Chapter Twelve
I took a detour on the way home; who knew when I'd be out next so I thought I'd take advantage of this. I took a stroll through the park and entered the local café. At first I didn't notice the customer sat in the corner table as I made my way towards Elizabeth. Her golden, brown hair was dyed a darker brown and pulled up into a high bun, tucked under a little cap, little strands framing her face. She had her jacket on and appeared to be getting ready to leave.
"Liz!" I called out, catching her attention.
"Hey, girl!" Her face shined with excitement. "Perfect timing, I have an hour to kill before I need to be somewhere. Shift just ended but Annabel just got here and she's out back getting ready. Once she's here, we can chill. What can I get you, though?"
She pointed towards the staff room when she mentioned Annabel's name. I can never get over how much she talks.
"I'm good, just thought I'd see who was around before I headed home. I don't think I've seen Annabel in such a long time either," I smiled, approaching the counter.
A couple of minutes later, Annabel walked out from the back and made her way towards the cashier desk. She tucked the strays of black hair that escaped her pony tail behind her ear and flashed a wide smile at me. Her dark eyes glistened at me.
"Hafz, long-time no see!" She squealed. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, ya know, just with my mother-in-law," I replied. Technically, that wasn't a lie.
By that time, Elizabeth came around to stand beside me.
"So, what's the latest?" Annabel questioned as she wiped down the counter in front of her absent-mindedly.
There was actually nothing to clean.
"Oh, n ––" I began but instead found myself being dragged by Elizabeth to the closets table.
"Sorry Annabel, I have something important to discuss with her. Maybe you guys can catch up later," she apologised without meaning it.
Elizabeth wasn't too fond of Annabel ever since Annabel went behind her back and applied for the manager position, fully aware that she wanted to do the same. She wouldn't have had a problem with it if only Annabel had told her that she planned to apply, too. When Elizabeth first told her that she wanted to apply, Annabel had acted supportive without letting her know that she had already applied for it and the decision was made.
When Elizabeth had finally announced to her supervisor that she wanted to apply for that position, her response was, "Oh, didn't Annabel already tell you that she's got that position?"
From that day onwards, the friendship between the two has never been the same. I found out later that Annabel didn't tell her because she seemed so enthusiastic about it that she didn't want to ruin the mood and she didn't have the heart to tell her. Annabel's not that bad and as much as I tried to explain it to Elizabeth, she just wouldn't listen. That girl is as stubborn as a mule.
She pulled me to sit down and then took the seat opposite me, leaning close so no one else would hear.
"Can you believe her? Acting all nice," she began, rolling her eyes, referring to Annabel.
"It's okay, Liz. Stop worrying about it," I sighed.
"Anyways, guess what?" She squealed excitedly, already forgetting her last sentence.
I raised an eyebrow, refusing to guess as I was the worst at them.
"Remember I told you about this guy called Andrew? He asked me out the other day. We're going on a date tonight!"
YOU ARE READING
Freeing or Fleeing
SpiritualCan you feel lonely surrounded by people? Hafeezah has always been that obedient child, even through to adulthood, obedience that extends to her in-laws. It's a trait of hers that seems to go unnoticed and the treatment towards her exhausts her soul...
