Denver was sitting at home, sitting on his bed after waking up.
He wasn't quite sure whether he should get up and get going or try to get some more sleep. He couldn't make sense of it all. He spent his day off wandering and thinking, not even the house, about what Tim said. It bothered him. It bothered him to no end.
While thinking about all this, he suddenly stood up and started getting ready: showered, shaved, and got ready.
Next thing,he got moving and he was out the door. He was down the stairs. He was down the road and then he was in front of the cafe/bar and he was ready for work but when he entered there was no one there but the doors were open. There was just Felix and a few others at the back in the changing rooms, he asked, "Why is everyone here?".
The first to respond was Felix. He simply said, "It was a strange coincidence that everyone went to the bathroom at the same time." Denver nodded and said, "I accept that." He went to his locker and got his gear ready. Quickly left.
Oddly enough he was the second one out of the bathroom but Felix was still inside and he wondered what was going on. Not enough to actually think about it and go speak to him so he went on with his usual task. He went into the kitchen at the back, grabbed a wet cloth, and started wiping down the counter. Off he went on to the outer tables and side counter.
He went to each of the tables around and gave them a quick wipe as well to make sure there's no funny business around, checking everything. Just to keep his mind off things and just to keep busy.
His idea was that keeping busy would keep the day going faster and he would be able to get home to rest sooner.
As Denver was going out and cleaning, continuing about what he was doing, out of the corner of his eye he noticed something. What he noticed was beautiful blonde hair and a unique purple hair clip. The hair was tied up on the side of her head like a side pony and hung down the front of the lady's shirt as she walked into the store.
She walked to the counter and Denver was transfixed; he couldn't take his eyes off her. He knew her; it was the blonde girl from before. He wanted to rush to the counter but he couldn't. Someone else was already dealing with her.
He cursed himself inwardly for not being the one to serve her but he thought: It should still be okay, right? It shouldn't be a problem.
He approached and pretended to be cleaning the counter while keeping an eye on her, watching, looking at her face as if he was cleaning it, not the counter, it was her.
He was sure.
Every part of him was becoming excited and his mind was blank.
He didn't notice that he'd stopped cleaning; he'd stopped working and he kept staring. The lady in question noticed.
She was giving him quite the glare at that point too.
What happened next no one would've expected, least not Denver, whose mind was somewhere else.
Felix came from behind the counter, grabbed him by the shoulder and shouted: "Get back to work! Go clean tables!" Denver, shocked out of his stupor, just did as he was told robotically . He didn't think about it and went on to clean tables.
While he was cleaning he couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed.
He was sure if someone saw him they would think he was a tomato with the red ears and a red face to match.
After a while he had calmed down; he had begun to recall what happened.
He was taken only by a feeling of real regret that he looked like a fool in front of her and gave Felix the sense of satisfaction of being superior just because he was the shift manager.
He wanted to get back at him but he wasn't sure how. He knew striking would be a bad idea although he ached to do so.
After cleaning the tables three times just to be sure, he went to the counter and when Felix saw him he locked eyes with Felix and stared holes through him, clenched his fists and unleashed them, then stepped forward and stood right in front of Felix.
Now for Felix this must have been quite intimidating since Denver was quite a bit taller. If Denver were any closer, his nose would be far too close and be touching Felix's forehead. Denver was looking down at him with an extremely angry expression on his face, Felix was unsure what to do. Then Denver spoke: "You may be the manager but be wary because in the very next line those who board the train on my bad side don't get off unscathed." With that Denver put the rag on his head and said: "I'm taking the rest of the day off" and left. He didn't leave for the locker room. He just left the café in a huff and a rush.
Felix, being stunned, just stood there staring at the back that was now shrinking into the distance and turning away from the store. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was unsure what was going to happen, if he was going to get hit or not. Being a coward he knew what was said was right and that perhaps he had crossed the line but he couldn't think of what else to do. This was not a customer he could afford to lose because one bad customer leads to rumours and bad rumours are bad for business.
After having a meeting with the higher-ups and being told that the cafe site wasn't doing very well, that they might just close it, he would have to do everything in his power to make sure that this place has a great reputation.
Now it may have cost him a relationship with a co-worker that works a lot of shifts. He was waiting for his heart-beat to slow. He took a cup from below the counter, put it in the machine, and let it run. He was making himself a cup of coffee to cool his nerves.
Luckily the exchange between the lady and Denver didn't seem too bad. She thought it was quite funny. She laughed the whole time and when she saw that Felix was doing all he could to ensure she was not upset, all she said was, "It's fine, it's fine, it's just quite funny. I don't mind being appreciated." Then she mentioned that her name was Rose. Felix blushed at the sound of her name. She had quite a stunning voice.
