Chapter Seven: Early Morning Relaxation- For Now…
"Ahhh," Theresa sighed contentedly, leaning back from the table to rest her head against the back of the bench she was sitting on. Across from her sat Jay, finishing his breakfast and looking around cautiously. Theresa laughed. "I'm sure Cronus doesn't like cafes," she joked. "So you can stop worrying now."
Jay laughed faint-heartedly. "Sorry about that. It's just that he's become so unpredictable. Last night was proof of that."
Theresa shrugged. "He's always been unpredictable. That's nothing new. Remember when he set Orion on us? I definitely didn't see that coming."
Jay pondered her statement. "True," he agreed. "You've got a point."
Theresa grinned. "Why, thank you for letting me be right for once," she giggled. They both burst out laughing at their predicament.
"I can't believe… I'm … in my pyjamas…eating in a café… because the god of time… decided to interrupt my beauty sleep…" Theresa gasped between spurts of laughter.
"People must think we're crazy!" Jay grinned, laughing so hard that he thought he'd fall off his seat. The waitress who had waited on them came over, a frown on her face. She was one of those types of kids who didn't care a fig what people thought, and got a job because she needed the money to waste, and not to try and get into a good college or university. "You know," she said to Jay, "I was going to ask you out, but now I think you need mental help. You and her both." She glared at Theresa, then flounced away, nose in the air.
Theresa and Jay stopped laughing for a moment. "Is she allowed to do that?" Theresa asked. It was quiet for a moment, and then they burst out laughing again.
Archie felt all the rush and hassle of last night (was it really only just last night?) drain away as he jogged, the rhythmic breathing of Atlanta beside him echoing his own. They jogged through the park to the boardwalk along the ocean, where they remembered spending many a day watching Jay sail, and Theresa, Odie, Herry, and Neil playing beach volleyball. It was a quiet place this early in the morning, and Archie loved the way the sun rose over the water, sending a soft golden glow over the water, and everything else. He began to take mental notes for a poem.
Atlanta wanted to jog faster, and leave this all behind, but she wanted to jog with Archie, so she kept her speed in check. She glanced over at her friend and noticed that he was deep in thought. She looked out at the ocean and instantly knew why. She stopped for a moment to pit her arms over the railing and just look for once. "Isn't it beautiful, Archie?" she asked dreamily. This was so mush better than dull Northwest Territories up north. This was spectacular. The north had its moments, too, just to be fair, but in all her life she hadn't seen anything like this, which just took her breath away. Archie joined her, his eyes holding a faraway look that Atlanta had seen numerous times before. It meant he was thinking about writing another poem. She smiled to herself. He was such a funny guy. One moment, cautious and suspicious, the next moment, argumentative, and the next, sensitive and totally shy.
"Come on, Arch, let's go," she said, breaking the silence. "Let's jog."
Herry's constant snoring was what woke Odie up. He yawned and checked his watch, gaping when he saw the time. "It's eight o'clock!" he exclaimed. "I've never slept in this late!" He tried to wake up Herry, only to be mashed into a bear hug.
"Teddy," Herry murmured sleepily. He turned over onto his side, Odie squashed between his arms.
"This isn't good," Odie said aloud. "Neil, Theresa, Jay, Atlanta? Help? Anybody?"
Poor Odie. Little did he know that only five minutes before, Neil had arisen to go for a shower, and we all know how long he takes. And the rest were out on their jog and breakfast date, so Odie was going to be stuck for a little while longer.
Annie, the waitress who has so rudely addressed Jay and Theresa, was getting annoyed with their spurts of laughter. They were too happy for a Sunday morning. She strode over to them. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave," she said. "You're scaring away the customers." That part was a lie. If anyone scared off customers, it was her. But who cared? She just wanted these crackerjacks out of the café. Now.
"But…" Theresa started.
"Out! Before I get my broom!"
"But…"
"NOW!" Annie got a broom from the kitchen, and, waving it around like a madwoman, drove Jay and Theresa out of the café.
"But don't you want us to pay the bill?" Theresa asked as the door swung shut. Annie either had heard and ignored them, or hadn't heard at all. Jay and Theresa looked at each other and shrugged. "Make a mental note to never come to this café again," Theresa commented. "I've never seen such a scary waitress."
"Almost reminds me of Cronus," Jay deadpanned. Then a smile started at the corner of his mouth, giving him a lopsided, puppy-dog look. And they both burst out laughing- again.
Annie watched from the café window, glad to have those two lunatics out of her café, which was now depressingly dark. Just the way she liked it. But she had the feeling she had forgotten something…
A/n: This was mostly just a funny chapter, just to lighten the mood of the story a little. I hope you like it, and it was funny enough. Just in case you were wondering, I got the idea of Annie's dark mood from Chloe, the sister from the cartoon Carl Squared. I'll update soon. Please review! - Becky