Beep! Beep! Beep! I woke up to the shrill sound of my alarm clock telling me it was morning. I groaned and without opening my eyes, slapped the snooze button like it was a bomb about to detonate. I cursed as I tried my hardest to slip back into the dream I was just in, before the damn thing had woken me up. It was such a bizarre, yet beautiful dream, and one that I'd had every night for the past six months. I was walking alongside a river, late at night. The moon was full and the water glistened like tiny diamonds as it reflected its rays. The grass was soft and damp beneath my bare feet, and every step I took tickled. But the best thing was the man who was with me. I looked to my right. The most beautiful man I'd ever seen was walking next to me. He was looking back at me, smiling. He was tall, very tall. His coiled black hair was the kind you'd love to run your hands through while you pulled him close and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. His goatee made him look masculine but adorable at the same time. He smelled of dark spices that filled my nose like I was breathing him in. But that wasn't the best part. The best part was his exquisite diamond eyes. As he looked at me with them I felt captivated, hypnotized and safe. Even the alarming tattoo around his left eye didn't sway me. In the distance there was a tall oak tree. It was blessed with beautiful green leaves that seemed almost luminous as they hung inches from the ground. The tree swayed in the breeze as if beckoning us over to it, and we complied. Every time I had this dream, as we reached the tree he would push me against the trunk and kiss me. First, he would kiss my lips, then my neck. Every time he did that, he would look back into my eyes and open his mouth, exposing long white fangs, because he was in fact not just a normal man, he was a vampire. Then every time, I would nod my head, like I knew exactly what he wanted, and he would lower his head back to my neck and bite me, his fangs puncturing my skin. That's when I woke up. But this time was different, when we reached the tree he pushed me up to the trunk as usual, but instead of kissing me he leaned closer to my ear.
"ZeroSum" He whispered. This was the first time I'd heard his voice and Jesus Christ! It was sexy! It was low, husky and seductive.
"What?" I asked after I got past the oh-my-god moment of his voice.
"ZeroSum" he said in that same low tone "Be there tonight"
"What are you-"
I moaned as my alarm went off again, reminding me I kind of had to get my ass out of bed now. I shut it off and somehow after a lot of blinking, I managed to get both of my eyes open at the same time. I sat up, maybe a bit too fast, because I fell straight back down to my pillow. Christ, I felt horrible today. After a few seconds, I sat up again, slower this time and managed to stay up. I glanced over at my messy bedside table. It was covered with about twenty packets of Banana Twinkies. That explained why I felt like hell this morning. I'd been up all night studying for my entrance exam to University and I could never study without munching on something sweet and fattening. I looked over the side of my bed, my books were on the floor, scattered everywhere. I must have fallen asleep and knocked them off. I glanced back over to my bedside table and the alarm clock that sat on there, staring me in the face, almost sneering at me. I glared back. It was 6:23am which meant I'd have just enough time for a quick shower and some breakfast before heading out to the restaurant I worked at. Somehow, I managed to haul myself out of bed and shuffle through my out-dated, low-as-hell rent apartment. I wasn't surprised the rent was so low. The wallpaper in every room was so old it was peeling off at the tops. The living room wallpaper which used to be a deep red had now faded to a pale orange. The carpet had odd coloured stains on it and they were very visible since the carpet was white, despite my numerous attempts to clean the darn thing. I didn't even want to imagine what those stains were from. The only nice things in the apartment were the stuff I'd brought in. My couches were vintage pale blue with floral pillows. The curtains matched the pillows. My clock was very modern which, in all fairness didn't match most of the other furniture I'd brought in, but I didn't care. The clock was made for me by a friend, so I'd kept it anyway. I walked into my bathroom and locked the door behind me, very unnecessary since I lived alone, but it was a habit. The bathroom, as well as the rest of the apartment, was out-dated. The wallpaper was peeling off where the heat from the shower had forced it loose from the wall. The toilet seat was half falling off – I'd have to get that fixed at some point, or better yet get a new one. Although trouble was, I'd have to ask my landlord if I could replace it, which I'd rather not. My landlord was the type of guy you stayed away from. He was a slob who'd inherited the apartment block from his father and just sat around smoking weed and only came out of his apartment to harass the other residents. If it wasn't for the cheap rent I'd be out of there in a heartbeat.
