For Whatever May Come

Twentyth Chapter

15:25pm
Golden Leaf Restaurant

With there being hardly any traffic on the roads, Hayden could get to work faster than usual. However, the same couldn't be said for the parking, with all the customer spaces being full. Hayden suspected some customers had parked in the employee only spaces as they're more cars than usual.

After Hayden found a parking space, he quickly shut off his car. He took his keys out of the ignition and unzipped the front pocket of his backpack and slid them into it. Hayden spared a glance at his phone to see a notification.

Hayden pulled the phone out only to return it when he saw the text was from his dad, who just responded with an okay and a reminder to be quiet if he got off work late.

He didn't bother responding. He knew there was no point, his dad would be busy, anyway.

Hayden spent a minute just watching outside; he knew he shouldn't be. He knew he should go inside and working. He just couldn't help it. The day had been hard for him. The third anniversary of his mother's death was bad enough, but having to put up with Oliva just made it that much worse, like rubbing salt in a wound.

Not wanting to get lost in the maze that was in his mind, Hayden grabbed his bag and exited his car. With the chilly wind battering his body, Hayden was quick to lock his car, check and walk towards the entrance, the icy wind screeching in her ear with every step.

As soon as he opened the doors, the warmth instantly hit him. Hayden wasted no time in getting inside and letting the door silently close behind him. The place was packed. A lot more busy than it usually would be for the time. However, with most of the schools being off, the place was three times busier.

"Simon guilt tripped you into coming in then?" Hayden turned towards Bret when the elder spoke.

"I wouldn't go that far... I mean, he sounded pretty desperate," Hayden said.

"I bet he did. Alreana's good at her job, but she couldn't handle this whole place on her own. You know her... Too busy flirting with customers," Bret said with a playful smile.

"Jacelyn's worse. I mean, when it was the last time she turned up for a shift and actually spent the day doing her job and not chatting up customers?" Hayden asked.

"I don't remember. I still can't believe she hasn't been fired yet."

"It's only because she brings in good tips. If she didn't, she would have been gone a long time ago. Are you annoyed about being called in? I know I would."

"Not really. It's more money, isn't it? It's even better that it's payday on Friday, so I'm not that bothered... I should go. My shift started two minutes ago," Hayden said. 

"Right, well, I would say enjoy... But let's face it, it's work."

Hayden chuckled.

"See you." Hayden plastered a fake smile on his face as he walked through the tables filled with customers on his way to the locker room.

Hayden nodded to the coworkers as he passed. Once he got there, Hayden took his locker keys out of his bag and unlocked his locker.

He swiftly removed his jacket and put it inside his locker alongside his backpack. Hayden then removed his apron from his locker and put it on. He checked he had everything he needed in his pocket before he re-locked his locker and put the keys in his pocket. Once that was done, he walked locked in and made his way towards the kitchens to find Simon.

A couple of hours later

Having found out where he was serving, Hayden was quick to get out of his boss' way. Having heard the elder man lose his temper multiple times in the short time he'd been there. Hayden could kind of understand, a busy night was stressful for everyone involved but, he couldn't understand how getting stressed was going to help anyone.