Chapter 5 - Picnic

He held both of Susan's hands tightly and told her, "it is people like you who I need, people who work diligently and put their hearts and souls into their work, if we have more people like that, we'll definitely overcome the bad reputation and be successful, together." A charming smile ran across his face. Susan's heart fluttered and a pink color appeared on her cheeks.

He stood up and said, "Since we both are having stressful lives why don't we go for a picnic, to you know, relax and cool down. Will that be fine with you?"

Susan wiped her wet cheeks, "Picnic?" She thought for a moment, "ok, good idea."

She stood up too. A hand was still holding onto hers, she looked down at it. That's when he too noticed his hand entwined with hers. He quickly took it away, "uh, I've got paperworks to do. I've got to renew the contract with the plumbing company. So, umm…. See you then, yes, see you soon." He laughed nervously and went. She too laughed with him, "yeah, hehe, see you."

As soon as he left, a silence washed over the whole kitchen. The words he said were still echoing in her mind. …we go for a picnic… and then it hit her, 'MY BOSS IS ASKING ME TO GO FOR A PICNIC, WITH HIM!!' She screamed inside herself. No way, no way, no way!!! She tried to calm down. But when are we gonna go? Where? H-how? Her mind kept on racing.

My boss is asking me to go out with him, hang out with him, and I said yes? What was I even thinking? She scolded herself. My boss is asking me to go out with him, that's so awesome, I'm probably his favorite. I should keep this up. She appreciated herself. My boss is asking me to hang out with him, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!!

She got nervous all by herself. She sat down, tired of the emotional roller coaster she experienced today. She thought about it again, 'my boss is asking me to go for a picnic with him.' A smile crept in unknowingly on her face. 'Awesome.'

Moments later, Lily came into the kitchen, "ma'am, new order for a vanilla latte and croissant, can you do that? There are more customers waiting there." Susan got snapped out of her fantasies, "yeah sure, but didn't anybody else come yet? Is it just the two of us?" "I guess," Lily replied, looking behind her. After that Lily went to take the other orders.

Susan made the latte quickly with her practiced hands and looked into the pantry, only one croissant left, she thought. She took the telephone nearby and phoned for the bakery while she busily heated the croissant with the microwave. She served the latte and the croissant to the customer, a young, good looking lady, staring out the window. She had long black hair with purple dyed tips and gray eyes. 'Melody!' Susan was happy to see her.

Susan had always found Melody a funny sort, though a singer by profession, Melody could've been a stand up comedian or perhaps a critic. She had an enchanting way of telling stories, and she always had stories in her pockets. She has traveled to many countries and encountered different types of people, singers, politicians, dancers, actors and other world famous people. Melody always had a cheerful personality, and also acted as a philosophical psychologist when around a troubled Susan.

"Here you go! Anything else, miss?" Susan asked overjoyed at meeting Melody. "Please don't call me miss, it annoys me so much when people call me miss, ugh. Why don't you just call me by my name, that sounds much better." "Okay then, Melody, do you want anything else?" Susan asked again, chuckling at how disgusted Melody looked when she called her miss.

Another thing that Susan loved to do was to annoy Melody. Melody's facial expressions are so comical, Susan found them better than any other television show she had ever laughed at. "You look very cheerful today. What's up?" "Oh yes! That is…" Susan sat down in the chair opposite to Melody, and said in low tones, "my boss asked me if I would be able to go for a picnic with him, and I said yes!"

"What?!" Melody's eyes widened. "When are you both going?"

"I don't really know, he didn't tell me when and where."

"Susan, I need you this Saturday."

"Why?"

"It's my niece's birthday party."

"So?"

"So? I need you to come to the party."

"Why?"

"You can sing very well, can't you?"

"No, Melody. You won't make me sing for your niece."

"Why not? You sang for that piece of rubbish that day, why not for my niece."

"I was forced to in those circumstances. Otherwise I don't like singing."

"Why not? You sing very well."

"It hurts my throat."

"You're just making excuses."

"Anyway, I can't come on Saturday because it is a VIP day and, as the head waitress, I should be present on that day."

"I'll talk to your boss then, it's only for one day, he'll be fine with it, right?"

"Nope."

"I'll talk to him." Melody stood up from her chair but Susan stopped her, "no!"

"Why not?"