When she saw him blushing she leaned over closer and said, "Do you like my name?" With a very flirtatious look on her face, which caused Felix to reel and step back a bit. All he could do was nod. With a very small voice he replied, " You can have that in the house as an apology from us. We hope to see you again.'" This was the moment that she smiled and left.
So began the tale of Felix and his spinning thoughts. These thoughts didn't leave for quite a while but most of them weren't on that man Denver; they were on Rose, the lovely lady with blonde hair and the purple hairpiece. He was really happy despite what happened.
On his walk away from the store was Denver.
Denver, who was still huffing and puffing at the exchange with Felix, was in a right bad mood. He walked with an atmosphere of a man that should not be bothered. People didn't stay in the same lane as him. They stepped aside and kept their distance, which is probably in their best interest since he was actually looking down the whole time while walking, puffing and puffing, saying nothing but seeming extremely agitated.
Then the irate Denver stopped, looked up into the sky, and took a deep breath in and a breath out, a deep breath in and a breath out. While breathing in he caught the smell of something that really interested him. Not too far from where he was, was the hot dog place where he had often bought food and he made a bee line straight for the shop. When he got there, there was no one there; it was empty. It's perfect; he wouldn't have to wait.
He approached the counter upon seeing his face the staff greeted, "Hello." They seemed uneasy, wondering, "Is he okay?" That was probably what was going through their mind because he had a face like a slapped ass and he didn't look happy at all. He generally wasn't but when you ordered two hot dogs they jumped and put them together. They got their selves in gear and started making his hot dogs. When they asked him what he wanted on it, he pointed out the various things: capsicum, onion, and a lot of tomato sauce, and the other one had real mustard and chilli sauce. Strange combos but perfect for Denver as he loved a bit of spice in his life. He requested a large coffee as well to go.
While waiting for him to prepare everything, he paid. When he held out the money, the lady at the counter seemed reluctant to grab it because she was so wary of his oppressive nature that he was emanating anger. He put it down on the counter and pushed it towards her. She took it and gave him his change. Of course she placed the change on the counter, not wanting to risk him going anywhere near her hands.
She was quite shocked. Denver didn't think much of it but he thought it was quite fun. He always thought himself as the aggressor when reading and he was actually a big ol' softy, he could talk big but in truth he wasn't violent. He disliked Felix and he enjoyed putting Felix in his place.
After a few moments of walking after receiving his goods, he took his first sip of coffee, which ended up spitting out, because it was too hot and burned his mouth, feeling like an idiot. He walked quickly on the pavement as quickly as he could. Lucky for him his phone and keys were in his pocket.
He didn't really want to go home in uniform so he knew he'd have to stop by the office on the way home.
After eating in a small park near where he worked, finishing the not-so-hot coffee despite having a burned mouth, nothing really tasted too bad. The hot dogs were delicious as always; he wolfed them down, drained the coffee, and gave a satisfied grin. He relaxed for 20, maybe 40 minutes and with a breath and a half he got up and started hanging back to the store.
On his way there he just turned the corner to continue on and a woman had come out of a clothing store with a few bags. She didn't have a coffee cup even though a few moments before she did order coffee but it had been some time since then. He wondered if she'd been there the whole time. It was indeed her, with the lady with blonde hair and the pink purple hairpiece, like a clip of some kind, maybe since she saw his face and recognized him.
She approached him very quickly, staying a little too close for Denver's comfort and then she asked the question that left Denver the most dumbfounded he has ever been in his life. She asked Denver, "That manager is really cute. What's his name? I'd like to get to know him better."
Denver stood there, shocked, unbelieving. He felt his body get cold as if everything had left him. He stood there looking like a fool yet again, a scarecrow.
This one was a cold scarecrow, a scarecrow left out in the cold. After waiting a few minutes the girl with the blonde hair waved her hand in front of his face, which caused him to jump. When she asked, "I'd like an answer," then he quickly took a breath and said his name is Felix and he walked off in a huff, after finally getting his mood back in order and finally seeing someone he wanted to see.
She had to ask him about Felix, of all people. Why Felix? Why, why, why is all Denver could think. He stormed into the cafe, glared at Felix, who was behind the counter. Felix just looked shocked as usual.
Denver went to the back, quickly got changed, and left. He didn't say a word but what he wanted to do was jump over the counter and attack Felix but he didn't because he knew if he let the anger win he would likely cry.