I shuffled over to the shower and switched it on. While I waited for it to get hot I slumped over the sink and gave myself a once-over in the mirror. Jesus Christ, I was a mess. My near-waist length sandy hair was tangled and looked like I'd had a hot night of rolling around in the hay with someone rather than studying. My hazel eyes had dark circles under them from the mere three and a half hours of sleep I managed to scrape together and my skin was a lot paler than usual. I looked like a real-life zombie. I turned away from my horrid reflection and checked to see if the shower was warm, which it was. I undressed and slid under the calming spray. I always loved the feel of the warm water all over me. As the hot droplets collided with my skin, I felt all the stress and tension I'd been feeling from work and studying wash away, and I started to feel a bit more relaxed. As I washed my hair and body I thought back to my dream. For the six months I'd had that dream it was the first time he'd spoken. Be at ZeroSum tonight? ZeroSum was a club downtown. It was a shady place. There were drugs, prostitutes, fighting and much worse. It was not a place I wanted to go, at all. But I couldn't help but feel like I had to be there tonight, which was nuts. It was just a dream. It was bad enough that I was dreaming of a vampire biting me, but now he wanted to me to go to some random club.
I turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around myself, still wondering what the hell the dream meant. Letting my hair drip, I went out to the living room. As I drew the curtains back from the window the sunlight poured in and illuminated the whole apartment. One of the only things I liked about my apartment was the beautiful view out my window of Caldwell, NY. I lived on the top floor, so the view was spectacular. It was autumn and the street I lived on was covered in a blanket of golden leaves, the trees they had come off were near bare. The street was a quiet one. With nothing but the occasional bike or car going past, and most of the time that was just somebody leaving or returning home. The apartment building was the only one on the street, the rest were houses, big houses. I'd found out a while ago that the apartment building used to be a house too, but the owner had made it into apartments. Made you think about how big the houses really were if they could construct a four-story apartment building out of one. Sue, a lady who lived on the same floor as me, was going down the steps of the building. She was a nurse so she also left for work early. I didn't know her that well but she seemed like a nice lady. She was also pregnant.
I took one last look around and headed back through the living room to my bedroom. I glanced at my bedside clock again, it was 6.40am now. I took the towel from around my body and started drying my hair with it while I opened my wardrobe and speculated for something to wear. After contemplating what my outfit today was going to be for a couple of minutes, I settled on a white cotton vest and some fade out stretch jeans, while I threw my hair up in a tight bun. After I was dressed I went over to my full length bedroom mirror. I looked myself over once, twice, three times and decided I looked decent enough. I went through to my kitchen and poured myself some orange juice and made some Raisin Bran. I looked around my kitchen as I ate my breakfast. It was the smallest room in the apartment. So small that if I stood in the middle and stretched my arms out I could almost reach the walls on either side. It didn't have much in it either. There was a small microwave oven, a fridge that looked out of place, one double cupboard and a sink with a tap that dripped non-stop. As I wondered how the hell I'd ended up in such a crappy apartment, I finished my breakfast and hurried over to my front door. I pulled on an old pair of sneakers, grabbed a random jacket from the coat rack and headed out into the hall.
The apartment block I lived in was your basic four-story building. There were seven apartments per floor. I lived on the top floor, along with six other residents. The landlord lived on the first floor, along with four other residents. It used to be six but an old woman that lived in one of the apartments had died not too long ago. I didn't know her well but she was a very sweet old lady. Always smiling at everybody and saying hello, even to the landlord, who didn't deserve even the slightest of kindnesses from anybody. The other apartment that was now empty had belonged to a young woman named Beth and her cat, Boo. Beth was one of the only people in the apartment building I got along with and felt comfortable around. She was funny, smart and good at pretty much everything. She was beautiful too. Every man in the apartment block had wanted her, single or not. As a friend of the Caldwell police force, there were a lot of cops after her too. One particular cop named Butch would come around on a regular basis to check up on her. I knew his name because I'd heard Beth say it before. He was huge and scary. I'd run into him on occasion on my way home from work, as he was leaving Beth's. He'd just nod at me and head out the building. Her cat was also great company. Whenever I went to her apartment Boo would fuss at my feet until I would reach down and pet him. I found myself smiling while I remembered the cute black cat and his bright yellow welcoming eyes. Then I frowned. Beth had just up and left one day about two years ago, not saying goodbye to anyone, or telling anyone where she was moving too. I rushed down two flights of stairs to the first floor and stopped as I was passing Beth's old apartment. It was weird how she had just disappeared like that without as much as a goodbye. I shook my head in confusion and headed down the last flight to the ground floor. The ground floor was freezing, as per usual. There was no wallpaper or flooring, just stone walls and floors. The room was like an ice box, any colder and it would be at freezing point. It was full of mailboxes for each apartment and a torn up couch sat in the corner of the room. Ridiculous really as nobody would ever want to sit in this mini Antarctica. Not wanting to freeze to death, I hurried out of the building and into the warm sun of the outside world.
