The Waitress ↯ C. Randall

Chapter 31 | Riches and Rags

A MAN IN A TRENCHCOAT, SUNGLASSES, AND A CAP waltzed into the Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum. Upon walking in, he wasn't acknowledged by anyone. Only upon leaving did Shelby notice the strange man pass by the Dino Bite Cafe. His face was obscured just enough that Shelby couldn't make out his features. It was comical how suspicious he looked.  It didn't help that her gut was telling her that there was something wrong with the man.

So, she tapped Chase on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm gonna check on that guy over there, alright?" She told him, pointing at the man. Chase squinted at the figure, also bewildered. He gave Shelby the go-ahead, giving her a nod. Shelby flashed him a small smile as she exited the Cafe.

The second that the mysterious man noticed the girl approaching him, nothing changed. He just kept walking. It was a brisk walk, but once Shelby matched his pace, a crowd of tourists—probably from a high school trip—bombarded her. She couldn't even see past them.

An older woman in her forties led the herd, clearly the teacher. "Hey, do you know where we can find our tour guide? We have a tour scheduled for ten minutes from now." She asked.

Shelby temporarily put aside her task of tailing the strange man to tend to the woman. With a business-worthy smile, she replied, "Uh, I'd ask the other waiters in the Cafe. They know more about it than I do,"

That was a lie. She knew how to help them, but she needed to find this guy first. The teacher's mouth opened. Before she could get a word out, Shelby pointed behind herself. "It's right there." The statement came out more matter-of-factly than she wanted, so she flashed them a bright smile before taking off.

Her eyes were off the guy for only a few seconds, but by the time she continued her search for him, he was gone. Shelby exited the museum, looking around for him, and he was nowhere in sight. She looked in all the nearby nooks and crannies, checking for where the strange guy could have gone. But, she came up with nothing.

When she returned to the Dino Bite Cafe, Chase asked, "What happened?"

Shelby shrugged, feeling that sinking feeling in her stomach worsen. "I don't know. He just... disappeared,"

Chase's face scrunched up, his eyebrows knitting together. "What? Really?"

"I don't know. This teacher and her students came up to me and asked me a question, and I lost sight of him for a few seconds, and he was just gone,"

Chase nodded, still confused. "Huh. Well, we can bring it up with Miss Morgan, alright? Don't worry about it too much," Chase reassured, patting her on the shoulder. Shelby flashed him a small smile as Chase pulled out his Dino Comm.

Before he could utter a word, a beep went off on the group's Dino Comms. "Everyone, come to the base. We have a serious emergency." Miss Morgan stated.

Tyler tilted his head, squinting inquisitively at Koda. Koda shrugged, not understanding it either. "Miss Morgan, what's going on?" Tyler asked.

Miss Morgan sighed, her sigh being long and heavy. "I'll tell you when you get to the base. Just, hurry."

Tyler turned to his fellow rangers, nodding. They nodded back and followed Tyler, heading to the base. Then, Miss Morgan told them the wonderful news: the museum was in serious jeopardy of being bought and shut down by a patron of the museum thanks to Ivan destroying a 1,000-year-old suit that the man lent them. Ivan, mistaking it as a training dummy, destroyed the suit beyond repair. His mistake ended up costing them over $2 million... that they had to pay back by tomorrow. 

So, the mysterious guy was forgotten about for a while for obvious reasons. When Shelby mentioned the strange man to Miss Morgan as they sorted through the items they could sell to pay their debt, Miss Morgan simply nodded.