My eyes slightly droop as I hop out of the bus outside my father's diner. I still make an effort to tell Jim to have a nice day. As usual, he grunts at me impatiently and narrows his eyes at me as if to silently tell me to get off the bus without speaking to him for once, like every other normal student.
With an amused smile, I shake my head from side to side as if to silently tell him that I never will. It takes no effort to be well-mannered. And who knows, maybe one of these days my, have a nice day, statement will lift his spirits instead of dampening his mood.
Before shutting the doors with a loud puff, Christian hurriedly slips through the closing doors while clumsily carrying a bunch of things in his hands. Helpfully, I grab his assignment and the water bottle out of his hand. He's such a disorganised child. How exactly he manages to be valedictorian is beyond me.
I cover my mouth when a yawn escapes me and my eyes pinch open and close rapidly to get rid of the tears gathering there. In the end, I resort to digging my fingers into my sockets to wipe away the wet remnants.
"How are you already yawning?" he muses as we walk up to the diner. "We haven't even started studying? We have like three chapters to do if you want to understand the last chapter. You b-better swallow the rest of your other yawns."
"Yeah, I know."
This was actually a stupid plan. I don't know why I even agreed to this. For the past hour, I have had to pretend that I don't understand my school work when in reality I do. I had no idea how annoying it could be to have someone diligently explain something to you that you already know. I am definitely getting a perfect grade for the finals though.
With an irked look on my face, I push the door open and immediately my eyes are searching for Riley so that he can take my new educator off my hands. I would have preferred it if I had just told him I wanted us to be study partners.
I'm guessing the bell ringing throughout the diner must have alerted Riley because suddenly he pokes up from behind a booth. When I glance down at the bouquet of roses in his hands, my face sets in a frown.
What the hell is this? I thought he wanted to mend a friendship.
"What... What is this?" Christian interrogates me and the no-nonsense look on his face unintentionally makes me a little nervous.
With my gaze flickering over to Riley, I feign surprise as well. "Oh, Riley, you're here too? What a coincidence." Then I turn around to face my friend who does not seem at all convinced of my little performance. "It truly is a small world, Christian."
Scowling angrily, he says, "You're full of shit, Seong Jin," and then he turns around to exit the diner, but Riley rushes over to him and quickly grabs his arm.
"Munchy wait, don't be mad at him. I put him up to it. I just... I just wanna talk, that's all. I wanna explain myself and why I did what I did, why I do any of the shit I do."
Riley's words fortunately slightly placate him and when he glances over his shoulder at me, I mouth an apology at him. Riley coyly holds the bouquet out to him.
Christian pouts as if to hide the smile that so blatantly wants to escape him before grabbing the roses from his grasp and making his way into the diner to sit in our usual booth. Riley turns around and with a large grin, he holds his thumb up. Then he follows after him ignoring my blatant look of disapproval.
Behind me, I hear my dad yelling for me to put an apron on and work the till since I'm already here, doing nothing.
After politely smiling at yet another customer after handing them their card and relaying the automatic, enjoy your day, I roll my shoulder around tiredly and the smile that once was instantly drops.
Why am I even doing this again? I'm not getting paid for my work. This is actually free labour that I'm providing and I'm quite sure it is illegal. While walking by, Analys notices the pout on my face and she chuckles into her chest. Snatching the bag of crisps I was saving for my trip home, I irritably rip it open and furiously chew on them.
Glancing over at the booth that Riley and Christian are sitting in, I realise how relaxed they look together. As if they weren't fighting a while ago. Although I was slightly caught off guard by Riley appearing from his seat with a bunch of roses, the gesture obviously meant to be romantic, deep down I do still want them to be together. Then again, I only see the good parts of their relationship. I don't even know why they broke up in the first place.
When my phone lights up underneath the counter, I look down and after reading the notification, my heart skips a beat when I see that it's a text from Dominic asking me what I'm currently doing.
Dusting the crumbs from my fingers on the front of the apron and reach down for the device. It takes me couple of texts to eventually tell him that I'm being used for free labour at my dad's diner. When he asks me if I require saving, I grin in humour and tell him that I'm okay.
"If you're done smiling at your phone," I almost drop said phone and clumsily I catch it before it can fall, narrowing my eyes at Riley, "we're ready to leave."
"Where are you guys going?" I muse in interest, pocketing the device in the back of my jeans.
"We're done with our drinks so we're leaving. Christian has to be back at home before the sun sets. His mum is super protective of him and I don't wanna get on her bad side by dropping him off too late."
"So, you're just gonna leave without tipping me?"
The shorter boy standing beside Riley says, "I didn't b-bring my wallet," and then pointedly he looks over at Riley.
"Aargh, fine," he mutters, rolling his eyes and he pulls his wallet out of his pocket.
With a little amused smile, Christian hugs the bouquet of roses close against his chest and then he waves at me, walking out of the diner altogether. I don't miss the excitement in his step.
"By the way, thank you for helping me out like this. You didn't have to, especially with how shit I've been treating you throughout the years at school."
"Yeah, you kicked a football in my face because I made a comment about not being afraid to play with the big dogs just so I would be afraid to play with the big dogs."
"Yeah," he murmurs under his breath and then sheepishly he says, "Sorry about that."
Indifferently, I shrug and mutter that I apparently looked cooler after he did that.
"I spoke to Savannah by the way," he tells me and curiously, my eyes prompt him to tell me more. "I managed to get her to a point where she said that she might consider it, but honestly, I think you should just go and talk to her."
As he is handing me a fiver, I hesitantly ask him, "So are you guys back together? I mean, I know it probably is none of my business, but also I'm kinda curious and you know, since I did help you I feel like I sort of deserve to know."
A large smile breaks out over his face before he says, "No, we're not."
"Oh. I'm so sorry. I thought… I mean, it seemed like you guys were getting along pretty well."
"I told you, before he and I were dating we were friends first so that's why it seemed like we were getting along pretty well, because we do get along pretty well. I mean, I won't lie and say that I don't want him back, because I do. He knows that."
"What did he say?"
"Um… he said he'll wait for me. He said that he loves me, that he has never loved anyone as much as he's loved me nor does he think he ever will, but also he said that he can't save me from myself nor my demons. He just can't. And when he said that, it opened my eyes to how much strain I was putting on our relationship with all the things I never said and honestly, I think I may need therapy."
"Oh, I agree. Especially anger management because you have a tendency to burst out at people for the tiniest things ever," I inform him intelligibly.
When he glowers at me it proves my point.
Fearfully, I swallow a gulp.
Irritably, he grabs the bill out of my hand and with a plastic smile says, "I'm actually gonna need this for the ice cream on the way." And then he's walking out of the diner too, leaving me there opening and closing my mouth like a fish in water.