"He'll definitely say no, Melody. I have to be here on Saturday. There's no use asking him."

Melody sighed. "Then, okay, I'll ask him later." Before Susan could say anything, a ring was heard from the counter. "Umm… ma'am, we have a lot of orders to serve." Lily called out. Melody sat back down. Susan looked at Melody as if to warn her, 'he will say no.' She mouthed. Melody pursed her lips.

Susan left the table and went back to her work. Slowly the waiters and waitresses came to work; the wet and muddy roads, some even flooded, have made it difficult for them to be on time. A long day's work followed. At the end of the day, Susan had already forgotten what had happened that morning. She left the cafe with a faint smile on her face.

"Sire," sounded a deep voice, "sire." I woke up to see a blurry figure of an old, wrinkly man with great white whiskers and a gentlemanly face. "Good morning, sire." It was my servant, Benjamin. "What's the time?" I asked, looking for my phone. "Half past four in the morning, sire. The cafe opens at 6 AM." He answered.

I moaned. I'm a very morning person, this is completely fine for me. I love mornings. I sat up in my bed. "Shall I bring the breakfast here, sire?" Benjamin asked, drawing the curtains. "Nah, I'll come down." I got off my bed and stretched. I went to the bathroom, washed up, and peered into the mirror. A faded picture of me appeared, as it always did.

I put on my contact lenses carefully and looked into the mirror again, shallow green eyes looked back at me. Look at me, I thought to myself, I look so dull and dark and empty. I tried to cheer myself up. I smiled. The image smiled back at me. Why do I look so evil? I questioned myself. I took the comb and straightened my hair, nicely parted them on one side. A lot of white hair was stuck on the comb. I just brushed my hair once, what's all this…? I took some from the comb.

"Ben!" I shouted. He immediately came to my presence. "Ben, why do I have so much hair fall?" "Probably because of stress, sire, stress can also cause whitening of hair." He answered. "My hair is white, naturally." I looked back into the mirror and sighed, "I thought being a waiter was the least stressful job there is. Now, look at me, hair fall." Just because of that girl. My life is ruined because of her.

"I think you should stop envying the young lady." Ben suggested. "How am I supposed to do that!? She's literally ruining my peace of mind. She takes away my opportunities and gets the fruit out of it! How can I live like that?" I slumped over a chair. "Do you want to be something more than a waiter?" He asked.

"My plan was to win the manager's trust, get promoted to head waiter, and if I keep doing well, I might as well be able to be the manager at one of the branches! As a valued employee, I thought I would be able to do that. And if I were able to do that, then my parents will talk to me again. I will turn back to the successful son of the proud Mr. and Mrs. Holmes. But then that girl….ugh!" I hit my head on a wall and clenched my fists. "It's about time you get ready, sire. Your breakfast is ready downstairs." He said, changing the topic. "May I leave now, sire?" He asked. "Yeah, you can go." I replied, massaging my forehead. He left quietly.

After a few moments, I stood up and looked into the mirror again, there was a red mark on my forehead. Oh my goodness. I tried to focus on my green eyes. It's a dirty green, like that of mossy bread. It used to shine brightly, the green of my eye. It used to be my charm, my green eyes. But I look like a ghost nowadays. All because of that one girl.

I have to get ready, I have to reach the place before she comes. I dressed up and ate breakfast. Soon after, I was about to leave the house. I opened the door and got out.

A warm breeze greeted me. "Farewell, master." Ben bowed a little. "G'bye" I replied smiling. I looked up towards the sky, I could now see the blue of the sky but the clouds hadn't left yet, some of them were still hovering about the vast sky. I got in my MINI Cooper and headed for work.

When I got inside the cafe, I realized I was late, very late. The cafe was bustling with customers, waiters and waitresses were walking around with empty and full trays.

I searched for 'the head waitress'. I found her near the manager's office covering her face with her hands. My spirits rose from the sight, yes! Finally! I was curious, what kind of stupidity did she showcase? Oh, I wanted to know every detail of what happened.

This is finally it. She'll go away soon. I smiled brightly. I asked William what happened. He said he didn't know. Nobody knows about it yet? What did she do? I asked Rose hoping she would know, "I don't really know, I haven't seen her do anything wrong, I guess she fought with Melody, that singer. Melody is in the boss's office now."

