Ferris Wheel In The Vagary

Chapter VIII

Jayus felt a wave of confusion wash over him as he stared pointedly at Isolde for the sudden appearance of this stranger sat by her side, Isolde only smiled at him in response. Eventually, Elijah broke the silence in the table and greeted Jayus warmly with a smile.

"I'm Elijah, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Isolde, I heard you were looking for a job? That's great! Me too! Although, I am looking for an employee, actually. I just recently lost two waiters. Bummer, won't you agree? It's like terrible timing too since it's that time of the year the diner gets super duper busy all the sudden." Not a single breath had been spared in that single moment when Elijah decided to speak. Jayus gave Isolde another pointed look when Elijah began talking about honeycomb pancakes out of the blue. Isolde nudged Elijah slightly when the topic had began to drift off and brought back the reason why they had gathered in the first place. The nudge took Elijah by surprise as he turned to Isolde which such a look of pure confusion.

"Remember what I sent you?" asked Isolde. Lights flickered in deep blue eyes that Elijah seemed to recall what the original purpose of his being here was as he turned to Jayus with an apologetic look. "Right," Said Elijah, coughing out what awkward lump had planted in his throat, "My bad."

Jayus didn't necessarily need a job, however he felt he should at least start saving his own money. It would be too awkward to ask Mr. Mathieu once the need arrives. "Tell me about yourself, Jayus."

    By the time they finished their conversation, night had already arrived. It had been a brief interview, with Elijah not needing much requirements from Jayus and merely asking simple questions. But what totally surprised Jayus was how Elijah easily accepted him to work. Jayus didn't what the process for working part time was, so he had at least expected more than just a casual conversation but according to Elijah:

"What else? There isn't anything else really. It's a diner, not a company. You don't exactly need a degree for this sorta thing. Think of it as recruiting a family to work in your business. Simple as that. Plus Isolde recommended you, if anything goes wrong I know who to turn to." Elijah jokingly said. But Isolde turned to Jayus with wide eyes filled with fear.

"Jayus, from now on you're holding my name. You hear me?! Don't fail me now!" Isolde said, grabbing hold of Jayus' shoulders, which was only received with an aggrieved look by him.

"The plan is working. From now on, I'll be exploiting your friend. Thank you for your service," Said Elijah, sarcastically as he turned to the two with a cheeky smile.

Isolde shook her head in exasperation at the stupid joke Elijah made before she noticed the sun had begun to set. She stood up.

"It's already dark outside," she pointed out. Elijah beckoned a waitress to clear the waitress to clear out their table. Jayus turned to him after the waitress walked away and asked. "So when do I start working?"

Elijah leaned back on his seat, comfortably and crossed his arms.
"You're helping us clear out tonight!"

Outside the diner at the parking lot, stood three figures infront of a black car. Night had fallen and only a countable few remained park in the dimly lit lot. Isolde strolled towards her car and unlocked it with a bleep. Jayus stood close by her and Elijah, who sported a red cheek. Isolde didn't hesitate to pinch his cheek, hard, the moment he proposed Jayus' immediate work load earlier.

"I was only joking," Defended Elijah, leaning on the open window of the driver's seat where Isolde sat, and he pouted. Isolde let out a small laugh, as Jayus got in the passenger seat. "I know," said Isolde, giving Elijah a peck on the cheek. Like a deer in front of headlights, his face bursted in glee as he turned to Jayus with newfound energy, "I look forward to seeing you on monday, Jayus!"

"I'll do my best."

Driving off the road, Jayus and Isolde remained silent in the car as the diner slowly faded out of view. That was when Jayus finally turned to Isolde with a knowing look on his face. Isolde kept her eyes glued to the road when she felt those teasing red eyes on her, not giving Jayus the satisfaction of acknowledging his cheeky grin.

"Shut up." said Isolde.
"I didn't say anything." replied Jayus.
"You dont have to!"

Jayus finally bursted out laughing. For a very long time, Jayus had never seen his friend be so infatuated with someone. Isolde had always been the type of person to never show interest in others other than her sister. Now, out of nowhere, she had a boyfriend. Which came as a surprise to Jayus after that kiss at the parking lot. Jayus couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"I got myself a babygirl." Isolde said, with all seriousness as Jayus laughed. "I can't believe this is my first time hearing it! For how long?" asked Jayus.

"It hasn't been that long." Isolde stopped at a red light. Jayus fully turned to her with deep interest and curiosity, his red eyes fixated on her with a silent plea for more details that made Isolde sigh in defeat.

"Ugh, fine." She groaned, a tint of red staining her cheeks, "Actually, I came back here to look after my father a few months ago and stayed for a little while. During that time, I'd occasionally visit that diner, which isn't a lot, but Elijah seemed to recognize me whenever I came by. At that time, I thought he just had good customer service but at some point he confessed to me."

Jayus was beyond surprise at the revelation, and the car drove off once more. In the dead of the night, with only the headlight and occasional street light illuminating the dark road, Jayus could see the faint blush across Isolde's face.

"I rejected him at that time and he didn't press further, still he remained a good relationship between us and we became good friends. The day I left, we exchanged contacts and continued talking," Isolde said, "That's it. Where do I turn?"

"That's it? No, I don't believe you. Turn here. How did you two get together?" Jayus asked more curiously as they neared the Criss-Casimir's residence. Whether the car moving faster was a mere illusion to Jayus alone.

"Oh you know, you get together, you don't. Tomato-potato." Isolde said, avoiding Jayus' scrutinising look. "Isolde!" Jayus whined.

"Fine! I asked him out, okay? And he said he was okay with long distance so this is the first time since we've seen each other in a while! Oh, are we closer to your house now?" Isolde said, face red as a stop light as her hands gripped on to the steering wheel.

"Yeah, you can stop here, thanks. You asked him out?" Jayus asked. Now they were parked in front of the open gates of Jayus' godfather's house, with Jayus' godfather's car no where to be seen. What was left standing inside was what Jayus could make out to be Hera's car.

"Well, it didn't seem like he'd ask me out again in respect to our agreement to stay friends. So I thought, I'd ask instead." Isolde admitted, now a bit calmer than before. "What about you? Don't think I'd let you off the hook when you haven't told me much about that Hera guy."

At the mention of Hera's name, Jayus shrugged. There wasn't much to say about him, after all, he barely knew the guy after meeting him once earlier that day. What was there to say?

"That's different, I'm not dating Hera after all." said Jayus as he got off the car and leaned on the driver's window. "Thanks for the lift, call me when you get home."

Isolde wasn't satisfied with that answer but couldn't argue when she realized it was already late and merely exchanged bye's with Jayus. Jayus watched as she drove out of sight with a grin on his face. After such a messy week, it felt nice to meet his friend after a long time of being away from each other. At least, Jayus knew, no matter how long they'd be away from each other, the state of their friendship would be frozen in time, waiting for each others return to be the second hand that ticks in a timeless clock.