ᥴ᥅ꪖᦓꫝꫀᦔ ꪻꪮᧁꫀꪻꫝꫀ᥅ (ON HOLD)

• T w o •

Aliyah                        October 1, 2019

I press my face against the café's frosted-tinted window. Seeing that nobody is there yet, I jog to the entrance and swing my backpack in front of my chest. I pull out a rusty key from the front pocket and slide it into the lock underneath the doorknob. When I hear a click! I slowly open the door and make my way towards the kitchen.

"Late again, Everett..." a raspy voice states.

Almost dropping the key down the sink drain, I turn my head to the left. Against the wall, a middle-aged man with a dark brown mullet and bags under his eyes glare at me with a frown.

Before I can get a word out, I feel cold hands wrapping around my wrists behind me.

    I didn't answer, making him more mad. He yelled something I didn't understand, pushed my head down on my pillow, pinned both of my wrists above my head, and laughed.

    Impulsively, I pull my wrists in front of me and step toward the man. Whipping my head over my shoulder, I see a woman a little older than me.

    She puts her hands up as if in surrender. "Jeez, Pinkie! I'm not gonna arrest you or some shit."

    I can hear the man sigh. "Iris...go turn on the TV and get that old machine working."

    Iris solutes, grinning. "Aye, aye boss!" She speed walks out of the kitchen and out of view.

    I turn my head to look at my boss. "Sorry, I was late again, Mr. Michaels. My roommate needed help with something and-"

    "Save the excuses, Aliyah. Besides, Eddie is more late than you surprisingly." He tells me. He gets off the wall and begins to walk toward his office. "Start washing those musty dishes!" His voice echoes.

    I nod, stuffing the key to the café in my backpack. I put it in the corner and peel off my jacket. I toss it over my backpack and grab a stained apron from a hook nearby. I pull it over my head and wrap it around my waist.

    I turn on the faucet and grab a pair of neon yellow gloves. Pulling them over my hands, I look at the rectangular opening above the sink that lets me see the rest of the café. Iris is channel surfing as she sips a cup of something steaming.

    I hear the bells jingle as a boy a little younger than me stumbles into the café.

    "Hey, Eddie," Iris mutters, still staring at the TV.

    Eddie groans in response and quickly but quietly jogs to the kitchen. He hangs his coat up on one of the hooks and grabs an apron.

    "Hey, Pinkie." He slurs.

    Squirting dish soap on a torn-up sponge, I glare at him.

    "Are you okay, dude?" I ask.

    He nods, turning on the stove.

    I shrug. He's not my responsibility.

    Scratching egg remains off a pan, I look at the TV through the opening. Iris passes an episode of SpongeBob, some zombie movie, then the News.

    "It's been six years since the building known as the Mayview Manor burnt down due to unknown reasons..." I overhear.

    "Wait, go back!" I yell at Iris.

    She turns her attention away from the TV and towards me. "Wait really? Are you into the Mayview Manor theories and shit?"

    I shrug. "It's caught my attention."

    Iris scoffs, then goes back to the News. She sets the remote down and begins to pour coffee beans into a big machine and turns it on.

"It's almost six! Chop chop!" I hear my boss yell.

Washing dishes, I try my best to hear what the News lady is saying over all the noise.

"The Mayview Manor...Orphanage...Over two thousand girls...Exactly 29 are still missing...The death...Thomas Mayview...Theories about...Sightings of supernatural occurrences...If you have any information...police..."

How...Interesting...

    "Hey Pinkie," Eddie whispers behind me. I turn my head over my shoulder. He smirks as he hands me a small wrinkled piece of paper. I open it and see an address written in sloppy handwriting. "Me and Iris are going to some sweet abandoned place to have some fun after wo–"

    "A gas station?!" I practically scream.

    "What? No- An apartment building." Eddie mutters. He chuckles as I take in a breath of relief.

    I nod, smiling. "Yeah, I'll be there."