Pancakes at The Diner (on pause)

08: In Which Monique Returns

Monique delays her return to The Diner by several days. Every time her feet would take her down the familiar path, she'd stop and turn around. Something was keeping her away. Monique usually wasn't one to run from challenges, but she couldn't help but feel that she'd done something wrong. She almost expects The Diner to be gone when she finally arrives, the old building knocked down, or maybe it was never there at all. Still, she feels a flicker of happiness when she steps through the familiar door.

It's somewhere between lunch and dinner, and there are a few scattered groups picking at their food. It's the fullest Monique has ever seen the small room, though she's usually there early in the morning or late at night. She glances quickly at the faces of the other customers, hoping maybe Gregory is there and she can finally get some answers. She was unhealthily fixated on why he'd left, or at least that was what her roommate said. Monique makes a mental note to never room with a psychology major again.

"Hey, can I get you anything?" Monique jumps at the voice, but then turns and recognizes Alice, the waiter who's not Milo. Monique's kind of ashamed that she thinks of The Diner's staff in terms of Milo and not-Milo. But she pushes the thought out of her mind and forces a smile. Alice beams at her, running a hand through her close-cropped blonde hair. It's too late for pancakes, and Monique doesn't know what else to get.

She ends up ordering some sort of coffee Alice suggests, and settles into a seat. She has work, a whole laptop full of it, but she can't seem to focus. Her eyes are constantly scanning the small room, for Milo and Gregory both. Finally, she catches sight of Milo in the corner, heading over with a steaming mug in her hands.

"This yours?" he asks.

She nods, accepting the coffee, and takes a small sip. If she's being honest, Monique doesn't even like coffee that much. But she's an adult, and drinking coffee is what adults do.

"I haven't seen you around for a while," Milo says. Monique's a little hung up on the fact that he noticed her absence to formulate a response, so she just nods. "We're all busy now, I guess," he continues easily. "I can't wait for the holidays. We all need a break."

After a brief pause, Monique asks, "did Gregory ever get his jacket back?"

Milo shakes his head. "He's been back once since, got into a bit of a fight, and was out before I could get it to him."

Monique gasps. "Gregory, a fight? Really?" She'd only met him once, but the boy seemed like the least confrontational person on the planet, all awkward angles and a pained smile.

"Yeah," Milo says, a small frown etching its way onto his features. "He sat next to a friend of mine and asked all the wrong questions." Monique gets the feeling there's more to it than Milo cares to share, but doesn't push it. His simple statement makes Monique recall her single interaction with Gregory: how she went up to him and clearly said all the wrong things. "Well, if he comes back, can you tell him I'm sorry?"

"Sorry?" Milo looks at her, eyebrows raised. "What for?"

Monique wrings her hands. "I obviously did something that upset him, or else he wouldn't have run off like that, and I can't help but feel guilty."

"I told you, he's just a strange kid," Milo says. "Not in a bad way, he just probably forgot he had somewhere to be."

Monique fights the urge to grab Milo by the collar and shake some sense into him. "You weren't there when he left," she says instead. "We were talking about high school and then bam, the light went out of his eyes. It was like someone flipped a switch in his head."

Milo raises his hands up in a gesture of defeat. "Hey, I'm not saying you're wrong. I just think you're really overthinking this."

Monique sighs. "Yeah, maybe," she says. "But still, if you do see him, tell him I really am sorry."

"If it makes you feel better, I will," Milo tells her. And Monique feels this weird tug in her stomach, like someone dropped a sack of rocks into her guts. It's an unfamiliar feeling, sort of alien, and she doesn't quite know how to react.

"Thank you." Monique watches him as he walks off, stopping to chat with a girl in a preppy uniform in the back of the room. She opens her laptop and begins to work, slightly more at ease than before.

----

okay, i know i've been gone for a while. and that this chapter is shorter than normal. i'm sorry. there's been a lot going on in my life that's been hard to deal with, and getting back into this story was really difficult for me. i know this isn't some of my best work, but i'm trying my hardest to get back to writing.

that said, i hope you enjoy this. it's a little more insight into monique. she's such a sweetheart, honestly. and keep your eyes peeled, because next chapter will have another pretty big revelation about andrea. (did you catch my little allusion to her at the end? i hope you did because it was pretty obvious). andrea's got a lot going on. 

also holy crap this has 1.8k reads???? what???? that's honestly insane. i never expected anyone to ever see this story, much less over 1,000 of you wonderful people. that's so crazy and i love you all so much. i can't even express how much that means to me. 

and remember that i now i'm gonna dedicate each chapter to someone whose comment i enjoy, so don't be afraid to talk to me and tell me what you think so far! tell me your favorite characters, your reactions to the plot, what you think will happen in the future, anything! i always love to listen, and i always try to write back.

i love you all and i hope you have a wonderful day and read something that makes you happy!!