I turned down my gaze whenever I see him look back at me. I... This feeling... I don't want it to be felt anymore. I'm done with love. I'm done with hearbreaks. I've had enough. 

"Hey, Leo. Are you okay?" Ravi looked at me with concern when he noticed that my head was down. I looked up to see his face divided into parts with my bangs in front of my eyesight. 

"Yeah. Just that my head hurts all of a sudden."

"Hahaha!" I could hear his laughter from across the room with his buddies around him. N is what they call him. He's really an all rounded person, optimistic, and the boyfriend material of every girl in this school. Not that he's a player because he really isn't. He's just a guy. N. Normal N. 

I slowly raise up my head and tried to catch a glimpse of his figure. With the window behind his back and the sun hitting his whole body, I truly felt as if he is not a human being at all. He's someone else entirely different from my world. He's somewhere I know I can never reach. And truly enough...

I was right.

"N! You got a table coming up! Here are the orders for 67 and don't forget the triple plated desserts 78 ordered! Balance balance balance, dear child!" the chef nervously placed the food on the circular trays sitting on the stool in front of me. I bowed my head in apology and started to pick the trays up, carrying one on my left and the other on my right and maintaining a balance. 

I could feel the chef looking at me with jittery eyes and shaking fingers because when I first started out, I could never get to the table without spilling a thing or two on the floor. Oh well. I just hope that my practice was worth it all. I made my way towards the full seated, maximized capacity dining room filled with wealthy people in their fancy suits and dresses, seated in grand ovaled shaped wooden tables with wrinkle free white covers over each one.

I still had no idea how I got to work in this place. The worker told me that he was looking for me, immediately gave me a spot as a waiter, and have been working in this restaurant since then. The pay was excellent. Although the chef often told me that my pay was higher than anyone else's, which I found really weird. I insisted the chef to give me the same wage as any of the staff receives but he told me it's the owner's order. 

And the strange thing was that I haven't met the owner. 

"Here you go, mister and miss." I carefully settled the plates down in front of each of the costumers, who looked at the food with eager eyes. One woman, wearing a beautiful silky black dress and a pendant around her neck, leaned in on the table after taking her first bite.

"Young man, this food is delicious. Please give my compliments to the chef and thank you for your hard work." I slightly turned red on my cheeks and bowed down deeply at her praise.

"Thank you so much!" She chuckled and resumed dining with her companions. I went back inside the kitchen room and found the chef, who remained on her guard trying to finish the last of the dishes to be cooked.

"Hey, hey, hey!" She jumped slightly and looked over my up and down. I furrowed my eyebrows at her examination and heard her breathe a sigh of relief.

"I thought you died crossing through the room." I rolled my eyes and sat down on the silver kitchen table, folding my arms on the stool and whispered.

"A woman complimented your cooking you know. She said it tasted wonderful." The chef paused and haughtily laughed.

"Of course! No one can ever beat me. My cooking is one of a kind." I smiled at her confidence. 

"Hey, Tiffany..." 

"Hmm?"

"Would you still linger onto a promise that's been made how many years ago by someone you love? Or would you let go because you've waited long already?" Tiffany hummed for an answer as she finished the last entree and served it to a waitress.

"If you truly loved the person, then maybe you should. Or else, wouldn't you feel regret if you haven't kept on waiting at all? Because what if the person comes back?" I bit on the corner of my lip and sighed.

"That's not it.. He's made me wait for so long and it's so difficult for me to still hang on." 

"Then, what do you think is the right choice, I wonder?" Tiffany asked while taking a sit next to me and patted my leg.

"You know, Leo. You're lucky to even be waiting for someone you know is gonna come back. It's a promise isn't it? It's meant to be kept. So don't think too much on the negative side of things. It'll ruin you just watch. Right?" she smiled and swung her legs back and forth. I looked down on her hands and patted them thank you.

"Besides... Sometimes you see, to be loved is to be left."

I looked at her and nodded.

"Hey hey hey, Leo wait up!" N yelled as he took notice of me again. He was hanging onto his messenger bag swung to his left side. I turned around to see him catching up with irregular breathing.

I laughed softly and took out a handkerchief, handing it to him. "Oh N. You're in track but you still have trouble running?" N panted and looked up with one eye closed.

"Because it's you whom I'm always chasing after but can never catch." 

End Chapter 1

First paragraph and last paragraph (back in high school) second paragraph (present)

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