From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent (Anthea )

By the time Anthea finished her morning jog and got back home, the clock struck half-past seven.

After a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, she and Carole made their way to the diner.

Carrying the lessons from yesterday, Carole had prepared twice as many dishes as the day before.

No sooner had they opened the door than customers began to trickle in.

Just as Anthea had predicted, they had more patrons than the previous day, keeping them on their toes until well past two in the afternoon before they could catch a moment of break.

During their brief respite, two young girls came in looking for a job as waitresses.

Anthea greeted them with a warm smile, "Would you mind showing me your ID, please?"

"Of course." The girls handed over their IDs to Anthea.

One was named Sunny and the other Nana, both fresh-faced at 22.

After checking their IDs, Anthea continued, "Ladies, we offer a salary of $3,000 a month. Shifts start at 10 a.m. You'll get an hour break at noon, and then it's back to work until 10 p.m. If that sounds good to you, get a health check done and you can start tomorrow."

The minimum wage in Cloudcrest was $2,500, but Anthea felt that the restaurant industry was tough work and deserved a little extra.

Hearing they’d be making an extra $500 a month over other places, the girls immediately agreed, "That sounds perfect! We'll be here first thing tomorrow!"

"Great."

After hiring the waitresses, Anthea also took on Agre, a lady to help with dish washing in the kitchen.

Agre had just moved to town. She had been turned away by many employers, so when she found out Anthea needed help, she was overjoyed.

"Boss, if you'll have me, I can start today! Don't worry about paying me for today. Consider it free labor!"

Anthea let out a gentle laugh, "Agre, you can call me Ann. Go get your health check today, and then come in to work tomorrow at ten."

"Alright then." Agre nodded before adding, "I'll come back in the morning."

Down the same street was Snacktastic Spot.

Fanny sat inside, popping snacks, when another shop owner, Daisy, dropped by for a chat, "Hey, Fanny!"

"Ah, Daisy! Come in, have a seat!" Fanny quickly scooped some snacks for Daisy.

Daisy didn’t hesitate, nibbling on the snack as she spoke, "Samia is such a piece of work! When her main gig tanked, she had the gall to encroach on your turf! I saw a bunch of your regulars in there just now!"

"It’s infuriating! I get sick just thinking about her! And that clueless Carole and Anthea took over her old joint. I warned them about Samia, but they don’t seem to have a clue!"

"Are they the Yeager family you mentioned?" Daisy inquired.

Fanny nodded.

"How's their business doing?" Daisy asked curiously.

Fanny shrugged, "With that location, what business could they have? If it were any good, would Samia’s Savory Symphony have given it up? They opened yesterday and didn’t see a single customer! I bet they won’t last three days before closing up shop! And yet, they boasted to me about doing well as if I'd believe that!"

Daisy laughed, "Some folks just love to brag! It’s Samia’s Savory Symphony that’s laughing all the way to the bank, offloading that dump!"

Standing up, Fanny brushed her hands, "I’ve got nothing better to do. Let's go check out Yeager's Delicacies."

They were expecting to see an empty diner, especially during lunchtime. This would be interesting, seeing if Carole could keep up her facade.

"Sure," Daisy agreed, rising to her feet.

Upon arriving at Yeager's Delicacies, Fanny was dumbstruck.

Was she seeing things?

Daisy nudged Fanny’s arm, "This is Yeager's Delicacies, right? You sure about that?" Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

A line was forming outside the door. Was this the struggling business they talked about?