Chapter 19: A fresh start

When Basta awoke, the clock on the dresser read 11 O'clock pm. He sighed, and his stomach growled. He had definitely missed supper. He tried to fall back asleep, but he couldn't resume his peaceful coma because his stomach growled persistently. With a groan, Basta swung his legs out of bed. His fatigues were nice and toasty from being under the blankets, and the sudden exposure to the cooler air made him shiver. He padded through the dark basement, walking as quietly as possible, then up the creaking stairs. With each Crrreeeaaakkkk! Basta cringed, and prayed that he wouldn't wake the household. He padded over to the kitchen, and opened the little refrigerator. He couldn't find anything appetizing, so he looked along the counter. Suddenly he remembered the yummy cinnamon smell from earlier that day. He couldn't find the cinnamon rolls, so he ditched that idea and just cut a slice of baguette for himself. He took his meal back down to his room, and ate the bread in a few big bites. Once his stomach had stopped growling, Basta was able to fall back asleep.

The sound of feet running across the floor upstairs woke Basta the next morning. The clock on the dresser read quarter to seven. Basta sighed, and rubbed his eyes. With a yawn, he swung out of bed and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. He rubbed his eyes again, and wandered to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he was minty fresh, Basta went upstairs to go get breakfast. The smell of coffee made Basta's stomach growl. Though he hesitated at the top of the stairs, nervous about meeting the children. What are their names again? Basta thought, straining to remember. Martin... Sylvie...no, no... Sylvia? Yes, Sylvia. And what was the last one? Suzan? Susie? Suzanna? No, no... Suzanne. Suzanne... right? Basta shook his head and plucked up his courage. He walked over to the kitchen, where Julie and Adriana were cooking French toast over the stove. Playing in the living room was the three children. Basta cast only one nervous glance in their direction. From what he could see, the boy was the middle child. One little girl looked like she was just getting through her toddler years. The other must have been close to her teens. His head snapped back to the adults.

"Good morning!" Said Julie, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Ohh good morning!" Cried Adriana. Basta smiled shyly.

"Good morning" Basta scuffed the hardwood with his sock. Adriana walked over to him with open arms, and flung one around his shoulder. She turned him around, facing the kids.

"Children" said the old woman- who smelled like some sort of dessert- "This is the young man staying downstairs. Come say hello!" Basta tried to smile, but it came out looking like parted lips and grit teeth. "His name is Basta!"

"Hullo" Mumbled Basta awkwardly.

"Hi, Basta" The boy spoke first. Martin. Basta figured the boy must have been ten years old. The oldest girl smiled with closed lips. She had copper colored hair, tied in pigtails, which rested on her shoulders.

"This is Martin" said Adriana, motioning to the little boy that came forth to shake Basta's hand. Basta did manage to make a legitimate smile, though very small, as he shook the boy's small hand.

"Nice to meet you" murmured Basta.

"This is Suzanne." The pretty young thing approached Basta nervously, and gently shook his hand. Basta didn't say anything, he just nodded. She tried to keep her eyes down, but they kept flicking up, to study the stranger standing in her living room. "And this here is little Sylvia" said Adrianna. The little girl, who must have been four or five, hid behind her brother's legs and only peeked at Basta. Though he kept his mouth closed and tried not to smile, a little grin tugged at the upper corners of his mouth.

"Alright everyone, come get some breakfast!" Julie carried a number of plates to the dining room. The kids cried out in joy and followed their mother over to the table. Basta and Adriana carried the rest of the plates.

Feeling very out of place, and quite uncomfortable, Basta found it hard to enjoy his meal. The children were constantly watching him, so he dreaded taking another bite. When he did eat, though, he usually stabbed a piece of toast into his mouth (almost stabbing his own throat a number of times) and chewed with his mouth closed. He kept his eyes on the buttery toast on his plate, and took big gulps of coffee. Once and a while, his green eyes would flick up to study the people around the table with him. This didn't last long, though, as he was the first one finished his meal. He stood up, and brought his dirty dishes to the sink. Julie soon joined him, and they washed dishes together.

"Thank you very much, that was very good" he said stiffly, scrubbing syrup from his plate.

"My pleasure" said Julie. They washed in silence. By the time 7:30 rolled around, Suzanne and Martin were pulling on jackets, hats and mittens, undoubtedly getting ready for school. Sylvia, though, wasn't.

"The little one doesn't go to school?" He asked, trying to make conversation with Julie. The woman smiled.

