Hard Work

Sssshh...

A sizzling sound came from the Teflon that was baking a ham to make a sandwich for breakfast that morning.

Ting!

Even the toaster was done with her task, Amanda took the toasted bread and made a sandwich by adding ham, eggs, some vegetables and some bacon.

"Yeah... I think this is all I can make. I should have learned how to cook more before." she said sitting on a chair and eating her breakfast.

Amanda intended to learn how to cook, but she wasn't sure if she could do it according to the tutorials on the internet later. Sometimes the recipes on the internet didn't suit other people's tastes. She needed someone who was good at cooking who understood the measurements to make good food.

Sometimes she also feels bored because she eats the same food every day. Life in Quespion and Zondalia, where she lives and works as an agent, are very different.

Quespion is a city that still emphasizes the culture and beauty of the place. Zondalia, on the other hand, is a large, modern city with many skyscrapers and shopping centers competing with each other.

There was a wide variety of food there, so Amanda used to buy food outside because not only did she not have time to cook, but the food made her life easier.

But in Quespion, such food is not available there, even to order food is a very long journey from the city center. That made the cost very expensive as well.

"Never mind... Maybe I'll try learning on my own, instead of this being all I eat..." Amanda tidied up the plate from her breakfast and got ready to go to work.

When she locked the door, she saw that Camille had just returned from shopping. In her hands were two bags of groceries.

"Morning Camille, did you just finish shopping?"

"Yes, my groceries at home are running out. Did you have breakfast this morning?"

"I did, I had a ham sandwich earlier," Amanda replied.

Camille asked if Amanda had eaten anything else besides the sandwich, and Amanda said no. She couldn't cook at home, because she couldn't cook so she ate what she thought was easy to make.

"That's not good, Amanda. You're pregnant, you need to eat lots of vegetables and protein to keep your baby healthy," Camille said.

"I wish I did, but I can't make something like that."

"Then I'll cook it for you, you can't keep eating unhealthy food."

Amanda immediately refused, she didn't want to bother Camille by making her food. She said Camille must have been busy taking care of her daughter who was still in school, Amanda could learn to make it another time.

"Then i'll teach you how to cook, how about it? So that way you can make it yourself next time,"

"You want to teach me how to cook? Is that okay? I'm afraid I'm going to give you a hard time," Amanda replied. She knew that Camille was good at cooking delicious food.

At first she had wanted to ask Camille to teach her how to cook. But she felt reluctant to ask for help.

"No problem, I don't mind at all. I'm just happy to be able to help you. I'll send you the ingredients you need to buy, we'll start cooking tomorrow, how about it? Did Jhon give you the day off tomorrow?"

Since tomorrow was Sunday, Amanda remembered that Jhon didn't ask her to work tomorrow, so she had time at home to learn how to cook. They agreed to do it tomorrow.

"Okay, then I'll excuse myself. It's time for me to work," Amanda said.

"Oh sure, be careful on the road and cheer for your work today."

"Thank you!" Amanda gave Camille a small wave before rushing to Jhon's cafe.

*****

That afternoon, the cafe was very busy. A lot of tourists came to have lunch there, and Amanda could see that most of the tourists were married couples on their honeymoon.

They were so romantic holding hands, looking at each other intently and even chatting pleasantly.

Amanda smiled at those who could have such a sweet love story. Being with the person they love and then getting married, strengthens their relationship. 'It must be very happy...' she thought at the time.

As for her, she had to let go of the man she loved so much. Going far away and never seeing his face again. Amanda touched the necklace that she had been wearing for a long time. The necklace had always been around her neck after William had put it on as Amanda's 24th birthday present.

Thinking back to William, Amanda tried to dismiss the thought. She didn't want those thoughts to affect her work.

"Waiter! I want to order some food!" exclaimed a man sitting in the corner of the room, table number 16.

"Okay!" Amanda rushed over to the man and prepared her notebook. "What would you like to order, sir?"

Looking at the beautiful Amanda, the man seemed to want to tease her. "How about ordering yourself? You're so beautiful. Why do you want to be a waitress for so little money?"

"Excuse me?" asked Amanda.

The man suddenly pulled Amanda's hand, causing her to fall into his lap. "I can pay you much more than your current fee if you want to come with me, sweetie."

The brunette woman was surprised and annoyed by the sentence that came out of the man's mouth, he was trying to harass Amanda by talking like that. He even groped Amanda's thigh with her hand.

It had been almost 2 months since Amanda worked at the cafe, although there were those who tried to tease her, there were no customers who were insolent like this man. Amanda reflexively got up and pushed the man away.

"Look sir, I'm just a waitress, but that doesn't mean you can look down on me by saying that!" she snapped.

"Hmn... You're so fierce. No need to sell me a bill of goods, I can buy your price right now. How much do you want? $300? $500? That's easy for me." The man kept trying to buy Amanda with his money.

There was a commotion between the two that made them the center of attention. Jhon, who saw something happening in his cafe, went straight to them with a fierce face.

"What's going on, why is there a fuss here?!" he asked in a high tone.

"T-this one customer is trying to harass me!" Amanda replied to Jhon.

"Harassing? That's not right! I offered her a price, she was just too arrogant for me--"

BRAK!

Before the man had finished speaking, Jhon suddenly banged his desk very hard.

"Get out!" he snapped.

"What?! You dare kick me out?! I'm a rich man in this town, you're going to lose a wealthy customer here!" the man said trying to defend himself.

"You're trying to harass my female workers and make a scene here. Now get out before I drag you by the hand!"

Apart from Jhon, some of the regular customers who had known Amanda since she first started working there also chased the man away. They didn't want a customer who was insolent like that. Feeling cornered, the man finally left the cafe in a huff.

"Watch out you guys! I'll come back and destroy this place!" he exclaimed in annoyance.

"Heh, what a brat... Making a scene at rush hour like this," Jhon complained.

"I'm sorry, because I'm also causing a scene here..." said Amanda who felt guilty. She should have left without making a scene.

Jhon said it wasn't Amanda's fault, the man had no manners. He didn't want other customers to be inconvenienced by his presence, so he kicked him out.

"Now get back to your work, there are a lot of coffee cups to refill."

"Okay."

Amanda went back to work and the customers asked her worriedly. Amanda replied that she was fine and was happy that the customers were worried about her.