to him in a soft manner. "You're supposed to be sleeping now at your room."
Lance stood up. "I was..." he tried to explain but again, she cut it. She turned to her once again. She then sighed.
"If you want an uninterrupted date, you should do it tomorrow and outside the house," she said at the two.
The two both looked a little lost. "Date...?"
The receptionist smiled happily. She nodded.
"What?" Claire said, not shouting out loud. "Of course not, Anne, I mean, Ma'am."
Lance gazed at her. He said to himself, full of amazement, "How cool! She's not overreacting." He then smiled and laughed quietly. "She's really...." He looked at the receptionist. He said, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, for the trouble I caused this night." He lowered his head while apologizing. "We're not dating or anything," he added, smiling. "I got hungry so I went here. Thanks to Ms. Claire, she provided me something to eat. I'm satisfied now."
The receptionist clapped her fingers upon hearing what he just said. "Oh, really?" she said, excitedly. Lance nodded cheerily.
"Nice work, Claire!" she praised her.
Claire just nodded. She can't understand her boss, whether she's angry or not.
She turned back to Lance. "What's your name again, young man?" he asked him.
"Lance André!" he answered. "May I know yours, Miss?"
"My name is Annie Madrigal," she said, shaking hands with him. "Shall we call it a night?" she said, letting go of her hands. "It's very late now, you see."
He nodded. "Oh, yeah. Good night, Miss Madrigal." He started to walk out. He stopped by the door.
"Good night, Sir Lance," Annie Madrigal said, waving her hand at him, smiling. He smiled back then looked at Claire.
"Good night, Miss Claire!"
She heard him. "Good night."
"Thanks! See you tomorrow!" he added, walking out.
"What?" Her mind suddenly asked with his tone of voice. He seemed very clear and sure.
"Shall we rest now, Claire?" Ann told her.
Claire nodded. "Yes."