The Boy and Unclean Tables

Now that Polar's gone, the only reason I need money is to have my own place. I can apply for a scholarship and not worry about school. My grades are great enough to be accepted. If I work part time during the weekends and two-hour shifts for the weekdays, I can make it work. I just need to find a small space that's budget friendly and decent.

"I can move out in a month, Aunt Felicity. I'll try to work things out within the month so you don't have to worry about me anymore." I said, finishing off the soup she prepared for breakfast.

"I told you, you can just stay for as long as you like, dear." I hear auntie sigh. "You don't have to—"

"Please aunt Felicity." I glanced up to her who was looking back with a worried face. "I want to do this. I'm turning 21 in a few days so I can live on my own." I paused before I turned back to the bowl in front of me. "That's what I've always wanted. I'll take care of myself and I'll tell you where I move to once I choose so you can visit me."

She nodded when I looked back up to her. "Don't rush things. The house is more than open to welcome you every day."

I flashed a small smile, bobbing my head in agreement. "I'm going out today. To look for spaces and jobs I can take during the weekends."

"I told Mirei about you. She's looking for a helper in her store. You should go and ask about the job there. It's along Tetrick Road."

"I will."

After eating, I went to grab my things form the spare room I use here at Aunt Felicity's house. When I was ready to go, I stepped out of the house and immediately frowned when I saw Mark sitting by the front porch, waiting.

"Good morning!"

I glared at him, fixing the bag over my back. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

He stood and ran to my side like a kid. "You're going somewhere? I thought I should come by and hang out."

"And you think that's okay?"

"No?"

I shook my head and walked away but he followed me the way I expected him to. I didn't even want to bother and ask because he'd only annoy me more if he sees that I'm irritated.

"Where are we going?"

We? "I'm going to do something important and you," I glanced at him briefly. "You're going home."

He spoke in a muffled voice but I wasn't that interested to know what he's saying. I, by now, know that he never leaves even when I tell him to go away so I'm not wasting my time doing that for the rest of the day. "Where are you really going?" He asked again.

"I'm going to look for a job and a place I can move to." I replied hoping he'd stop asking questions.

"You're moving?"

I sighed. "Why would I look for a place if I'm not moving?"

"Because you—"

"It's a question you're not supposed to answer." I frowned at him. How can he be smart about his academics and not in practical living? What a wholesome concept.

"I know a place."

"I'm not looking for a fancy place so you can keep that in your ass." I looked around, scanning for hiring flyers but I couldn't see one. When I do, it always ended up being at a bar and I didn't want to get myself involved in bars more than I should. I already attend enough parties. It's only going to make me feel sicker. I should go to that store aunt Felicity was talking about.

"It's not fancy. It's really cheap too. He asked me if I wanted to but I declined because mom doesn't really want me out of the house and I didn't want to leave her alone in the house too so,"

Mirei's Fruit Store. This must be it. "We'll talk about this later." I told him before I pushed the door open. A bell chimes and echoed inside the store. I looked around and the store looked great.

"W— Are you—"

"Shut up." I cut Mark off and looked for someone I can talk to as I scanned the store.

"How may I help you?" A lady, a little older than my aunt, appeared by the counter with a smile on her face. She was wiping her hands with a white cloth.

"Hello Mrs. Mirei. I'm aunt Felicity's—"

"Oh!" I flinched a little by the den squeal. I wouldn't have expected that from a lady like her. She sounded like a teenager who just had her first weed. "You came! Forest right?" She walked out of the counter to shake my hands. "Yes, yes. Come. I heard from felicity that you were looking for a part time job for Saturday and Sundays."

I nodded. "I can work for twelve hours for two days."

She clapped her hands together. "I only have my store opened for eight hours. I open at seven and close at three."

"That's okay with me too."

She nodded and smiled. "Felicity says you're very hardworking so I was very excited to have you in my store. With your beauty, we can sell everything in a snap!"

I looked down in shame. "That's…"

"I pay part time worker 15 per hour. All you have to do is help me organize the fruits, help out with carrying trays, and cleaning the fruits to make sure they're fresh. Sometimes you'd also need to clean here and there every time I clean the fruits. It's a lot easier than you think."

I bobbed my head. "I'm fine with that, Mrs. Mirei. 15 per hour is a lot more than I imagined."

"Please, you can call me Mirei-san."

"Ah." My mouth gapped. I didn't know how lese to respond to that.

"You can start next week. Is that okay?"

"Thank you again, Mrs. Mirei."

She smiled nodding her head. "This…" She turned to where Mark quietly stood. "Is this your boyfriend?" I sighed in disbelief. "He looks very handsome. You two look good together."

