The Prince and the Plant Whisperer

Showdown in the Cafeteria

[~~~Posted Feb. 18 2021]

Kai fidgeted with the stiff collar of her chef's jacket. God, the collars were tight.

Side by side, she and Lilly stood under bright red heat lamps. Their first night on the job, and Kai already felt sweat beading up her forehead.

Students lined up outside the cafeteria.

Each student at Yale sounded richer than the next. Lilly said their freshman class had a British baron, an Indian steel heiress and 3 Korean chaebols.

"We're literally paupers," sighed Lilly.

Both girls had work-study scholarships. They were both going to work shifts in the Gaffigan dining hall—to pay down their student debt. Kai was trying not think about the million hours she'd have to work to pay off all that tuition.

She glanced outward at the sea of students flowing in.

"Ready to serve the aristocracy?" Lilly grinned and put her hairnet in place.

Kai said, "We can always stage a peasant revolt."

"Seriously," said Lilly. "We're about to meet everyone we'll spend the next four years with!" She turned to Kai accusingly: "How do you look so calm!?"

"Oh I'm definitely not calm!"

For some reason, the more stressed Kai got, the more her face froze into a peaceful-looking mask. A mask that hid all her inner terror.

Kai tried not to think about all the people she'd meet.

Soon both girls got too busy to be nervous. The manager, a pimply guy named Dan, put Kai on tomato-soup duty that night. And Manager Dan assigned Lilly to the salad bar.

"Tomato soup?" Kai chirped at everyone. "Tomato soup?"

No one wanted Kai's tomato soup.

It's not you they're rejecting. It's not you.

It's the tomato soup. You can't blame them. Who wants to eat—

—ketchup mixed with milk? Blechhch.

The salad bar was way busier. It was even busier than a Tokyo subway station at rush hour. Every 5 minutes, Lilly ran to the back room for more lettuce. Tomatoes. Tuna. Lettuce—

As Lilly disappeared for a new tub of cucumbers, Kai stood alone. She wiped down the counter, waiting.

Then, a silky-sounding female voice:

"This is taking forever..." A cold, accented voice. Vaguely British. A tad international.

Kai looked up.

Across the counter, there was a girl who was more polished than a showroom-model sedan. This girl wore a fur vest over a cashmere turtleneck. She walked and talked like empress—an empress flanked by two friends in gray Yale varsity-sports sweatshirts.

Is she a model? Kai wondered.

The empress spoke: "My dad says: if you earn $600 per hour—sometimes it doesn't make sense to stop and pick up a $1 bill you drop on the street! Not worth it, when you do the math."

"Nadia, you're so funny," said the friend in the Yale Varsity Tennis sweatshirt.

This Nadia girl replied, "No, for real: time is money. That new French bistro would be cheaper by now."

Yale Varsity Lacrosse—a blonde girl with freckles—laughed: "You're such an econ major."

Kai's brain started yelling in disbelief.

Did this Nadia woman just say that she wouldn't pick up a dollar off the street?

Who *are* these people?

And then Kai thought wildly, Maybe I need to start following this individual around.

So I can grab all those dollar bills she's pooping out on the sidewalk.

Just then Lilly came back with fresh cucumbers.

Sneering, Nadia folded her arms, "Did you just grow those cucumbers from seed?"

Lilly's face turned red. Ever since junior high school, mean girls always kicked her around like an unwanted dog.

Seeing Lilly, Kai couldn't keep her mouth shut:

"Just FYI," Kai fumed, "My friend's been going back and forth all evening—"

With supreme boredom, Nadia's gaze slid over to Kai. "Who are you?" the girl asked.

Who are you?

"Who am I?"  Kai asked. Fierceness flashed through her like lightning:

"Those thirty seconds you'll need to find out who I am—

—is that really worth your $600 per hour?"

Nadia's eyes narrowed. She looked at Kai up and down. People almost never talked back to her. Definitely not girls dressed like... the kitchen help. Nadia almost didn't know what to do.

Then she made up her mind:

"Whoever you are, you're the one whose job is to clean up—"

"—oops—"

And Nadia's nail-polished hand casually knocked a mug off her tray...

Kai's eyes widened as the mug started to fall...

...fall...

...fall...

In a flash Kai reached over the counter and grabbed the mug by its handle.

As the cup sat intact in Kai's palm, she and Nadia stared each other down. Nadia's eyes were cool and aloof—and yet?

Kai saw a flicker of surprise in them.

That's right, you better not mess with me, thought Kai. Or my friends.

Kai looked over at Lilly.

But Lilly's attention was elsewhere. She was staring down the hallway with a weird expression.

Dumbstruck.

Kai's gaze followed. 

In the afternoon sun flooding the hallway, a tall broad-shouldered figure walked toward them.

He was backlit. But then the queue of students moved forward. And the man's face emerged from the sun's glare.

He had chiseled cheekbones. Kai could've sworn his skin seemed to glow with its own energy source.

The guy in the courtyard.

There was something low-key about this man. He didn't meet anyone's eye. Kai got the sense he was trying to avoid attention.

A distant gaze...

Distant but warm...

A worshipful silence fell over everyone, as this tall male student got into line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

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[Author's note! Drum roll... introducing the male lead...

My treasured readers who came here because of the TV show Love O2O: you know the full back-story... Originally I imagined this whole novel with a certain two actors! See my comment if you're curious

Thanks for reading everyone. I'm kinda unsure about this new story, and I don't know if it's gonna be any good... but really love your thoughts and comments. Hope to hear from you! ]