The Hidden Alpha

Chapter 2: The Man Of Mystery

I arrived at the diner not long after leaving the hospital. I arrived at lunchtime so there were already a lot of customers. I greeted Pearl and headed to the employee's locker area and took off my hoodie. I fixed my hair and put my apron on before heading to the dining area.

I immediately picked up the food at the counter and delivered it to the tables. Most of the diners are regulars, and I greeted them as I delivered their food. One of our regulars is an old man named Leon who doesn’t have any family anymore. Pearl once mentioned that his wife died giving birth to their only daughter. The daughter moved away from town, and they haven’t heard from her again.

Now, he spends almost the whole day in the diner eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we’ve gotten used to his presence everyday. This is why I was surprised that he wasn’t in the diner when I arrived.

I got busy serving the rest of the customers and once the lunch crowd had dissipated,  Pearl had me take my break, and I took the opportunity to eat lunch as well. I ate with Denise, who was the other waitress scheduled to work today. She is on the opening shift, and she’ll be going home after the dinner crowd.

Today was actually my day off, but since I am covering for Carmela, I had to come in. Pearl mentioned hiring a temporary worker while she’s taking care of her mom in the hospital, but since I was willing to work while she’s away, she put it off for now. I don’t mind it since I didn’t have anything better to do anyway. Besides, we get a premium pay for overtime and the night shift.

The rest of the day went on as usual, and there were times when the diner was empty or that there weren’t a lot of customers. I took these opportunities to read the brochures from different universities I managed to gather.

Since I plan to go to medical school, I’ve been deciding on the best bachelor’s degree to study in order to prepare me. I would like to be a surgeon someday, so I’m gearing towards a bachelor's degree in biology for my pre-med. The human body has always fascinated me, and I’ve been reading up on human anatomy in my free time as well. It helps to be prepared.

The shift picked up during dinner, but it wasn’t as busy as lunch. Leon still hasn’t made an appearance. I wonder if he’s okay. Pearl said that Leon has a housekeeper who keeps his house clean and does the groceries for him. She’s probably cooking for him too, but most likely, he comes to the diner because he’s all alone in his mansion.

Leon is known as the richest man in Catalina. He lives in the biggest house, and owns acres of land. Sugar is the main commodity in our small town, and Leon owns all of the lands where they are grown. He’s actually a very generous man, and instead of hiring the farmers to work for him for a meager income, he gives them most of the income derived from the sugar plantation and just gets a portion of it for the upkeep of the land.

Once my shift had ended, I hurriedly cleaned up before heading home. As I unlocked the chain on my bike, I thought I saw a large figure leaning against a tree across the street from the diner. As I looked up, I could see a distinct outline of a man. I pulled out my phone to turn on the flashlight and looked closer, but as the light shone on the tree, there was no one there. I chuckled at myself and thought my imagination is getting the worse of me.

I was already checking my bike when Martin made his way out of the diner carrying the trash and putting them in the bin. He waited until I got on my bike and rode away, before getting in his car and driving away.

Pearl had been insisting on letting Martin give me a ride on the way home instead of riding my bike, saying it’s much safer, but I refused. Martin is already tired from working and cooking at the diner for 18 hours everyday. I don’t want to add up to it by having him drive me home. Besides, everyone knows everybody in this town, and there’s never been a heinous crime for more than 20 years. There are petty thefts every now and then, but no one has been murdered or r***d that I could recall.

As I rode home, I somehow couldn’t stop feeling as if someone was actually watching me. This is quite impossible since I don’t see any other vehicles around that could be moving with me. Unless that person is flying, this is very unlikely. I glanced up for a moment to check, and I laughed at myself at how stupid I looked. Within a few minutes, I was home and laying down in my bed.

------------------------------------

The next day, I am working a 12 hour shift again, and I left the house after I’ve eaten breakfast so I could visit Carmela and her mom in the hospital first. I wore my spare uniform and a different hoodie on top of it. I finished it off with white Chuck Taylors.

Within a few minutes, I arrived at the hospital. I saw my laces undone as I finished chaining my bike so I laced it up. For some reason, I had the feeling that someone was watching me once more. It’s the same feeling I had last night, when I was on my way home from the diner.

When I looked up, I saw a big man leaning on a tree looking at me. He has the same silhouette as the one I saw leaning on the tree in front of the diner last night. Could it be the same person?

It’s early and I could see him and not just his silhouette, but I couldn’t see his face clearly. He has a hoodie that is covering his head, and I could make out a thin beard on his face. What struck me are his eyes. They are the lightest brown eyes I have ever seen. Although I couldn’t see his face clearly, he somehow reminds me of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the actor who played the superhero Kick-Ass.

As I stared at him, I could see his big frame, and it is apparent that he has a muscular body beneath the hoodie  and joggers he’s wearing. He also has the last Air Force One shoes. He must be rich because my brother wanted those but he couldn’t afford them because it’s very expensive.

I felt goosebumps as I noticed that he’s staring at me the same way that I am staring at him. I suddenly felt conscious as I realized what I was wearing. I’ve always been conscious about my appearance as well, and I’ve always been insecure. At 5’4”, my height is above average compared to other girls, and I am a little on the chubby side.

The girls at school are mostly skinny, and they flaunt their body by wearing skimpy clothes outside of school. I’ve never been friends with the popular kids, and I am known as one of the nerds because I do well in school and I refuse to socialize with the ‘cool kids.’

I wasn’t sure why this mysterious handsome guy was staring at me. There’s nothing interesting about how I look. I got distracted when I heard someone calling my name “Kara!”

I turned my head and saw that it was Tobey, one of my friends from school. We belong to the honors society, and his dad is one of the doctors at the hospital where Carmela’s mom is confined.

Kara: “Hey Tobey.”

I turned to look at the mysterious man by the tree but he’s no longer there. I suddenly questioned whether he’s real or not. He seems to be able to move stealthily despite his size. I turned my head back towards Tobey as he asked what I was doing at the hospital.

Kara: “I’m here to visit Carmela’s mom, and to bring some food for her. She was hospitalized a few days ago. What are you doing here?”

Tobey: “Oh, I’m here to visit my dad. He left his phone at home, and I came here to bring it to him.”

Kara: “Oh, okay. We can go inside together, then.”

Tobey: “Cool.”

I turned around to look at the tree and its immediate vicinity to see if there’s any trace of the mysterious man. I’m not questioning my sanity, but why do I keep seeing him? Is he real or just part of my imagination?

As Tobey and I made our way to the hospital building, he chatted about how his summer has been. His family is well-off, so he was able to go to places outside Catalina. He was telling me about the beach resort they went to the previous week, and all I could do was to smile and nod at him. I noted how much he kept saying that I would have loved it if I was there.

Tobey had previously told me how much he likes me, and even asked me out on a date. He’s nice and not bad-looking, but I don’t see him as more than a friend. I politely decline him and let him know that I am not ready to date, and I would prefer it if we just stayed as friends.

He took it well, but said that he’s willing to wait until I’m ready to date. From then on, I felt a little uncomfortable whenever Tobey was around, because I was afraid that he’d ask me out on a date again.

At 17 years old, I’ve never dated, which means that I’ve also never had a boyfriend. I’ve had crushes, and the latest one was Drix, the captain of the basketball team at school. He is the boyfriend of Mariah, who is the most popular and prettiest girl in school. I never expected Drix to like me, and no one except Carmela knew about how much I like him.

Wherever I think about why I had a crush on him, I feel a little stupid since I don’t even know him, nor have I ever talked to him. I just like him because he’s good-looking, which is superficial. I wasn’t going to do anything about it anyway. It was just an innocent infatuation.

Tobey said goodbye as I made my way to the ward where Carmela’s mom is located. My friends smiled as she saw me, but seemed happier when she saw the food I was holding. I was happy to have improved her mood at least.

I stayed in the hospital for an hour, before I made my way to the diner.