"He's just—"

"A friend, Mrs. Mireri. Mark." He extends his arm. "Mark Lee." He introduced. I can't believe this is happening. I'm so desperate to find a job that I forgot I was with this dofus. "Please take care of her. She can be very stubborn."

Mirei laughed at this but nods. "I'll make sre I remember that."

"We'll go ahead, Mrs. Mirei. I'll come back for my first day."

"Okay, okay. Have a good day!"

I dragged Mark with me on my way out and let go of his jacket when we reached outside. I glared at him in frustration. I don't know why I'm frustrated. I just know I am. Maybe I'm frustrated because I just realized he listened to the entire conversation and now he's going to know where I'll be every weekend. That doesn't sound harmful but getting him involved with everything that I do with my life is a bit…

"That lady seemed nice."

"What are you still doing here?" I finally asked hoping he'd tell me he's going to go home now.

"I want to join your job hunting. It's pretty fun!"

Job hunting? I looked away in disbelief. I continued walking along the street looking for a hiring. I still need to find a two-hour shift for weekdays. Mirei surprisingly pays a lot. I'm sure it can cover up for my needs every month but I can't be too sure.

"About the place I was talking about."

Shit, right. "Uhuh. Talk."

"Like I said, it's cheap but I'm not sure if you'd like it. It's a three-floor house. It's like a frat house, sort of. I think you share bathrooms and kitchen. I'm not sure."

"Where is it?"

"3819 Tavern."

I nodded. "Alright. I'll go look into it."

"I can come with you today." I stopped walking and stared at him. If we go together, will he leave after? He smiled waiting for my response. Do I want him to leave after? "Are you okay?"

I heaved a sigh, looking away. Fuck. What the fuck is happening to me? Fuck, fuck, fuck. "Is it far from here?"

"We can take my car,"

Right. He had a fucking car. "Where is it?"

"I left it in your aunt's. You started walking and I had to follow you. I had no time to get my car so I just left it there."

"Are you nuts?" I squinted my eyes at him. "What if some crazy psycho passed by and took interest?" I grunted. "Whatever. You don't care about it because you can easily replace it with a new one."

He pouted. "Hey. That doesn't mean I don't value Sherlock."

Sherlock?

"I love Sherlock as much as I love my mom."

I rolled my eyes in realization. Of course he names his fucking cars. What a brat.

"Are you done with your job hunting?" He asked but I didn't reply. "You can finish your job hunt first before we go so you can't have to walk back here."

After walking around the looking and asking for a hiring, I decided to stop. I still have tomorrow to look for jobs anyway. I have the entire week, even. We were heading back to my aunt's so we can go to this place he was talking about.

When we reached Tavern, I was surprised when the house looked pretty big and decent. This person Mark knows was probably a big shot like him.

"We're here."

"Obviously." I hissed and we both stepped out of this car. The house was big alright. It was true that it's a three floor house though I'm not sure how things will go exactly.

"Mark! Good to see you!"

"It's been a while. It's good to see you too, hyung."

I looked at the guy who just greeted him. He looked back at me with a smile.

"Is this her?" The tall guy asked.

"Yeah," Mark pulled me towards him so I was closer to the both of them. "Forest, this is a close friend, Johnny. Johnny, this is Forest. A friend that I like."

"Ohhh." Johnny teasingly glared at his friend. "How bold of you, my friend. You indeed learned a lot from me." He teased more, laughing out loud.

He learned nothing.

"We can talk about the details once you check the place. Is that cool with you?" Johnny suggested so I nodded.

We started walking around the house. The first floor was just the living room, the kitchen, the dining room and this Johnny guy's master room. The second floor, one room was already occupied by a student and the other was not. The room was compact. It wasn't small but it wasn't big either. The third floor was the same. One room was occupied and the other was also available.

"What do you think? Pretty good eh? I always tell boarders that they have the freedom to change the room however they like but not to the point of slammering walls."

Okay?

"The living area and kitchen is open to everyone. You can keep ingredients of yours in your room by buying your own mini fridge." Mark nodded to every work Johnny said like a proud father. "We have food too but you need to buy them from me, of course. Gas, water and electricity will be added to the monthly payment."

"So how much?"

"Since you're Mark's friend." Johnny patted Mark's shoulder with a grin. "I'll give you a friendly price." Then he diverted his attention back to me. "Three hundred a month."

300?

"A hundred for the electricity bill, and 200 for the room. That's a good deal. I usually charge other students five hundred a room but since your Mark's girl, I can go as low as 300."

"Curfew?"

"Oh no. I'm not a parent so I don't care what the boarders do. I just make sure they pay me. That's all the rules. And of course, my room's prohibited but that's already a given."

I nodded. "I'll think about it."

