“Hey guys, let me know what I can do to help.” Marcel passively offered, unsure of how the glaring set of three boys and one girl would respond to them working there… from their silent reaction it was difficult to say whether or not they were in for a smooth sailing or entering rough waters.     “Go out in front and just don’t mess up the orders.” One of the guy seemingly in his late teens, probably eighteen years or so, scuffed at her in pure resentment, while the others blatantly ignored their introduction.      Apparently they weren’t too keen on being friendly.     Sensing the sudden strange hostility now evident from their reaction, Nate brushed aside the negative feeling of their first impression, motioning Marcel through the doors they just came in moments ago, collecting an apron for them

      The day could not end any sooner for the newbie’s at the diner, of course the others; particularly Rex and Sarah, took the opportunity at closing hour to exaggeratingly launch a complaint against Marcel in her presence, thinking that she was one of those girls that was all bark and no bite when it came to answering to accusations made by numbers.      “Alright you two, tomorrow’s going be a lot more tight, so I’m going to need you to ‘reach’ here for six-thirty. Rex and Tony will be off until Friday; that means Nate you’ll work the register, Sarah you’ll stay out in front taking orders and you… Rayburn, you’ll be assisting Jim in the kitchen.        “Aunty Betty, you know I don’t trust other people handling my ingredients when Tony isn’t here, if she messes things up then the

    Present day….     Unexpectedly, the following morning Nate was the one to be disturbed from his pleasant slumber, not realizing the space beside him was empty and the warmth of a certain beauty was missing, until he felt an irritating object poking at his nose, jaws and even his closed eye lids.      “Hmm… M, what are you doing?” The boy subconsciously grumbled in a low husky voice, wondering what on earth she was up to, literally poking around his face.      “You look so sweet when you’re not awake, pretend I’m not here.” Marcel continued to hover at the side of his bed, resting one elbow on the mattress with her chin in her palms and her knees bent on the carpeted floors below, while her free hand stubbornly traced the outline of his near perfect facial features.   &

      “Wait a minute, this director… Victory what’s his name, he had already told you about your father… then what about aunt Ruby? We only know that she’s missing, how could he announce her death when she wasn’t anywhere near Acre Hills?” Nate openly questioned.      “This is sheer bullshit; he stood there lying through his teeth when I asked if my mom came to visit; if she was there then he must know where both my parents are.”      “Ha! Stop pretending, you two obviously planned the entire thing.” Sarah refused to believe a single word, in fact like most of the villagers she instantly accepted what was heard and retold by others… why? because of what happened in the past. It was all somehow connected to that one person.        “I don’t care if you believe me or not, but the director is lying, I know he is.” Marcel swallowed the bitterness at the back

     “Okay, now what the hell is this? I can’t believe he would stoop so low, that idiot!”      Marcel vented out loud standing with her back to the closed doors she had just entered moments ago, grumpily taking out the boy’s phone from her jeans, prepared to dial his land line number, but suddenly stopped realizing that a single call might be enough to make him rush on over before she could even issue a complain.      “Humph! I should have seen through his lies, there’s no way someone would steal a bunch of old furniture and ornaments, no wonder the neighbors didn’t see anything… because there wasn’t anything ‘to’ see.” The girl shook her head in disappointment wondering why Nate would try to deceive her, clearly the house wasn’t empty… everything was exactly the way it was before.