Nearing Rubys Diner I straighten out my waitressing uniform, a dated themed, short, red dress that has white pin button running up the left-hand side of it, accompanied with a white waisted apron- customised with my name- and a pair of red shiny knee-high boots. Most girls complain about the small heel on them but from years of pointe shoes, blisters and broken toes, these are rather comfortable in contrast. The uniform also comes with an optional red tie cardigan which I have wrapped around me to try and conceal any marks I might have on my arms. The uniform matches the retro-themed diner, one of the most popular places for milkshakes and burgers around Brookhaven.
I push the door open, met with the smell of fries and heat from the grills in the kitchen. The place is only moderately busy but it's only about five, people will be getting out of work and coming for dinner after extracurriculars so I presume it'll start building up soon. Although I'd prefer if it stayed like this, the lack of sleep last night and exhausting first couple days has drained me of most my weekly energy supply.
I put my card in the clocking in machine on the wall in the small cloakroom and shove my things into my designated locker, attaching my name badge to my chest. I use the small mirror to tie my hair up into a high poney tail and apply some more makeup.
Ruby's quiet strick on things like uniform and appearance, she likes a high ponytail, straight accurate uniform and at minimum a line of red lipstick. I don't mind though, having a uniform and applying some form of makeup can be quiet therapeutic and it's not like the uniform is ugly, it's rather cute. I also don't mind because Ruby's very generous with wages and tips, if I'm going to be able to get out of this town at the end of the year I need to have financial stability, even if I get the scholarship I'll still need stuff for living and travelling.
I like the job too, I've been working here for nearly three years, you always get the friendly regulars and I've met some really nice people working here, speaking of which Layla struts into the cloakroom, pulling her hair out of her rugged ponytail.
"Hey, Atty! I thought it might have been you, I saw a streak of blonde hair enter earlier." She opens her locker door and combs through her knotted curls.
"Yeah, pulled the short straw and got the late shift." I lean back against my row of lockers, the cold metal travelling through the thin material onto my back.
"Well, at least you've got me, what's better than that?" Layla slams the metal shut and spins on her toes with a smile. She strides towards me, linking our arms and waltzing us out of the room. Layla's been working here for the same amount of time as I have since we started in the same summer, she's the closest thing I have to a best friend and she knows the most about me, she's actually adopted too which makes me feel really at ease around her, I find people usually get really awkward when you say you're adopted which is why I refrain from telling anyone.
As it's still fairly quiet I've taken the task of filling the hundreds of sugar and salt shakers from the storage room. I keep two separate piles to make sure I don't actually slip up and pour them into the different containers or someone will be in for a nasty shock.
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.
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-
"I know it in my section but there's a massive group of guys who've just come in and I'm rushed off my feet. I can't take another big table like that. The tips are all yours if you do it!" She pleads setting her small notebook onto the counter with a thud.
I look down at the fresh tray of sprites the back at her withering face, her make up is smudging and her hair needs to be smoothened out again, small beads of sweat line her upper lip.
"Alright," I give in, she looks exhausted, "Take these to table thirty and I'll go and do it now." I slide her the trays and with a grateful look she runs off with them. Pulling out my notepad I walk over to the large table, writing the number at the top.
"What can I get you guys?" I say scribbling at the page and look up to find the entire East Meadow High Lions sat in front of me. I immediately shrink back into my uniform, feeling the blush creep up my neck. I scan the end of the table, much to my relief finding Brady smiling at me, Ethan, Rutherford and Blaze who's back to scowling at everything and everyone. His eyes flit to mine and I watch as they scan my entire uniform-clad body, seeing him scoff with a slight smile I turn back to the notebook.
"Hey Big A, I didn't know you worked here!" Brady shouts form the end of the table, I nod back to him but before I can answer Connor, at the foot of the table and closet to me, looks up at me with a twisted grin.
"Aw does little mousey wait on tables... that's cute... so's the uniform." The air in my through gets caught as he peers around me to assess the back of my uniform, I cringe internally but stay professional, "Although I'm not sure I'd trust you carrying our order, might trip and spill it all." He laughs, his minions joining him.