"You can let Mark know if you've decided." He said, resting both his hands over his waist. "I'll save a room for you if ever you decide to keep it."

We left the house after. I was pretty tempted to take the offer. It's cheap like Mark said - a lot cheaper than apartments. I'll still try and look into other spaces tomorrow but this is a good option if ever. I doubt someone will be the same as the price range Johnny offered but I'll still try my luck.

"Drop me at the café shop."

Mark turned to me confused. "C-Café? Why there?"

"To get some coffee." I replied sarcastically and he seemed to notice it because he pouted like a dang kid. "I have a job. I need to work. I'm not a rich-slack like you people."

"Hey," He tilts his head a little to go back and forth between me and the road. "I'm not a rich-slack."

I shook my head in disagreement. I didn't want to argue more about this with him. I have to think about a lot of things. I already have the prize money as a start but I want to save it for future purposes.

He pulled over in front of the café I assume he knows from following me around all the time. I hopped out of the car without saying any kind of gratitude. I was late for my shift and it was the least of my concern. I wanted to but he brought himself here. He shouldn't be expecting me to do it either.

I entered the cafe, welcomed by my frustrated boss. "Where have you been? We're a full house and I only got two hands." He almost exclaimed.

"Sorry. I had errands to attend to."

"Some errand."

I rolled my eyes when he turned his back to me. It was true that the café was fuller than usual. I ran to the counter to grab my uniform. I started serving tables but people kept entering. I'm not sure why this was happening but I guess it's a good thing for this grumpy bitch's shop.

"We need more help. You can't serve everything alone while I expo inside the kitchen." My boss panicked. I just dropped another set of two tables and there's still more.

It's Saturday so maybe that's the reason why the shop's getting a lot of costumers. I usually work at night so there's not much people but it's still afternoon so I guess it makes sense now that I think about it.

"Maybe I can help, Mr. Owner."

I froze. No fucking way.

My boss turned to the speaker and so did I. Surprise, surprise. Mark Lee. "And who are you?"

"I'm Forest's friend. You don't have to pay me. I like helping other people – my friends, especially."

"He's not going to—"

"Great." My boss cuts me off and heads to the kitchen saying, "Forest assist him."

I glared at Mark. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Your boss said I can help. I'm helping whether you like it or not." He smiled and I just grunted in defeat. There are more tables waiting for their orders and I can't deal with him now. "Grab an apron at the back storage and come back. Duck's going to tell you what table the orders will go to. You just have to be attentive to everything he tells."

"Okay."

It was almost ten when the last costumer left. I leaned back to the counter heaving a sigh in relief. That was a lot of work and this man only pays me eight per hour. How infuriating.

"You can both eat anything you like in the shop. You both deserve that." That's a first. "I'm heading out. I'll leave the place to you, Forest. I'll be here tomorrow morning. Maybe five or four if my wife wakes me up."

My boss left waving.

I sighed. Mark. I looked around the shop looking for him whose presence suddenly disappeared. I walked out of the counter and saw his half body collapsed on a table. He was holding a table cleaner as he laid there. "Hey."

He doesn't reply so I poked his shoulders and he groans. "I'm tired." I hear him mumble to himself. "This is so tiring. How do you do this every day?" He rose from the table and leans back to the chair he was using.

I sat across him, raising my brows. "That's why you never should have come in the first place."

He leaned closer to me, his chin resting at the back of his hands. "Everything you do that get me involved is worth every consequence."

I stared at him. He's even more persistent than Connor. Thinking about Connor made me wonder if he'd end up doing the same thing Connor did. "You're not used to working. Your hands look royalty."

He chuckled. "Royalty?" He shook his head. "I beg to disagree. These hands did more than you think."

Self-pleasure then.

"And no! It's not that thing guys love doing." He blushed. He always blushed over matters of those. I didn't expect him to be open about all that but it's just strange to see a guy getting flustered like that – like he's not a guy even. "I used to help my dad in his automobile repair shop before he, you know, left."

Repair shop huh?

I stood from the chair and walked back to the counter. "Go home and sleep if you're so tired. I wouldn't want to carry you all the way back to your house again."

"I like doing things that you do, Forest." He glanced up to me. "And I don't really like seeing you do these things all on your own. I want to be by your side all the time. Everything you do is just," He smiled, pausing. "—fascinating to me."

I was speechless. I don't know if I didn't want to say anything because I'm not interested or the other way around.

"You make me appreciate the simplest things." My heart… "Like walking, searching, doing science projects, going to class, eating lunch, attending parties, staring – the little things that I get to do only when I'm with you. I like it all."

It was this time I knew, how screwed I am. Mark Lee. You really do amuse me.