Jake POV
I stare at the sixty dollars in my hand that I just received as a tip from my father. I chuckle. I wish he knew that his own son whom he abandoned was the one who prepared the 150 cheeseburgers for him. I shouldn't have accepted it! But I know I'll need it someday. I regret for not going to him and giving him a piece of my mind! Maybe because my boss was around and was sitting right in front of him.
The door to the kitchen creaks open and I turn to see my boss again
"I forgot my phone here" he says and picks up the phone.
He turns to leave but I call him.
I needed to know more about my dad.
"Sir I need to talk to you" I state.
My boss frowns.
"What about? Its still working hours?" He states.
"I know but its important" I state.
"Okay, when your shift is over, see me in my office like you always do to collect your salary and we will talk there" my boss states and I nod in agreement.
I go back to cooking. When my shift was over at exactly 12pm, I dressed up in my normal attire and put the chef attire in my car. Then I went to my boss' office. I knocked on the door slightly.
"Come in" he says and I enter feeling a bit intimidated.
I sit in front of him regardless.
"You worked for six hours so you earn six hundred dollars" my boss states and I nod in agreement. Seven to twelve was six hours alright and I earn a hundred dollars after working for an hour.
He pulls his drawer and brings out a bundle of money. He counts the fresh notes and hands them to me.
I take it and count it. It was six hundred. I smile gratefully and place it in my wallet. I'll send it to mom and Jessica in the morning.
"Thanks for your services Jake! Since you arrived in this restaurant my customers have doubled up. They say they love the food especially the evening ones which is your shift" my boss says with a grateful smile.
"Its nothing sir! Its my job" I reply with a small smile.
"You said you needed to talk to me! Proceed" my boss states and I sigh.
"Sir ummm.....I want to know the man who ordered the 150 cheeseburgers" I say nervously
"Why?" My boss asks.
"He looks familiar to me! Like someone I know" I reply. I hope my boss considers to tell me.
"Well he's Mr Winters! He's my good friend. He lives just a few blocks away and always comes here in the morning to take coffee. He owns a huge business enterprise in this city and is worth billions of dollars. He is married to a wonderful wife and has three kids! They are all boys! The youngest is nine years old" my boss tells and the end shocks me. He's married? And has three new children with his new wife! He's a scum! I can't believe he did this to my mom. He's gonna pay!!! I clench my fists.
"Jake! Are you okay?" My boss asks.
"Yes sir I'm alright" I say with a fake smile. God knows how my blood was boiling and my heart was pounding against my ribcage.
"But he's a very generous man! And he's a family man! He loves his family very much. He is very popular in the city. People love him. But he always talks about his first wife and his first two children he had with her. He says he wants to see them again. He's planning to go back to England to find them" my boss states and that melts my heart but I don't understand why he got married to another woman and had three kids if he really loved us! And if he really cared about us, he wouldn't have abandoned us.
"If he had a family already, why did he get married to another woman and have three kids with her"I ask out of frustration.
" I don't know! He hasn't told me why he did that! But he says he thinks about them. Especially his eldest son and little daughter"he states firmly.
I can't believe what am hearing. He thinks about us? No I don't believe it! He's just making up a story.
"Now do you remember him or know him from anywhere?" My boss asks raising a dark eyebrow at him. I was close to telling him that he's my dad and I'm his eldest son. That he abandoned us and came to this country to make money and have a new wife and new children.
"Jake!" My boss calls and I snap back to reality.
"Where did you go to?" He asks.
"Sorry boss! I was just trying to see if he was the man I was thinking about but its not him! But thanks for the information anyway" I reply.
"Its okay! You just confused him with someone but he's a wonderful man"
I nod with a small smile and say goodbye to him. I exit his office with a heavy heart. My brain cannot process all the information I've gotten! I need someone to talk to. I think about talking to Nikki but when I check the time on my phone, it 1am in the morning. Maybe I'll disturb her. I'll just find a day to talk to her about this.
I move my car out of the parking lot of the restaurant and drive straight home. I got home at exactly 1:34pm and went to bed.
â¥â¥â¥
I woke up early the next morning at six am. I quickly bathed and brushed my teeth. I dressed up in a black turtleneck shirt with dark jeans and sneakers. I gelled my blond hair and made it look shiny and smooth. Then I sprayed myself with my cologne. I cooked some breakfast for myself and ate it. Then I called Jessica.
"Jake! Good morning" she says with excitement laced in her tone.
"Morning Jess! Where's mom?" I ask
"Still in her bedroom! I bet she's still fast asleep" Jessica says
"When she wakes up I need you to tell her I have deposited an amount of six hundred dollars in her account"
"Sure Jake!" Jess says
"Thanks Jess! Don't forget! Have a nice day!" I say and hang up. I grab my satchel and make a headstart to the garage. I got into my car and drove straight to the bank. I deposited six hundred dollars in my mom's account . IÂ didn't deposit the sixty dollars my dad gave me because I wanted it for future use.
I got out of the bank at exactly fifty eight minutes past six and left for school.
I got to school at exactly seven thirty four. School starts at eight so I wasn't late. Danny's Bentley was parked a few cars away from mine. I got down from my car and headed towards the building.
A few girls spot me and smile. I give them a small smile and walk away.
I enter the elevator and when it opens, I walk down hallway ignoring a few girls who call me. I go straight to my locker and key in my combination. It opens and I grab my books. I had English first according to my class schedule. I close my locker and I gasp.
