Chapter 4

'Whoosh', and that was the last thing I've heard.

I woke up from my nightmare and jumped out of my chair, coughing my lungs out. I was parched. My throat was so dry that it was killing me. I looked for my water bottle, which I refilled before coming to Iz's classroom, and within seconds, I drank every drop dry. "Ahh! I'm dead! Am I in heaven or hell?"

I looked to my left and saw Iz standing there giving me the 'Are you crazy? (with lots of swear words) look.

"Oh. I became a spirit wandering around the world. And I can't believe I dragged Iz with me. I'm such a horrible friend." I teared up, covering my face.

Iz shook her head and gave me a big smack on my head. "Did the heat get to you and fried your brain? 'Not that there's much to fry. (mumbled)' Why did you turn off the fans? The place is so stuffy I could barely breathe in here. I guess that's why you lost your bloody mind."

"You mean I'm not dead? I'm perfectly fine? No cuts on my neck or palm?" I grabbed Iz and shook her like my life depends on it.

Iz became dizzy and screamed. "I would make your wish come true if you want! If not, LET GO OF ME ALREADY!!!"

I immediately released my hands and gave a relieved sigh. "Sorry, Iz, that nightmare was so realistic. I thought I was a goner."

Iz sat on her chair, massaging her head. "You tell me. I could hear you screaming bloody murder from downstairs. I tried waking you up, but you wouldn't wake up. What kind of nightmare did you have?"

"It was the worst! It was the most frightening nightmare I had in my entire life." I stopped talking for a moment, and the classroom became silent again. Iz stared at me, waiting for me to continue my story. I looked at the watch hanging on the classroom's wall. It was already past our usual lunch hour. I scratched my head and changed the topic. "Hey, you hungry 'cause I'm starving. Let's go to Uncle Simon's restaurant, alright?"

Uncle Simon's restaurant was a famous restaurant. It's located near Iz's house and has been opened for generations. No matter what generation you were from, they all felt at home there. Its bright atmosphere always puts a person in a good mood. Their foods were delicious and fresh, not like most restaurants with their processed food. Moreover, the staff were polite, efficient, and quirky all the time. It made me wonder how Uncle Simon always managed to hire good people all the time. Well, I guessed I would need to leave that question to another time.

"Well, I'm hungry too since I had put so much energy into waking you up from that nightmare which you wouldn't share even though I'm your best friend, isn't that right, Lil?"

I gulped. "Boy, you do know how to make a person feel guilty."

Iz crossed her arms and glared at me.

I quivered in fear. "Ok, ok. I'll tell you, but after we had our lunch. Oh man, your glare could freeze the Sahara desert. Warm it, would you?"

Iz sighed out loud. "You promise, okay? If you back off from -"

I quickly pushed Iz out of the classroom and said, "I will. Trust me a bit. When did I even break a promise?"

Iz shouted. "Always!"

While Iz and I were dragging our feet towards Uncle Simon's restaurant under the piercing sun, we saw a bunch of housewives fighting over some items with 90% off sales. They were climbing over each other backs like what we saw in zombie movies.

I stared in that direction and said, "Oui, I hope they don't turn into zombies like those movies, huh?" Iz glared and said, "Don't jinx, you little @#$%. " I was so shocked when I heard Iz using swear words. I guessed she was terrified of zombies since our last zombie movie together. Iz, who was trembling like a cat in the rain, grabbed my arm and dragged me off in the opposite direction. Seeing how much it frightened her, we decided to take a slight detour to the restaurant.

[Uncle Simon's restaurant]

Once we stepped into the restaurant, we could hear Uncle Simon's classical music playing in the background, mixed with some laughter from his usual customers. As usual, the restaurant was half filled even though the lunch hour had passed. The floor is as squeaky clean as always for a restaurant that had just done serving their rush hour, and weirdly enough, they never ran out of the same floral scent that was lingering in the restaurant.

Seeing as more customers were coming in, we quickly grabbed a seat and ordered the usual. "Ming-ah~ 'The Usual' oh~." I waved at Ming, who was cleaning the table. He nodded and smiled back. He quickly cleaned the table and went to the kitchen.

Sitting down, I noticed some stuff had changed. I raised a brow, "What happened to some of the furniture? Those old, dark, musky tables and chairs?"

Iz agreed. "Ya. Now that you have mentioned it. The old furniture was replaced with some modern-looking furniture. It feels weird. It doesn't blend well with the whole restaurant.

Ming appeared without a sound carrying our food. "We are going to renovate the whole place."

Iz and I screamed. "Ahh!"

Ming smiled at us and placed our food on the table. "Here's your order, dear valuable customers."

I panted and turned towards Ming. "Would it hurt you to make some noise whenever you come close? Oish, I always get a heart attack when I come here, especially from you, Ming!"

Iz grabbed Ming and asked in concern. "Renovation? After all those years? Are you sure you are not closing down?"

Ming assured Iz. "We're not closing down. Rest assured. It's just that some furniture broke some time ago, so we decided it's time to change them."

Iz sighed in relief, and Ming walked away stealthily.

I couldn't believe a word Ming said. "Broken? We came here a week ago, and everything was fine. If it broke, it was probably because there was a fight here or something."

Iz pouted angrily. "Why would Ming lie? Just let it go. The food is already here. Let's eat before it goes cold."

I shrugged and ate my food before Iz got any angrier.

While I was eating, I noticed something odd. "Hey Iz, don't you think it's weird how we never asked why the food is called 'The Usual', but they always served different food? Ironic, isn't it?"

Iz stopped eating and looked up. "Maybe it's to entertain eccentric people like yourself?" Iz grinned.

I stopped to think for a moment and nodded my head. "Sound about right. Who could have guessed?"

Iz finished her food quickly and said, "You know, you have been asking lots of questions about Uncle Simon's restaurant. You alright? Is it about the dream?"

I coughed and shook my head vigorously. "Would you wait? I actually can't tell you in public. So let's go to your house."

"Lil! You could have told me in advance that you planned to stay at my house on a Friday!"

"Over the weekends too, if you don't mind." I grinned.

Iz grumbled. "Even if I say no, you would have barged in anyways."

I laughed while Iz was grumbling.

After we paid for the food, we hurried out of the restaurant. While we exited the restaurant, I accidentally bumped into a stranger with a hat.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't bump into you too hard, right?" I immediately bowed and apologized to the man I bumped.

The man looked at me and smiled. "No worries. It's just a light bump. Are you fine, young lady?"

I looked up and was startled by his look. I got flustered and stuttered. "I-I-I..."

Iz grabbed me and replied. "She's fine. We do apologize."

"No need to apologize. It could happen to anyone. Be careful on your way." The man tilted his hat forward and walked into the restaurant.

Iz pulled me to the side and said, "He's your type? Not bad. Didn't know you had such refined taste."

I looked at Iz and said, "Not for a dead man I do." I quickly walked off. Iz followed me in a hurry and asked, "What do you mean a dead man? He looks alive to me. You even bumped into him. Was the bump too hard that you got a screw loose again?"

"No?! Oh..." I grunted. "I'll tell you when we are at your house, alright? It's a long story, a creepy one, too. You might get nightmares from it." I grinned.

"Why did I ask you to tell me about your nightmare? Can I take it back?" Iz pleaded.

"Too late, so suck it all up, bestie~" I laughed. Iz bent down in regret.