The street was as quiet as always, with just the sound of the morning birds chirping away and the distant sound of cars on Trade Street. I kicked up the blanket of yellow and gold as I walked along the pathway. The breeze was just right. The cool rushing of the autumn wind made the trees dance in their places. The sun was just coming up, peeking over the buildings as if to see if anyone were watching it rise. I smiled. I always loved the walk to work in the mornings. It was the most refreshing thing of my whole day. I always let my mind wander while I walked. I would think about everything. Today I found myself imagining what it would be like without the sun, the world would always be dark and dreary. I found myself thinking back to my dream. It always took place at night, naturally as he was a vampire, but even so, if that dream could become reality, I would give up the sun. To have that man in my presence for just a second I wouldn't care if the sun disappeared forever. I thought back to what he had said. Why would he tell me to go to ZeroSum? I wanted to tell myself there was no way that I was going there, but I already knew I was. For whatever reason, I had to be at ZeroSum tonight, or I was missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime, and I knew just who I could take with me.
The walk to the restaurant that I worked at seemed to take much longer than usual, but then what seemed like an eternity later, I arrived outside the front of it. The restaurant was a four-star elegant little Italian place called 'The Taste of Tuscany'. It was beautiful inside and out. Intricately detailed and well thought out. The outside of the restaurant was made from smooth timber. It was painted a deep red with a gold banner along the top and the name of the restaurant written along it in black curved writing. Blue lights that lit up at night ran along the railings that surrounded the building. Different varieties of flowers were planted all around the outside of the building. They blended together almost seamless like. The inside was just as magnificent. The walls were covered with beautiful gold and red vintage wallpaper. Three gleaming vintage chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lighting up the whole dining area in an orange glow. Cherry tables and matching chairs were spiraled around the room. The tables were covered with gold and blue floral table cloths. There was an open bar at one side of the restaurant which served hot drinks and cold soft drinks throughout the morning and afternoon, and in the evening and throughout the night alcoholic drinks could also be served. I was about to head around the back to the staff entrance when the main entrance to the restaurant opened as somebody walked out. It was David, a regular at the restaurant in the mornings. The restaurant opened at 7.15am and David was there every morning before he went to work. He would buy a decaf cappuccino and a croissant. He looked up at me and smiled as he headed towards me. I smiled back
"You're early today David" I said as he stopped in front of me. He looked down at his watch, then laughed and took a bite out of his croissant. David was your typical son-of-a-big-company kind of guy. He was good looking, rich and hardworking. Women everywhere wanted him for themselves. Unfortunately for them though, David was already engaged. I'd met his fiancée once when he had brought her to the restaurant for a meal. She was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and big eyes. He'd introduced us but I didn't get time to talk to her since I was working. I was a waitress and waitresses didn't have time to chit-chat at the customer's tables. But she had seemed nice enough. David took a sip of his coffee then gave me a serious look.
"I'm not early" He said tapping his watch "You're late"
"What?" I moved closer and looked down at his watch. It was 7.45am. I was thirty minutes late! "Crap!"
I said a quick goodbye to David and left him chuckling as I ran around the restaurant and through the back entrance. I rushed down the hall past the staff lounge where I could hear my co-workers talking and into the locker room. Another of my co-workers, Yasmin was sat on one of the benches, reading a magazine. She smiled when she looked up and saw me.
"Ava!" She slammed the magazine down on the bench and pounded over to me. Her long red hair was coming loose from the bun she'd shoved it into. She gave me a big hug and I hugged her back. Yasmin wasn't just my co-worker; she was also my best friend. We'd met in kindergarten and had instantly become best friends. We went to the same elementary school and high school and then went on to work at the restaurant together. When I pulled back she was looking at me with her worried jade green eyes. I sighed at her and walked over to my locker.
