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 Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 3:08 pm
Ana had been thinking of that food truck for a few days now, and her stomach gave a sad growl each time she did, and finally she simply couldn’t take it any longer.
Making a social media account was strange, but she did and followed the truck, using the card that Evan had given her, and when she found the location it would be tonight, she slipped her jacket on and wrapping a scarf around her neck, set off to find dinner.
Honestly, Ana almost felt like a caveman, foraging for food like this…it was kind of funny, though when her nose caught the smell of warm cheese, she sighed happily. Though, again the lack of people around was strange, and the fact that the truck seemed tucked away into a spot that wouldn’t be seen easily unless you knew to look…that was odd.
Still, she bounded excitedly over to the window and gave the bell a few spirited rings, once again thinking how much she liked the color of it. It matched her scarf, now that she was looking at it. That was nice!
As Ana waited for Evan to poke his head out, she let herself look over the menu, humming softly and resolving to try one of everything again this time…though…perhaps her wallet wouldn’t quite allow that.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:13 pm
“Just a minute,” Evan called, from what almost sounded like deep within the truck. It wasn’t, not really. He’d had an okay night, until someone snapped at him, for something not even his fault! Really, he knew he was dangerously close to a breakdown even before he’d come out.
But, he’d made a commitment. So, here he was.
He roughly scrubbed his sleeve across his eyes and tried to breathe, like a few good breaths would just fix the red eyes and pink cheeks.
He pushed himself up too quick and was a little dizzy, and rose to face the girl across the counter, and–
Oh, great, like he hadn’t made a bad enough impression already.
“Ana, hi,” he greeted. “You’re out late again, doesn’t the cold bother you?”
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:28 pm
“Not as much as my complaining stomach!” She gave a little smile, though it faded slightly as she took in his red eyes and tired expression. Her brows creased into a frown and she tilted her head. “...You okay? Is this not a good time? I mean, I know you’re kind of off here looking like you’re closed but…if you’re not in the mood for food, It’s okay…um. I know we’re pretty much strangers but. If you wanna talk, I’m..ah here?”
She swallowed, regretting the offer almost as soon as she made it but. “...Ah, wow that was so forward but you just look so stressed…and I mean…I bet that means you still haven’t found your friend…but…are you hiring? Maybe I could help you around the truck if that would take some stress off of you? I…I’ve been thinking about getting a job for my own mental health so ah…if that would help you feel better too…I could…apply…”
Oh my god. Shut up Anastasia…
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 5:04 pm
Evan knew he looked pathetic, she was–
Oh, she was being kind. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes again. “I’ve got food. I’m going home, let me load you up again. I don’t think I can handle people anymore tonight. Not you, you’re sweet. I have people that help me with the truck sometime, it’s just–it doesn’t always work out so sometimes I go out alone. So I make less, I’m out for less time. I’m whining, I don’t know why I’m whining. If you worked with me, you would know that 95% of what I say is whiny.”
He sighed heavily. “You think about that for a minute, hold on.”
He disappeared then, and returned only a moment later with two full bags.
“I have more than yesterday. Mostly because I ran away. Here,” he said, and pushed them over.
“If you work here, I’ll make you whatever you want. If you’re serious, we can figure out pay. My old partner was really good, she liked to talk to people. She was super social, she had good ideas. I’m not comparing you to her, I’m just–I just really miss her, and I think she hates me. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to whine. I don’t usually do this but I’m–do you want to come in for a minute? It’s so cold. I’m gonna close the counter up so nobody else sees me like this. And I really need some mac and cheese, I don’t want them to see me eating.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 6:35 pm
Ana smiled softly and nodded. “I'd love to come in! And you didn’t have to give me so many things! I know I said I was hungry but…” She held both bags close and felt her mouth begin to water. “...Okay so maybe I can eat it all…”
Quietly she came into the truck, looking around with some interest. “This is really neat, Evan. I would really love a job, I think it would be fun to work in a food truck…and um. I can be social too. I enjoy meeting new people…I’m a little shy, but I’ll try...it’s easier when they’re strangers and don’t have expectations of me…I mean..if that doesn’t sound really stupid to you. It..ah.”
Reaching into one of the bags, she pulled out a grilled cheese and opened it, shoving half of one of the triangles into her mouth and biting into it, sighing softly and moving to sit right behind one of the seats in the truck, relaxing.
It was a spot that Cambria had sat so many times.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:01 pm
It didn’t escape Evan that Cambria used to sit there, and in a way it brought him some comfort. He smiled tiredly as he closed up the front of the truck, and he closed the door behind her once she was inside. He wasn’t big enough to be threatening, and it was clear that he was even smaller beneath the oversized sweater he was wearing to try and keep warm. He picked up a paper plate and said scooped a generous serving of macaroni and cheese. He came back and sat down on the floor beneath the counter, right where he’d been when she had first showed up.
He spooned a large serving into his mouth and just tasted it for a minute before he answered.
“I don’t usually go home with this much food. The more you take, the less I have to feel bad about. I should go drop it off at a shelter but I can’t even. Not tonight. Take as much as you can carry, please.”
Another bite, and then, “It’s not a hard job. People are usually really nice. Sometimes they’re hangry, but it’s not usually bad. Tonight was just a bad night for me. If you want to try it out for a few nights with me you can. If you get nervous, I can take over. Sometimes my fiance comes and helps me out, too. But this is an easy job to do a trial run. I don’t even care, you’re nice. I don’t need contacts or references or anything. If you can be nice to people and memorize the menu and count money, that’s honestly all you need. Oh, and please don’t rob me. I have to pay off this truck. And I’ll just cry a lot. If you rob me, I'll have to give up my dream. I'm one more bad day away from locking myself in my room forever.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 2:23 pm
Ana quietly ate her sandwich, watching Evan with a concerned expression. “I would never rob you, I promise. You’re really nice…and I wouldn’t want to lose a new friend…” She swallowed and hesitated. “Why do you think she hates you? Did you find her?”
