chapter 4

#THE_RED_CRYSTER

EPISODE 4

Completely immersed in water, Amanda woke up seeing the sun shining brightly from the upper window of her bathroom. She was resting herself in her bathtub when she opened her eyes.

"Fuck!" She realized by how the sun had gleamed, she was late for work once again. She got up, grabbed a towel, and took a proper shower. Her hands still stunk of the dead.

Getting to her bedroom, she cursed once more, "Fuck! Dammit!"

She saw her bed burned in the center, her favorite blanket now gone with it, and a fire extinguisher was right next to where she often took her slumber. It was her third mattress for nearly a year. She knew she might as well buy a bigger bathtub and make it her bed.

Amanda recalled how she ended up falling on her bed, while still on fire. It was thanks to Abasi, constantly not giving her clear landing.

She frantically got dressed, and while getting her bike up on the road, she called Andrew, asking for an apology. She rarely brought a mobile with her, let alone turn it on, but that day, a phone call was in order.

"Amanda! It's almost lunchtime! You can't always do this!" Yelled Andrew.

"I'm sorry! I'll work the night shifts for free! Huhu! I'm so sorry. I had an emergency at dawn and only slept at five in the morning," she explained.

"What emergency?! You don't have any family here - anyway, just get over here, Amanda. Someone has been waiting for you," said Andrew, trying his best to control his frustration over the unusually busy late morning they had.

How Amanda wished she could fly her way to the restaurant. She could only speed up with the two-wheeled vehicle she had. She never wanted to get a car. She had previously burned two of them four years ago. A bike was a lot more affordable to re-purchase.

She pedaled her way for miles that her face sweat halfway through the route. From a distance, she saw that the Southern Deli had several customers. It was a shock to her. She mumbled, "No wonder he is so mad."

After getting inside the locker area, she promptly got changed and as always, she wore her gloves that covered up to her arms. Entering the service area, Andrew saw her immediately and gave orders, "Take this to Chris's table over there."

"Chris?" She had a question mark on her face, wondering how he was casually calling one of the customers by name.

"Yeah, Chris told me you met the other day when he came by. He brought his entire household, his neighbors, and some of his friends who visited the town," Andrew explained while serving up the french fries on one plate.

Amanda looked at the distant tables and confirmed nearly half of the restaurant was occupied. She saw Christopher staring at her with a smile. She looked away and asked Andrew, "You - you know him?"

Andrew glanced in Christopher's direction before saying, "Yes. We were classmates up until middle-school, then his family left town. Their house up on Mount Rou still remained well kept by housekeepers." He then fixed his eyes on her, saying, "He said, you prayed that he could help bring in more customers and so, here he is."

She pursed her lips, recognizing that it was her doing. Just before bringing the food over, she took the chance to apologize, "Andrew. I'm really sorry, but I always make up for it. I - I really need this job."

Andrew gave a heavy sigh before surrendering to her plea, "Okay, Amanda, just - just try your best not to be late. I'll probably move you to a later shift starting tomorrow. How about starting at eleven in the morning instead?"

She smiled and nodded her head. She thought it was also better since most of her missions happen during the night. She said, "That sounds good to me. Thank you."

With both her hands holding up two plates of sandwiches and fries, she walked towards Christopher's table and greeted them. "Good morning, here is your order. Clubhouse sandwich and the Southern Deli burger."

"You mean good afternoon?" said one of Christopher's colleagues. "It's nearly lunchtime!"

"Amanda, pardon my friend," Christopher said. "Good morning. It's nice to see you again. Let me introduce you to them."

He pointed out to each one saying, "This is Kyle. This is Zach and this my sister, Cassy."

"Hi! It's nice to meet you," said Cassy, while extending her hand to Amanda. "I've heard so much about you. You look really pretty."

She gave a fainted smile and gulped at the thought of holding her hand, but her gloves had a thin layer of carbon fiber by her palms. It was generally safe, so long as she made it quick.

Amanda quickly shook Cassy's hand, but her warmth did not miss Cassy's senses. "Wow, you are warm. Are you feeling okay?"

"Um… I just came from my house, biking under the sun the entire ride… That's - that's probably why," she reasoned without delay.

"Really?" Asked Christopher. He quickly stood up and placed a hand on Amanda's neck.

Amanda was caught off guard. She was about to take a step back, but she was suddenly reminded that Christopher could touch her. Strange enough, he could touch her and not feel the heat of her skin.

"She's she's not warm to me," he said with a frown.

Amanda quickly held away Christopher's hand, saying, "I'm fine. Really. Thank you for your concern."

