CHAPTER 5 - NOTES

Aisha joined Rena for breakfast again that morning. She was beyond pumped to visit Grail's that when she knocked on her neighbor's door, she was humming various tunes to signify that she was in such a good mood. Rena was always so welcoming that this might become a daily routine – not that either of them had a problem with it. Furthermore, talking with Rena distracted her from problematic matters – like that weird dream. No one ought to know about that.

Besides, Rena had promised Aisha breakfast after she totally abandoned her at Velder High the day before. Apparently, Raven had some issues and Rena had to come to the rescue. The phone call and the tone in her voice suggested that things were pretty serious. Furthermore, girl intuitions could detect if someone was lying. And so, even if it was against Aisha's will, Rena definitely had to leave.

Aisha scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes as Rena fidgeted with her hair.

"Sorry again about yesterday." Rena's voice came out low.

"It's no big deal," Aisha said. "Thanks for the mashed potatoes. They taste great."

"I'm glad you think so." Rena sighed. "So how'd things go?"

Aisha swallowed another spoon of potatoes, relishing the taste it left on her tongue. Then she spoke again, "The principal re-checked my grades and personally handed me my uniform. Then we left."

"That's it?" Rena asked.

"Were you expecting something else?" Aisha inquired.

Rena chuckled. "Not really. I was hoping that you two would talk it out so that my leaving you won't be for naught."

Aisha let out a chuckle of her own. "Don't tell me you left me on purpose?"

"No! Definitely—"

"Naught?"

Aisha and Rena laughed at their sloppy attempt at humor. For the most part, they were glad nobody heard them. It was embarrassingly fun for the two of them to exchange such lame puns across the table. As their laughter died down, Aisha realized that she missed this – conversing casually, ignoring the food and just enjoying the company of another person. It's been so long. It made her want to cry.

It took a moment before she realized that tears had actually started to fall from her eyes. Curse them for being so damned uncontrollable. One by one, they smeared lines down her face.

"I'm sorry, Rena," Aisha managed a small laugh as she wiped the droplets off her cheeks. "I can't help it. I'm being dramatic again."

Rena looked at her and smiled. "Aisha, it's okay. You could let it all out…"

"But I'm fine," Aisha said. When she wiped the last tear with the back of her hand, she realized how light she felt. It was as if something heavy had lifted itself off of her chest. Still, she could tell that it wasn't over. And even if she had but one friend she could really trust, she knew she could manage. "I'm going to be just fine."

"Aisha," Rena began. "I know that I'm being meddlesome when it comes to things – like your past with Elsword. I just want you two to get along again."

"We are getting along," Aisha said. "We insult each other a lot. Trust me, that's normal."

Rena watched as Aisha scooped up her last spoon of mashed potatoes. She spoke once more, "I don't know about that. It feels like something's missing."

The purple-haired girl fell silent. Suddenly, the mashed potatoes felt a tad bit tasteless and cold in her mouth.

Grail's usually had a handful of customers, but the line had always been long. This was because Grail, the cashier-slash-waiter-slash-owner, had a lot of obligations to fulfill. But today was the day his duties will be halved. Now he could just stick to manning his cashier. Maybe then, punks would stop trying to steal money from the register. The guy could take care of those kinds of people, but it would be better if he could avoid them totally.

Aisha peered into the cafe, trying hard not to look like she was cutting into the line. She wasn't there to eat anyway – she was there to serve. The moment she entered inside, the intoxicating scent of coffee beans threatened to lull her. She snapped out of it quickly and waded her way to cashier. Along the way, a customer yelled at her to head back to the end of the line. Aisha turned and gave the person (whoever it was) a very sharp glare.

"Young one! You're here!" Grail shouted from the counter. Aisha skipped happily toward him. "My partner is waiting for you over there." He pointed to the other end of the place. Aisha's gaze traced the direction to which he was pointing and she found a lone girl sitting and waving at her.

"Go on now. Introduce yourself. I could use an extra hand later on."

"Roger that," Aisha stated nervously. She quickened her pace towards the girl – probably the one who sent her the weird e-mail. Though, like the people she had encountered so far, this one was pretty perfect as well. Her long, black hair was combed in place. Her eyes were so doll-like and they sparkled with enthusiasm. She was well-endowed too. Aisha could feel her face turn green with envy.

"Please sit, Aisha," the girl said. "You look even prettier in person."

"Uhm… Thanks," Aisha retorted. "It cheers me up to hear that, coming from someone like you."

The girl smiled even more. "I like you already. You sound like an honest person, Aisha. Grail told me you're very smart. My name is Ara, by the way. Ara Haan. I'm his business partner."

"I never knew he had a business partner," Aisha said. "Well… not until he mentioned it to me when I told him I wanted to work here."

"Frankly speaking, he does own most of the café. I was the one who decided to use his name. It was very fitting," Ara said. "So… are you ready to work here?"

"Very," Aisha said, her eyes gleaming with determination. "You have no idea. I wasn't expecting to get a job this fast."

"What do you think about the uniform you're going to wear on weekends?"

"Ah about that… I think it doesn't suit me at all," Aisha answered instinctively.

