After dad left, I hung around the park till afternoon, not returning home to do chores or eat. I watched the clouds moving pacifically, placating me since I had been angry. Angry that the girls two blocks away had collections of nice shoes and parents with thousands of dollars in their bank accounts. Angry that the girls didn't have to fight with their father about a gelato. Angry that their fathers were employed and mine wasn't.

We were all under the same sky and yet the rain decided to shower on some, leaving others thirsty and withered.

The sky white with clouds slowly let the sunshine break their bond and my skin started to prick from the scorching heat. I went to the bathroom stall to wash my face and fix my hair before advancing towards Bailey's Nuts, desperately hoping that I wasn't stinking. The second I pushed through the glass doors, the aroma of fresh doughnuts seemed to wrap around me like a large coat on a chilly day and my stomach growled in hunger.

I wasn't very fond of doughnuts, but at this point, I could have swallowed a brick if I didn't have to shit bricks later.

"Hey Mariana," Tony greeted me with an innocent smile on his face. "You're early."

"Thanks for enlightening me. I'll definitely note that down in my diary," I taunted, but Tony didn't get my sarcasm. He continued to smile. "Pass me my apron and cap."

Why did I have to be here? If dad had his previous job, then I would be at home, watching a movie and furiously typing a review about it. I didn't resent dad for being jobless these past months, but I wished he had one. I wished that we could go back to our routine and not get tensed about putting food on the table.

With these anxious thoughts, I was absently carrying a steaming cup of coffee and whack! I crashed into Isaac who I didn't know was present right beside me. The brown coffee spilled over his bright white t-shirt, the liquid rapidly soaking the cotton cloth. I avoided looking at his face, my gaze was fixed on his clenched jaw and the fresh stain on his chest.

My trembling hands vigorously rubbed at the mark and he quickly caught my wrists. Fortunately, the manager wasn't around to enjoy this spectacle, but the customers stared at us. Tony hastily grabbed another cup, tending to the customer that I was supposed to.

"Let's go in," Isaac said calmly, releasing my hands. I nodded obediently, following him mutely inside the pantry. Stains like these would discolour the fabric permanently which meant I ruined his t-shirt. His probably branded t-shirt which cost a lot of money. A lot of money that I didn't have in my torn pockets.

"You should put water on it or-or something." I failed to prevent my voice from being shaky. "You can give it to me tomorrow, I'll wash it with bleach."

"Hey, it's okay." His hands gripped my shoulders and finally, I looked in his serene pale grey eyes. "Not a big deal Ana. The coffee just burned a little, but the rest is fine. Don't stress over this old t-shirt, I was thinking of donating it anyway."

The t-shirt appeared nowhere near old, I could put fake tags on it and people would buy it, thinking it was new.

"I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but seriously, I'll wash it and bring," I stated. "Also, I won't be mad at you for calling me by that name."

"What? Ana?" He smiled sheepishly. "For a second there Ana, I really thought you splashed the coffee on purpose."

"Why would I do that? I don't value you, but I certainly value clothes. Especially clothes that are definitely not old."

"Ouch." He chuckled to himself, then peeped inside his t-shirt, wincing suddenly.

I asked quietly, "Does it hurt?"

"Not as much as 'I don't value you,'" he said playfully then winced again. "Okay, it does. I'll go to the bathroom."

"Do you need first aid?"

"No . . . I think I'll be fine." He held his t-shirt from the collar so the cloth didn't touch his skin.

"Is it that bad?" I stalked closer towards him. "Can I-I see?"

He leaned forward, pulling at his collar to stretch it as much as he could and I stood on my toes, trying to peek inside.

"What's up here?" Lola's teasing voice made us both take a step back.

"Something that doesn't need to be announced on a speaker for you to know," I snapped, but she didn't seem to be affected by my hostility.

Isaac hurriedly walked to the bathroom. "I'll come in a minute."

"Mariana, help me with these babies---"

"Donuts for Christ's sake!" I childishly stomped towards the table. "Why are so many ingredients here? Are you planning to feed the entire country?"

She began to hum a song. "There's going to be a birthday party."

"Kids with sugar?" I pulled a horrified face which made Lola laugh. But I was indeed petrified of children high on sugar, they could be vicious. A danger to society. "When are those little shits coming?"

She giggled while kneading the dough. "Evening. We have plenty of time to prepare. If needed, we'll have to skip lunch break."

"Not a chance," I said bluntly. "I can't go starving till evening."

