A & A

[26]: the task

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26

the task 

"You help me

In any way you can,

Even if it proves futile

In the end."

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For the next few hours, Aurora and Alexander worked in peace. With them being holed up in different parts of the bakery—Aurora as a cashier and Alexander as a supervisor in the kitchen—it's not hard to figure out why the bakery was unusually quiet this time. The both of them minded their own business for once and didn't bother the other with what they are doing. The usual banter and shouting weren't there but all of the people in the bakery knew that both of them were just dying to criticize the other's work and pick another nonsensical fight—just any excuse to be able to talk to each other really, but both Alexander and Aurora have yet to realize that.

Edward, who is the only person present in the bakery that knows Aurora and Alexander very well, observed the both of them with unadulterated mirth and unfiltered comments. He knows though that it's only a matter of time before his cousin and his friend take their well-planned revenge against him and his annoying teasing. Knowing that, he readied himself for whatever plan of action they must have already concocted in their minds and allowed himself to feel the slight fear gripping him before he let it go altogether and just let fate be. It’s a very audacious way of dealing with it, but with the past experiences he’s had with the both of them, there never really was a definite way to do that--contrary to what Alicia and the rest of their friends think. He mostly just wings it most of the time, and he’s just glad that it works most of the time.

"Being around these two is never easy." He muttered under his breath, his voice accompanied by the mirth he felt. "Now, what to do to make them speak?"

Not noticing Edward's lingering gaze and cunning plan, Aurora released a sigh as she manned the cash register once more, silently hoping that the day would already end so she could head home and sleep—but not before feeding herself and her brother. Being at the bakery took a lot of energy from her, even if what she's merely expected to do is keep the place in top shape. Honestly speaking, accomplishing that certain task is a lot easier said than done. At first, she thought it wouldn’t be that much work, but as time passed by, she realized just how hard it is to actually do the task that her stepmother entrusted to her. Still, she can’t help but think that some other factors might be also the reason as to why she feels like her energy is being depleted everyday. Maybe it's because she's not even doing this willingly or because of a certain gray-eyed, pompous guy who doesn't know how to shut up, she has no idea. She's guessing it's a bit of both.

"Excuse me." The woman's irritated voice snapped her out of her reverie. "The waitress said you're the manager."

Aurora cleared her throat, facing the clearly hostile woman with a defensive stance that she’s sure is not visible to the eyes of said woman. Well, at least that’s what she hopes. But judging by how the woman hadn’t made any indication that she noticed it, she guesses it’s safe to deduce that she accomplished her goal in mind. "Yes I am. Is there something wrong, ma'am?"

"Yes there is. We've ordered ages ago and our food hasn't arrived. What kind of lousy service is this?" The woman replied, her eyes glaring piercingly into Aurora’s sharp ones. The growing irritation also laced in her tone of voice was something that was extremely palpable not only to Aurora, but to the people near her as well.

It’s really these types of customers that she doesn’t want to deal with. As much as she hates to admit it, Alexander is better with these types of things--despite her being the outgoing one between the both of them. The way her own rage flares up so easily is enough of a telltale sign that she’s not suited for this kind of task. She really doesn’t want to be stuck with kitchen duty, but she would much rather take that than be here instead.

Aurora tried her best to keep her face apologetic when all she wanted to do was express her annoyance towards the guy manning the kitchen for lucking out once again. Honestly, she just really wants to rant to the guy about how vexing some people can be and how troublesome it is to deal with them. "I'm sorry, ma'am. We'll serve your food as soon as possible. I'll go and see what the hold up is about."

"Alright." Irritation still plastered on the woman's face. "This place used to have the best service. What happened to the owner? Sally, was it?"

"She's on a honeymoon." Aurora replied indifferently, mood turning even more sour at the mention of her highly hated stepmother.

"But I thought she's already married?" The woman questioned.

God, is she really here to complain about our service or gossip about my currently missing stepmother?, thought Aurora. "She is. She's doing a second honeymoon with her husband."

"Oh, well good for her. She deserves happiness from all the stress and backlash she receives from running her business to her ever snotty and rude stepdaughter."

Aurora felt her blood boil and her hands turning into fists the second she heard the words coming out of the woman's mouth. The wretched witch actually talks about me to strangers? How highly unprofessional, Aurora silently let those thoughts flow to her mind freely. Other thoughts related to her stepmother plagued her mind as well, thinking about how right she was to be cautious of the woman she was forced to spend the last few days with. Just how much badmouthing had she done? 

