Chapter 5

October 8, 2016 

New York, Manhattan

Bill’s 24/7 Dine In 

11:45 PM 

Acacia

“Three college students have gone missing in the last month in New York City.”

Acacia put the coffee pot back into the dispenser as she leaned on the counter and watched the cracked screen of the cheap television set hanging from the corner of the diner’s ceiling. 

“Nineteen-year-old NYU mathematics student Stephanie Forman was last seen on the eighth of September leaving her Statistics class sometime between four or six in the afternoon before she completely disappeared.” 

The screen displayed a woman in a black ponytail and glasses holding a mathletes trophy before it switched to a different woman’s selfie:

“Boston University's Jennie Kim, also nineteen years of age, was last seen on September twenty-fifth leaving a house party in a red Nissan before her flatmates reported her disappearance to the police three days later, saying that her phone was completely turned off.” 

Jennie’s selfie then switched to that of a man sitting on a fishing boat holding up a  salmon: 

“And twenty-three-year-old Yale psychology student Thomas Smith was last seen fishing on this very boat with his little brother, Michael on the twenty-ninth. After their fishing trip, Michael had gone to find a restroom, last seeing his brother tend the boat. Only to come back and find Thomas completely vanished. If anyone has any information regarding the missing persons, please immediately report to the NYPD, thank you and good night.” 

Acacia sighed as commercials began to play. 

As she reached for the remote, Dave, her co-worker and friend, mused from the kitchen, “How much do you bet the younger brother did it?” 

She rolled her eyes as she changed the channel and turned around to find him bracing his tattoed arms, smirking, “That isn’t something to bet on,” she retorted, grabbing the plate of burger and fries he slid towards her. 

“If I win, then I get to take you out for dinner,” he replied, ignoring her and raising his thick brows. 

Acacia rolled her eyes but smiled, “Well, if you lose, then you can never ask me out ever again.” 

He stroked his chiselled beard before running his hands through his wavy long black hair. 

Acacia crossed her arms as he mumbled to himself before he slammed the counter lightly, “Deal.” 

She let out a small giggle and he smiled, “Wow, you must be very convinced of your claim.” 

He raised his arm and pointed, “A man who does not stand behind his claim is a man… ” 

She raised her brows, “Yes?” 

“I’m not sure where I was going with that,” he sighed, “But I am sure the brother did it,” he leaned on the counter again,“Chloe has been obsessed with crime shows lately so that’s all that’s been on the TV.” 

“What an excellent education you’ve acquired,” Acacia responded smiling.

Dave grinned, “Oh that reminds me. Chloe’s been asking-” 

“Hey, Dollface!” He was interrupted by a man sitting at a red-cushioned booth near them, “What’s a man gotta do to get his order on time.” 

Dave glared at him but Acacia just sighed and walked towards the greasy gentleman. 

“Sorry, sir,” she said as she placed the plate in front of him and smiled, “Would you like some more coffee?” 

The man grunted as he waved her off. 

Acacia turned to leave before she felt his hand grope her bottom and she let out a small gasp as she jumped away and stared wide-eyed at the man. 

He chuckled before resuming his meal. 

She heard Dave’s footsteps pound across the kitchen floors but as he pushed the door, she caught his gaze and shook her head. He’d already been scolded by Bill, the owner, once before after he had caused a fistfight with one of their regular customers for harassing Acacia. She knew he needed this job and so did he, which is precisely why he took a step back into the kitchen.

Acacia swallowed down the lump in her throat and left the smelly man to his meal. She went back to her spot behind the black and white checkerboard counter, where Dave was fuming from the kitchen window. 

As they watched the man devour the burger with his stubby fingers, she whispered, “He doesn’t deserve your burgers.” 

“I should have spit in it,” he responded, not meeting her gaze, “Fuck Bill for putting you in that uniform, he knew exactly what he was doing,” Dave jeered, bracing his tattooed arms on the metal shelves. 

The diner uniform consisted of a short navy blue dress with white linings and the stiff material made it fairly hard to move about sometimes. Bill had given her a size smaller than her usual, which caused the skirt to hike up higher than what she usually preferred, due to a shortage of supplies. 

