No Such Thing As A Hollywood Ending

chapter 23

Lucy stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar of her shirt for what felt like the hundredth time. Today was the opening day of her restaurant—her bold, eccentric idea to create a dining experience based on a school cafeteria. As much as she wanted to feel confident and excited, a knot of anxiety was building in her chest. Sarah, her friend and supposed right-hand in all of this, hadn't given her much detail about the group of people that were going to help. Lucy had no idea who they were or what they were going to be doing, and that uncertainty gnawed at her.

She took a deep breath, grabbed her bag, and headed to the building. The familiar, dimly lit space greeted her, though today the lights were brighter than usual. She noticed all the tables were already set up, neatly arranged with chairs tucked in. It looked organized, more than she had expected for something that still felt like a half-baked idea. Her eyes landed on a stack of blue trays leaning against the back counter, and she raised an eyebrow. The smell of coffee and eggs wafted through the air, and confusion swept over her.

Lucy walked cautiously toward the kitchen, her heart thumping in her chest. As she pushed the door open, her eyes widened in surprise. Standing by the stove, flipping scrambled eggs like a pro, was Audrey—a girl from school. Audrey was in the same social skills class as Henry, but Lucy had never really interacted with her much. It was a shock to see her here, calmly cooking like she'd been part of the plan all along.

"Audrey?" Lucy blinked, still trying to process what she was seeing.

Audrey glanced over her shoulder and smiled warmly. "Oh hey, Lucy! Sarah asked me to help with the kitchen. Figured I'd come in early and get things started."

Lucy stood there for a moment, her mind spinning. "Wait, Sarah asked you? To help... here?"

"Yeah," Audrey said, turning back to the eggs. "She pulled together a little crew. Joshua's in the back, washing trays. I think he's still doing that because, you know, it's important to keep everything clean and sanitized in a restaurant. A few others from the class came earlier to help set up the tables and stuff."

Lucy let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "So... Sarah never told me who was helping or what they were going to be doing. I've been freaking out all morning."

Audrey chuckled softly. "Well, Sarah can be mysterious like that. But don't worry, we've got it under control."

Lucy took a step closer, watching as Audrey expertly cooked. "But... why? I mean, I'm grateful, but why are you guys helping out? I didn't expect this kind of support."

Audrey shrugged lightly. "Well, Sarah offered us each a little incentive—she said she'd buy us all a copy of Henry's book. You know how popular it's gotten recently. Most of us couldn't say no to that."

Lucy's jaw dropped slightly. Henry's book had exploded in popularity since before she even had it published for him, but it hadn't even occurred to her that people would be willing to trade their time and energy for a copy of it. The fact that Sarah had thought of that, and that her classmates were actually interested, left Lucy speechless for a moment.

"Wow..." Lucy muttered, leaning against the counter. "I didn't expect that. I thought... well, I guess I thought it would just be me and Sarah scrambling to get everything ready."

Audrey cracked a smile. "Nah, we're all here to make sure it goes well—at least for opening day."

Lucy was still trying to wrap her head around everything. Audrey was cooking, Joshua was scrubbing trays in the back, and a whole crew of people had shown up to help because of Sarah; and Henry's book. Somehow, despite her worries and uncertainty, things were coming together. And it wasn't just her pulling the weight.

"Thank you," Lucy said quietly, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over her. "Really... I don't know how to repay you guys."

"Just keep the coffee coming and maybe save us a seat," Audrey said with a grin, her focus still on the stove.

Lucy laughed, feeling some of the tension finally start to slip away. For the first time all morning, she allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, this crazy idea of hers would work.

With her team in place and the smell of fresh eggs filling the air, Lucy knew that today might not be perfect—but it would be a start.