35

Noah
“Thank you for defending me. ” Emily said after heading to the vending machine to grab a cup of coffee before pushing the plastic into my hands, “But sadly this is all I can afford.”
“Of course, thank you.” I gave her smile while gulping down the coffee, my hands holding the straw.
“I lived with her formerly for sometime, Emily paused, “And she had the guts to sleep with my boyfriend who is now my ex and who is an asshole by the way. ”
“She seemed chatty,” I tilted my head, “Sad to think that she was so violent towards you. ”
“I should have been the one smearing that cake all over her miserable face.” Emily laughed, “But I can’t imagine what would happen if Mrs Ping saw that. ”
I placed a hand in my pants, “Why?”
“It would have resulted into a pay cut because according to Mrs Ping, ” Emily mimicked the older woman’s voice, “The customer’s always right.”
I found it hilarious imagining the way Mrs Ping would have looked while saying that, the wrinkle around my eyes creased and the corner of my lips parted to give a toothy grin.
“You find it funny?” Emily teased.
“Oddly, yes.” I grinned as we slowly moved towards the counter.
“You got a job through connections, didn’t you?” I watched as she took a seat, her hands folding napkins.
I placed a hand across my lips, wondering why everyone kept asking that question.
“No.” I shook my head, my lips curving to give a grin.
“You suddenly came after what your girlfriend did and why were you both wearing masks?” Emily asked.
“Oh that,” My mind travelled to the blind royal date that I and Matilda had. Mother was the one who passed the envelope that morning about the location and how she would be dressed.
I had to wear a mask because we both couldn’t afford to let our identity out. Matilda was quite popular, the newspapers grabbed every piece of hers but on mine, the newspapers still had my traumatic twelve year old picture but if she did that day, I was sure that mine would be figured out in less than a month.
“She wanted that, ” I lied, “-To surprise me. It was a blind date.” I rolled my eyes while laughing.
“Oh,” Emily said, “She never came back.”
“Of course not, why would she?” I muttered inaudibly. I wondered if she had sent thousands of letters across to me. I really hoped not.
I smiled at Emily, basking in her pretty face. She talked like the sister I wished for, the one who I could talk to for hours without getting bored or getting scolded.
My eyes searched to look for Ashely while I greeted a customer who just walked in. But my eyes weren’t focused on the man in front of me but rather on the look out for Ashely.
“Hello, are you even listening to me?” The man spoke, drawing me out of my thoughts and back into reality.
I shook my head and wrinkles warped around my eyes, making my glasses itch.
“I am sorry, I was not thinking straight. ” I responded with a cut nod, his face depicted that of irritation which sprung me right in action. I hurriedly took note of his order, raced towards the kitchen but bumped into someone, her knuckles hitting my chest on first impact.
I hoped it wasn’t Nadia because it would be the third time.
But it was someone else. I noticed her hair flip back when she bent up to pick up her cell-phone which fell straight to the ground and then lifted her head with a stylish precision.
“Ashley?” I noticed her flushed face, “I didn’t see you there.”
“Okay.” Her response was short, quick and void of any emotions.
She moved, wanting to walk when I grabbed her wrist.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” I rambled, my eyes hysterically searching her palm to check if there was anything wrong with it, “What about your phone?”
“Stop grabbing my wrist like you own it. It’s really annoying.” she yelled back at me, my slippery grip on her wrist became less tighter and then she yanked her hand away, taking a step backward.
“What happened, Ashely? Is it about your-”
“Don’t you have a order to take, Leo? Someone’s waiting right there.” One of her fingers was outstretched, pointing towards the kitchenette.
“Yes I know but I just thought….” She didn’t let me finish, instead she walked away briskly without turning to look at me.
And I wondered what the hell just happened.
I thought we were bonding but now, the way she looked at me made me feel weird inside.
I reached out with my left hand and rubbed my chest region with my palm.
It was beating so fast and then I tilted my head one last time, watching her retreating figure with sad eyes.
It did hurt badly when she pushed me away, it set a reminder in me about the day she ran away from the ball without saying a word.
I was intrigued by her, her every nature, the way she listened to every words and now she was leaving, just like the way she did at the ball.
