Eight years ago,Hailey raced to her grandmother while yelling, "Granny!...Granny!... Granny!..." while clutching the drawing sheet in her hands. After finding her grandmother in the backyard sorting through a basket of vegetables. She sprinted over to give her a bear hug while exclaiming, "Granny! Look at what I drew!"Her drawing impressed her grandmother, who remarked, "My little rabbit drew so well." and pinched Hailey on the cheek softly. She looked over the illustration once more and inquired, "Why did you draw only you and me?" "Did they ask you to draw your grandparents?"Hailey shook her head a little and said, "Teacher asked us to draw our family, so I drew us, granny." And smiled at her. "Why are there just two of us? Where are your mother, father, and your little brother?" Hailey's grandmother repeated her question, "Why didn't you draw them, Hailey?" when she received no response."Because I don't like them, granny.""How many times must I urge you to stop speaking in t
Hailey's pov;Nearly every building on this street was familiar to me, yet I was unable to locate the cafe. Does it have some kind of camouflage ability? Or does it have a hidden entrance? Should I call once more? No, I already made two consecutive calls. What if they feel that I am bothering them? I also don't want to leave a terrible first impression. I heard my name being called out as I was seeking for the cafe. Alex was on a bike when I turned around to look at the person who called my name. "What are you doing here?" he questioned as he approached me on his bike."I'm trying to find a cafe. But I was unable to locate it."Can't you find it on the map?""There's a problem with my phone," I said as I held up my phone. "It intermittently shuts down now and then. Now, it ran out of juice and turned off for good.""Do you have an address?" "Yes." and handed him a piece of paper with the cafe address written on it. "Why are you looking for this one?" he questioned as he examined it
Alex's pov;The swimming meet. While changing into my swimwear in the locker room with other swimmers, I could hear the crowd cheering outside. As opposed to the competition, I was more focused on the phone awaiting a message. I was looking forward to Hailey's text. 'Did she show up? Did she start? Where is she? Why hasn't she called me yet? Is she already here?'I quickly finished changing into my swimsuit and headed out to the pool area. The sound of my flip-flops echoed through the empty hallway as I made my way to the entrance. The moment I stepped out onto the pool deck, the noise of the cheering crowd hit me like a tidal wave. Swimmers were warming up in the pool, their sleek bodies slicing through the water with ease.I spotted my coach, Rick, standing at the edge of the pool, waving me over. "Hey, you ready for this?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.I nodded, even though my mind was somewhere else entirely. Where was Hailey? She promised she would come. I pulled ou
Hailey's pov;At the cafeteria, "It appears that your part-time work pays well." Riley made a remark after viewing my meal plate. "You've got a lot going on here." And ate my burger, continuing, "Did you already get your salary?""It's a tip. For being an excellent waitress." And I showed off in front of her while eating my food."Don't spend it all on food. Keep it for later." "Okay, mom." "Everyone on campus is talking about your boyfriend competition. Did you question him about why he did that?""I heard it as well. When I discovered he didn't get first place, I was surprised too. He put in a lot of practice time. Perhaps it wasn't his day.""How come you're acting as if you didn't go?""Because I didn't go.""I thought you were with him when I called you. If you didn't go to him then where were you that day?""Mom was hospitalised, so I was with her all day," I groaned. "What happened to your mom?""Working without rest, attending meetings without a break, and travelling for bu
Hailey's pov;Mr Matthew asked while rubbing his hands using a cloth, "What do you want to talk to me about?" "I know it's not even a month, but could you please lend me some money in advance?" "I'm in desperate need of money." I said. "Okay." As he was looking into his phone, he asked, "Is it for paying your fees?""Um, No. Actually, Taxi is robbing me blind. Additionally, there is a distance from the cafe to the bus stop. Therefore, I'm thinking about getting a bicycle for transportation. And, you have an advantage as well. I can do deliveries if I get a bicycle." He put his phone back in his pocket as he said, "I transferred the money to your account. But I'm not lending it to you expecting you to do deliveries for this cafe. This cafe does not require deliveries to be well-known." "Because students need more time to focus on their studies and money for the fees, I'll give you your wage in advance for that bicycle so use it . But don't count on it every month." I accepted the c
Riley's pov; Mr Anderson, "Does your friend enjoy working at my friend's cafe?" "How is she doing?""Looking at how well she spends her money, yeah, she's liking the job, boss." I replied to him. "You make it sound like she's spending irresponsibly.""Yeah, I gave her some guidance because it was her first time getting paid. I hope she receives it and uses it wisely." "All right, get back to work." And he walked away. For the seventh time in a row, my phone rang. Should I turn it off? Someone stole it from me when I took it out to turn it off. When I lifted my head to see who it was, it was Charlie.Charlie, "How long do you intend to ghost me?""I have work to do," I said as I snatched back my phone from him. "Please don't bother me while I'm working." "Then when will you have time to talk to me?""Would you please leave before anyone notices us?"He took my hand in his and asked, "What if they see?" "What's the problem with that?" "I'm sick and tired of playing hide and seek, R
Hailey's pov;Riley clutched my hand as Mrs Smith's class ended and asked, "Class is over. Now tell me what happened. How did you obtain these?""Last night, While I was returning home, someone pushed me to the ground, and that's how I bruised my hands, okay?""Who pushed you?""I'm not sure. Because it was dark, I couldn't see their faces." "Their?""Yeah, there were many of them.""Why didn't you report it?""They all appeared to be members of a gang. Furthermore, the incident was not intended. They were following someone, and I got caught in the crossfire.""Still, they're the ones who pushed." "By the way, why didn't you call me when you bought the bicycle?" "Because Alex was with me.""Choosing boyfriend over best friend, huh?" "I didn't even invite him! He's the one who offered to help." "I'm not sure why you're riding bicycles when your parents own a lot of cars.""However, I don't own any of them. It's their money.""You will not use their money, car, or anything else they
Hailey's pov;While I was taking a break from work at Sundown Cafe, Elise approached me and informed me that Mr Matthew was looking for me. When I approached Mr Matthew, he said, "Elise is taking the day off on Saturday." "Can you do it if you're free?" When I nodded, he asked, "Can you then cover both shifts?" I gave him a nod and walked out of his office to find Elise at the door. She asked, "Did he ask you to fill in for me?" "I didn't know he'd end up choosing you to do the shift," she continued as I nodded. "I know you only joined a few weeks ago. I'm sorry, but I received a call from my mother informing me that my father is ill, therefore I'll be visiting my hometown this weekend.""Don't worry. I don't have much to do at home either, so I'm fine." And smiled at her. "Go see your father and look after him. And don't forget to say hello to him."She chuckled and went to the counter to take clients' orders. When the job was done, I stayed behind to clean the dishes because it wa