"you all done with that?" nini asks with a smile to the customer at a table
"thanks nini," joe, a regular customer, beams as she takes his plate and makes her way back to the counter
"look what you're just in time for!" the boy exclaims in fake excitement
nini looks at ej in confusion as she turns around to her side of the restaurant before groaning
"can't you take the table?" she asks with a sigh
ej snorts a laugh "i'm not going over there, are you crazy?"
"if i don't come back, know that they cursed me and stole my soul." she whispers before walking towards them, hearing ej's light laugh behind her
she makes her way towards the table that held the curly-haired boy with his friends as they looked through the menus
"oh look it's diner girl," gina exclaims with a fake smile
the group chuckle lightly and nini takes a deep breath as she takes her notepad out of her apron pocket
"what can i get you guys?" she asks blankly
carlos sighs dramatically as he looks at the menu "what can i get here that has no carbs, no sugar and is fat free?"
nini raises her eyebrows and pretends to think for a few seconds before nodding "water,"
ashlyn and big red exchange looks while ricky looks down with a small smile on his lips, carlos and gina not looking amused
"was that supposed to be a joke?" gina asks
nini sighs "i'm just answering your question,"
"well, it wasn't funny." carlos snaps
"if you guys wanted the dietary options, then don't come to a diner where they serve milkshakes and fries." nini shoots back
"oh! we'll have two of those please." big red beams
the girl shakes her head lightly as she starts writing in her notepad "what flavor?"
"chocolate," the two red-heads exclaim happily
nini finishes off writing the order before looking up "anything else?"
gina and carlos roll their eyes as they look away and ashlyn and big red shake their heads
"no thanks," the boy smiles
nini returns the gesture before looking at the curly-haired boy
"ricky, what about you?" ashlyn asks
the red-headed boy shrugs his shoulders "just a vanilla milkshake,"
nini takes a deep breath and writes it down before making her way back to the counter
she rips the paper off and puts it on the window connected to the kitchen before turning to see ej stifling a laugh
"shut up!" she exclaims in annoyance
"i didn't say anything!" he laughs
the girl shakes her head with a smile "they're so-" she groans not being able to find the words "they don't even deserve the description."
ej chuckles "well, at least they know who you are now!" he fakes a gasp
nini rolls her eyes playfully as she shoves him before they both continue their shift.
once their drinks were ready, nini took the platter holding the group's orders and quickly made her way over to them, placing the drinks on the table
"the fries will be here in a few minutes," she informs
"thanks," ashlyn says with a small smile
nini nods before making her way back to the counter as she looks up at the clock before her phone buzzes and takes it out to look at the lock screen
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"i've gotta go," she says as she takes her apron off
ej looks at the lock screen and takes a deep breath before nodding in understanding "okay, i'll cover for you."
she looks at him with relief and hugs the boy "thanks, see you tomorrow,"
nini ran into the dressing room to take her bag, making her way out the back door and walking as fast as she could back home
she was thankful that her house wasn't too far away because she needed to get there as soon as possible
when she arrived, she fiddled with her keys urgently before pushing open the door to see a young brown-haired boy on the floor in front of the stairs with his phone lying next to him
"owen," nini sighs as she rushes towards her brother and helps him up
the boy groans as she does and leads him back to his wheelchair
"we've told you thousands of times not to try and climb the stairs alone." she says
owen rolls his eyes "well i forgot something in my room."
"and that is?" she asks, folding her arms
"my crutches!" he exclaims "moms forgot to bring them down."
nini raises her eyebrows before making her way around the living room in confusion "where are they?"
"momma d is at work," he says evidently "and momma c went to get the groceries,"
the girl takes a deep breath as she turns to face him "owen, you know that you could've waited to get your crutches. you could've hurt yourself-"
"yeah i know," he sighs as he rolls past her "damage broken boy needs to be careful to not break even more, i get it." he mutters as he makes his way - with difficulty - onto the couch
nini's facial expression softens and she takes a deep breath as she sits next to him
"you're not broken owen," she tells him
"no, you're right, i'm just a thirteen-year old boy who can't walk properly." he says bitterly
the girl shakes her head "no one can be broken. it's not possible no matter what's up with your body." she assures him "-and i know you've been through a lot in your life before us, but you know that we're your family and we want you to be safe right?"
owen looks at the girl and nods before she pulls him in for a hug
"okay, i have to go shower but then we can watch a movie?" she suggests
the boy nods with a smile and she returns the gesture before rushing up the stairs
owen was adopted just over a year ago by the salazar-roberts family. he'd been in and out of foster homes all because of his condition, every home claiming him to be too much difficulty to handle or take care of. he has a disability known as spina bifida; his spine and spinal cord wasn't properly developed when he was born. there's no cure and it only gets worse and worse as he grows up.
nini loves her brother a lot. she doesn't talk about him too much though - not because she's embarrassed or ashamed - but because she knows how hard his life has been before his adoption and there was no way she was going to let anyone else take a turn in hurting him here.
that's why she keeps everything to a minimum; she focuses more on her family than on herself.