The pink haired girl stands there. She has her pink hair held high in a ponytail making her face more visible. Her face was smeared with make up and her lips were tugged upwards into a huge grin plastered on her face. Her neck band was around her neck and her leg band was there as well. Her tan was so bright and she looked like a model standing there in huge diamond earrings , a pink top, a pair of black jeans and black stilettos. She was pretty to admit. She sees how I was checking her out and I see her blush a little but she gets it under control and looks at me expectantly.
I smile.
"Hey Karen!" I say a bit loud and cheerful hoping that was her name. I sincerely forgot her name even though she told me yesterday. The girls in the hall giggle and the guys laugh at my outburst.
Her grin falters a bit and she turns red. She glares at those laughing and they stop and go back to what they were doing. Then she smiles brightly to cover it and I know I mentioned the wrong name immediately.
"Errrr Jake! My name is Kate!" She snaps.
I laugh nervously.
"Oh yeah! I remember now" I say awkwardly and she smiles pleased.
The group of students in the hall continue to stare at us.
The girls stared at Kate with jealously and hatred but the boys just stood there fuming at me. They were angry at me because their girlfriends had a crush on me. I chuckle at the thought and my gaze goes back to Kate.
"Can we be friends?" Kate asks whiles twirling her pink hair around her index finger.
I ruffle my hair. I don't really know whether to befriend this girl who was always haunting me like a ghost but it wouldn't be polite to ignore her request.
"Sure Kate! We can be friends" I say out of the blue but I wasn't being genuine.
Her smile grows bigger. I watch as she uses her index finger to trace my biceps. Then it goes dangerously lower to my stomach. My heart jumps into my throat.
"You wouldn't regret this" she says and winks at me before she sashay away with her heels click-- clacking on the hallway tiles. I stare at her until she disappears with two girls at her sides.
I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I bite my lip to prevent me from chuckling. Its like a drama just went on here. I rub my face and walk through the hall not knowing where English class was.
I asked a few students and followed their directions. I finally found the classroom. It was empty to my surprise. I wondered if they showed me the right route or I took the wrong route. All the same, I entered and sat at the back.
I think about Kate and our new so called 'friendship' . I wonder if I'll be able to handle her like Nikki. Nikki is easy to talk to, she's friendly and sweet but Kate is another thing all together. My thoughts drift off to my father. I don't understand why he got married and had new children if he really cared about us. I need him to explain why he did that to us personally but for now, I hate him with all the life in me!
The bell rings and students file into the class. They were all new faces and they were surprised to see me but they sat down. The girls stared at me like forever and I got tired so I covered my face with my textbook. Gosh! Why am I so fucking cute? Why am I so good looking? People stare at me as if I'm not a human being! I wish I was ugly.
Someone sits beside me and I know her perfume scent. I know who it is! The ghost who always haunts me.....KATE!!!
I look and its her alright. I sigh in annoyance but I give her a fake smile. She smiles back.
"Seems we had the same class together" she says amused.
"Yeah! Seems like it" I say awkwardly.
The teacher enters. He had a stern face on. He wasn't as nice and sweet like the other teachers. He looked kinda angry. He was dressed in a grey suit with black tie and he wore a pair of black rimmed glasses. He looked elegant but his arrogance was too much. I presumed he will be around his fifties.
He stares at our faces as if he's looking for someone.
"Where's that punk?" He yells at us and the students gasp in surprise.
"Where is he?" He roars.
Danny and Aaron file in.
"Speaking of the devil and the devil arrives" the teacher says with a wicked smile. His gaze was on Danny. Danny had an equally stern face on and Aaron looked kind of scared
"Go and sit Aaron! And lemme deal with this punk" he roars and Aaron hesitates a bit but takes his seat.
Danny stood there looking at the teacher with the stern face. This guy has guts.
"I'm going to teach you some manners kiddo" the teacher roars.
Kate chuckles beside me along with some students in the class. I didn't understand the drama that was going on here. The teacher silences us and the chuckles stop but it was Danny's turn to laugh. He laughed in front of the teacher and points at him. The teacher is caught of guard at Danny's attitude. I was still confused with this drama. Maybe its a play.
"You? Teach me manners?" Danny spits and the man frowns.
"Do you know who I am?" Danny roars at him and the man begins to chuckle.
I look at Aaron. He looks worried.
"I know who you are! You are a stupid rotten egg" the teacher spits venomously. The whole class makes oohs.
Danny feigns hurt. His eyes grow wide and steps backwards with his hand on his chest.
"You can say whatever you want Mr Cartwright! But am a hundred times better than you in terms of finance, in terms of fashion, in terms of everything about life! You are just a pauper who is arrogant and mean" Danny rattles and I am shocked.
The whole class is silent. Danny has gone the wrong way. He took the wrong comeback but to my surprise, the whole class applauded and the teacher who I now knew his name as Mr Cartwright looks shocked. Well I thought it as the play came to an end so I clapped along.
Mr Cartwright was fuming and Danny too was breathing heavily. But a smirk appeared on his face.
"Silence!" Mr Cartwright roars and the applause stops.
"I'm taking you to the principal's office!" He says referring to Danny.
"And as for you all! Wait for your punishment" he states and drags Danny out of the class. I think the play hasn't ended after all.