Amanda heard the bell ring above the door as the last customers walked out with Ruby saying, “Bye, y’all. See ya next time.”
Ruby walked over, locked the door behind them, and flipped the sign showing that the café was closed.
“Phew, I’m glad today is finally over,” Ruby said as she undid the back of her apron and sat down for a moment.
“That was some rush. Is it usually like that?” Amanda asked as she stretched her arms above her head.
Ruby shook her head. “There are only a few times a year that we get a rush like that. The beginning of the school year, midterms, and finals. Other than that, it’s just a nice steady flow except for a few days when the heat gets to be too much for hot coffee and they prefer a colder drink, then it’s slow.”
Amanda nodded.
After a few minutes, Ruby got up and started the closing process. “Well, you were right. For someone with no experience, you picked up pretty quick.”
Amanda shrugged. “Cash handling and counting are pretty easy for me. I’m more nervous about trying to memorize all the different drinks we make and how to prepare them,” she admitted.
“That all comes with practice. Plus, I have a cheat sheet taped up to help,” Ruby said with a wink.
Amanda smiled as she continued to clean off the tables and wipe them down.
“So, sugar, where are you from?” Ruby asked as she started to count.
“Just a small town a few towns over. I didn’t venture too far away from home,” she said with a half-smile.
“Same goes for me. There is just something about this place that just keeps me here and not wanting to try something new,” Ruby said with a shrug.
“How long have you owned the café?”
“Not too long–just under five years, I believe. The business is steady, the customers are friendly, and I can take a vacation during the summertime if I want to. You really can’t beat that,” Ruby smiled.
Amanda shook her head. “Nope, you sure can’t.”
After the closing was all done. Amanda said goodnight to Ruby after telling her that she could work the afternoon shift again the next day once she was done with her homework. She turned and started to make her way to the dorms. She left her phone vibrating in her pocket. When she pulled it out, she looked at the screen and saw it was her mom calling.
“Hi, Mom,” she said after sliding her thumb across the screen to accept the call.
“Hi, honey. How‘s school going so far?” her mom asked.
Amanda laughed. “It’s only the second day of school.”
“I know, honey. I just want to make sure you are doing okay. This is a big adjustment,” her mom told her.
She smiled. She knew her mom and dad were going to have a hard time adjusting to her leaving for college. Empty nest syndrome, she believed it was called.
“I promise to come home soon and visit,” she told her mom.
“We’d love that. But seriously, are you doing okay?”
Amanda could hear the concern in her mother’s voice. Her mom was worried that college was going to be just like high school for her. They didn’t know everything that happened, but they knew enough. So, she did what she did best. She put on a brave face for her mom, telling her what she needed to hear.
“Yes, Mom. I’m fine. My roommate and I get along, and I actually got a job working at a cafe.” That was all true. She just wasn’t going to let her mom know about a certain boy that had ended up at the same college as her.
“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful,” her mom told her.
Amanda shivered. The night wasn’t cold even though it was late. She made sure to check her surroundings, making sure no one creeps up behind her. In high school, the shivers were what helped keep her alert and aware of who was around her. She checked around her but again saw nothing.
“Mom, I gotta go. I’ll call you this weekend. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Amanda closed her phone and put it back into her pocket. She looked around again to make sure no one was close. She couldn’t see anything through the bushes that were not too far from her, but her instincts were screaming at her to get to a safe place quickly. She turned and started walking towards her dorms, making sure to stay in well-lit areas and eye contact with anyone who passed by. She no longer needed to keep her head down to avoid being noticed. She didn’t need to be invisible anymore. She kept looking around but couldn’t see anything that would cause alarm. She wasn’t doubting her instincts because theory never let her down before. She just hated feeling scared if there was nothing to be scared of.
Amanda reached the hall that she was staying in. she pulled out her key card and swiped it before entering the building. She let out a breath of relief once she was inside. She made her way up to her dorm and opened the door. Tabitha was sitting on her bed with a book in her lap, and her head popped up when Amanda walked in.
“Hey, how’s your first day of work?” Tabitha asked as she closed the book.
“Busy, but good. I think Ruby’s happy with me,” she told Tabitha as she went and collapsed onto her bed.
“Tired?”
Amanda nodded. She then lifted her head and turners her body to her side, facing Tabitha and moving her arm to cradle her head.
Tabitha stared at Amanda for a moment before asking, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just got this weird feeling while I was walking home tonight like someone was watching me.”
“Did you see anyone following you?”
Amanda shook her head. “It was probably nothing.”
She leaned over, grabbed her laptop from the desk, and opened it so she could get her English homework done before tomorrow’s class.
Tabitha got up from her bed and looked out the window. She rubbed her arms as she continued to stare out into the night. She let out a shiver then turned and got ready for bed.
Behind the bushes in the distance were a set of glowing eyes as it watched the people passing by. It took deep breaths as it patiently waited for the right moment. A young girl was walking by not paying attention to her surroundings. It lunged out and grabbed the girl, quickly pulling her behind the bushes before anyone knew what happened. The girl tried to scream but was too scared by the thing she was looking at. Before she realized that she needed to scream in order to get help, it started to attack her, scratching her arms and tearing her clothes apart. She tried to fight back, but it was too strong. When it was done, it threw her back over the bushes and disappeared.