Chapter One

"Amor!! A plate of pizza at table one! "

"Amor! Two milkshakes at table five! "

" Amor! Table four needs some straws! "

" Amor! Table six! "

"Amor!" "Amor!"

AMOR! All she could hear was her name. She already started to regret opting for the afternoon shift.

But she should have known, that the afternoon shift at PORTLAND CAFÈ could be very stressful.

As the rush hour came in, more people followed and unfortunately, her partner called in sick that morning. So, she had to do it all by herself.

Luckily, she was great at multitasking.

Since her mom left, she had been the one helping her dad take care of her younger brother.

Within few minutes, she was done serving the customers and soon, the café was empty.

"Phew! That was close! ", Amor sighed as she wiped off her sweat with her work napkin.

She walked towards the counter where Zamar, the receptionist and also her best friend, was seated.

"Well done, Amor! Looks like you really worked your butt off today!",Zamar said.

"Yeah, and so did you. Thanks for helping me today, Zamar. You did a great job taking orders and helping serve some customers. ",she said as she took her seat.

"Ah, it's nothing! ", Zamar waved his hand.

"I just couldn't stand watching my best friend work her ass all day with no one to help!", he said with a smile.

"Thanks!",Amor said, with a smile that reached her eyes.

She was lucky to have such a friend by her side at all times.

And she did the same too. They did almost everything together.

When they both finished college, they decided to work at Portland café, at least till they got a better job.

But the pay here was also okay. With it,she was able to support her dad and younger brother.

The environment was also okay. Everyone here was friendly and the pay was never delayed.

Speaking of pay, she had to collect her money from the manager.

"Hey, Zamar! I will be at the manager's office. Please, help me prepare my usual coffee, with extra milk. ",she said.

"Okay, no problem! " Zamar said, as he turned around to prepare the coffee.

Amor then proceeded to the manager's office.

"Knock, knock! "

"Come in! " A female voice answered.

"Good afternoon! " Amor greeted.

"Hey, Amor! Have a seat! ", Elenore, the café manager, said with a bright smile on her face. "I assume you are here to collect your pay. "

"Yeah, I kinda need the money. " Amor said with an innocent look.

"Oh, no need to explain, dear. It's your money after all. ", she said, as she opened the drawer beside her. She counted some money and gave it to Amor.

Amor counted the money and her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, this is $200 more than my actual pay!", she said.

Elenore smiled. "Yes, dear. I added a little more just to appreciate your hard work today. I saw you and Zamar work during the rush hour. Don't worry, I'm also adding extra for Zamar."

"OMG! Thank you so much! ", Amor said, excited.

"No worries, dear. See you tomorrow. " Elenore said.

Amor left the office and headed towards the counter. 'So, the extra shift did pay off. Huh,lucky me!' she thought.

"What makes you so happy? ", Zamar asked as he wiped the table.

Amor grabbed her coffee on the counter and took a sip of it. 'Hmm..... Too good! ' she thought.

"Hmm.. Nothing!", she said.

"Eeer....doesn't sound like nothing." he said, with a questioning look.

Amor chuckled. She glanced at her wristwatch and gasped.

"Oh, no! It's past 3:30pm! Gotta go pick my bro up! See you tomorrow! ", she said as she jumped off the seat and grabbed her coffee.

"Okay, see you!" Zamar said.

Amor grabbed her bag and then, rushed to where she parked her bike. She hopped on it and pedalled as fast as she could to her bro's school which was ten minutes from the café.She was gonna be late.