puzzle pieces [ x.m.h ]

CHAPTER 21

"Hurry up THE8!" I received a cold stare from the manager. I recognised the voice, the same one who informed me of our breakup.

Flustered, i picked myself up and trained my eyes on the ground.

"What kind of service is this !" The manager whispered under her breath, helping Minghao up.

I bowed once more before rushing to the kitchen, desperate to find Gina. Only she can understand my pain. The company had called her too, to stop calling johsua. I guess their afraid it might become a relationship like Minghao's and mine. We helped each other, Gina and me. Relied and depended on each other to build back our walls and but extra thick glasses at the windows of our soul, in replacement of the shattered once.

"Gina, Gina!" I called frantically.

"What?" She asked, frustrated.

"The VIPs.. They... They're seventeen. Minghao, Joshua, everyone is there.." I choked back my tears, a scream threatening to escape. "What?" Gina asked, her tears on the verge of falling. "We have to serve them the dishes, we can't let this chance slip by!" I said urgently.

"No, wait. We can't. One, what if they found a new girl? they will find better ones, winter. We're just there when they first started out, you know, like something to cling onto for support. Like how creepers creep on poles and trees for support. They don't need us anymore, Winter. Besides, this is our WORKPLACE. Look at you, seeing them already makes you so disoriented, how are you going to survive serving them plates of expensive food and watch them eat it? Remember? Minghao, Joshua, Seventeen died when the company cut off the connections between us and them. We can't always be like this. what if they come here for fanmeets and what not here over the next 10 years? Do we still continue to hold on to the fragile thread of connection and hopes of coincidently meeting them in our workplace. Look, the only way to stop both our grievances is to NOT interfere with their lives and not appear in them. Get it?" Gina said in a fierce, forced voice. i knew she was right but like her, we were so desperate to feel their embrace again. All these years of being solitary and having no shelter besides each other's shattered walls, had drained us from all our energy. And we were just so tired of not having someone strong enough to lean on.

Wait. Fanmeets... THATS IT!!

"Gina! The fan meet! We should go! And like you know do stuff with them!" I said

"Are you stupid? You're blinded by them already. The tickets are already sold out!"Gina massaged her forehead. I lowered my eyes.

Was there really no hope left?