She tried to keep her emotions at bay as she asked in the most calm voice she can muster, "What does she say about m—" She cut herself off when she realized what she was about to say and cleared her throat to cover her mistake. "I mean, what does she say about her stepdaughter?"

"Nothing bad. I don’t know why, but she even adores the girl. But from what I heard, she's extremely rude. She doesn't even eat the baked goods Sally makes." The woman scoffed. "How extremely childish."

No words can explain Aurora's current emotion right now. She wanted to smack the woman in front of her for telling her these things but she also wants to yell at her stepmother for even badmouthing her to her customers. Well, not really since she did say some nice things about her, but that’s beside the point she wants to make. Why would she even talk about her to strangers? If she has a problem with her or if she has anything to say, she should have just told her directly. "Well maybe the stepdaughter just doesn't want to accept the woman who broke her family apart." Aurora said through gritted teeth.

The woman, probably noticing Aurora's changing demeanor, looked her up and down before rolling her eyes. "Well she needs to accept the fact that Sally is not ever going away." The scowl on her face returned. "Now where's our food? I didn't come here to talk about the owner. Go to the kitchen and see what the hold up is."

The words that came spouting out of the complaining woman in front of her only made her want to smack the woman more. She was the one who got sidetracked by her initial intention by bringing up something that was totally unnecessary (not to mention that it’s none of her business) so why is she the one acting more annoyed instead? If anyone were to feel annoyed right now, it would most definitely be Aurora. Her mood just dampened more than it already has and she isn’t sure how long she can keep this up without combusting here and now.

Aurora controlled her flaring anger and replied, "How can I when you kept me here, asking stupid and personal questions?"

Well, by the looks of it, looks like she already combusted before she could even help herself. She would have preferred it if she lasted a few more minutes so she could go and exhaust all her frustrations to the one guy she oddly wants to talk with. Well, what with their recent agreement to start anew, she guesses it’s not really weird that she’s actually trying to reform the bond they lost throughout the three-year missing-in-action moment that Alexander was so deeply immersed in.

"Excuse me?"

She sent the glaring woman a sickly, sweet smile. "Nothing. I'll check on your food and report back to you at your table."

Not waiting for the woman's reply, she made her way to the kitchen, anger evident on her face all the while thinking, 'I want to get out of this hellhole.'

Meanwhile, Alexander was doing no better. He tried his very best to keep up with all the happenings in the kitchen without messing anything up, but so far, he's been failing greatly. That was already an expected result since he was pretty much a bad addition to the kitchen right from the very start, but he really has no choice. He and Aurora had to take turns doing all the things that Sally used to do on her own, so it’s not that much of a surprise that he’s here now. He just hates the fact that he had to be here right now when he could have been manning the register and greeting the customers instead of being here. Releasing a frustrated sigh, he leaned on one of the counter tables and muttered, "Great idea putting me in here, Aur. A definite one-way ticket to hell."

As he continues looking at the current disaster in front of him, he can't stop thinking about how he's going to be an absolute dead man the instant Aurora steps foot in the kitchen. With the pots and pans lying all around the table to the spilled oil and wasted whip cream on the floor to the groaning of a select few bakers and to the noisy bickering between employees, everything's a complete mess--and it’s all because of him. His venture at helping obviously turned out badly. While his efforts were greatly appreciated by the bakers, it wasn’t at all necessary. He’s pretty positive as well that the bakers just wanted to tell him that he could just watch and wait while they prepare the food, but they just didn’t have the heart to tell him. Why though, he has no idea. If it had been him, he would have already told that person off with no second thoughts because it sure is hassle working when there’s someone who keeps mucking up.

And right now, he’s currently that person mucking everything up.

"Andy?" He heard one of the bakers ask. He looked at him with a questioning look. "What's the next order?"

He cursed under his breath. Quickly rummaging through the counter table where he left the papers lying about, he felt a frisson of panic run inside him upon realizing that he had no idea which order came next. It's a good thing though that he was able to scan through it before putting it on the table or else he would have been royally f****d. Not to mention that the bakers would hate him for making things more messy than it already is, and the bakery would lose customers due to the poor service being provided to them.

Thinking about it now, he really has no idea how Sally ever managed to do everything by herself. It does come with the experience she’s had, but goddamn. 

He heard the baker who talked to him release a sigh. "I told you to put it in these clips but you just had to insist on holding them."

Alexander released a huff. "Well I was supposed to do something, aren't I?"

