Zephyr | Lee Felix

Chapter 1

MONDAY, WEEK 4

Felix stares at the clock on the wall, watching its hand tick slower than it should. Seconds feel like hours today. The noise at the cafe with the customers talking at the front and his co-workers screaming and yelling at the back is deafening.

This is not it.

This is not the kind of internship that he expected.

Perhaps, having not slept a wink the night before has made him feel sluggish overall. Though, his stressful work environment clearly has not made it any better. Despite him being on his first-ever internship, his mentor doesn't hesitate to put pressure on him.

The expectations are set the moment he stood at this cafe for the first time. And all he receives is criticism, but never compliments or gratitude for trying his best.

Two minutes left. You've got this. Felix tears his gaze away from the slow-moving clock, reminding himself that he still has one last thing to do before he can leave.

He robotically starts organizing the teacups and plates out of reflex, lost in thought. His mind replays how his internship has gone so far, and none has been good enough to motivate him to keep giving his best. The sounds of his mentor strictly speaking towards his coworkers and dishes clanking fill the air, but they fade into background noise as he focuses on the ticking of the clock, feeling impatient to finally leave this stressful environment.

The moment the clock strikes five, Felix puts the last teacup on the shelf with a smile of relief. He turns to his coworkers, excusing himself as his shift has ended at that moment.

But his smile flickers the moment he sees his mentor approaching him.

"Felix." He calls him out in an emotionless voice. The voice that has been dreading him throughout the internship. "I've noticed the slower movements and poor instruction comprehension today. You need to be more attentive and focused on your work. You can't survive in the real workforce this way."

Felix feels his heart sink at the criticism. He knows his mentor is just being objective, but it still stings to be called out like that. Especially when today isn't the day.

Nevertheless, he nods, forcing a smile to avoid triggering any arguments, "I understand. I'll do better."

Without waiting any longer, Felix rushes to his locker to grab his belongings and leaves his workplace. The moment he steps outside, he feels completely drained. And all he wants is to go home, crawl into his comfy bed and spend hours scrolling TikTok.

But just as he is about to head home, his phone rings. And he answers it to hear his aunt on the other end of the line.

"Felix. Sorry to ask you this last minute." She sounds rather stressed, quickly catching his attention. "But I'm going to be running extremely late. Can you please pick up Lizzie from the daycare? It would really help me out."

"Of course, Aunt Joyce." He says cheerfully as if his stressful day never happened at all. "I'll head over to the daycare and pick up Lizzie no problem. Please focus on your work and don't worry about us." He knows that living with his aunt and having all of his accommodation expenses covered by her is such a huge help. So picking up his 3-year-old cousin from the daycare is the least he can do to repay her kindness.

"Lovely. I really appreciate your help, Felix!" Joyce's voice cuts off from the other line almost instantly.

... She must've been very busy. Felix puts his phone back into his pocket and starts making his way over to the daycare. Since it isn't too far away, he decides to take the tram, making sure to tap on the machine to avoid any inspectors from giving him a fine.