"Nonsense! You're going to look cute in it!" Ara stated. "I thought so the moment I looked at your picture in your resume. And because it's Sunday today—"

Aisha walked out of the dressing area in the locker room. She could feel the embarrassment crawling under her skin. The dress was absolutely outrageous – frills everywhere! It was pretty but it made her feel uncomfortable. It would also be a shame if it got stained but there were three more dresses waiting to be worn in her locker. The fabric was soft and velvety to the touch. Astonishingly, it felt light despite having so many details. There was a giant bow behind her that might become an inconvenience later on.

"I look like I belong in a circus."

Aisha stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair had been tied up into a neat bun, with pins to secure it from falling. The dress looked a lot simpler once worn, thankfully. It almost made her appear like a ballerina.

Ara laughed. "It's perfect! Now go on. There are customers to attend to!"

"Will you be here later?" Aisha asked.

Ara's expression changed from happy to sad in an instant. "Sorry, Aisha… I'm really busy…. But we'll meet again, I promise! Now go… Grail needs you right now."

The girl gave Aisha a small push outside of the locker room and into the kitchen.

There were two chefs working to and fro as she went. With the time she had, Aisha quickly admired how fast they were able to prepare such complicated dishes. Then she finally made it out and found herself next to the cashier where a tray of waffles and coffee was waiting.

"Take these to table number 3," Grail stated, beaming. Aisha could tell he was happy to be able to secure his cashier. Aisha gave him a smile before gathering the tray into her hand and walking towards the designated table. She was already used to this. Nothing could stand in her way!

After two hours of wiping tables and sweeping the clutter off the wooden floors of the café, Aisha couldn't feel her legs at all. Some customers could be so irresponsible. But some of them were nice enough to leave thank you notes and, with it, a huge tip. Aisha picked up a more recent note from a kid, telling her that she looked pretty and that she should smile. The note warmed her heart more than anything else.

She walked to Grail and told him to have a look.

"This town still has a piece of its own heart, after all," Grail grinned. "You should keep it safe and well. It's a wonderful memorabilia."

Aisha stared at the letter. The handwriting was kind of crude but, coming from a child, the letters stood out nicely.

"I'm so happy with how composed you are, young one," Grail said. "And thank God for idle hours. I think you deserve a lot of rest after working so hard."

Aisha breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad my friends aren't here. They'd make fun of me."

Grail laughed. "You do not take kindly to insults, I believe…"

"It's not like that," Aisha shook her head. "Sometimes they go a little too far. It gets on my nerves."

"I see," Grail was grinning but something about his expression told Aisha that he was turning a lot more serious. He shuffled for something underneath the cash register and produced a small pipe. He began applying crushed tobacco leaves into the opening on the other end before proceeding to light it up. "You know, sometimes friends are like that. They remind you of your own flaws. It helps keep your feet on the ground, you know? And most of the time – it helps you understand yourself. In the end, it will make you realize that maybe, just maybe, they're right about something."

Aisha frowned. "Grail, do you think I'm mature enough to handle my own feelings?"

Grail glanced at Aisha as he huffed and puffed out a smoke circle. "No, young one. You still have a long way to go…"

Aisha's eyes drifted to the tips of her fingers. They were soft despite the fact that, with the amount of things she's been through, they should be rough and calloused by now. Maybe Grail was right – maybe being an adult required more than just work and life experiences.

"Speaking of which, one of your friends was here earlier," Grail said. "He just went to greet someone and left. You were in the restroom when he came in."

"My friend?" Aisha asked.

Grail puffed out another smoke circle. The room was beginning to smell like tobacco. "Yes… the red-haired one."

The red-haired one.

Aisha blushed as she worked on another advanced trigonometry formula. Her hand was getting tired from punching all those numbers on her scientific calculator. How long has she been at this anyway? The moment she got home, she couldn't stop thinking about what Grail said. She had to do something to keep the words off of her mind.

The red-haired one. He was definitely referring to Elsword.

Aisha's eyes fell on the shelf where a mason jar sat, containing the note from earlier. It dawned on her that the hand-writing could have been an evolution of Elsword's ill penmanship. But why would he write something so freaking adorable? To mess with her, perhaps? Then again, the very idea that he would do something like that was downright absurd. Elsword was a jerk, no doubt about that. There was no way he would write something cute, and then give it to an unsuspecting little kid so that he could get away with the act. It was so out of character… So "un-Elsword."

Aisha let out a frustrated cry and ruffled her hair before frantically punching the buttons of her calculator. There was no way Elsword could pull off something like that. No way.

Aisha gave up and closed her book. She was tired and there was no reason for her to stress herself out. Tomorrow was her first day at Velder High. She needed to stop thinking and just relax. No notes, no red-haired boys and no hopelessly romantic thoughts…

Hi everyone! Here's an update and thank you so much for supporting this story! I'm very grateful for your reviews.

Yoshida-kun thanks for that wonderful comment regarding my story! I'll keep doing my best from this point on. And yes, you made a lot of sense. Thank you again!

I'm going to leave it up to you guys to think about whether or not a child wrote that note.