"Yes and that just so happens to be merely supervising us." The baker, Greg, replied in a blank voice, totally unperturbed by the fact that the person he’s currently to in that tone is his boss for the next month. Alexander might be an aloof and stoic guy, but Greg knows that he can be quite expressive when he’s in the kitchen and he sure enjoys the way his boss naturally just seems to transform.

"And I was doing just that." Alexander turned around and walked towards the baker with the paper in hand. "Here, I told you I could find it."

Giving the exhausted-looking grey-eyed guy an amused look, Greg took the paper that Alexander held in his hand before saying, "You never did say that."

"Well I am now."

Just then, Alexander heard the door slam open and he had to close his eyes to silently pray that he would still be able to come out alive by the day's end. But the moment he heard a gasp and felt a pair of eyes piercing through his very soul, he knew that his prayer would never come true. He just knows that he would receive a shitload of beating from the woman he’s co-supervising with and she was already pissed with him to begin with. She definitely won’t put that past her and she would no doubt make sure that she makes it known how inept he was in this current moment they’re in.

While he knows that the azure-eyed woman wouldn’t fare here in the kitchen any better than him, he at least knows that she would be able to do a bit better than him. Doing this type of thing is just Aurora’s made for and he would gladly hand over the job of being here to her in a heartbeat should she ever asks. It was purely wishful thinking on his part, but there's nothing wrong with clinging to the little light of hope that has been dangled in front of him, is there?

"Alexander Drillon Giovanni! What the f**k is going on here?"

He didn't need to turn around to know just exactly who is currently bellowing at the top of her lungs. Heck, even the moment those doors opened, he already knew who it was. There was just something that shifted in the air, making it seem more suffocating and hostile; almost like it’s all directed to him in a violent attempt to make her presence known to him. 

He released another sigh. "Good luck, Andy. You're going to need it." He glared at the whispering baker, who let out a silent chuckle afterwards before getting back to work and leaving him alone to deal with the seething woman.

Well, even if Greg was there to keep him company, Alexander is pretty sure that the former still wouldn’t have received any reprimand from the angry Aurora Crover. All of that anger and pent up frustration rolling off of her would be all aimed at him with the intent to kill--mentally that is.

"Well? Are you going to start talking or should I force you?"

Turning around, he plastered on a blank and indifferent look when deep inside he's anything but. Gray to blue, indifference to anger—that's what Aurora and Alexander currently look like, except that she looks absolutely ready to kill him while the latter simply looks like he couldn't care less. Judging by how outraged she looked at the moment, he can pretty much guess at this point that she wasn’t faring any better up front than he is here. Somehow, the thought of that comforted him in an odd way, knowing that it wasn’t just him struggling to keep things together. Obviously, they’re not made for these kinds of jobs, and he’s pretty sure that it would only get a lot harder from here on out--either that or they miraculously get used to everything and finally do a great job. It was a pretty far fetched idea, but the latter definitely seems more appealing than the former does. 

"Relax, I'm going to talk." He said, keeping his eyes on hers. "And besides, I've got everything under control."

Aurora gaped at him. "Got everything under control? Are you f*****g blind?"

"No, I'm seeing fine, thank you very much."

"Well it surely doesn't seem like it since you didn't notice how the kitchen is an absolute mess. And why are Trisha, Jerry and Nikki groaning in pain?" She glared at him, the hint of accusation swirling in those blue orbs not lost to him at all. "What did you do, Giovanni?"

At this very moment, he couldn't help but think about how he looks so much like a child being reprimanded by his mother for doing something absolutely stupid. And apparently, that current thought wasn't lost on his co-workers since they let out a snicker as soon as they heard the words that came out of Aurora's mouth and the tone of voice she used.

He supposed he kind of deserves it since he did do a pretty big mess of the kitchen, but he disliked the fact that Aurora has this kind of trump card against him. It may seem extremely childish, but he couldn’t help but think that way. With how things are going, there’s just no way Aurora is going to drop this--ever.

He decided to ignore the things that he was able to realize, as well as the audible snickers he could hear coming from his co-workers, despite the fact that he's starting to feel embarrassed about what's happening. He wasn’t all that embarrassed about everything before she arrived, but the moment she did, he felt shame creep up on him for failing to do the one job that he was supposed to do today.

"What do you mean what did I do? I was just doing my job."

"Well you're doing a s**t job at it!" She spat before releasing an exasperated sigh and rubbing her temples. "Table fifteen just complained about what's taking her food so long. Hurry it up guys, the people are starting to complain one by one."

Alexander turned to look at the kitchen staff. "You heard her. Get to work, everyone."

