Silent : Unveiling the Turmoil of a Teenage Heart

CHAPTER 9

NOAH

I've never had a conversation like this with my mother. I experienced bad things when I was young, but I can't imagine how hard the entire thing must've been for her. Imagine being being a young mother in an abusive, toxic relationship. You have to take care of a kid when there's an abusive and angry man walking around. You can't leave, because he will get even more angry. My mom probably felt locked up. Like an animal in a cage.

After the conversation we had, I decide to make dinner for my mother and me. I make a simple pasta with chicken and green beans. I grab two plates from the cabinet and put some food on both of them. I make one for her, one for me. I take two forks and place them on the plates. I grab the plates and take them to the living room. I put them down on the coffee table. "Here you go, mom." I say as I sit back down next to her. "Oh, thank you Noah." She smiles at me. I smile back at her.

I take my plate and place it down on my lap. I take my first bite and chew slowly. "It tastes really good!" My mom says as she rubs my back a little. "Thanks, mom."

We continue eating together. I check the time. 6:23 PM. I have to be at work at 7, and I also have to drive there. I take my last bite, and place my empty plate on the table. "Okay, I'm gonna get ready for work." I say, getting up from the couch. "Okay, baby. Thanks for the food!" My mom says. "No problem, mom."

I walk to the hall. My schoolbag was still there. I take the bag from the ground and take it upstairs with me. We live in a pretty small house. We moved here after my parents divorced. My mom took the small bedroom, so I could have the bigger one.

I open the door to my bedroom and drop my bag on the floor. I walk over to my closet and look for my work clothes. For work, I just wear a simple white blouse, black pants and a pair of fancy shoes. I also have a small name tag on the left side of my chest.

I find the work clothes in the back of my closet. I close my bedroom door and change into my work clothes. I take one look in the mirror. I look a lot more nice and fancy than I usually do. I look like a rich person. I put on some cologne and run my fingers through my hair. I should also brush my teeth. I just ate, and I don't want my customers to see small pieces of food stuck in my teeth.

I walk to the bathroom and grab my toothbrush. I wet my toothbrush with some tap water and put some of our charcoal toothpaste on it. I brush my teeth for about two minutes and check my teeth to see if I didn't leave any black spots behind.

I take one last look in the mirror before I go back downstairs. Oh, my phone. It was still in my bedroom. I walk back to my room, grab my phone and put it in my back pocket. I rush downstairs, because I really have to get to work. 6:32 PM. The moment I get downstairs, I look for the car keys. Keys, keys, keys. Shit, where is it?

"Mom?" She might have put them somewhere. "Yes?" She yawns as she walks towards me. "Where are the car keys?" "Oh, I have them right here." She throws the keys in the air, waiting for me to catch them. I catch the keys with my right hand. "Okay, I have to go." I say, walking to the front door. "When does your shift end?" My mom asks as she leans against the wall. "At ten. But my boss might want me to stay longer, so I'll call you, okay?" I turn around to look at her. "Okay, baby. I love you." She walks back to the living room. "Love you too, mom." I reply, opening the front door.

I shut the door behind me and unlock the black Cadillac that's parked in front of our house. I open the small fence, walk through it and close it again. I get in the car and put my seatbelt on. I start the car, and slowly drive away.

It's a twenty minute drive, maybe a little less. The sun is slowly setting, and the sky is turning a beautiful pink. I love when the sky is like this. I always wonder how that works. When the sun goes down, why does the sky suddenly turn so pretty?

After the twenty minute drive, I arrive at the restaurant. I work at a fancy restaurant called 'Quince.' It's a really expensive restaurant. A lot of rich people come here. It's weird that a guy like me works here. I live in a small neighborhood full of terraced houses, I still go to high school and I'm not a fancy guy at all. I dress simple, I don't use pretty words and I receive decent grades. I'm just a normal dude, with a boring life. I don't know why they even hired me. I'm super grateful and I don't think about quitting anytime soon.

I get out of the car and lock it. I stick the car keys in my pocket as I walk towards the backdoor that says 'EMPLOYEES ONLY.' I open the door, and it reveals a big, box shaped room. There's a large coat rack against the wall. It wasn't that cold outside, so I didn't bring a jacket. On the opposite wall, there are a few lockers. We can put extra clothes in there, bags or electronics. I walk over to the grey colored locker that says 'NOAH HAVEN' on it. Everybody has their own locker with their name on it. I open the locker with my key and put my phone in it. I already had a few things in there, like an extra pair of clothes, hair gel, a brush and a small mirror. I always want to look my best at work.

After I put my phone in the small locker, I close it again. I put my keys back in my pocket and walk through another door, which leads to the kitchen. I see a lot of my coworkers there. "Hey, man." One of my coworkers, Isaiah, says as he holds his hand out for a handshake. I grab his hand and do a simple handshake with him. "Hey."

I walk away from him and walk further into the kitchen. I open a small cabinet, which reveals about fifty small tablets. That's where we can write the orders on nowadays. I take one of the tablets and start it. One of my other coworkers comes up to me. "Hey, Noah. Can you please help table twenty-two? They got here about ten minutes ago." She says. "Yeah, of course." I get my tablet ready and head to table twenty-two.

There sits a small family that seems oddly familiar. I get a little closer, and the entire family turns around to see what waiter is gonna serve them. It's Elijah's family. I assume he's with his parents and his sister. "Hey, Noah." He says in a tone I didn't like. "Elijah." I reply without even looking at him. "You're Soori's friend, right?" He asks with the dirtiest smirk on his face. "Yes, I am." I answer, finally looking him in the eyes. "Tell her to text me back." He demands, dropping the smirk on his face. "Why don't you tell her yourself?" Just his presence annoys me. "She isn't responding. Also, I don't have time to tell her. Can't you see I'm with family?" He leans back in his chair, giving me that dirty look again. "Neither do I. I'm working. Now, can we stop this? I just want to take your orders." I say in an annoyed tone, staring Elijah directly in the eyes. "Sure, Noah."

His family orders and Elijah finally shut his mouth. I'm gonna have to serve this fucking family until they leave, and that won't be anytime soon. With the tablet, I can send their orders to the kitchen. It will give me a notification when the food is ready, so that I can pick it up and bring it to their table. We have amazing functions here. Even me, a teenager with a phone addiction, is surprised by all these amazing functions.

So, I send the order to the kitchen and head to another table I can serve. And with Elijah here, this is going to be a long night.