As time ticked by slowly, the throng of people packed in the small diner thinned with every bypassing minute. The loud chaos soon turned to a chipper of voices and the soft 80's tune played smoothly in the background. Thirty minutes until midnight. Thought Jennifer, counting down the time that its going to take the last table to clear.
The usual bustling kitchen was clean and sparkling, with not a hair of another employee in sight. They all had left after finishing the last orders and washing the kitchen and dirty dishes, the were off.
"All expect me." Mumbled a grumpy teenage girl, her chin resting on her hand as she blew at the piece of hair that managed to loosen itself from the messy bun. Her chocolate brown eyes studied the happy faces.
How could they smile and laugh? How could they stay happy? Wondered the girl.
A pair of eyes locked with hers, gesturing with his hands for the bill. She nodded, her fingers typing in the password then she proceeded to print out the bill. While the bill is being printed, Jennifer turned around and picked out the silver tray off of the shelf. Snatching the already printed bill, she made a beeline to the specific table.
A smile graced her pump lips though it never reached her eyes. "Here's your bill, Sir." Carefully she placed the small tray onto the table, then picked up the empty dishes. Throwing a fleeting smile at the family sitting around the table, she returned to the , she placed the dirty dishes in the dish washer after cleansing it with water and dumping away what bits of food are leftover.
The chatter faded in a distant and the door swung open with the soft jingle of bells before it closed again behind the family. Drying her hands with a cloth she made her way back into the diner. Locking the door and flipping the open sign to closed. Her hand lingered on the door knob for awhile as she stood fascinated by the sudden change of weather. The black sky was now covered with thick grey clouds that were mourning the loss of a precious soul. A gush of rain smacked onto the ground; the clouds started to weep. Crackling thunder and strikes of lightning cut through the clouds. The booming sound shook the ground Jenny stood on.
A soft ding of the timer caused Jenny to jump in a start. The teenager turned around aburtly heading back to the table. Her footsteps ceased in front of the table, glaring at the pile of mess that family made.
Seriously, you'd think a Mother, Father and teenage daughter would now how to eat. Obviously, they don't. I'm sure as hell none of their Mothers taught them how to eat like a proper human being and not like a bunch of monkeys.
Sauce stained the table, boys of food scattered on the table and fell on the ground nonetheless it's a pile of mess. The brunette grimaced in distaste.
More work for me.
Silently, she thanked Marcus for being genuine enough to mop the floor, clean the tables and organize the other empty tables. Now all Jenny has to do is clean up behind the hooligans and take out the trash. A simple task.
The clock chimed, signaling the end of Friday night. Her damp cloth wiped away the last stain of sauce and the spots of sprayed soap. The background music playing is one of the recent songs of the days. Jenny hummed to the tune, bobbing her head. Her hands hauled up the chair and flipped it so its resting on the table; moving on to the other two and doing exactly what she did a second ago.
She was finally done with the cleaning.
The storm outside had subsided to a soft drizzle of rain, yet the sky remains a stormy grey color. Her vans hit the floor quietly as she made her way towards the bag of trash that Gilbert bless his heart collected. She dumped the leftover dirt, tied the trash bags and carried two at a time to the backdoor. Placing two at the time on the steps, until a pile of trash bags was gathered. Her light fingers hauled two at a time and threw them into the trash can, proceeding with the same technique until all trash is thrown away for good.
A groan wafted with the air came from behind the bunch of trash her hands nervously onto her jeans, Jenny hesitantly poked her head around a huge trash can. Her heart shattered at the sight of a teenage boy, no older than she is. His lips a light shade of blue and his clothing drenched, clinging to every muscle on his arm and chest; he was laying on the ground motionless. He violently shivered, he's obviously freezing! The chocolate brown orbs wandered up to his face and bore into his mesmerizing sea blue-green eyes that peeked up at her through his thick dark lashes.
"Help.." He rasped.
She shuddered suddenly aware of the fact that she too is drenched from head to toe. Her teeth clattered. Her gaze wandered down his body at the bloody leg.
"O-okay." Jenny stammered a reply.
Her body cautiously made its way towards the stranger, well aware and alerted. Gently, she heaved the boy up to his feet. His arm rested around her shoulder as he limped his way over to the door. Her petite form struggled with the extra weight on her shoulder. Jenny could hear his faint heart beat pounding due to her being this close to the boy, she could also feel his icy hand clutching her shoulder for dear life and the sound of his heavy breathing.
They managed to make it inside before one of them tumbles to the ground. I got to keep him warm. Think Jenny, what would mom do when you catch a cold? Her mind pondered around, searching for ideas that would keep the boy warm enough to stop shuddering. Water dripped on the floor, drawing a trail behind Jenny.
Hot coco always made me feel better, and fluffy blankets helped in keep me warm. With that thought in mind the brunette bustled around the diner in search of blankets. She was sure that there's a bunch of them in here somewhere, or else what would the diner do to keep the guests warm on a cold winter day?
Heaters! That's it, open the heaters. Why didn't I think about that before? She mentally kicked herself. The switch is in the basement below.. Oh God. Gulping nervously, Jenny hesitantly made her way over to the basement door.
The door creaked open, overwhelming darkness met her sight of view. The top of stairs touched by the dull glow of the diner's few lightened lights showed however the descending steps were swallowed in darkness, hiding them from the bare eyes. Jenny leaned forward, standing on her tiptoes while her hand seeks the light switch that shall fill this room with light. Her hands fumbled through the darkness, brushing lightly against the walls that are bathed by shadows on a quest to find the switch. Finally her hands brushed a smooth and cold surface, her fingers felt the smooth surface then flicked the switch open.
The bulbs flickered open, frightening away the darkness. Dark shadows clung to the walls seemingly afraid of the light. Her small feet took the first step down, the step groaned under the pressure. Briskly she cascaded the stairs, towards the many switches lining the walls; each of different color, size and shape. Labels were added over each switch to identify the use of it. Her gaze averted from one label to another, searching for the specific switch to turn on the heaters.
A bright neon colored label stood out with the word heater printed on it in capital letters. Her fingers slided the switch to the left to open. Amongst hearing loud noise of air pipes roaring with life, fans blowing and the scraping of metal against metal Jenny made her way back to the top of the stairs; turned off the light and locked the door upon exiting the basement. Warm air flooded through the AC, spreading throughout the diner.
Check on the boy. Her conscious whispered softly. Long slender legs followed the demand into the diner, where the teenager rested on one of the red sofa's. His eyelids sealed close with long brown lashes caressing his high cheekbone, his chest moved in a relaxing pattern of calm breathes. He's asleep. Jenny tiptoed her way towards him. Her legs stopped in front of him, crouching downwards to come in length with his eyes. Her delicate fingers brushed away his fringe, that had fallen and covered his eyes from sight. Her hands felt his temperature. He wasn't freezing but his body was still cold, the shivering stopped which is a good sign.
A strange urge arose, electrifying her insides and jolting through her bones. She wanted to kiss him; wanting to explore his mouth with her tongue, battling a war of lust and to feel his smooth lips onto hers. She didn't know where that sudden rush of desire came from, but she couldn't deny it either. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she took a step back. The more the distance separating them the better.
A few inches away stood Jenny, her eyes a glaze and transfixed on the beautiful creature before her. Where did he come from? What happened to him? How could I stop the bl- As the questions begun to pile up, her eyes took the time to search his body for any visible injuries. To her relief there was no injuries and what caused her body to paralyze in shock was the fact the bleeding leg wasn't anymore and scar was gone, all that remains are the stains of blood and the ripped cut on his jeans.
How did he heal so fast?
That's abnormal..