Learning to Swim

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rest of the school day passes in a daze. It was like pretty much any other day and by the time the final bell rings I am so excited to get out of there. I push through the crowd of students and make my way outside. Then I walk over to the daycare to pick up Addie. She is waiting by the door when I arrive and promptly jumps into my arms. I stumble a bit because of my bad foot, but am able to keep my balance.

“Dakota! Look what I made,” Addie exclaims and shoves a piece of paper in my face. I take it from her and look at the jumble of scribbles she drew.

“You made this? It is so good! We will have to put it up on the fridge when we get home,” I tell Addie and she smiles enthusiastically.

I wave goodbye to the daycare’s secretary and then head outside, still holding Addie up. I start the walk to Marie’s as she rambles on about this other girl in her daycare that invited her to a birthday party. She is really excited about it so when she asks if she can go I have to say yes. I will probably have to take off work to go, but if it makes Addie happy then it is worth it.

“Do you want to bring you’re picture in to show Marie?” I ask while knocking on Marie’s front door.

“Yeah!” Addie chirps just as the door opens. Marie smiles at us both and then takes Addie from my arms.

“I will be here to get her same time as always,” I say to Marie and then turn to Addie. “Be good, okay?”

She nods and then hugs me goodbye. I kiss the top of her head and then say goodbye to both of them. Marie closes her door and I start towards work. Without having to carry my sister it doesn’t take nearly as long to get to my destination.

Oliver’s, the restaurant I work at, is packed when I get there. I live in a pretty small town and Oliver's is probably one of the most popular restaurants in it. Working there can get crazy sometimes, but in the end it is worth it because the more customers there are the more tips I get. I’m really lucky to have gotten a job there in the first place. I think the manager, Pete, felt kind of bad for me and took pity. I try to repay him by being one of his best and most dedicated workers.

I head into the bathroom to get changed into my work clothes which I stashed in my backpack. All I have to wear is a pair of black pants and a shirt that says Oliver’s. it isn’t bad at all compared to what some other jobs make their employees wear.

After getting changed I go to clock in. Normally Maggie is there waiting for me, but I don’t see her anywhere today. I see Jerry and go over to say hi.

“Hey. Have you seen Maggie today?” I ask.

“Nope. I think she called out sick or something,” he remarks and I nod.

I hate days when Maggie calls out. She always finds some way to entertain me during service, but I guess I will just have to get by on my own today.

“Who is filling in?” I wonder aloud and Jerry points to a guy that is delivering food to a table.

After a moment of staring I recognize him as another employee, Daniel. We work different shifts so I normally don’t see him very often. We have talked before on days that he came in to talk to Maggie. They are really good friends and it is only a matter of time before they start going out. Maggie still wont admit she likes him, but it is obvious to everyone else. And Daniel completely adores her. Once he even asked me to talk to her about him and see if he had a chance with her. I of course told him to just ask her out already, but he still hasn’t been able to get the courage.

I say goodbye to Jerry and then get to work on serving people. Apparently Daniel and I are the only people working tables tonight which means that we hardly even have time to breathe. I’m running back and forth between tables all night, which is not very easy with my foot. The longer I am standing the worse it hurts. I’m beginning to get nervous that I have an infection or something. I wish I had time to check to see how it looks, but there are so many people I doubt I will have the time. So, I put on my best smile and try not to wince every time I take a step.