"No, Sylvia here is too young." Julie smiled down at her daughter, who was fussing over a doll on the floor.

"How old is she?" Asked Basta. He admired the little girl. She was so delicate looking. She had thin blonde hair, and looked up at Basta every so often with big grey eyes. They were the color of storm clouds, and Basta figured the name Sylvia came from. Silver, Sylvia... it fit.

"Three and a half" said Julie. The little girl grinned, showing off two tiny little front teeth. Basta couldn't help but smile back. The little girl giggled, then resumed playing with the doll.

"So why aren't you serving, if you don't mind my asking." Julie folded her hands on her lap. Basta sighed, and seemed to sink deeper into the fabric of the couch. He hated this question, as he really didn't have much of a reason to share with the average person. So, he sighed once again, and thought up an excuse.

"I did serve. But uh, I was shot. In the gut. So they dismissed me."

It was a long shot. But Julie seemed to buy it.

"Congratulations on your honourable discharge" she said. Sylvia burst out laughing. "What's so funny, baby?" Cooed Julia, who got off the couch and onto the floor, to play with her child. Basta coughed.

"Well, I'm going to head out now" he said.

"Alright, good bye." Julie was distracted with her child. Basta went downstairs, to get some money. His sweater jacket was in the wash, and he did not want to wear his German jacket out. So he changed into a long sleeve tee shirt and stuffed some money in his pocket. He was going out to buy a proper jacket. When he was back upstairs, Basta went to the living room to see Julie again.

"I don't have a jacket, so I was wondering if you could direct me to the nearest clothing store" he said.

"Oh! Of course!" Julie got to her feet, holding Sylvia. "Go towards the direction of VanDosen's restaurant. There's a place on Main Street, on the right hand side, there's a number of clothing stores. There's a men's wear store called Claude's. I'm sure you could find something to wear there." Julie smiled.

"Claude's. Ok, thanks." Basta smiled, glanced at Sylvia, then left the house.

It was cold outside, just as Basta had expected. The damp chill seemed to bite through his thin cotton shirt. He trudged up the slick sidewalk, beginning the half hour walk to Main Street. It had taken half an hour with Adriana, so Basta figured he could ten minutes off his trip, if he walked at his own pace. The cold was another motivating factor, so Basta found himself at Claude's clothing shop in fifteen minutes. Basta swore aloud when he saw that the store was closed. Shivering and cursing, he trudged further down Main Street, to get to VanDosen's early.

Daniel seemed surprised to see a clean, pink faced Basta in his shop 45 minutes early.

"You're early!" Said Daniel, frowning a bit.

"Yeah, sorry. Misjudged the walking time."

"You look freezing" said Daniel. He was holding a broom in one hand, and shut the door behind Basta with the other.

"I was going to buy a jacket, but the clothing shop was closed."

"Oh, I see. Well, you'll be able to go there after work."

"Speaking of which, what are my hours?"

"Well" began Daniel, resting the broom against the red wall, "One of our waitresses quit yesterday, so we'll need some extra help in the restaurant. If you don't mind waiting tables, you can work restaurant shifts and catering shifts."

"The more work, the better" said Basta. All he knew how to do was work, so if the VanDosen's had multiple jobs for him, it was all the better.

"Alright, then. This works out perfect. I'll go tell my Dad..." but at that moment Mr. VanDosen came out from his office, looking stressed.

"Good morning, sir" said Basta, trying to be polite.

"Good morning. Wow, you're sure early." Mr. VanDosen checked his watch, and raised his eyebrows.

"Basta said he'll take the waiting job."

"The more work, the better" added Basta, trying to smile. Money! And something to do! Finally! Basta studied Markus' face.

"Perfect" said the man. He seemed to be relieved, as if a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders. But after studying Basta, he frowned again. "Well, we can't have you waiting tables dressed like a grunt. Go get yourself some slacks and some nice shirts, and some proper shoes, damnit."

"The clothing store is closed..." said Basta, biting a lip.

"Hrmmph." Markus checked his watch again. "It opens in ten minutes."

"Alright." Basta smiled.

"In the meantime, start a fire." Mr. VanDosen nodded in the direction of the fireplace. Then he walked off to his office. Daniel had already resumed sweeping. Basta wandered over to the hearth, and threw some logs into the ashy fireplace. After opening the flu, he took the matchbook from the shelf above the fireplace, and stuck a wobbling flame onto the pile of kindling.

