Atlas Grove, once a dancer with dreams of dancing under the stars, now lives petrified in the shadows of abuse. To escape her living nightmare she must keep her head down and work hard, being her senior year this is her last chance to get out. Altho...
Just as I'm filling up a sugar pot, hands attack my shoulders and a boisterous noise travels around me. I jump out of my skin, shrieking as the sugar goes everywhere. I whip around and find Layla eyes wide with her hands up in surrender. I groan at the mess I've made and the attention I'm getting from the tables full of customers.
"Sorry, Atty!" She sympathetically grabs the broom from behind the counter and starts to sweep the area by my feet. I grab a cloth and start wiping the sugar off the counter,
"It's alright I'm just a very jumpy person." I giggle trying to play off another embarrassing moment in what is the disaster of my life.
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist, you looked so spaced out and it was a perfect opportunity." She snickers cleaning up the sticky mess.
It doesn't take too long to clean up before we find ourselves leaning on the counter waiting for new passing trade.
"How's school?" Layla asks, hopping onto the counter, swinging her legs back and forth. Laylas in her second year of college so she's done the whole high school thing and likes to check up on me now and then.
"Yeah, it's alright." I shrug absentmindedly, knowing the famous question is coming.
"Made any new friends..." She pokes my arm with a grin and I'm tempted to tell her, no just to see her reaction but-
"Yeah, a few." I drawl out my 'w' quietly watching er face morphe into a state of shock.
"No way! Our Atty has made friends!" She beams jumping off the counter with an exasperated expression, "This calls for milkshakes!" She squeals looking for the glasses under the counter when she's interrupted by one of the chefs.
"Hey! You don't get paid to stand around drinking milkshakes!" He hangs out of the window, Greece smudged on the checked uniform and sweat trickles down his foreheads. The kitchen staff often get salty with us, I think they're just jealous that we're not stuck in a boiling kitchen all day.
"It's empty Johnny!" She gestures around the place, a few customers dot the double tables but there's not much going on, " Go back to flipping patties." She flips him off and returns to making the milkshakes. The angry chef disappears back into the kitchen with a huff but the striking of a pan being thrown against the wall has me and Layla laughing.
"To Atty finally making some friends!" She cheers lighting two sparklers in the tops of our milkshakes. I roll my eyes as the glasses make a dull clink together.
I'm still in two minds if this 'friends' thing is a good idea. What happens if I get too distracted or when I have to leave at the end of the year. I've moved about so much in my life I've avoided making friends for that reason, it hurts too much to live without someone you love.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
At around nine the diner is packed, extra staff had to be called in to turn people away at the door, it's one table out another in at the moment.
I'm making a tray of seven sprites when Layla rushes over, red-faced, collapsing onto the bar. She looks up at me and bites her lip, I've seen this exact look right before-