"Oh, ok, thanks for telling me." I replied. "What makes you so interested, Oscar?" Rose asked me. "Aren't you curious why the head waitress looks like she's about to cry?" I asked back. Rose remained quiet. She looked on at Susan. I smiled happily and went to Susan. As soon as she saw me, she held onto my arm, "help me! Both of them are fighting over me!"

She cried. Fighting over you? Who would ever do that? I thought. I knocked on the door, I could hear loud voices of a woman and a man from there.

"Come in!" The man shouted. I opened the door to see the famous singer, Melody Smith, and the manager standing with their arms raised. Both of them looked angry. What did she do? I wondered again.

"What is it, Oscar?" The boss asked. "I just came to see what's going on, you two are making a lot of noise. And the head waitress here looks pretty fed up. So, umm… I was just wondering if something's wrong." I didn't have a good feeling about this, my chest tightened at the sight of my angry boss. I thought about excusing myself and going away, why should I interfere in other people's problems?

But I was stuck, there wasn't any turning back. "Yes, something is absolutely wrong!" Shouted Melody. My heart stopped for a moment. Then I felt my stomach twist. I did not feel good about this. How am I supposed to do this? I asked myself. "Can't Susan have a break for a day?" Melody asked me.

Susan have a break? No Susan for a day? Yes! "Well, he won't allow it." She continued. "Because there is a VIP day and she has to be there. But I also need her!"

"Why do you need her, may I ask?" I asked her. "Because it's my niece's birthday and she can sing wonderfully." Susan sings wonderfully? No. "Aren't you the singer here?" The boss interrupted. "Yes, I am. She sings wonderfully, so I was thinking about joining her in my music company," she sounded sarcastic, but she's a celebrity, so anything can happen. "Where she WILL get holidays." She continued, looking at Michael. No Susan? At all? Yes!!

"Ms. Smith, I'm terribly sorry but I will not allow Susan to have a day off on VIP day. It's important for her to be present on that day," the boss said, as if it was the final word. But it wasn't, of course; celebrities will never leave you alone.

Melody went on and on about how Susan needs a break, and the boss went on and on about how Susan needs to be there on Saturday. Susan stood and watched the argument go to and fro helplessly.

And I stood irritated, thinking, why did I have to be involved in this? "For how long does Susan work in the cafe on VIP days?" I asked, suddenly. Not even I knew what I was going to say. Not even I knew where I was gonna go.

"From 11 am to 10 pm. Why do you ask?" The boss answered. Ignoring his question, I continued, "When does the birthday party start?" "At 6pm," Melody answered, looking as confused as the boss. They looked at one another, then looked back at me. I felt the pressure of this look. What should I say now? I blanked out. 'Oh no.'

"Why, may I ask, do you want to know all that?" My boss asked, a tinge of anger was in his tone. "What about we divide?" I said suddenly. A light bulb seemed to flicker at the back of my head.

"Divide what?" Melody asked, still confused. My light bulb shined brightly, an idea has been formed! I felt at ease. "How about we divide Susan's time?" I said, though still unclear whether they will accept this solution, I will try my best to get rid of Susan for at least half a day. 'She is such a headache to me, I need to enjoy my work peacefully,' I thought.

"Since her work starts at 11 in the morning and the party starts at 6 in the evening, why don't we shorten her work time?" Without waiting for a response, fearing the boss will reject my idea, I continued, "Her work time can be from 11 to 5 and then she can go back home, get some rest, get ready for the party within an hour and then go for the party."

There was silence. Everyone was trying to process what I just said. "Won't that be fine for you,…" my voice drowned as I turned my head to Susan, 'I have to call her respectfully, especially in front of the boss, but no. I can't. No. I don't want to call her that. That is just another way of accepting her superiority. No way. There is no way I'm gonna call her 'madam'. No, she doesn't deserve this. But my boss is here. Ugh.'

"….madam?" I forced myself, my voice straining. Her mouth gaped a bit, probably out of shock. For a moment, she stood blinking at me.

Then she answered, "Yeah, that's completely fine for me," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "What about you, boss?" I turned back to my boss.

"Ok…that's ok for me…" he said, looking at a strangely happy Susan, a bit sad. Before I could ask Melody if she was fine with it, she snapped, "As long as she's there for the party, I'm happy." "Ok, then, I guess that problem is solved. May I leave, sir?"