"I know I'm late" I said pulling out my uniform and starting to change. I turned to look back at her. She was rearranging her bun, scraping her hair up and tying it tighter. "Does Sam know I'm late yet?"
She nodded and I cursed under my breath. Sam was my half-Italian boss. He was a pretty cool boss, but he hated it when we were late, especially me for some reason. He was always the hardest on me.
"He told me to tell you to go and see him in his office when you arrived" She slumped down on the bench next to me, her gold locket which she always wore swinging around her neck. Her locket had a picture of her mom in it, who had died when Yasmin was born. I groaned and carried on changing.
"I don't get why he always thrashes me about the tardiness. I'm not the only one who's late!"
Yasmin laughed in agreement. There were ten waitresses including me in total. We were split into two groups of five. The group I worked in was the day waitresses. We worked from opening time until 4.30pm. Then there were the night waitresses. They worked from 4.30pm until closing time which was midnight. I was glad when I knew I would be working in the day group. Working until late hours of the night was not something I would have liked to do. Plus I would never get any time to study for my entrance exam.
"Ava?" Yasmin's voice snapped me back to attention.
"Huh?" I asked not sure what we had been talking about.
"I said are you going to go and see Sam?"
"Oh... No." I couldn't be bothered to go and get scolded by Sam right now. I was in a good mood and didn't need it ruined before I'd even started work. Yasmin laughed her usual cheerful chuckle.
"Well okay then" She murmured in her 'you're in trouble' tone "But Sam is going to go ape shit at you" She winked as I shrugged my; who-cares shrug and finished getting dressed. I tied my hair back into a black scrunchie and changed my sneakers for black flat shoes.
"You ready?" I asked Yasmin when I was done. She nodded and led the way as we headed out into the restaurant to start work.
It was 12pm and time for our break when Yasmin and I strolled out back for our lunch break. We slumped down on one of the benches.
"Yasmin?" I asked turning towards her
"What?"
"What are you doing tonight?" She made a sound like she was thinking and then shrugged her shoulders
"Nothing at all, why?"
"Well I was wondering if-"
"So you finally decided to show up then" I heard a firm male voice say from behind me and I knew in an instant that it was my boss, Sam. I could tell from the hint of aggravation in his voice. I rolled my eyes to Yasmin and turned around to face Sam with the fakest smile I could manage. He was stood in the doorway staring at me with his fierce sky blue eyes. Sam was a handsome man. He was half Italian with dark brown hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. He worked out every day, which you could tell just by looking at his body. He was pumped. For a thirty-two year old he looked about twenty-five.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It won't happen again" I mumbled. His gaze shifted between me and Yasmin multiple times, then landed on Yasmin and stayed there.
"Didn't I tell you to tell her to come and see me when she got here? I've been waiting all damn morning" He snapped at her. She looked at me with a big help-me look written all over her face.
"Are you that eager to see me?" I asked as a joke, trying to catch his attention. He didn't look at me at all, just kept his gaze on Yasmin.
"Should I have written it down for you instead?" I did not like the tone of voice he was taking with her and I was about to put him in his place. Yasmin got there before I could though.
"I'm sorry Sam. It slipped my mind. It's been a busy day today" She looked at me with a don't-you-dare-say-anything look and apologized to Sam again. He sighed, nodded his head at her then turned to me.
"Ava, when your break is over come and see me in my office, please"
"Sure thing, boss"
Sam flinched. I knew he hated it when I called him boss, which is the exact reason why I did it. There was just something so fun about pushing his buttons. After he'd closed the door behind him Yasmin laughed so loud I was sure he would have heard her. But I couldn't help but laugh too.
"You shouldn't tease him like that" She said still laughing so much I had a hard time understanding what she had said "You know he hates it when you call him boss"
"I know, but it's just so damn fun! Oh and thanks for covering for me Yas"
She smiled and just shook her head.
"I just don't want you getting fired, not that that could ever happen. Sam is like totally into you" I grimaced at that thought. Sam was handsome sure, but I was not attracted to him in the slightest. This was unfortunate since I knew he liked me, and he would be a good boyfriend or husband to any woman. I looked over at Yasmin, she was in no doubt thinking what it would be like if me and Sam was to become a couple.
