The Backup |H.S|

1

Harlow

"What a bunch of assholes!" I mutter under my breath as I walk into the kitchen and slam the tray on the counter.

The palms of my hands meet my eyes as I try to hold back tears. I don't get paid enough for this shit. I hear footsteps come near me so I remove my hands from my eyes and take a deep breath. When I turn my head I see my coworker Rachel standing there.

"You okay?" Her face holds a concerned expression.

"Tables bill was $100 and they tipped me $5." I tell her as I slam the five dollar bill down onto the counter.

"Assholes!" She unknowingly agrees with me shaking her head in disbelief.

It isn't the first time someone has left me a shitty tip. I mean I'm not a terrible waitress or anything, it's just some people are terrible customers. Whoever said the customer is always right was totally wrong.

Luckily, I only have two more tables left to wait on in order for me to be done for the night. One is a sweet elderly couple that comes in all the time and the other is two teenage boys who won't stop flirting with me.

Composing myself, I grab their food from the line and set it down on the tray. Carefully picking it up, I rest it on my forearm and walk to two boys table. As I set the plates down in front of each of them I can feel their eyes burning into my skin.

"You get off anytime soon?" The brown haired boy asked with a flirtatious smile. And yes I say boy because he looks like he got a ride here from his mother.

"Once you two leave then I'm free to go." I give a fake smile, wanting this interaction to end.

"Maybe you could leave with us?" The other boy chimes in.

I don't mean to but I let out a laugh. "Sorry boys, I'm way too old for you."

"You can't be much older than us." He says sinking back into the booth.

"How old are you?" I tuck the tray at my side keeping my eyes on the kid.

"Eighteen." He answers proudly.

"Okay well I'm twenty-six." Their eyes go wide at my response.

I'm used to it though. I literally look like I could be their age, which I'm not complaining about because when I get older I'll still look young.

"Yeah... so if you need anything for your food, just let me know." I say and then walk away.

I stop by the table where the elderly couple sits to ask if they need anything else and they politely tell me no. When I walk back to the kitchen I rest myself against the counter. How did I get here? Four years of music school and I'm still waiting tables.

I got this job when I first started school to help pay my way through. It was a long four years where I perfected my voice, learned all there was to music and even figured out how to play most instruments.

My dream was to become a professional singer and yet here I am. It had been a lot harder than I thought trying to find a job. I've contacted some agencies but I guess I'm just not good enough for them. I'm always hoping something will present itself but I try not to get those hopes up too high.

Bringing myself out of my thoughts I print out both receipts and take it to the tables. I set it down for the boys and ask if there is anything else I could get them.

"Your number." The boy smiles, obviously not caring that I just told him I'm almost ten years older than the both of them.

I roll my eyes. "I'll give it to your mom when she gets here to pick you up."