The staff looked at the pair with amusement swirling in their eyes before they heeded Alexander’s words, all of them muttering under their breaths how cute they both look together. The kitchen was a disaster, yes, and they had a lot of things to clean up and do, but they also can’t deny the fact that they don’t particularly mind doing that--especially since they get to witness scenes like the one unfolding before their very eyes before they have to take things seriously.

"And you!" Alexander turned around to look at an extremely angry Aurora pointing a finger at him. "You're done here. Follow me and help me at the front desk instead."

He should have felt irritated and angry about how she's making it seem like he's completely incompetent, but he couldn't help but feel relieved. He will finally be out of the one place he prefers not to be in. The fresh air that he has been wanting to get ahold of ever since he stepped foot inside the kitchen would finally be within his grasp, and there’s definitely no way he’s letting go of that chance. So instead of a complaint and a refusal to her words, he simply shrugged his shoulders and happily followed her out the door.

Just then, the pair was joined by the ever bubbly Edward Giovanni, totally ignoring the fact that his cousin gave him a look of complete annoyance for ruining his alone time with Aurora, and the former looking at him like she’s ready to send him to his untimely demise any second now. He knows both of them mean him no harm anyway, so there was really no need to be concerned as to what could happen should he ever approach them right now.

“So, how are things?” Edward grinned at them. Internally, he’s already sighing in relief about how he doesn’t have to put his plan underway today. It seemed like things worked out by themselves and his interference with their unspoken no talk rule earlier was finally broken.

“Why are you here again, you bastard?” Alexander queried as he crossed his arms against his chest.

Edward gave him a pout. “Why not? Am I not welcome here or something?”

“No.” came Aurora’s immediate reply. “Every time you’re here, trouble always follows you.”

Hearing that made the guy in question laugh in his place, while the pair standing opposite of him just looked at him in pure wonder. “Are you sure you should be asking me that? I think we’ve already established the fact that I’m not the troublemaker between the three of us.”

Despite the pink starting to color Aurora’s cheeks, she still said in the most dignified voice she could muster, “Well, that’s certainly not me.”

Edward let out a scoff. “Yes, because you’re missing a pair.”

The unspoken comment about how trouble comes in a package in the form of Aurora and Alexander wasn’t left unnoticed by the three friends. And because the pair knows that the guy just said something that was spot on, they silently mutually decided to ignore the guy once again.

Alexander turned to Aurora, ignoring the way his cousin was mumbling under his breath about how he’s surrounded by nothing but mean people. "What's gotten you pissed anyway? Well aside from the fact that I completely trashed the kitchen." He told her in a nonchalant manner, keeping his eyes trained on her. 

Aurora looked at him for the longest time before releasing a breath. "How did you even know I was already angry?"

Edward looked at them in disbelief. Are they really just going to ignore him like that? After he said such an amazing comment? “Um, hello? I’m still here?”

The pair just acted like they heard nothing. Seeing that, the guy in question let out a huff as he crossed his arms, painstakingly aware of the fact that he looks like a spoiled child right now. But who cares anyway? Not the customers, not him, and most certainly not the duo currently ignoring his existence all together.

"Not so hard to tell. I do have known you since the day we were born."

At this, Edward let out a sigh as he muttered, “Well whatever, you pair of buffoons.”

The pair ignored him again. This time, he merely rolled his eyes and just watched the ongoing interaction between the two.

"Fair point." She muttered begrudgingly, directing her statement to Alexander. "A woman was being completely irritating, even going as far as sharing the gossip she had with my stepmother." Alexander opened his mouth to say something, but Aurora didn't give him the chance. "And don't even get me started about my wretched stepmother! The stupid woman badmouths about me to her customers! To her customers! Do you see how completely unprofessional that is?"

Alexander had to blink his eyes a couple of times in order to fully comprehend the things Aurora is saying. He definitely forgot about the fact that nothing can ever stop her from talking when she starts to rant. 

Sometimes, he hated that little fact about her. It’s not that he feels annoyed whenever she does that; quite the opposite, really. However, the moment she does start to rant, he never gets any chance to get a word in, especially during the parts where he wants to say something--which is a rare circumstance. Still, he would like to have the chance to talk, despite not being a really big fan of that certain action.

Just as he was about to utter a reply, Aurora spoke again before he had the chance. "Stupid woman. Well whatever, I'm out of here as soon as she arrives anyway."

And with that, she walked away from him and towards the table he assumed that complained about the food delay, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the realization that he won't be able to see her again by summer's end.