"What you're thinking right now" I said pointing at her "Would never happen. I just don't see him in that way" She laughed and put her hands up.
"I know, I know. Oh by the way, what were you about to ask me before Sam interrupted us?" It took me a minute to remember what we had been talking about.
"Oh yeah, what do you think about ZeroSum?" She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.
"ZeroSum? I don't know. I guess it's an okay place, why?"
"I want you to go there with me tonight" She shot me an; are-you-kidding-me look.
"You don't even like clubs Ava, besides ZeroSum is bad news" I knew all too well that it was bad news. I had gotten attacked by a drunken man outside of there while I was walking home one night. He was being thrown out by a large woman with a men's haircut. She'd thrown him right in front of me and he'd gotten up and started trying to hit on me. When I'd rejected him he started being rough, grabbing me and trying to pull me into an alley next to the club. If it wasn't for that woman I don't know what I would have done. She just came up behind him put him in an arm lock and told me to get out of there. I'd complied and ran all the way home. It was the worst experience of my life. In fact, it was the second worse. As I started to think back to what happened when I was fifteen, Yasmin caught my attention.
"Ava? I said why do you want to go there?" Yasmin knew about my dream that I'd been having, but I sure as hell did not want to tell her that it told me to go to ZeroSum tonight. Nope, not one bit.
"Don't worry about the why, and just come with me. Please?" When she didn't answer I stood up and put my hands together, in a praying gesture. "Please?" She rolled her eyes
"Alright, fine." She sighed. I clapped and hugged her
"Good. I wanted to be there by 9pm" I stretched "What time is it?"
"12.30pm, let's get back to work" I nodded. She started to walk towards the door when she spun around to look at me. "Why do you want to go to ZeroSum?" She asked again. I just pushed her towards the door and sighed.
"I'll tell you if I have too, if not, don't worry about it" She mumbled an 'okay' sound and ran off into the staff room, while I dragged myself down the hall to Sam's office.
When I was outside Sam's office I traced the gold lettering on his door that read 'Samuel Adriano Rossi, manager' Manager, I thought to myself, and royal pain in the ass. I knocked once, twice, three times and when there was still no answer I pushed open the door and walked in. Sam was sat signing papers at his desk. When he didn't seem to notice me I spoke.
"You look stressed boss" He jumped up when I spoke and locked eyes with mine. Wow, he was extra uptight today. "Sorry if I startled you" I murmured "I knocked but you didn't answer"
"Sorry, I didn't hear you. I've had so much work to sign I haven't been paying attention to anything else" Except me being late, I thought to myself.
"I noticed" I said eyeing the stacks of paperwork on his desk. "Busy day, huh?"
"Yeah well, on top of all that I'm also arranging things for David, who's decided he wants his wedding reception here next month"
Holy crap! David wanted his wedding reception here, in the restaurant? That sounded exciting.
"What's with the expression?" Sam asked. It was clear I had let my excitement show.
"I've never done a wedding reception, and on top of that it's David's! You're gonna let me waitress right Sam?" I asked way too eager for my own good. He smiled at me and sat back down, mumbling something under his breath.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh it's nothing. But anyway, I thought you didn't like working nights? Oh, and about nights, that's what I wanted to talk to you about" He ushered me to sit in the chair opposite him. I complied and walked over, slumping down in one of the peach colored chairs. He was about to speak again when his phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D, rubbed his temples and answered his phone, giving me the one minute hand gesture. I nodded and looked around Sam's office. His office was very fancy, just like the rest of his restaurant. He'd inherited it from his dad, but had made a few changes. But the office was the same as it was before he'd taken over from his dad a year ago. He was sitting behind a mahogany desk with stacks and stacks of paperwork on it. He was sat on a deep burgundy leather desk chair that had reclined to an almost obscene angle as he leaned back, to the point where it looked like it was about to snap. He had deep purple curtains to the side of each window and black out blinds rolled up. The windows were wide open and the breeze that blew in was refreshing.
Sam said goodbye to whoever was on the phone and hung up, turning back to me.
"Sorry about that Ava, more work crap"
"No problem, so what were you saying before?" He had to think for a minute before answering.
"Ah yes, Melissa won't be able to make her shift tomorrow night. So you're going to fill in for her" I blinked a couple of time before answering.
