Suprisingly, Noah didn't tell Paul about it, it wasn't as if Josef asked him not to. The truth is, he would like to see how Paul would react to it. When Noah was looking at him, he wore this grin as if he knows something that only the two of them knows. It annoys Josef because that grin implies that he was indebted to Noah for not telling Paul about it.
The two spend the afternoon working in the convenience store, to his annoyance. Josef realized that the customers usually come at night, when the customer at the barbecue shop was at its peak. He learned that after they eat, people usually come at the convenience store to buy drinks, sweats or cigarettes. Josef couldn't help but to admire Paul for building this convenience store beside his very shop.
At 7 p.m. Paul entered the store together with his late night workers, it marked the end of Lucas' and Noah's shift. He looked up and saw that sky was covered by dark red clouds. A sign that there might be rain at night. He stretched his arm and felt relieved that his shift was finally finished. Josef was also surprised to his self, he never thought he would be this relax. Yes, he was angry in the start of this arrangement but in the midst of all the computing and serving that he did the anger vanished.
At home, the three of them had dinner. When they had arrived, the table was already arranged and Emilia and Lian was already sitting on it as if she was only waiting for the three of them.
"Josef, helped me with the messed that you made," his father announced.
All eyes were turned to him, even the silent Lian, but her's are more of curious—asking Josef why the hell he was here in this table.
"You sure are proud of him?" Emilia asked. He glanced at her and caught him staring at him, he didn't like how she had said it.
"He have a nice grade. I'm sure his a good kid."
"Then you should see his records then?"
His father looked up and stared at him, before he turned his eyes to Emilia.
"Your son had been in fights more than this other son of yours," she said pointing at Noah who shrugged on the accusation. Then she looked at Lucas, with a sense of victory. He knows that this woman was expecting for him to grovel and stuttered as Josef tried to reasoned out, but Josef wasn't like that. At that moment he felt like laughing, at the stupidness of the scene and at this woman for her effort to throw him out. She was obviously didn't like the idea of him being here.
"They picked fight with you?" his father asked.
Josef stared at him and shook his head, "I'm the one who picked fights with them."
He said it without breaking his stare at his father.
"There Paul, the product of your seed, we must see how this two sons of yours would fare," she said and eat.
His father didn't say anything but the disappointment was there, hanging at his shoulder like a cape. *It looks as if it would be better if I'm the one who's bullied.*
But Josef didn't care to any of it. His father's disappointment it was nothing to him. He enjoyed the rest of the dinner in silence.
Later that night, his father brought him to his new room as he had said to him. He said to him before ge closed the door. "I smoke you know," he said and put his suitcase on the wall.
His father looked at him, assessing him. He know that he wanted to talk back, but couldn't find the rights words to say.
"How? It was Nita who raised you, how could that thing happened? I am expecting she was more strict."
Lucas didn't know how to answer that, because including Grandma Nita hadn't asked that thing to him.
His father sighed and nodded to no one in particular, "just do it outside the house, or opened your window if you're doing it... how many in a day."
"I rarely finished one pack," he said.
"Raely eh? How rare it could be done."
He smiled and shrugged.
"I don't know what would I do to you," he said and closed the door. "I'll try finding an ashtray for you."
As he was left alone to his own, the feeling of sadness that had been creeping with him ever since Grandma Nita left him had suddenly come back.
---
When Lucas arrived on the barbecue shop, the sun was already lighting the dark road and alleys. From the distant he could now see the sun itself. On this side of the town the sky was still dark, but it had a texture of a pale red and violet looked that suggested that the day was about to come.
Lucas felt like his body was floating from staying awake the whole night, he was also hungry and determined to eat something before he went home. He figured out that he didn't really much have of a plan for this day or for the day after. He realized that he need to do something about it, he might as well make a daily routine so he wouldn't lost track of what he needed to do.
He entered the barbecue shop, there are no customers that early aside from Lucas. He immediately sat on tha table that was nearest to the tent. Since it's an open shop it doesn't have a real walls but just a tent to house the restaurant.
From here Lucas could already here the sound of gruffing voices. A waiter came out on the left, to his surprised it was the weird guy who was touching the window in the train. He looked at Lucas borely, he stood beside him almost mechanical and asked about his order. Lucas wouldn't mind if people show their gestures of annoyance to him. But the voice, there was something about the voice that always irritates him.
And this guy was one of those.
"What do you want?" He said fastly. Lucas thought he might as well said 'what the hell do you want.'
Lucas looked up, his head still dizzy and leaned back on his chair and asked, "what did you say?"
There's a hint of disbelief in the guy's face as he had repeated again what he had said. But Lucas just stared at him and the boy had also did the same.
"I want soup," Lucas said though he know that it was impossible for a barbecue shop to have a soup. He was surprised when the guy started writing. Lucas eyed him and realized how annoyed the guy was. His brows were knitted and his lips are pressed in a thin line. *What a fine lips he has.* His looked shifted at his disheveled hair that look as if he was hauled out of his bed just to stood there and take Lucas' order. When he was heading out, Lucas spoke, "On the second, all I want was to get away on this place."
The guy abruptly looked back and Lucas saw the flaring anger there. He continue to looked at him as he headed outside the store. *I'm not visiting that place ever again, such an annoying waiter they have there.*
He sighed as he traced back his way to his brother's apartment. Suddenly his stomach growled. *I need to find somewhere to eat.*