“It isn’t the uniform’s fault, Dave,” she replied as she took out the white cloth in her apron to wipe the counter. She couldn’t deny that the skirt made her feel uncomfortable, though. After seven years of being put on display for people to look at, she adopted a preference for more modest clothing. 

Dave was silent for some time before she heard him say, “Well fuck him anyways for making this diner twenty-four hours. No one visits this dump during the day, to begin with, so why bother?” 

It was only two months ago when Bill suddenly announced that they would start to open up for twenty-four hours. Many employees were going to quit if it wasn’t for the rise in salaries he had also offered. Dave had not taken nicely to the news as it meant even less time spent with his daughter, Chloe. 

But he had also desperately needed the extra cash. 

“Well maybe he thought it would attract more customers,” she replied, cleaning the soda dispenser. 

“Since when did Bill care enough about this diner to do that?” he retorted, flicking away imaginary dust from the shelves, “Suddenly he’s renovating the place and putting up this gigantic sign and we’re expected to work our asses off for a place that’s bound to shut down.”  

Acacia sighed and looked over at the glass windows only to see three individuals walking towards the diner,“I guess you’re wrong,” she glanced back at him and pointed her head to them. 

Dave tsked, before walking towards the fridge to grab a beer, “Great. Now the only crowd we’ll attract are the fucking emos,” he grumbled as he opened the cap and took a sip. 

Acacia narrowed her eyes slightly at the two men and one woman approaching. They all looked similar to the auditionees and judges that were back at the audition earlier that day. Dark hair, clothing, and uncanny eyes that seemed to glow brighter than the retro Bill’s 24/7 Dine-In sign that hung above the building that reflected its yellow and red lights onto the empty driveway. 

“Hey, Dave,” she dragged her gaze away from them, “Has there been any recent fashion trends on TV where people dress more like that?” 

He shrugged, “Beats me. But Chloe and her friends have been watching more vampire shows lately. Werewolf content got too real.” 

A bell rang as the front door of the diner flew open and the three persons walked in, not bothering to spare Acacia or Dave a glance. They all walked with confidence and stillness that seemed to swallow up the entire room, and even the douchebag that had groped her turned to glance at them with wide eyes. 

Acacia waited till they had chosen their seats, the booth at the very end corner of the diner, to slowly walk up to them.

She reached their table and smiled even though they hadn’t bothered to look up, “Good evening, I’m Cassie and I’ll be your server for tonight. Would you like to hear the specials?” She handed over the laminated menus as she was met with stern expressions. 

“No, thank you,” the woman replied, giving her a tight red-lipped smile, “How about some coffee, though?” 

She nodded politely and walked back behind the counter where the coffee dispenser was placed. Grabbing the dark roast off a shelf, she quickly began to brew a fresh pot as she observed them a bit more carefully. Acacia could tell by the velvet fabric of one of the men’s suits and the long silk violet slip dress of the woman that they were from the richer crowd. Her gaze lingered at the women’s Prada boots and she stifled a gasp as she realised they were from the new fall collection. 

What were they doing here?

Dave seemed to be thinking the same thing as he kept staring at them with narrowed eyes. 

As she stared at the woman’s stunning backless dress, something peeking from the corner of the dress caught her eye. Squinting her eyes, she knew it was a tattoo, but only the very top was visible and it appeared to be the tip of a sword. 

The woman snapped her gaze towards her and she immediately looked away. 

Acacia filled three white ceramic mugs that had the diner’s logo plastered on them and placed them on a brown tray before carrying it up with her right arm. Walking towards them, she noticed them staring at the man sitting at the very opposite end of the diner, where he finished up Dave’s burger and was currently tapping away on his phone. 

Pulling her gaze away, she placed the three mugs next to each one of them. Holding the tray like a book to her chest, she smiled and asked, “So what can I get for you?” 

The man in the velvet suit looked up at her first and smiled tightly, “I’ll have a BLT sandwich.” 

As Acacia wrote the order down on her mini notepad, she stole a glance at the woman’s wrist but found no tattoo. 

“Would you like to add cheese?” she asked.  

The man shook his head and waved his black manicured hands, as he returned to stare at the man. 

“Anything else?” 

“That’s it, thank you,” the woman snapped, looking at Acacia with fuming wide yellow eyes.  