After ten minutes, he left the restaurant and jogged over to Claude's. Sure enough, the shop keeper had flipped the sign to OPEN. Basta went inside, and looked around.

"What are you looking for?" Asked the clerk- an elderly man with glasses on his nose.

"Jackets."

"Over there" the shop keeper pointed to a rack on the far wall. Basta nodded, and trudged in that direction. He was surrounded by men's clothing, wall to wall. It was strange to see so many garments in one place.

Basta selected a black pea coat, and slung it over his arm. He tried on a pair of black wingtip oxford shoes, and made a face at the way they pinched his feet. He tried on a bigger size, and decided to buy them. He selected two pairs of black slacks. He also slung a white button down and black button down over his arm, and paid for the clothes.

"Thirty Francs" said the clerk. Basta's eyes widened. He passed over some money from his pocket. He had no idea how to count. The Clerk raised his bushy white eyebrows, and thumbed through the cash. He kept only one bill, and got change from the cash register. Basta blushed, took the extra money, and accepted the paper bag with his new clothes in them.

"Thanks" he mumbled, taking the jacket from the bag. He shrugged into the fabric, then promptly left the store.

Daniel raised his eyebrows when Basta re-entered the restaurant.

"You are one speedy guy" he said in surprise, watching with wide eyes as Basta set the bag down on the floor and removed his coat.

"Really?" Basta didn't realise that he was speedy. In Lombrica, he had been labelled as talkative. Very talkative. So many times Capricorn's other minions had told him to shut up. "Like the sound of your own voice, Basta?" they had so often said. Basta could only close his lips and glare, or snarl a retort, or ignore them. Ignorance had been his new favourite method of defence. I didn't hear you, therefore you can't say anything that hurts me.

"Yeah, you must have been there for only fifteen minutes, tops!" Daniel seemed impressed. "You may as well put on some slacks and a button down, then I'll give you a run down on how to be a waiter." Daniel raised his eyebrows in mock enthusiasm. Basta just nodded and took the bag of clothes to the backroom, the one with the grey walls. He quickly stripped out of his shirt. The room was chillier than the rest of the restaurant, so his nipples hardened and goose bumps prickled over his arms. Basta quickly shrugged into the white button down, and buttoned the skinny buttons with agile fingers. He cranked his belt apart, stepped out of his army fatigues, then into the new black slacks. Before he zipped and buttoned, he tucked the white shirt over his boxers. After tightening the belt once again, he kicked off his army boots and into his stiff new oxfords. He stashed his old clothes in the bag, and put it in the corner of the room.

Daniel's rundown on waiting tables was incredibly boring. Far too simple thought Basta.

"Do you think you can manage that?" Asked Daniel.

"Ha!" Scoffed Basta. "Of course." He thought back to the jobs he had to carry out in Lombrica. Basta cringed at the memory.

"Basta..." Capricorn's breath was hot. Basta cringed as his boss' breath tickled his ear canal.

"Yes, Master?" Basta spoke through grit teeth and a tight throat.

"Here's what I need you to do..." he began to pace around his young protégé. "That young lady, that lives up north with her father." Basta blinked heavily. He felt beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, running into his eyes. He blinked away the salty sting, gulping his dry throat, awaiting orders. "Bring her to me."

"Yes, master." Basta could barely find his own voice. He put a hand to his sword hilt, and dropped to a knee, bowing to his master. After rising to his feet, he left his master's chamber, leaving his master's fort, out to the stables. Mounting up on his horse- a paint filly named Puzzle- and galloped through the forest.

He found the hut nestled in the trees. A plume of smoke rose from the chimney, rising to the grey sky. Basta halted his horse, and tied his beloved mount to a tree. He crept through the forest, silent as a cat, and approached the hut. He drew a knife from his boot, as his sword was too hard to wield. He crouched under a window sill, listening... He heard the laughter of the two people in the hut. They were talking, but their conversation was muddled. Basta took in a deep breath, hating himself for what he was about to do...

"It's really no problem." Said Basta. He realised he had zoned out, his mind elsewhere. Daniel just nodded.

"Alright" he said. He went to offer Basta his notepad and pencil, but Basta refused. He tapped the side of his head with his finger.

"I have a good memory." He said.

"Ok, then." Daniel smiled. By then more staff members had walked into the restaurant. Chefs, by the looks of it. "We open in thirty minutes."

A/N:

OMG! Read my blog to find out why I had two fire trucks in my driveway today! (Blog on my "Homepage").