She didn't reply to anything for the first time and hours later I understood the reason when the pot-bellied manager didn't allow me to leave.

I was sulking at everything and everyone- the round, adorable faces of the kids which screamed and giggled every second. Isaac, Lola and Tony joined in the birthday song, clapping their hands merrily as if they didn't mind letting go of their precious lunch break. On the other hand, I stood silently in a dark corner, plotting of ways to burn the entire place down.

"Hey." Isaac approached me with a big stain on his t-shirt. A sore reminder of my clumsiness. "Here, take this."

He was holding a large glazed doughnut draped in tissues, the food shining under the light.

I hesitated as he thrust it forward. "It's okay, the manager won't know."

"Isn't that stealing?" I bit back my smile, graciously taking the treat from his hand.

"Lola wanted you to have it so I took it," he said casually, running a hand through his messy mop of hair.

"Stole it," I corrected, discarding the tissues. "That asshole deserves his nuts to be robbed. Snatched away our lunch break. I'm sure it's a crime to starve your subordinates."

He caged his untamed hair with the red cap and shrugged. "I have heard of many places where the manager continuously harasses the workers."

"So what? We're in a better position?" I gulped a chunk of the doughnut. "He gives us a free bath of spit every day if you think that's not harassment."

He laughed softly, the corners of his eyes crinkling like usual and perfect white teeth flashing. "Okay, but you need that free bath today Ana."

I stopped chewing and sniffed. "Am I smelling bad?"

"No," he said quickly. "God no, but you're still in your pyjamas. So I assumed you didn't---"

"Case solved Mister Connor," I interrupted. "I forgot to wash. Does it bother you?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "You don't forget things like that Ana. Did something happen?"

"Nothing major that I should feel the need to report it to you," I said guardedly, finishing the last piece of the doughnut. I could feel his focused stare pinning me down, pressuring me to reveal all my secrets. It was mentally exhausting and I let out a breath. "Just didn't feel like going home after a morning stroll."

"Is everything okay at home?"

"The best," I lied, snorting. "Why are you here Isaac? Like why are you really here?"

He looked puzzled. "To work?"

"But you don't need the money," I declared the obvious. "You can be out there, vacationing at a cool place and saving yourself from this torture."

"This is not torture," he said firmly. "Dad had a business trip so our family holiday got cancelled. I had nothing to do here, I had left all my college assignments back in my dorm room. Tony gave me this job and within a couple of days, you came along."

I scoffed. "Then what? The reason you're not leaving is because of me?"

"I don't want to leave you. Not again. Not this time." His pale grey eyes turned liquidy and stubbornly held my uncertain gaze. "What happened to us, Ana? Why did it have to end that way?"

I suddenly couldn't breathe, his close proximity felt like a huge rock was thumped on my chest, sucking the life out of me. The children's distant laughter and jibes sounded like they belonged to Isaac and me, a decade earlier. Our worries then simply consisted of choosing which games to play and who would get to sit on the swing first.

"Promise me you will call me, Ana," thirteen-year-old Isaac looked me dead in the eyes, his dishevelled hair falling on his forehead. "Promise me you'll come to see me."

I remained quiet, choking on my sobs.

"Let's run away," he suggested out of the blue. "We can find jobs- take out dogs for a walk or babysit babies or wash cars. I like cars, I can do that. You can babysit, you like babies."

"That's not possible dummy," I said smartly, roughly wiping away my tears. "You're thirteen. I'm twelve. We're still kids. Kids can't survive alone."

"Then promise me you'll come back," he insisted, taking my hand in his, desperation evident in his voice.

I took a deep breath. "I promise."

The noise of the car engine revving up made me pull back my hand forcefully and run to the street. Dad stood there rigid, his face grim as he opened the door to the backseat. I tacitly climbed in and he followed, slamming the door shut.

"Don't ever talk to that boy. Ever again," he bellowed, grasping my hand. Through the rearview mirror, he indicated the driver to take off. I watched Isaac emerge from behind a tree through the window, his face devoid of any happiness- happiness that made Isaac, Isaac.

"I-I think a-a customer came." I hurried ahead, evading Isaac's prodding questions.

Before I knew, he had grabbed my arm and I heard a familiar voice from the front, "Mariana?"

My head whipped towards the source of sound as Isaac released me. "Papá?"

My dad's eyes flickered from me to Isaac and slowly when the realisation hit him like a bucket of cold water on a freezing day, his eyes widened.