Before she could leave, Christopher pointed out to the other four tables saying, "Those over there are our caretakers, and those over there are our neighbors. I invited them here to have a welcome party for my return… and also, to make your wish come true. We can have lunch here every time."

Cassy and his friends laughed at his lines, but she merely grinned, saying, "Thanks… that's very nice of you. I'm sure Andrew would appreciate it."

Amanda resumed her work after excusing herself. After an hour, Christopher's party was still inside the restaurant, ordering beer this time around.

Andrew had asked her to take out the trash and so she went to the back. Just as she was about to return, she heard Christopher call out from a distance, "Hey Amanda! Do you have a lighter that I can borrow?"

She doubted what kind of smoker would not bring a lighter? Still, she said, "I'll get it. Wait here."

It took only a minute for her to return. Having rushed back, she did not think properly and just raised her hand to him and lit the lighter.

"Woah! What the fuck!" A small ball of flame appeared in front of Christopher's face, burning the entire stick of cigarette he had earlier held up to his lips.

Amanda's mouth fell open, looking at the completely ashed cigarette on the ground. She scolded herself, 'Stupid Amanda!'

"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry. I brought the wrong lighter - this is the one we used to give steaks a little caramelized color," she reasoned with all her might.

Pointing out to the small lighter in her hand, he said, "That?! That little thing?"

"Excuse me. I have to go back to work.." She nodded before leaving him behind.

____

Amanda was helping the kitchen prepare for dinner orders. Evenings were usually busier for Southern Deli. She was cleaning dishes when Tracy came looking for her, "Hey, lover boy wants to talk to you."

She scoffed and said without looking, "What lover boy? Tell him I'm busy."

"I have been telling him that since an hour ago. Just go and see him for a while, will you? My heart is aching for him already. He just wants to say goodbye," said Tracy.

"Who is lover boy?" Asked Errol. He was the late-shift cook together with his brother, Pete.

"Nobody, just a handsome guy that's been bugging Amanda for the past three days," answered Tracy as her eyes glistened to the thought of Christopher. "If only he'd look my way, I'd jump him right there!"

"Yeah, like how you tried to jump on Andrew and nearly got fired!" Reminded Errol.

Amanda and Errol burst into laughter while Tracy rolled her eyes. She said, "You know you have to take chances once in a while."

"Amanda, send this guy off, okay?" Tracy said before going back to serving food.

Amanda liked washing dishes. It helped her body cool down, so almost always, when there were few customers, she'd offered to help.

She lazily put on her gloves again and went to see Christopher, who was already outside the restaurant, waiting for her. She sighed heavily before calling her out, "What do you want?"

She saw his pale face lit up before saying, "Hey, what time do you get off?"

"Late," she said before folding her arms together.

He slightly chuckled and said, "Not very friendly, are you?"

Christopher fixed his gaze at Amanda's face. Her green eyes were fierce, and he especially liked her warm red lips. Despite the cold weather in town, her lips never lost its color and glow.

There was something about her that kept him wanting to know more. Nevermind her charm. There were too many beautiful women in the world he was used to, but strangely enough, he was drawn to Amanda, a simple waitress in the small town of Trinity Bay.

Christopher could tell she was not about to reveal. Thus, he decided to just end their conversation and bid goodbye, "Anyway, I'll be going back home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm off tomorrow," she said.

He pursed his lips, seemingly formulating a plan before saying, "Good! Good."

Amanda saw Christopher get in a car with his friends and disappeared after taking a turn two blocks away.

The location of the Southern Deli was further out from most establishments, but Thomas Kent liked it that way. It was not too far from their home and his preferred customers were those that live close by; those that he considered friends.

She looked around the very few structures nearby and recognized the town's development was very slow.

Across the restaurant was a convenience store. A few meters away was a gas station followed by a marketplace and a small park. It was another three to four blocks where other restaurants were at, and in between buildings were greeneries or unoccupied lands.

She took a deep breath and said, "I like this town a lot."

Amanda went back to work as usual, and it was only around nine in the evening that she got off. She slowly walked to her bike, but just as she was about to unchain it, she heard a familiar voice, "Can I take you home?"

She turned to find Christopher behind her. She looked around and realized he was alone. She asked, "What are you doing back here?"

"Picking you up," said Christopher with a smirk on his handsome face.

"I don't need to be picked up -"

Her words were suddenly interrupted by a clap of thunder, and it did not take long for the rain to gush. Amanda did not mind getting wet in the rain, but how could she possibly explain it to Christopher? Getting home on a two-wheeled vehicle. Moreover, she brought her phone that day.

"I guess you have no choice," he said before grabbing her bare hand, immediately pulling her to where he had parked his car.

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You will soon understand the story, u need to pass the hard terms of it.

WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 5

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