Amelia: Chapter 8 — My Second Chance
We arrive at the restaurant.
As the two of us walk in, I'm greeted by the sudden blowing of the heater inside. God, what a euphoric feeling that was. Soft music is playing, and I look around in awe, admiring the welcoming atmosphere. For once, the owner isn't chasing me out, but welcoming me inside.
I've almost never seen the inside of a restaurant before. Most I've gotten are views from glass windows, but being inside one was a whole different experience. I couldn't contain my excitement, and I think Mr. White Hair noticed that too. I try to play it cool, but I was jumping for joy like a child deep inside despite the fact that I'm starved half to death.
We take our seats, and I can't help but let out a smile.
ME. Inside of a restaurant, eating!
"You're quite excited, huh? It's almost like it's your first time in a restaurant."
I smile at his joke... not telling him that it wasn't a joke at all.
Mr. White Hair looks at a waiter, nods and smiles. The waiter does the same. It seems like this guy's a regular patron of this place. He just gave the waiter his order through a simple gesture.
He looks at me from across the table. "Can I ask you something? Is there any reason as to why you ran away? Seeing how you were just a while ago, I doubt you have anywhere to go."
What a totally non-personal question. I try to give him a humorous quip as my response, but I realize that this guy seems pretty genuine. Maybe... just maybe, I can be honest with this guy. He seems different from everyone else I've encountered before...
"I... don't have any parents. For as long as I've remembered, I've been living out on the streets alone." That sounded like a good answer. I don't think I need to tell him about what happened in the forest a few days ago.
"You've been alone your whole life? How old even are you?"
There we go again with the prying... but I'll entertain him for now. I respond shyly.
"I'm... sixteen."
That's a lie. I honestly don't know how old I am, but can you blame me? I only started counting my age, like, ten or so years ago, and nobody was there to keep track for me anyways.
"Sixteen, huh? Odd... you're younger than me, but you don't look younger than me."
I'm glad he didn't question the validity of my statement.
He looks right at me, prompting me to shyly look down at the table. His eye contact is so good, it's scary. It's there that I notice that he's not looking at my face anymore, but below it.
Flustered, I murmur. "Wh-What're you looking at, sicko?!"
"Fancy looking locket."
Oh... that's what it was. Get it together, girl. He doesn't seem like the type.
"O-Oh, I um... it was my parents'... or, at least I'd like to believe that it was my parents'."
"Can I see?" He asks.
I question him. "You're not gonna run off with it, are you?
He chuckles. "No-no-no. I wouldn't do that — honest."
This dude is super suspect. "Just so you know, I've taken down guys twice your size before."
That was another lie. Why am I so desperate to sound cool to this guy?
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Rainfall Chronicles: Amelia Reinhart
Short StoryAmelia's destiny had been set in stone from the moment of her birth. Her story is one of tragedy, one wherein all of the odds have been against her for as long as she's remembered. Since the dawn of her life, she had been abiding by the rules fate h...
