Computerized

Chapter One: The Boy at Cafe Eldora

A stack of empty plates swayed on my open palm nearly tumbling over and crashing onto a group of customers who had just straggled into the restaurant, their faces beat red and glistening with sweat. I shot them a small apologetic smile as they found a few open seats to the side.

"I'll be with you all in a moment," I said to them.

A few strands of my brown hair escaped the hold of my pony tail and tickled my forehead as I turned away and slipped into the back of the kitchen where I discarded the dirty plates and grabbed several new pairs of silverware.

"How are you doing?" My manager asked, her chocolate brown eyes filled with concern for me.

"Don't worry Charlotte, I'm fine."

"Alright. I'm sorry I can't get anyone else here to help. Everyone is off on vacation or busy. I didn't expect business to be so hectic today."

"Don't worry about it, we only have a few more hours," I replied, shoving the swinging door open with my hip. Charlotte smiled and nodded as I left, turning her attention back to the burger she was frying.

I shuffled over to the table where the customers who'd just come in had situated themselves. I passed out the laminated menus and set cups of ice cold water down in front of each of them.

"Hello, I'll be your waitress today. My names Rebecca. Can I get you drinks to start off with?"

"Uh sure," an elderly man started, "I'll have a coffee."

"Same."

"A coke please."

"I'll take a coffee too."

I nodded at the four and turned on my heel, headed back into the kitchen to retrieve the drinks that had been ordered. Placing them all on a tray, I maneuvered my way through the tables until reaching mine and placed all the drinks down.

"I'll give you all a few minutes to look the menu over," I said, turning around and glancing around the room. Another new customer had came in, sitting alone at a small round table we had tucked away in the back corner of the restaurant.

After making my way over to the person I realized it was a boy who couldn't have been much older than me. He was hunched over the table, his dark black hair flopping into his eyes. He hid behind the turned up collar of his leather jacket, barely paying me any attention when I stopped by his table.

"Hi. Could I get you a drink to start off with?"

"A Pepsi," he replied, raising his gaze to my face for a split second.

"I'm sorry we don't have Pepsi but I could get—"

"A water."

"Uh okay, sure. Just a water?"

"I didn't say anything else, did I?" The boy snapped rudely. I bit my lip, holding back a reply. Charlotte had always said that no matter how rude a customer, never be rude in return. It's bad for business. So obediently I just forced a small smile and shuffled off away from the table to grab the boys water.

I returned to his table just a minute later, glass in hand. The boy took the water and gulped it down in one sitting, slamming his cup back down on the table obnoxiously. When he was finished he looked up at me with an expectant look.

"What?"

"This is the part where you ask me if I'm going to order any food."

I felt my cheeks heat up, probably turning a tomato red. I hated how quickly I could feel embarrassed. It was always easy to make me blush. Thankfully, I recovered quick enough to not embarrass myself further. "Uh–do you want to order anything?"