Perhaps it was tactless to ask the question…but she wanted to know…if this job was only going to be a temporary thing…well. It would be fitting…but still suck.
“You shouldn’t have to give up your dream. You make such good food! And all of the reviews on the truck were so good, so I can’t imagine you giving this up…You would be even sadder, and that would be awful, I think.” Ana hesitated and nudged his foot with her own. “...you’re going to be okay, you know. You seem really strong, and I can’t imagine anyone ever hating you…maybe she’s just going through a rough time. I’m sure she’ll be back soon…”
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:08 pm
Evan just shrugged dejectedly at first, and then sighed into his food. “...You say really nice things. I’m sorry. It’s just a bad night. I don’t have them often anymore. Usually I just push through them when I do. I had to work really hard to get better, to be where I am now. I was such a problem before,” he sighed again.
He nudged her foot a bit with his own.
“This truck is really important to me, I don’t want anything bad to happen to it. We worked so hard to get it to where it was, and when I lost her, I just sort of–I couldn’t take care of myself, much less this business, too? But. It’s hard, but it keeps me going. And I’m not so good at asking for help, so I’ve been telling everyone else that it’s fine, but it’s hard to juggle two jobs at once.”
…And he needed them to be out looking for Cambria…
Or…something.
He wasn’t sure now. He couldn’t just explain to a stranger what had happened, so he just sighed again.
“Maybe she doesn’t hate me, maybe she’s confused. Maybe she’s just got other things going on. It’s just a lot going on for me, too. Easy to assume the worst. Thank you for saying nice things. I’m glad you like the food. I’m not usually so bad, honest. It’s just.” He looked at his plate of macaroni and cheese like he could have just face planted into it. “Just a bad day. It feels a little better already though. Thank you.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:22 pm
“Bad nights are usual for me too…I get it. You don’t have to apologize. I…I really do get it. When you get home, you should hug your dog, and maybe pick up your friend’s cat, even if it is against his will…and just put your face right in his fur. I would say scream into it? But…that might get you scratched, but honestly, there are times I would love to just shove my face into a cat. It seems like it would be very therapeutic.”
Anastasia slid the last bit of her sandwich into her mouth and sighed, nodding. “Then I’ll help out here. I’m…honestly. I’m always free, mostly. Unless my brother or his friends want me to hang out or uh. One of…my other friends. They’re not really my girlfriends? I don’t actually know what we are. It’s complicated but. I like kissing them?”
She shrugged and made a face, wishing that she had a filter for her mouth and seemed sad her sandwich was gone. “I’m glad that you’re feeling a little better…maybe when you get home, shove your fiancé on the bed and just…face plant into them. I think for that one you could maybe scream into their chest a bit. They most likely won’t claw your face off…and if they do. Evan…it’s time to find someone who cuts their nails.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 6:49 pm
Evan snorted. He laughed.
“Okay,” he finally said, and sniffled once more. “He’d probably be pretty worried if I just started screaming into his chest, but I think he’d let me if I really needed to. I might just go home and, I don’t know. Crying in a pillow seems a lot more likely than screaming. I don’t want to stress anyone else out. Do you want a ride home? I’m like, okay, at driving this thing. It’ll be warmer, but if you don’t want me knowing, or if you’d rather walk, it’s not going to hurt my feelings.”
He couldn’t fault her for being safe.
“I can give you my personal phone number so you can text me and we can figure things out. I know I’m all mopey right now but I’m kinda excited to have someone come help out. This is probably not the professional way to hire someone. I’ve never hired someone the real way. Last time, it was just my friends helping, so. I don’t even know any interview questions, so I guess you're just hired."
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 6:54 pm
The laughter made her smile, and made it seem like maybe she could still do something right after all. “I bet it would surprise him. It might be fun to try, you know. And yes, I would love a ride home. After all, I’ve already offered to work for you and climbed into your food truck and I’m not murdered yet so. I have a good feeling about staying in one piece if you take me home. Thank you.”
This was…wonderful. A real honest to goodness friendship...without any of the strange ties of chaos and factions and who gave the orders and…
“I really needed this tonight…so thank you. Maybe if you wanted…we could still make a stop to donate the food? Since you’re going to drop me off anyway…I know that there’s a shelter a few blocks from me…but if you don't’ want to, I completely understand, and you can just donate it all to me and my stomach.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 7:26 pm
“No, that sounds great. I usually go to Helping Hand or Safe Harbor. They helped me out a few times, and didn’t ask any questions. Out of all of them, they were the nicest. But I think everyone deserves a chance. Can you be my navigator? You can sit up front with me and make sure I get to the right place. If you want anything else before we head out, I can get you another bag.”
He took a few more quick bites and it seemed like he had a bit of energy restored to him. At least, emotionally he was feeling a bit better about all of it. Still hurt.
…But it wasn’t the end of the world.
He wasn’t giving up on Cambria. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he wasn’t giving up.
“Will you help me wrap up the rest of it when we get there? I can show you, and um. Give you a run down of some things in the truck. Just so you can get a little more familiar with it.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:01 pm
Anastasia nodded, feeling lighter than she had in a while. “I would be glad to. And I think the one by me is Helping Hand? I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it is.” This all sounded so great, and she eagerly did what he told her to do, pleased by the chance.
This was going to be good for her. And maybe good for him too. Regardless…it had been an okay night…and now she had a job!
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