****
“What do you think the Prince of Midon looks like?” Emily quipped suddenly when she brought in a newspaper that was sitting lazily outside the bakery. I watched as she cleaned off the bits of dirt off it before spreading it open.
“Why are you interested in that?” I heard Ashley respond while cleaning the tables.
“I just wonder, ” I heard Emily say, “The newspapers keep publishing the same pictures for over fifteen years and I wonder if he’s real but you danced with him.”
“Yes, I hope I did,” Ashley answered, “But maybe he’s ugly, that’s probably why he wore a mask.”
“But I heard everyone wore masks. ” Nadia walked into our space, her hands clean and pristine as she leaned against the wall.
“How did you know that?” I asked.
“It was a pretty good guess and I heard it as well, ” she shrugged.
“That pretty sums it up.” Emily concluded, raising a shoulder up.
“But I wonder when he would rule Midon, ” I heard Ashely say, still cleaning and dusting the table while carrying the used plastic coffee cups and throwing them into a bin.
“Probably after his father, the king is dead.” Emily empathized with her hands outstretched.
Emily caught me staring at her while I was still grasping why the discussion was brought up in the first place. It was probably off because I, the Prince was seated right among them.
“What is it, Leo? You want to say something?” Emily giggled.
“I-I….” I started but I began to stutter the words out, “I honestly barely hear of the Prince of Midon. All I hear are rumors which can’t be proved since no one had seen him in years.”
“That is quite right. ” Emily agreed with a nod.
“So I’m done and I would be leaving, ” Ashley raised her voice, “And thank you, Nadia for wanting to exchange evening shifts with me.”
“You are welcome.” Nadia winked.
“Where are you going?” I asked, hoping she would give me a response.
“On a date.” Emily answered with a grin on her face while Ashley didn’t meet my eyes, her eyes fixated on the window as she watched random people walk.
“Oh.” Came my response, my hands reaching out to scratch my hair, “That’s nice.”
I struggled to produce a happy smile but Ashley wasn’t even slightly bothered as she was removed her apron, gave it to Nadia while Emily passed over her bag to her.
“I hope it goes great. ” Emily said while nudging her on the shoulders.
Ashley returned het smile with a even warmer one while tying her shoes. I was still slightly upset with the way she treated me when I remembered that I had to be at the royal palace at noon.
Shit.
I hastily removed my apron and voiced, “I’m also leaving.”
“Huh? Where?” Emily asked, her hands on her hip.
“I-It’s a family emergency. ” I nodded, hoping that my lie would be believed.
“Oh, I hope all is well.” Emily asked with concern written all over her face while Ashley walked past me, our shoulders nearly touching.
“It should be, hopefully.” I hastily spoke while dropping my apron on the counter, grabbed the black umbrella that I took along with me before racing towards the door.
***
The harsh sun was the first thing I came in contact with when I flung the door open.
I squinted, the rays of the sun nearly blinding my eyes when I sighted Ashley walking with her left hand curving above her forehead.
I contemplated right on that spot between texting Daniel on where to meet me or running towards her to hand her the umbrella which would result in the sun assaulting my skin.
I chose the latter, my legs picking up a pace while I took quick strides towards her. It took me a few seconds to reach where she was and I bent a bit to catch my breath, panting heavily.
I knew I needed to exercise more. Maybe I could do it with Daniel in the mornings.
“Here,” my hand was outstretched with the umbrella in my grasp, “It’s really hot and you don’t want a sun burn, do you?”
I lifted my head and noticed she made no attempt to receive it.
“Take it, ” I muttered, slowly, “-Please.”
My eyes did all the pleading and then I saw her milky eyes change. She reached out a bit to grab it before walking away from me as if I was a plague.
“Not even a thank you?” I muttered to myself, “How amazing is that?”
My hands reached to touch my black spectacles and I turned.
I rolled up my shirt sleeves and started to walk, occasionally glancing back to see if she looked back at me but she didn’t.
I then gave up finally and brought out my cell-phone from my pockets, wanting to text Daniel.
But after taking slow steps while trying to text with my fingers, I halted on my heels. I felt someone behind me, watching me and when I turned, I saw no one.
It felt strange and insane but I shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing.