A Pastel Blue

"Enjoy your meal, sir!"

The young woman placed the tray down in front of the customer, who gave her a smile in return as he thank her for the food. With a smile on her face, she'd give a cheery 'you're welcome!' in return before going back to serving the rest of the customers. Every day she worked at this noodle shack and took the role as a waitress. From 9 am to 5 pm, she cleaned the tables, swept the floors, and served the customers with the brightest smile on her face. The people that would come over became regulars who would sometimes make conversations with the waitress, as if they were talking to a good friend.

The tips she'd get from this job weren't always the best, despite her good work. Sometimes she's paid well with a few tens to twenty-dollar bills. On other days, usually the slower days, she'd have only a five-dollar tip as payment. She didn't mind this. She was grateful that she even received a tip in the first place. Even if some tips were small, it still paid off her bills, and for that she was thankful. The woman even got to see the smiles of the others that left after tipping her, telling her thank you for the meal, which was good enough for her.

One person that she recognized well, was the tall, young man that would frequent this noodle shack. She couldn't see his face well, but she could tell that the man was around her age. His entire look was plain, but somehow he stood out the most in a crowd. His raven hair strands were short and disheveled, covering most of his eyes. His attire wasn't anything special. The man would only wear a plain T-shirt with a pair of ripped jeans and sneakers that were worn down and dull from overuse. The waitress noticed that whenever he was spoken to, he'd keep his head down and respond with nods or head shakes.

Shy, perhaps? Anti-social? Socially awkward? Any of these traits could describe the young man. She was starting to come to the conclusion the taller one was mute. Though she assumed this, it didn't make a difference with her. The woman didn't treat him any differently.

"Welcome to the Noodle Shack! Table for one, right?" She asked, giving a gentle smile his way. He didn't say anything, as usual, but nodded in response to her question. The woman moved her dark chocolate hair behind her ear while ringing up his card into the register, unaware of the hidden eyes that watched that movement. After giving his card back, she motioned him over. "I'll seat you to a table right away! Same as usual?"

Every time he arrived, the waitress would smile and welcome him. She'd place the menu down after seating him to a clean table, even though she already knew what the man would order. Sweet and savory ramen, a pouched egg on top, with a tall glass of ice cold water. He has ordered it so many times that she's memorized it like it was tattooed on the back of her hand.

Confirming her thoughts, he nodded again, to which she wrote on her small, spiraled notepad with a dark blue ink pen. "Alright! Your meal will be finished shortly." As she walked away, she noticed him pull out something black from his underarm. It made her pause for a moment out of curiosity, but soon she shook her head and walked to the counter to give out the order to the chef.

One of the things that she noticed the most whenever he came to this shack was that book he brought with him. While he ate, he'd have this small, black notebook on his person, placed on either his lap or the wooden table. She wasn't sure on what he was doing with it. Was he a writer? Artist? Or was he just a student studying on his notes? Whatever the case might be, it made her more and more curious by the day.

Hearing the cook call out the finished orders to her, the brunette perked up and grabbed the trays of food with steady hands. She moved through the walking spaces, handing off plates to couples and families and groups of hungry customers, before she soon made her way to the tall man's table.

"One bowl of Sweet and Savory ramen for you! Along with your glass of water. Let me know when you're done, okay?" She spoke while gently placing down the hot bowl of ramen and tall glass down beside that black notebook of his. It was closed now, so she couldn't take a peak at whatever it was he was doing inside of it. Not expecting a response back, she began her way back to the counter to grab more trays of food--

"Thank you."

The brunette stopped in her tracks; that caught her off guard. His voice, it was low. Deep, with a hint of roughness in it, as if he hasn't drunk a refreshing drink in days. This was the first time she's heard the man speak a word so clearly. Every time she'd speak to him, he'd respond with small hums, or grunts in response, or even a little 'mhmm' to her questions. Even when he ordered his food, he'd just point to the category, or at most, whisper out his order. He has never responded to her with a clear tone. That really surprised her.

She looked over her shoulder to look at the man once more. He was looking back. In that split second, the waitress could make out his eyes through the messy bangs, and they were... soft. A pastel blue light that peaked through the forest of jet black. The soft color in his eyes that completely contrasted his dull and monochrome appearance was breathtaking. She couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, to which he stared back, watching her in silence and waiting for another response from her.

Finally snapping out of her haze, she blinked a few times and gave another smile, cheeks a fainted red out of embarrassment. That shouldn't have surprised her so much, but it made her feel happy.

"You're welcome."

Before she knew it, a few hours had passed. The brunette wiped off lone tables with a wet rag, cleaning off the spills that were created recently. Though time had passed by, she still couldn't get her mind off of that man talking. It shouldn't have surprised her that much, but the other had been frequenting this shack for months now, and it was only now did she finally hear him speak a word. Her walnut colored eyes unconsciously glanced over to where the male sat, only to see him collecting himself and getting up from his seat. Seeing this made her rise from her bent over position, leaving the rag on the wooden table.

"Oh," she started. " I hope you enjoyed your meal!"

He paused in his movements hearing her speak, before moving his hand to his notebook again. Calmly, he opened it to a page and ripped the paper out of its binds. She tilted her head while she watched him write something onto it. She had to absentmindedly clean off the table she was already at to make herself look less of a weirdo for watching him during all of this. Afterwards, he placed it neatly onto the table, along with a small rectangular piece of paper, and walked to the exit door of the shack. No response again, huh?

With a small hum, she made her way to the table he just left, moving to collect the dishes from the surface. Her eyes glanced back over to the piece of paper that was left and her eyebrows raised in curiosity. With a slight pause, she lifted the paper took quickly scan over it. His handwriting was surprisingly neat.

'Thank you for being so kind to me whenever I'd come here. Though I was to nervous to speak, you were patient with me every time I came to this shack. You are very kind. I hope this will help you with your troubles as much as you have helped me. I'll come by tomorrow. Have a pleasant afternoon. '

'P.S. the food was really good.'

"Wh..." At first, she was confused. This? What was he referring to? She scanned the wooden table for a minute, glancing over the empty bowl, empty glass, the check--

Wait.

Check? Her eyes widened, quickly looking back to that rectangular piece of paper that laid on a square napkin.

A check??

The brunette couldn't help but to put a hand to her mouth, the look of shock remaining on her face when she looked over the piece of paper. This wasn't some ordinary check. It wasn't a twenty-dollar check, or a fifty-dollar check, or even a hundred dollar check.

That was-

She couldn't just accept this, could she? A check? Twenty thousand dollars?? A twenty thousand dollar check, just like that? It wasn't like she was expecting anything in return for being kind to him all this time. She was just happy knowing that he frequented this shack and loved the food served here in silence. To think that he had this kind of money... Heck, she even thought that he was just a normal college student, studying for his next exam. Was this--

Is this real?

Before her brain caught up with her legs, the waitress ran to the exit door and looked out, scanning the area for that familiar raven hair, the bland clothing, those soft, cloud like eyes.

Nothing. She couldn't see him. Even though he only left a minute ago, he was nowhere in sight.

The woman stood there for a moment, staring ahead at the people walking, the light beaming on her hair while sun dust danced around her and her surroundings. She could feel the burning in her eyelids as she looked back at that rectangular piece of paper. A shaky smile made its way to her lips, followed by a soft 'Oh my gosh'. There were so many things that she could pay off with this. He gave her something that she never imagined she'd receive, and she couldn't even say thank you in return for his kindness.

'I'll come by tomorrow. '

She looked back at the note that was left, reading over those four words over and over, until finally she took a long inhale to compose herself. The brunette clutched the note to her chest and let out a soft laugh, looking up at the blue sky and shaking her head.

"Tomorrow, huh?"