The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 15

The aromatic smell of coffee filled his senses as Jamie walked into the cafe, hoping to find a summer job there. That particular cafe was where the working-class often hung out, and given the fact that there were offices nearby, it was like an unofficial extension of their workplaces, probably like a cafetaria. Other patrons included the middle-aged and several senior citizens who could often be seen experiencing caffeine overdose. Jamie didn't spot anyone around his age. It was late in the evening and getting chilly. He had scoured Burgess for places offering jobs to teenagers only to discover that most of them had already hired the required help.

He went up to the counter, which was like a bar with all sorts of odd-looking machines behind it, and approached one of the waiters. Crossing his fingers, he cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but can I see your manager?"

The waiter fixed him with a look. "A teenager lookin' for a summer job, eh?" Jamie nodded. "Well, don't get your hopes too high! We've got enough help here!"

Jamie felt disappointed and was about to turn and leave when a burly man appeared. The 16- year old stayed where he was when he noticed him wearing a badge which read 'Manager'.

"What is going on here, Tom?" the manager asked. The waiter merely shrugged, gestured at Jamie and walked off but not before he gave the boy a look. The manager turned to Jamie.

"How may I help you, laddie?" he asked. Jamie heaved an inaudible sigh of relieve to hear the kind note in the man's voice.

"I'm looking for a summer job. Do you have any at the moment?" he asked, his fingers crossed. He must've had a look of desperation on his face for the manager smiled slightly.

"Well, yes, kiddo. We do need some help around here," the manager replied. "Why don't you come tomorrow at nine sharp?"

Jamie beamed. "Thanks, sir!" he responded. He glanced for a moment in the direction of the other waiter, and wondered why he had just snapped at him and told him they didn't need help, but decided not to bring it up. The manager walked off and as Jamie was heading out of the cafe with high spirits, he couldn't help but notice the guy walking out of the cafe, fuming.

...

Every word had been carefully written out. Jamie had checked and checked and checked the manuscript to ensure that it was completely free of any grammatical errors, sentence structures, et cetera.

The digital clock on his bedside table showed that it was way past midnight. Having ignored the fact that he had to rise early the next morning, Jamie had just sat down at his desk as soon as he came back from the cafe and began writing everything he could remember from six years ago. It was all based on a true story. Would it sell?

Jamie wasn't so sure. It borrowed some of the characters from the Guardians of Childhood series. And the first part seemed so irrelevant. Jamie absent-mindedly gazed at his bedroom window, staring out into the darkness, wishing Jack was with him. Perhaps the latter might have knowledge about events which occurred prior to the great adventure Jamie had, which he could add into the story.

Something flew past the window. It was hard to discern who or what it was, as it was rather dark outside. Jamie, however, knew it was Jack. He snapped out of his reverie and hurried to the window in delight.

"You're still awake?" Jack asked, mildly surprised, as Jamie let him in. "I thought you wouldn't want to be late for work tomorrow."

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"

"Well... I follow you around without you knowing it sometimes," Jack said, smiling sheepishly.

A short silence passed between them before Jack noticed the papers on Jamie's desk. He flew over, blowing some of them off the desk in the process and peered at one.

"What have you been writing?" Jack asked. "Hey, I'm mentioned!"

Jamie hurriedly gathered up the papers and stuffed them into his desk drawer. "It's nothing," he said. "Just a short story."

"About six years ago?" Jack guessed.

Jamie smiled and nodded, but his smile vanished almost immediately after that. "What happened six years ago was real, and all of you Guardians are real and I was writing everything I could remember. I was hoping to publish this manuscript once it's finished. If it sells..." Jamie trailed off, but Jack knew what was going on in the boy's mind. Before the guardian could say anything, however, Jamie went on, "I was actually hoping you would drop by, as I thought you might know of other events which occurred prior to what I experienced. You know, with the other Guardians and Pitch..."

Jack grinned. "There is a lot, Jamie," he said. "Believe me, when we're done with this manuscript, it will be almost entirely about me."

"I don't care," Jamie responded, a huge grin spreading across his face. "Tell me everything!" Jack sat on one side of Jamie's desk while the boy donned his coat and pulled on some mittens to enable himself to write properly as the chill emanating from Jack would numb his fingers. He settled at his desk and pulled out the papers from the drawer.

"Well, it all began right here, in Burgess, over 300 years ago..." Jack began expanding his tale while Jamie continued writing.

So I'm just assuming Jamie and Jack do not know about the complications of the publishing process yet.

And I don't know anything about looking/asking for a summer job, as there is no summer in my country.