"Well, sigh! She invited me to her birthday, successfully."
Chris sighed and opened the door of his car, his Mazda 3 was mint in color because of his eyes. It was a gift from Mel and his father for getting a driver's license.
"She did? Well, good job. About time, I would say. I will wire you a hundred dollars. Give her two gifts, one from me and one from you. Also, wish her twice, "
Mel laughed at first, then said she was shocked, then she realized there was nothing to be shocked about in this situation at all.
"Yeah, no, I have to drive up to that cold area at night, I don't like where she lives."
Chris, seated comfortably, closed the door and turned the heater on, the weather was very cold outside.
"Quit whining. Buy something nice for yourself first, something presentable and warm. Do you have money, or can I wire you some?"
Mel was drinking coffee in her office, she was standing near a glass wall in a high-rise building, she was facing Scranton's direction, and she looked nostalgic.
*Knock*
"Ma'am, Eco-Tech's CEO is ready for the conference. You're good to go."
Suddenly a knock on her office door broke her trance, she looked back and nodded her head in response.
"I've got to go. Text me. Don't forget to greet Grace's parents, Mr. & Mrs. Howard, when you meet them in the afternoon."
"Alright."
Chris said, then ended the call. Looking at his wallpaper, he smiled. There was a two- or three-year-old brown-haired boy jumping on a small trampoline in a backyard, and in the background, a brown-haired teen girl was looking horrified, holding a tray full of cookies. You could also see a small pink head in the corner.
"Back to the old grind."
Chris muttered, then pulled out his car from the parking lot and left the school area. Grace, who was looking at the mint Mazda from the first floor, smiled.
"So when do we arrive at the party?"
"Yeah, Grace, should we arrive at 6?"
Grace's "friends" were happy, two girls wearing a bit of translucent clothes asked her with a huge grin on their face.
"I think we should invite George as well, he's not handsome, but he does look at you often."
The girl with the blonde hair suggested while walking downstairs with Grace, while the girl with the mini skirt in the cold nodded her head in agreement.
Grace, who was wearing full black jeans and a red feather jacket, stopped walking all of a sudden.
"What party?"
Grace asked with a confused tone, she looked at them with a bewildered look.
"Y…Your Birthday Party?"
Blonde-Haired Pam asked with confusion on her face, she had to look at her friend Phylis, who was wearing a mini skirt, several times to confirm what she was talking about was real.
"There's no party, just accompany me to my car."
Grace, seeing their expression, felt a little disgusted, so she just turned around and walked to the main gate. There was a Black Range Rover Autobiography LWB parked near the gate. Even though both Pam and Phyllis were trembling with cold, they didn't dare to utter a word.
As soon as Grace arrived at the Main Gate, she pulled out her pink-colored, glitter-designed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, unfolded it, and then dialed 'Xavier.'
"Miss Grace, I am here."
A middle-aged person yelled from a nearby building, he had a warm Mexican accent. He ran to the car and opened its back door for her.
"Here, take this $100, go eat something warm, and also don't bully that new girl."
Grace, after being seated inside her car, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill from a thick roll of cash out of her backpack and handed it to Pam, then, seeing them smiling, she closed the door of the car.
"Take me home."
"Yes, Miss."
——————————————————————————————————————
Chris's car reached an alleyway where you could see the old rail station, and then he slowly parked near a diner, 'Harper Diner.' It was his family-owned diner, and he has to fill in a shift today.
After parking and locking the door, he walked out. The alley was still lit by sunlight, although the sun was not warm anymore, thick piles of snow could be seen here and there.
Chris, with a bit of haste, walked inside the diner. A middle-aged woman was seated at the counter, seeing him, she smiled and nodded her head.
Marsha, forty this year, is a permanent waitress and also honest enough to take charge of the cash counter when Chris or Dad is not present.
"The days are becoming colder and colder, Chris, you should wear something thick. You have no fat in your body that can warm you up."
As Chris was rubbing his palms and blowing warm breaths on them, a person from the side said he was a regular customer and was fat.
"Thank you for worrying about me, Jim. I guess you don't even know what cold feels like."
Chris responded with a chuckle. Jim was not offended at all, he smiled and was about to say something witty when a waitress in a traditional Harper red uniform came outside with a tray full of food.
She has smooth dark skin and a solid mature body. With her curling hair, she looked feisty. Jim, seeing her coming his way, blushed and stopped talking altogether.
"Kayla, any message from Dad?"
Chris asked the waitress who just placed the food on the table.
"Yeah, take money from the cash register and buy something good for yourself."
Kayla replied with a not interested look in her eyes, she looked bored with droopy eyes. The diner was somewhat empty at this time of the evening, and she always had a nap to take.
"Alright, want to go shopping with me?"
Chris asked Kayla. Kayla is extremely fashionable, and she is 22 years old, so Chris thought she could be a very good guide.
"Boy, have you lost your damn mind? Go ask your Tina, she's in the kitchen. Her taste has been fabulous since she was a kindergartner."
Kayla didn't even give him a look and went back inside the kitchen.
"Guess we are in the same boat, Chris."
Jim said with a chuckle, 26 this year, Jim has asked out Kayla several times but gets rejected more mercilessly every time.
"Are we?"
Chris looked at Jim with a smile on his face, then he realized he had gotten a system, which was equal to the universe saying, You're a damn loser, and it needs a huge cheat to fix you.
"NoNoNoNo, we are not in the same boat, Jim."
Chris shook his head with all seriousness as if believing it will actually make him like Jim.