SCOLD

CHAPTER 1: OFFICE MAYHEM

It was a sombre, wet, cloudy, cold afternoon and I had three hours of my shift left. The breakfast rush at the cafe wasn't as busy as usual. I dread slow days when the rain pours so hard that the customers are soaked when they get inside. My favourite customers are the ones that come rain or shine or hot as fuck. It was the middle of Spring, so it was expected. My parents said I should get a job to make some of my own money. They did the same with my brothers'. My parents have paid large portions of each of my brother's schooling. I mean it's not like we can't afford it.

The cafe was built almost fifty years ago. My boss is already thinking of the anniversary party. Walking in for my shifts feels like a 60s dive bar but with no alcohol. Rustic wooden booths, old trap doors for the windows, a classic bar layout, and a simple kitchen. We didn't cook anything fancy or large. Our fries and milkshakes were our best sellers.

My father, John Vanburg, and his firm run a corporate insurance company, in the downtown core. Living in a developing city, with high-end companies requires insurance. We did have the office out of the house when I was a child, but as it grew, my father was able to buy office space, flip it, hire more people, and still make record profits from that year. That Christmas we went to England to visit extended family. My two eldest brothers' thought it was a great idea to sneak out of the hotel, take a cab to Buckingham Palace and try to talk to the Queen. The Queen wasn't even there at the time.

The horror on Jason and Tyler's faces was forever ingrained in my mind. My parents were so mad they threatened to pull ALL their schooling funds. They were never that irresponsible again. Jason almost lost his medical scholarship because of that stunt. He got himself a job when we got back home just in case our father changed his mind about the school funding. He was sixteen when he fucked up and for two years, even during the school year, he worked his ass off and got outstanding marks. He went to UofT to get his medical license. As for Tyler, who was fourteen then, he focused on cars and tech stuff. He is now a mechanic at Drysen car dealership a few blocks away. He had lots of problems with older cars. He mostly taught himself, then turned it into a career. He somehow was able to find a girlfriend recently too. We think she was a customer at the dealership. April comes over once or twice every two weeks or so. She's in school to be a biologist. She and Tyler are racking up the money if they stay together.

A group of four came into the café and sat. It was still raining but it had calmed down. Front the back counter, it looked like Mrs. Wilson and her three kids coming for a snack. I grab menus and head over.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Wilson, what can I get for you and the kids today?" I asked as I always do. The children and their mother didn't look well. She was raising the kids on her own since her husband had passed due to a car accident this past fall.

"We'll get the usual Eve. Thank you," she said with sorrow. I couldn't imagine raising three kids on my own. As usual, she said, 3 kids' breakfast meals, 3 small orange juice, a medium double-double, and adult French toast. It was the afternoon but we served breakfast all day. I found it odd they ordered their morning meal at this time. I didn't ask questions. I didn't want to make a scene or pry into their lives.

The end of my shift came and Mom picked me up. My mother is a part the of insurance firm as well. She finds and sets up new clients for my father and other insurance brokers. She was wearing work clothes when she got me. I hopped in the car and said,

"Are you working tonight?" she didn't answer right away. When she doesn't answer something is wrong. She grabbed my hand and looked at me dead on.

"Eve," she said trembling. I could see she was holding back tears. I became more worried as we got closer to home. "There's been an incident at the firm. I'm dropping you off at the gate. All the boys are home. You are not to leave the house under any circumstances unless the house is on fucking fire. Do you understand?" I swallowed and nodded.