Acacia furrowed her brows and walked back to the counter where Dave was still observing the group. 

“One BLT with no cheese,” she said, sticking the piece of paper with their order on the stack of previous orders. 

Dave tore his gaze away from them and rolled his eyes before retreating to the kitchen. Hearing the sounds of knives sliding across each other, Acacia turned to sit at one of the red-cushioned bar stools where a script was already opened and tried to focus on the words instead of the suffocating awkward silence of the diner and the background noise of late night soap operas. 

Trying her best to focus on the script, a faint ringing pierced her left ear and she widened her eyes. 

Not now, please.

[clairvoyance moment] 

“Fetch the check for me,” the man called out, just as she was about to turn a page. 

Acacia held in her breath and closed her eyes, quickly counting to five before she stood up and walked over to the cashier to ring up his order. Printing out the receipt, she tore it and placed it inside the laminated check, stifling a groan as she walked over to the man but making sure she kept a distance from him this time.  

He smiled at her with his yellow crooked teeth that were chewing a piece of gum and grabbed the check. Opening it he scoffed at the price, even though it was nothing more than twenty dollars, before reaching into his pocket for three tens and placed two inside the check. Standing up to leave, he stepped behind Acacia, and despite her being taller than him, he whispered in her ear with his bad breath seeping in, as he slid the last ten into her apron with his stubby fingers, “For that pretty face,” before walking out. 

Acacia waited till his back was facing the diner before she started swatting away at her ear, repressing a gag the entire time-- she would have to take a long shower tonight. She remembered the group sitting at the opposite end and winced slightly before glancing at them quickly, but found them staring after the man instead. 

Grabbing the empty plate and mug, Acacia walked towards the kitchen and entered to find Dave putting up the finishing touches on the BLT sandwich. Placing the dishes in the sink, she walked over and couldn’t help her mouth water slightly. 

Dave grinned, “I’ll make you one when we get back to the building.” 

She shook her head, “Oh, no that’s fine,” she unconsciously placed her hand on her flat stomach, “Gosh, Dave, I know you hate it when I ask but why don’t you just start your own diner?” 

Dave pursed his lips as he put his knives in the sink and opened the tap, “Your shift is almost over. I’ll get the dishes for tonight. Also, don’t worry about Lucky, I’ve already fed him.” 

She frowned but thanked him before grabbing the plate of BLT and walking out the kitchen, only to find the once occupied booth completely empty. With furrowed brows, she placed the sandwiches on the counter and ran to the table to find a hundred dollar bill tip and three empty cups of coffee. She glanced outside the empty driveway but found no trace of the previous trio. 

Acacia’s confusion was shaken up at the sudden bell ring and she looked up to find Carla, her coworker, walking in. 

“Hey Cassie, had a nice night?” she said, smiling, before going into the kitchen. 

Acacia shook her head as she grabbed the hundred dollar bill. Walking over to the kitchen, she hung her apron up and stuffed the hundred dollar bill into the pocket of Dave’s jacket. She walked over to the punch machine and clocked out before quickly walking back to the kitchen. 

“Heading out?” Dave asked, looking up from his phone.  

She placed the BLT sandwiches inside a plastic container as she knew someone would be asleep and hungry in the subway station that night, “Yeah, need something?” 

“You in my arms,” he smirked, putting his phone in his pocket.

Acacia rolled her eyes and grinned, “Other than that.” 

He walked over to the table and looked down as he asked, “I was wondering if you could do Chloe a quick favour.” 

She paused at the door and leaned her head down to meet his lowered gaze, “Yes?” 

Dave ran his hand through his hair, “So Chloe, she-” he cleared his throat, “Oh fuck me, she got her first…” he motioned to his front bottom and made a squirting sound. 

Acacia’s eyes widened, “Oh, did she now?” 

He rubbed his neck, “Yeah. So I was wondering if you could maybe…” 

“I’ll get them for her,” she smiled. 

He sighed heavily before grinning, “Thanks. I just don’t want to get the wrong ones, you know.” 

Still smiling, she walked over to him and stepped on her tip-toes to give him a quick peck on his chiselled cheek, “Don’t you worry.” 

Acacia caught him blushing before bidding both Dave and Carla goodbye, and stepped out to the cold night.