144 Brompton Road
1288 Words
Sunday, 19th February 2017
*C R A A S S S H H H*
The quart glass bottle of milk that I was carrying dropped on the ground with a crash and the lady inside the house screamed in fright at the sudden sound of breaking glass.
It was empty, that’s the reason for the crashing sound, or else it would go *PLOP* and broke!
Instinctively, the lady opened up the door and looked at the mess that I had made in front of the door and she clucked her tongue. “No use crying over split milk then. Is this one of your trick to make me open my door for strangers like you?”
She placed her hands on her hips and I could swear that the lady in front of me is my mother and she had been denying my existence and told me that she was not even married!
“Your name is Melinda Anthony Watkins that had taken over the family name right after you had married with Harry Osmond Watkins.” I have to mention these two names it is my parents’ full name. There’s no denying that the lady in front of me is my mother after all!
“No, stranger. My name is not Melinda Anthony Watkins and I am not married to anyone as I had told you earlier. There is no reason for me to tell you my name as it does not make any difference. Now get off my property before I call the police. My front porch here is equipped with CCTV and it had captured your face and our conversation here. So get out of here! Scram!”
The lady’s behaviour is surely not my mother’s as she is a kind-hearted woman. Right now, the lady before me could be classified as a witch b***h and all that was missing was a broom with a branch for its handle!
“Go! Get out of here! I will call the police on you if you don’t!” Once again the lady was pointing her fingers out as if she was chasing away a stray cat or dog and I felt that I really had hit the lowest point in my entire life now.
No money, no home and now no parents! NO s**t!!!
I could just mutter that I am sorry and then I began to leave the place I once called home.
I looked up at the second-floor balcony that used to be my room, hoping that someone would look out and recognise me and then call me back inside for something warm. I AM SO HUNGRY NOW!
I sat down after I had walked towards the end of Trevor Square where there were some stone benches.
The wind was biting cold since it is still in the midst of Winter. The stone bench was hard and cold and the cold bit into my butt when I discovered that the jeans I wore were like paper-thin!
It was like a pair of pants and not jeans instead. The cold that was biting my butt right now was harsh and I have nowhere else to turn to.
The wind that day was even menacingly cold and it was blowing in all directions and I had no other place to hide away from it. I was not wearing any winter clothes or thick sweater as all I had on my back was a blue coloured t-shirt with a big smiley face on it! DAMN!
Survive! I’ve got to find ways on how to survive! My system is still offline and I better watch my words when I converse with it. In other words, I should refrain from profanity by all means!
As I thought that it was the end of the road for me, a gust of wind blew a pamphlet and it landed right at my foot and I quickly stomp on it to prevent it from flying as I saw the word ‘HELP’ printed on it.
I looked down, bent over from the stone bench and retrieved the piece of pamphlet before it got caught in the wind again. “HELP WANTED – Dishwasher. 1900hrs to 0100hrs. Flexible hours. £10 per hour. Dinner and supper provided. Middle Eastern Restaurant @ 144 Brompton Road. Chapati & Karak. Walk-in to apply.”
This time, Lady Luck is definitely smiling at me and had sent the wind to blow this piece of the pamphlet that contained the very piece of vital information for me to survive in this world! Even if it’s an MMORPG world, I do not want to die of hunger and penniless here at all!
I carefully fold the pamphlet and stuffed it in the back pocket of my jeans. From where I am sitting, it will be a 5-minute walk over to the Middle Eastern restaurant. I picked myself up and walked with confidence towards the restaurant.
“Good day, Sir. I have a pamphlet that says ‘Help Wanted – Dishwasher’ and I am interested in taking up this job. May I see the one in charge here?” I reached the Middle Eastern restaurant and discovered that the owner is a Qatari and had opened this establishment for quite some time already. The business had been picking up and there is a need for more manpower in the backend as the customers would prefer to wait and dine inside while enjoying the cosy ambience like as if they are dining in a Qatari Palace or something. There are 4 round tables with 3 chairs each on the sidewalk outside the Middle Eastern restaurant. I walked in and the only place to remove the shoes would be inside the dining area where there are 6 wooden tables and 12 benches nestled at the sides of the Middle Eastern restaurant.
The wooden tables and benches were lacquered with a glossy finish and they were placed in a sort of booth underneath the decoration that looked almost like the insides of a mosque or something.
Underneath the dining area, I could see a carpet that is made of some kind of fur and it looked exquisite. No wonder the patrons were not allowed to have footwear inside the dining booth so they could place their feet and feel warm at the same time.
I was brought to a small office at the back of the restaurant where the cooks were busy preparing the famous Chapati, Karak and flavoured tea.
There are 10 types of Chapati, 4 types of Karak in 8oz and 12oz cups as well as 5 types of tea and ice cream. When I entered the kitchen area, I was hit by the sudden aroma of freshly pan-fried bread that they called Chapati.
The smell of meat curry with green peas also wafted and invaded my nostrils. Before I entered the kitchen, I saw the prices of the Chapati and Karak and find that it was quite affordable if a person had at least 10 quid in his pocket! At least he could dine here without having to worry about burning a hole in his pocket.
I was at the verge of smacking my lips when I saw the food being prepared and I wondered what the staff ate for dinner and supper.
The one who ushered me knocked on the office door and someone inside called us in. The moment I entered, I got the shock of my life! It is my father and he runs a restaurant NOW?
What luck had I got when I run into him at the most unexpected time!
- Writer
