Druid in the Marvel Universe Chapter 13: The Scent Mixed with the Taste of Fear

Alvin saw Professor Wilson off and checked the time—it was already ten o'clock. He still needed to hustle back to his restaurant; after all, he had to keep the business running. The school didn't pay him a dime, so he had to make his living from the restaurant.

After giving Olivia a quick nod, he left the office and did a quick patrol around the school, scaring off the troublemaking kids. Seeing their scared faces, Alvin grinned with satisfaction. He hopped into his pickup truck and headed back to his restaurant.

By the time he got back, it was almost 11 o'clock. Alvin parked the truck by the curb. Dom, being the smart dog he was, opened the car door himself, jumped out, and used his front paw to close the door. He shook his body, and his sleek black fur shimmered like ripples in the sunlight.

Yawning lazily, Dom ran to the door and greeted Thor. The two wolves touched heads and then flopped down on either side of the door.

A pile of construction debris was stacked at the entrance, showing that Uncle Cheng was making good progress.

Pushing the door open, Alvin saw Jessica boredly wiping glasses behind the bar. Her mood seemed to have lifted with the house repairs coming along. Seeing Alvin come in, she flashed him a big smile.

It wasn't mealtime yet, so the restaurant was pretty empty. A young Latina woman and an African American woman quickly stood up when they saw Alvin.

The African American woman, with tears in her eyes, exclaimed, "Oh~" and gave Alvin a big bear hug. Her head rested on Alvin's shoulder as she said, "Thank you! Thank you, Alvin! You are my savior; you are a good man! Thank you!"

Alvin was caught off guard by her words, awkwardly unsure where to put his hands. He looked at Jessica for some clue. Jessica, amused by Alvin's confused look, mouthed, "Food truck, Archie."

Oh, now he got it. Alvin gently pushed the African American woman away and asked, "Are you Archie?" He then looked at the Latina woman, "And you are Lilith?"

The Latina woman, full of that fiery South American spirit, gave Alvin a warm hug and left a thick lipstick mark on his cheek. "Yes, I'm Lilith. Thank you, Alvin. God will bless you!"

Lilith was quite the looker, probably not over thirty, with a hot figure, though life had made her look a bit worn out.

Alvin's food truck had given her a new spark of hope. "If possible, I'd like to invite you to my home for dinner tonight to thank you for your generosity," she said, her eyes shining as she looked at Alvin, clearly having more to say.

This invitation, which clearly had some extra perks, made Jessica behind the bar let out a heavy snort. The glass in her hand made a creaking sound, on the verge of breaking.

Alvin shivered, patted Lilith's shoulder, and gently pushed her away from his chest.

Smiling, Alvin said, "I appreciate your gratitude! My only hope is that you both run the food truck seriously and strive to live well. This world is too harsh for us, but we must not give up hope!"

Alvin's words moved the two women, who kept wiping their tears and repeatedly saying, "Thank you!"

The two young black men at their table stood up and, in a very typical manner, pounded their chests with their fists and pointed at Alvin, meaning something like, "Brother, I owe you one. If you need anything, just ask! I'll go through fire and water for you!"

As the principal of a community school, Alvin was very sensitive. He waved at the two young men, "Come here, boys."

The two young dudes ran over, all hyped up, but Alvin raised his hand to stop them and said, "Boys, skipping class is a big no-no at my school!"

The two guys suddenly remembered that Alvin, the big boss of the neighborhood and their savior, was also the scary principal of the community school.

Their faces went pale, and they hung their heads, shaking, waiting for the principal's verdict. These two had clearly been through this before and knew that arguing would only make things worse.

Seeing their good attitude in owning up to their mistake, Alvin smiled and said, "Since you’ve got the energy to skip class, you can clean the sidewalk in front of my restaurant!"

As the two boys were about to bolt out, Alvin added, "Not just today, but for the next week. I usually get up at five in the morning, and when I wake up, I want to see a sidewalk clean enough to sleep on. It's eleven now; if you hustle, you can still make it to school for lunch."

The two young men exchanged a desperate look, said a quick goodbye to their mom, and headed to school.

Archie, the African American woman, seeing her two sons punished, wasn't mad but instead hugged Alvin again. "Thank you so much, Alvin. Only you can keep these boys in line now. Sometimes I'm really scared they'll end up in jail like their father." Saying this, she started tearing up again.

Alvin smiled and said to the two women, "It's getting late, and I need to get my business going. Please take a seat; I'll treat you to a steak for lunch."

Ignoring their protests, he waved them to their seats. He walked behind the bar, tied on an apron, fired up all ten burners on the stove, placed ten small iron plates, and brushed them with a layer of olive oil. The steaks were pre-marinated and ready to hit the grill as soon as the oil heated up.

After a bit of busy work, Alvin turned around and knocked on Jessica's head, who was still muttering unpleasant things about Lilith. "Go call Uncle Cheng down, let him eat and rest for a bit before getting back to work."

Jessica, holding her head, glared at Alvin and ran upstairs to fetch Uncle Cheng.

As the smell of steak filled the restaurant, customers started trickling in. It was the same every day, like they had some kind of steak radar.

Each iron plate held a half-inch thick, palm-sized steak, a serving of pasta, and a fried egg. The first serving went to Uncle Cheng, who was huddled in a corner of the bar. "Try my cooking, Uncle Cheng. Don’t be shy; you're a guest now."

There was no menu service here because there was only one dish: iron plate steak, $20 a serving. Alcohol was only served in the evening. Jessica busily served each customer a glass of lemon water and then used pinewood trays to deliver the cooked steaks to the tables in order.

Many of the customers came by word of mouth. The nearby residents were busy with their lives at this time and wouldn't come over. Only in the evening, when Alvin's business was less hectic, would they come here to have a beer and chill.

Alvin, standing in front of the stove, listened amusedly to a few young men in suits, who looked like they worked in finance or something, as a blond guy bragged about how he bravely ventured into Hell's Kitchen and discovered this restaurant. He claimed that the steak here had a unique flavor, a mix of the steak's aroma and the thrill of being in Hell's Kitchen, giving it a special taste.

Alvin knew this guy. His so-called adventures in Hell's Kitchen could fill a joke book. For the sake of his free advertising, Alvin decided to let him keep spinning his tales.