"I mean, I never know what to expect with the guy. He's a walking mystery. First he steals my brownies, and I think ugh what a jerk. Then he pays for me when I don't have enough money and I think hmm maybe the guy's not so bad after all. Then he insults me and I go wow he's such a douchebag. Then he apologizes to me, oh and let's not forgetâ"
"Daisyâ"
"The brownies," I woefully clutched my heart.
"Is there a point to all this?" My fifty-something year old manager glared at me atop his half-mooned glasses.
"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, maybe I don't hate him nearly as much as I thought. In fact, I think we might even be friends now," I beamed.
"Right, because it's definitely normal to refer to a friend as fucking annoying," Bob gruffly replied, his tone laced in sarcasm.
"Actually, that would be a very Ellie thing to say to a friend."
"What kind of a man is named Ellie?"
"I don't know, what kind of a man is named Bob?"
"One more word and you're fired," Bob scowled at me. "Now go serve table 32."
My mouth dropped open. "Butâ"
"Go."
I huffed and grabbed my notepad before storming in the direction of table 32.
"Hi, could I get you something to start?" I asked the customer, flipping over to a fresh page on my notepad.
"I dunno, I've never been to this place before. What would you recommend?"
I froze and slowly lowered my notepad, recognizing the voice of my biggest nightmare.
My heart began to hammer as my voice became higher pitched. "Oh, um, the deluxe cheeseburger is our most popular meal, so I'd probably go with that..."
"Right, I'll just get that then," he handed me the menu, and his eyes narrowed. "Hey, do I recognize you from somewhere?"
"N-No, I don't think so," I quickly replied, glancing down.
"Are you sure? You look really familiar?"
With a sigh of disbelief, I dropped the charade and glanced back up at him. "Unbelievable. After all those years of torment, you don't even recognize me?
"Crazy Daisy!" Anthony Miller gasped in realization.
"It's just Daisy."
"Same thing," he dismissed. "What are you doing here?"
With irritation, I gestured down at my uniform. "I work here."
"Oh," he dumbly replied.
I skeptically analyzed Anthony up and down. His eyes were rimmed red, and I couldn't tell if he was high or just sleep deprived. I'd never seen his hair so shaggy before, and his face was rough with stubble. Goodness gracious, what had happened to him over the last few months?
"Wow, you look..."
"Horrible, I know," he sighed and buried his head in his hands.
I debated between comforting him or simply walking away. After all, this was the very same boy who'd bullied me for years. However, no matter how much I wanted to, I simply wasn't able to just up and leave.
"Curse my good conscience," I sighed before sitting down in the booth across from Anthony. "Are you alright?"
He rubbed his red eyes and looked up at me with a yawn. "Not really, no."
I carefully set my notepad and pen down. "Why have you come all the way to this restaurant? Wouldn't it be much easier to eat somewhere closer to our side of town? I mean, the food here's good, but not that good..."
After all, I'd intentionally chosen to work at a restaurant that was far from school, so I'd never have to run into anyone I know.
"I can't even show my face on our side of townânot at school, not at restaurants. I mean, look at me! I got kicked off the football teamâby a newbie, no less," he bitterly spat, and by newbie, he meant Elias. "And as if that wasn't embarrassing enough, all my friends on the team ditched me. Even Heather broke up with me. How did I go from captain of the football team to a... a..."
"A nobody?"
"Exactly!" he miserably exclaimed. "I hate to admit it, but I'm a loser."
I internally questioned what alternate universe I'd just walked into. Did Anthony Miller seriously just call himself a loser? It was odd to think that none of this would've happened if Elias had never tried out for the football team. Anthony would've still been captain, Heather would've still been dating him, and together, the pair of them would've continued making high school a living hell for me. It was yet another reminder of how Elias had turned my world upside down.
There was a moment of silence. And then, when I could no longer contain it, I erupted into a fit of pure, joyful laughter.
"What the fuck?" Anthony had the nerve to look offended. "How can you possibly laugh at something like this?"
"I just," I wiped at my tears of laughter, "do you remember the time you tripped me in gym class and I sprained my ankle?"
"Yeah?"
"What about that time you poured a smoothie down my shirt in tenth grade?"
He fondly chuckled at the memory. "Of course I do."
"Or the time you stole my lunch money?"
"Which one? I did that multiple times."
"Exactly," I nodded, for he'd given me the exact answer I'd expected. "If I'm being honest, you were a horrible human being to me, as well as tons of other students at Oakland High."
"Iâ"
"I'm not done. Here you are, complaining about what you're going through, but this doesn't even compare to the emotional turmoil you put me through for the last four years of high school," I slightly laughed. "Y'know, it's funny. Even after all that, I still feel sorry for you. I'm not quite sure why thoughâafter all, it's not like you or the other jocks ever felt sorry for me."
It was true. They never saw the teenage girl who'd lost her father. The teenage girl whose own mother hardly spoke to her. The teenage girl who had no friends. The teenage girl who worked for hours and hours every day after school. The teenage girl who was captain of the debate team, who loved pizza, who had a strange obsession with the Harry Potter books, whose favourite class was English, who liked painting her nails and watching rom-coms and smelling scented candles andâ
No. All they saw was a target.
"Look," Anthony looked shaken. "I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't. You were just a pretty girl with a big brain and an even bigger heart. I guess we just wanted to take that away from you. Obviously we failed though. I mean, look at you, you're still giving me the time of day even though we both know I don't deserve it. You're too nice for your own good."
There was a brief moment of silence as I mulled over his words. At last, I decided to stand up before quietly saying, "if it's any consolation, I don't think you're a loser."
He blinked before nodding, looking quite hopeful at my words. Just as I took a step away, he piped up once more. "Hey, Daisy?"
I glanced back. "Yeah?"
"You never deserved what we did to you. Any of it."
I gently smiled. "I know."
I turned around, but again, Anthony called after me. "And, Daisy?"
"Yes?"
"Just, one last thingâwatch out for Heather."
I cocked my head to the side. "What do you mean?"
He looked hesitant. "I just mean she can be real crazy when she wants to be, and I don't know... she's always been a bit jealous of you."
"Heather Addams? Captain of the cheerleading team, Oakland High's it-girl, jealous of me?" I scoffed. "Get real."
With that, I departed from the table and headed to the back of the restaurant.
If only I'd taken his warning seriously.
*****
This chapter was a bit uneventful but at least our girl Daisy finally got some closure, I'm so proud of her! What do you guys think about Anthony? Do you think he's truly sorry?
QOTD: do u have socks on right now?
AOTD: yup!
Thank you for 20k reads, I love you guys so much! The next chapter will be out in three days.
Until next time, Emmanuela
01/31/2023