Second Chance

A bell rang as I pushed open the entrance door.

"Yo! Over here over here!" And immediately I was greeted by Mr. Anthony behind the counter.

It was a very serene environment, aside from Mr. Anthony calling out to me just now from the other side of the cafe, all I could hear were clicking noises from keyboards.

The place has a lot of windows, thus great natural lighting, thus suitable for decorative flower pots and other various greeneries. It's a very refreshing environment compared to what I'm used to, I took a deep breath of the fresh air before walking towards the counter.

"Here for your job interview?"

"Uhh yeah."

Mr. Anthony seems to be sorting some boxes behind the counter, not exactly paying much attention to me, just occasionally glancing when talking to me.

"Jasper Harrington?"

"Yes."

"Monday to Sunday, how many days can you work per day?"

"I can work everyday."

"How long? This place operates 6am to 12am."

"After school at 1, I can work all the way till 12am. At weekends, I can work the entire duration."

"Wooooah." An exaggerated reaction from him, he turns his head from the boxes to me for a second to give me an impressed smile.

"That's not healthy, you're working 8 to 8, and you're dropping out of school."

"Huh?"

"Don't act so surprised." He gets up from sorting the boxes, sweeps the dust off his hands with a few slaps then turns to me.

"You're not going back there kid, whatever you don't enjoy, you just... don't do it. It's not a big deal, you're working now, you'll earn a living I promise you."

"But...but..."

He has a point, what's the point of school for me anyways? I've never enjoyed studying, nor do I enjoy helping those idiots with their homework, and returning there would be a death wish.

"Don't worry about it, seriously, when shop's not busy I can even teach you how to brew some good coffee, and who knows, one day you'll open your own cafe, live your success life."

I pressed my lips together in hesitation, played with my fingers because I'm not sure if mother would approve of this.

Him noticing my hesitation, clapped his hands and said, "Welp, you're hired, get behind here."

"Huh?"

He came out from the counter and gestured me to enter it, "Its easy, cashier job! You just need to know how to operate this little dude." He said while slapping the cash register.

"Come on, don't hesitate." He encouraged me one last time.

The more I think about it, the more I realise, I can just leave everything behind now. I don't need to stick in the school, I don't need good grades to get to university then get a 9 to 5 job with a fancy degree.

This is all I need, I'll work right now to support the household, maybe there would be opportunities for even better growth in the future.

Yes, I've decided, I put down my hands to my sides, and said confidently, "Yes."

"Fix your posture though."

Huh? I took a look at my posture on a table mirror on the counter, oh man, I slouch this badly?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

After knowing the gist of my job, I worked overtime till 9pm that day, mainly because I sat down with Mr. Anthony for a late night coffee and a conversation.

I went home and announced to my mother, that I'm gonna drop out of highschool, I'm gonna enter society, leave my past behind and support the household.

She embraced me in response, wishing me the best of luck, and she also thanked me, as her burden will be lessened now that I'm a working man too.

Everyday after that, I would stand behind the counter, serve customer, go on lunch breaks with Mr. Anthony and his nephew Sean, who is my entertainment every evening, his gameplays are expertly and exhilarating.

Occasionally, Mr. Anthony would teach me how to brew different varieties of beverages, which I would then remake at home to impress my mother.

It's like none of my dark past even existed, I had my second chance, a new life, a new start, and it's all thanks to Mr. Anthony. Craziest thing is, I still don't know how much he knows of me and that incident, he never asked me a single word about it.

One year of light and hope later...

The bell above the door rang, more aggresively than usual, indicative that the door was pushed more violently than what's appropriate.

It's them, it's them damn it.

I ducked down behind the counter to avoid them noticing me, the kid that leads the group now has a hideous scar on his nose, he's not gonna forgive me for it.

I can hear them walking around and their obnoxious voice chatting with eachother, can't they read the room? It's a calm and serene atmosphere, completely ruined by their mere presence.

"Yo you think he the cashier?" One of them suggested, oh shit, I'm as good as dead.

"Oh shit he is!"

"Get the hell out here you asshole!" He said as he pulled on my collars.

"Oi." Mr. Anthony came and broke the two of us apart, but our distance was still quite close, in the range his punch can reach.

"Can't we talk this out." Mr. Anthony said.

"Look at my fucking face mister? We're not talking this back to how it was."

"Wait, yo, isn't this the same guy from the parent-teacher conference day?" One of the guys behind him commented.

Hs stared and inspected Mr. Anthony's face a bit more by squinting his eyes, before scoffing, "Shit it is as well! It's the same dumbass!"

"Why does that matter? As far as I'm concerned, beating him up won't fix your stupid nose." Mr. Anthony retorted.

Customers upon the commotion left one by one out the cafe, I can't blame them, I can only blame myself, I don't just feel anxious, but guilty as well.

"Well, either I break his fucking nose, sir, or he gon' pay for this, cash!" He yelled while pointing at his messed up nose.

"You didn't pay for his medical bills when you folks sent him to the ground either."

"Oh?! You know this much?" He walked closer, he's shorter than Mr. Anthony but he still tries to act intimidating and threatening with his chest out, stepping closer and closer towards Mr. Anthony.

"Well what are you gonna do about it though? Where's your proof? It was self defense damn it!" The group laughed when he said that.

"I'll call the cops if you keep this going, this is trespassing and harassment."

"Go on then, see what happens." The girl who's father is the police chief said mockingly, then the whole group laughed again.

I feel like I'm back at rock bottom within just a few seconds, it's like I can't shake my past off.

"What do you want?" Mr. Anthony asked again with a strict face, I've never seen him so serious before.