Don't Cry Over Phở

Chapter 11: A Dilemma

"Whatever you do, don't tell Liên about any of this."

What? What did my mom mean by that? Determined to know more, I leaned my face closer to the doors and pressed my ear against it, waiting. I heard my dad sigh. "I know. The bills are hard to keep up with because the restaurant isn't doing well right now. We are barely making enough."

I stood there in shock trying to process what I just heard. The restaurant that used to thrive was now... losing business? How was that possible? I remember the fascination I had as a kid, walking into Phở King Good and seeing the bustle of families enjoying phở. My parents were also excellent cooks and their phở was my most favorite food. It just didn't make sense.

"...we don't need to worry her about the bills," my mom's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Alright, let's close the restaurant for tonight." I heard the shuffling of footsteps approaching the doors and I quickly turned around and continued mopping so it didn't seem like I was eavesdropping.

The doors opened and my parents smiled at me. "Ready to go home?"

I nodded and we closed the restaurant to head home after that. The whole time, I thought about what my parents said. If the phở restaurant closed, then I wouldn't have to work there anymore, but I couldn't help but feel... like this phở restaurant meant more than just a simple job my parents and I had.

Phở was a big part of Vietnamese cultural food and the thought of losing something so personal to my identity didn't feel right. After we arrived home, I hastily told my parents goodnight. They didn't know that I overheard their conversation.

Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling. I couldn't let the restaurant close. I had to do something. But what? I could make flyers? Ads? Give out discounts maybe? I decided to write down all of my ideas on a sheet of paper as well as finish some extra homework, staying up until 4 am.

I yawned, my eyes were probably bloodshot by now. I lost track of how many nights I've stayed up late. I was practically going to be nocturnal at this point. Darkness overcame my vision as I felt my head hit the desk.

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The next morning, the sun was shining so bright through my windows that I felt my eyes burn. Holy shit. I looked at the alarm clock that said 7:04 a.m. I fell asleep on my desk and only got 3 hours of sleep last night!! Maybe I should really rethink my sleep schedule.

I threw on a hoodie and baggy jeans. I attempted to cover my dark eye bags with concealer, but not even a miracle could cover up those dark rings.

At breakfast, my mom grimaced at the sight of me. "Liên... you sleep or no?"

I smiled back weakly. "Yes I did sleep Mẹ, I promise." Technically I did sleep. For how long though is irrelevant information. While I sacrificed my precious hours of sleep, I came up with a plan last night.

I wasn't a really big fan of this idea, but I planned on asking Luca to help me promote the phở restaurant. Working with him would probably be a huge pain in the ass, but I didn't know who else to ask. At this point, my biggest priority was saving the phở restaurant even if I had to work with Stone-Faced Boy.

After my parents dropped me off at school, I took the opportunity to nap in my first few classes of the day by sitting in the back and covering my face with my book during silent reading time. I did drool a bit on the pages, but a little water damage never hurt a book.

As lunch rolled around, I grabbed my lunch bag to head outside again. Surveying the outside courtyard, I tried picking out that distinct purple hair. I lurched forward when suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around me.

"Allison!!!!" yelled Zoey. Ah there she was. She pulled back from her hug and stared me down. "You never told me you were freaking dating Luca Chen you bitch!!"

Horrified, I realized she must have saw Luca and I go into the same van yesterday. I choked on the sandwich I took out to eat, coughing a little. "We're NOT dating. We only carpooled together because we're coworkers," I protested through a mouthful of sandwich.

She laughed as we sat down. "Coworkers huh? How's that going?"

"He's annoying and he hates me for some reason."

She looked thoughtful for a second. "I don't think he hates you. He just sucks at socializing."

I went quiet for a moment, thinking about some of the moments Luca and I shared that didn't involve arguing. I guess he was alright when he wasn't trying to be snarky, I reluctantly admitted.

I sighed, remembering that I had to ask him to help me make Backyard Phở popular again. Hopefully I manage to convince him somehow.

"Whatever. I'll give him a chance when he stops being rude to me," I muttered, taking an aggressive bite of my sandwich.

She shrugged and smiled at me teasingly. "Well let me know when you guys decide to get togeth-" she was cut off as I threw my wrapper at her.

"Alright, alright!" she laughed, holding her hands up in surrender.

The rest of lunch went by quickly after that. I couldn't believe it was almost the end of school already. Sitting in my last period of math, I twiddled my fingers in thought. Today I wasn't going to tutoring club, but I knew Luca went to it everyday. I don't know how he had the time to attend tutoring club, work, AND manage to get good grades.

Maybe part of me didn't like him because he was basically everything I strived to be. No wonder my parents love him so much. I had to get him alone somehow. So when the dismissal bell finally rang, I practically jumped out of my seat to race down to the tutoring club.

Spotting a familiar figure clad in a dark green sweater, I sprinted after him and grabbed his arm without thinking. Luca turned around, his eyes slightly widening in shock at my sudden grasp.

"What-"

And then I kissed him. Nah just kidding.

"I need to talk to you," I blurted out.