Hurricane Love

Thirty Seven

'Oh,' I said, as I headed around the counter. 'You know, if you turn the dial down on the toaster it'll pop up a lot sooner before it reaches that colour.'

'I know that!' he replied. 'Your sarcasm isn't helping!'

'Fine,' I sighed, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl as I lifted my backpack up onto my shoulder. 'Struggle on your own.'

'Are you working all day?' he asked me, as I headed for the door.

'Yeah, until six,' I said, twisting my face.

'Good on you for getting up and carrying on with things,' he said, as he put another slice of bread in the toaster. 'It's great to see you looking like you're getting back to normal.'

'Thanks,' I said, even though I knew I was still hurting badly deep down, I had managed to keep my mind distracted so I didn't revisit it constantly.

'Would you like a lift?' he asked.

'Yes, please, if you don't mind?' I replied.

'Okay, here,' he said, throwing me the car keys. 'Go wait in the car while I get this up to your mum.'

'Sure,' I said, smirking at the term he used as I headed out of the house and got into the car.

Stan finally came out and drove me to work and I headed inside to help set up for the day. I was working with Becky and three other workers, Cally, Allison and James. Although I didn't see my workmates all of the time because I only worked Saturdays, I got along well with everyone and enjoyed working with other people close to my age.

'Hey,' Becky said, as I headed inside.

'I can't believe people are already queuing outside,' I groaned, as I pulled on my apron and cap.

'We're in for a busy day,' Becky said, as she filled the cash registers with change. 'Can you go give all of the tables a once over, please, then you can open up.'

'Sure,' I said, grabbing the cleaning products and working my way around the restaurant, wiping down every table once more before I returned the items to the cupboard and went to unlock the door, greeting the customers as they entered.

'Hey guys, feel free to choose any table you like,' I told them, before heading back to the tills.

'Okay, just let me grab my board and we'll see who is doing what,' Becky said, as the other three joined us behind the counter.

'If you give me takeout, I'll love you forever,' I said, as we all chuckled. Everybody preferred to work the takeout counter, as it meant not having to do table service.

'That's very sweet of you, Amelia,' Becky said, sarcastically, giggling at me. 'But no, sorry, you're down for a section today.'

'Ugh!' I groaned. 'Fine, at least it'll keep my mind occupied.'

'Everything okay?' Becky asked.

'Fine, yeah,' I said, quickly waving my hand casually. 'It's nothing.'

'Okay, well, Cally, you're on takeout,' Becky said. 'Amelia, Allison and James, feel free to choose your sections between you. I'll do the float.'

We all agreed on what tables we would take and I immediately got to work taking orders, making drinks, cleaning up mess and carrying boiling hot plates of food as I hovered by tables, waiting for people to actually try and figure out who ordered what again as their plates burned through the skin of my fingertips. It was a stressful job being a waitress but at least it stopped me from having time to think about my current life dramas.