"I am?"
"Yes, Saturdays are always busy and four waitresses won't be enough"
"So ask somebody else to do it"
"No you're going to do it"
"The hell I am"
"Ava, I've already made up my mind"
"But why me? There's four other girls out there, why not any of them?" I was so mad. He was always like this with me; the other girls had it easy. But he couldn't force me to work like this.
"Were any of those girls late this morning?"
I scoffed at him. "That's so petty"
"Look Ava" He softened his tone "Do this for me and I promise you can waitress for David's wedding reception next month, okay?" Dammit. He had me at wedding reception. I cursed.
"Okay, deal" I stood up "Was that all?"
"Yeah"
"Okay, I'm gonna get back to work" I was just about to walk out the door when he called my name. I turned back towards him.
"What?"
"Thanks for doing this for me" I laughed a; yeah-right laugh at him.
"It's not for you, it's for the wedding reception" I winked as he smiled and walked out.
"Yasmin!" I called out to her as she was walking to the kitchen with two empty plates. She flashed me a big grin and headed into the kitchen, coming back out a couple of seconds later. She skipped over to me.
"How'd it go?" She asked me. I made an 'ugh' face and beckoned her to follow me to the staff room.
"He wants me to fill in for one of the part-time waitresses' tomorrow night" I said when we were sat down on one of the bright green sofas in the staff room. The part-time waitresses were ten waitresses that worked Saturdays and Sundays so the full time waitresses got the weekend off. It was very thoughtful of Sam to be honest. It was the same routine as the full time waitresses, five worked from opening time to 4:30pm, and the other five worked from 4:30pm until closing time.
"That sucks" She said playing with a lock of hair that had fallen out of her bun.
"Yeah, it really does" There was an awkward silence and I knew what she was thinking about. Why I wanted to go to ZeroSum tonight. "Ask me then" I said, figuring it wasn't fair to drag her to ZeroSum without telling her why I wanted to go there.
"Ask you what?" She asked playing dumb. I laughed
"Ask me why I want to go to ZeroSum tonight" After a moment of silence she spoke.
"No, I don't want to know why" She said getting up "Come on let's get back to work" I nodded and followed her out of the staff room and into the kitchen.
The kitchen staff was made up of seven people. They were run by two fully blooded Italian chefs, Emilio and Luca. They were the best chefs in New York. They could cook anything from Italian to Chinese food. Emilio worked from opening time to 4.30, and Luca worked from 4.30 to closing time, but sometimes they switched around. Then there was the youngest of everybody that worked in 'Taste of Tuscany'. His name was Nathanial; he was eighteen and was the dishwasher. It was a tough job standing around cleaning the dishes from opening time until closing time, but Nathanial didn't mind and as far as everybody was concerned, he was just as much a part of the team as everybody else. Then there was Tori. She was in charge of tossing the salads.
"Whoa!" Yasmin said as we walked in. "That's a hell of a lot of orders Emilio!" She tapped the strips of white paper that were hanging from the order rack. She was right there. There must have been fifteen or twenty orders hanging.
"Yes, I know" Emilio said in his serious; no-messing-around tone, finishing two delicious looking meals and picking them up. "So why don't you girls make yourselves useful instead of standing around gawking" He shoved the two plates of food at me "These are for table nine"
"Got it" I said as I walked out of the kitchen and into the restaurant. "Wow" I muttered to myself as I made my way over to table nine. It was busier than usual today. All of the tables were full and there were people queuing, waiting for a table to become free. Eventually, after a lot of excuse me's and apologies I reached table nine. A couple was sat at that table. A beautiful woman with wavy blond hair and blue eyes, and a man with jet black hair. They were newlyweds. I could tell by the way she kept playing with the wedding ring on her finger. They looked so happy. I felt a pang of jealousy shoot through me from watching them.
"Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup?" I said putting the dish in front of the woman as she raised her hand. "And Peppered Shrimp Alfredo?" The man nodded as I put his plate in front of him. They looked amazed at how well presented the food was.
"This looks amazing!" The woman said smiling up at me. I smiled back at her
"Can I get you anything else? No? Okay, enjoy your meal!" I walked away from the table and looked back over at them. I thought back to my dream, not knowing what I would find tonight, if I would find anything at all. But all I knew was that I had to be at ZeroSum tonight.
