I headed outside the cafeteria, squinting my eyes at the bright sunlight that I wasn't used to. Using my hand as shade over my eyes, I scanned the courtyard outside the cafeteria, looking for Luca.
He said he wanted to talk to me outside so where was he?
"Allison!"
I jumped at my name being called, whipping around immediately to come face to face with a familiar stone-faced boy. I placed a hand over my heart, glaring at him.
"You almost gave me a heart attack! The restaurant needs me you know!"
He smiled a little, shaking his head at my dramatic behavior. "I wanted to talk to you about a plan for the restaurant. You know how the inspector is coming in a few days right?"
I nodded, my mood suddenly turning serious.
He continued, "I don't think the restaurant has reached its full potential yet. There's still some things we can improve on."
I gazed at him, trying to ignore how good he looked right now with the sunlight casting a warm hue on his dark hair and eyes. "What are you thinking?"
He blinked, shifting his full focus on me after looking thoughtful for a few minutes. "We should redesign the whole menu with new photos. We could also print big photos of our specials to put on the windows?"
"That's a good idea Luca. I think we could finish everything before the inspector comes. Hopefully the restaurant is good enough for them," I said, biting my lip nervously.
Luca was right. There was still some things we could change and improve on. It was all the little things that made a restaurant successful. The question though was, would it be enough?
"So do you have a quality camera you could bring or...?"
Shit. Luca brought up a good point. We needed high quality photos and the best thing I had was my crusty iPhone 6 that looked like a historical artifact at this point.
"Umm... no, do you?"
He shook his head in reply and we both fell silent for a moment, the evident disappointment simmering between us.
"I can ask my parents after school?" I said hesitantly.
"Yeah, but we have to take the photos fast before the inspector comes. We can't afford to waste any more time Allison."
I nodded gravely, making eye contact with the serious expression he shared with me on his face. The restaurant's fate was basically on the line here. We would know its ultimate fate based on what the inspector said. Everything was depending on it.
Luca suddenly flashed me one of his rare, gentle smiles. His usual stoic features softened and I felt my breath catch in my throat. There it is. That feeling again. The butterflies in my stomach always seem to flutter when he catches me off guard.
"I know we can do it though. We have to try," he insisted.
I awkwardly broke eye contact, feeling suddenly very aware of the effect he had on me. Now I was unsure of how to act around him.
"Yup," I cleared my throat, still not quite meeting him in the eye.
I felt him step a little closer to me and I instinctively took a step back at his close proximity. My cheeks blushed as I looked up directly into his questioning eyes.
"What are you doing?" I blurted.
He frowned a little at me as if I grew 2 heads or something. "What's the matter with you today? You're jumpier than usual. I just wanted to remove this."
He reached out his hand to brush something off my hair and I stiffened, just staring wide-eyed at him for a second before vigorously patting out the top of my hair.
His lips twitched into a small smile, "Leaf."
"Thank you for saving me," I said sarcastically.
He laughed, "I'll see you after school." With that, Luca gave me a wave and retreated back to where he came from. I could have been imagining it, but was Luca somewhat warming up to me?
I walked back to the cafeteria where Zoey shot me a knowing smile as she stood up from the lunch table. The bell had rung and students were slowly dragging themselves to class.
She excitedly linked her arm with mine. "So you and lover boy saving that restaurant?"
I flicked her arm in which she drew back and glared at me, rubbing it.
"First off, he's not my lover boy, but yes," I said dramatically before looking directly into her eyes, "Yes we are."
âââ¦ââ âââ¦ââ
I managed to avoid Zoey's prodding and questioning about Luca and I by changing the subject every few minutes until we had to go our separate ways. Hopefully I stalled her long enough.
I stared at the ticking of the clock in my Calculus class, feeling antsy about the whole restaurant situation. I tapped my pencil back and forth, lost in deep thought.
So far, Luca and I got permission to hang our restaurant flyers around the school and in some classroom windows. Now that was all left to do was to improve our menu and update our pictures.
"Hey Allison," a voice greeting me, snapped me out of my thoughts.
I blinked, regaining my focus to see Alex Harper's familiar friendly smile as he stood next to my desk.
"Hi Alex, what's up?"
Odd. I was actually making eye contact with him this time and the nervous feeling I usually got was absent. I wonder what changed.
"I was wondering if you'd be working at the restaurant today. I was thinking of getting some pho," he smiled bashfully.
I brightened up immediately at his mention of the restaurant. "Yeah, I am. You should stop by with a flyer for a discount."
He nodded his head in reply. "Sounds good."
As he was turning to leave, I blurted out on a whim, "Hey, uh Alex?"
He turned back a little, his blue eyes looking at me questioningly. "Yeah?"
"You got a camera by any chance?"
"Yeah...?" he replied slowly.
"Could I borrow it for a few hours at the restaurant?" I pleaded.
"Sure, I guess. I'll give it to you when I come there."
I clasped my hands together joyously, not being able to believe my luck. "Thank you so much Alex. I'll be waiting for you then."
He shot me a smile as a goodbye and as school ended, I raced to the front of the school to wait for my mom's van.
Unfortunately Luca had to do something after school so he'd be arriving at the restaurant later which meant that I couldn't tell him my good news of finding a camera we could use. Looks like I'd have to tell him later then.
After my mom dropped me off at the restaurant, I got busy with my work as usual, but I couldn't stop my eyes from glancing at the door every 5 minutes. I was looking for 2 very specific people, but every time it would be a stranger walking in.
The bell jingled and my head shot straight up. An Asian boy in a black long sleeve and jeans strode in. I rolled my eyes jokingly at him. "Took you long enough. I got news for you."
Luca raised an eyebrow questioningly, but before I could elaborate, the bell jingled again and this time Alex's familiar blonde head entered through the doorway.
"Damn, good timing!" I announced, "Luca, I want you to meet our solution."
I gestured to a very confused looking Alex as Luca turned around slowly to meet him with an equally perplexed look on his face.