"Hey! Cut it out asshole!" Ethan challenges from the end of the table, you can see the clear divide in the team and it's evident although the boys are tolerating the company, Blaze doesn't want to be here.
I quickly take their orders and hurry away to put them in. I shudder walking away, Connor gives me the fricking creeps. All I did was bump into the guy!
I start on the order of drinks, using two trays to complete the order since it's so large, when I'm interrupted by Brady and Blaze. They lean on the counter watching me fill up the sodas.
"Sorry again about Connor, it's kind of a team-building thing coming out for dinner after practice," Brady says awkwardly, running a hand through his hair.
"What Brady means is it's a tone of bullshit and Connors a prick." Blaze adds, his gaze settling on my hands as they place the glasses on the board, I giggle at his honesty. As I fill up one tray Brady suddenly whisks it away from me in direction of his table.
"I've got bigger arms than you, thank me later!" He calls over his shoulder making me laugh.
As I place the remaining drinks on the second tray Blaze creeps over the bar, closer to my short frame, 'You've got a cute laugh," He whispers taking he second tray as he turns and walks away, leaving me a bit of a flustered mess.
That's such a randomly-sweet thing to say... one minute he's cold as ice but the next he's so complimentary making me all wobbly. He obviously does that to all the girls though, I've seen them all swoon as he walks past them in the hallway and I've heard the gossip. Not that I'm one to listen in to all the high school crap but even awkward little Atlas has heard he can be one hell of a freak between the sheets.
"Order!" The sound makes me jump as I go to retrieve the large order for the boy's table, layering up as many plates as I can on my arms I walk over to the table, being extra careful of objects I'm likely to trip on- don't want to prove Connor right. I place the food down in front of the boys, Layla helping me bring a few more plates over as I finish up on the food delivery.
I go to leave after asking if I can get them anything else when Connors irritating voice stops me.
"Hey mousy, I guess that uniform does do you some favours." He reaches out and slaps my butt making me shriek and jump in the air. I'm seething but embarrassed as hell when I hear the rest of the assholes laughing at my expense. I don't know hat to do. I'm stood by the table frozen, half of me wants to cry but the other half is too embarrassed to move until I hear the thumping at the end of the table.
The laughing seizes up as Blaze towers over the plates of food, hands fisted on the table, jaw clenched at an almightly angle. I'd be lying if I didn't say he looked hot with his rage-filled eyes but completely the wrong time.
"I'd apologise if I was you Scarotski." His voice thunders down the boys and if I was Connor I would be absolutely shitting myself.
"Aw Beckett I didn't know you had a thing for the quiet ones but... I don't think that's going to happen," I can see Blaze's eyes getting narrower and Brady beside him getting nervous, whispering something in his ear.
All the while I'm focused on Blaze I don't see the milkshake that's hurtling out of the glass in Connors's hand as it lands all in my hair and over my uniform. I yelp as the cold liquid touches my skin.
"Whoops..." Connor snickers which is enough to flip Blazes' switch. He launches around the table at Connor with his fist raised. He gets one up on him, blood gushes out of Scarotski's nose with a defining crack before his group of boys can form a shield around him. That doesn't stop Blaze though, he drives through them one by one like he's at an MMA fight.
The sound of the punches, the screaming and the anger makes my stomach churn. I can already see images of things I don't want to think about. Last night at the tip of the iceberg.
I can hear my dads voice in my mind as I watch the fight unravel before me.
"It's your fault you weren't back early!"
"You should have got the groceries stupid girl!"
And then the pain he inflicted upon me.
I want to help, stop them. It's my fault this is happening anyway. But I can't move I'm paralysed on the spot, anxiety overcoming my body.
The last thing I see is Brady pulling Blaze off of Connors battered body before I bolt into the cloakroom.
"Is she in there?" I heard the muffled voices outside the staffroom door as I drag my eyes up from my knees.
"You can't go back there sir, it's staff only." I hear Layla more clearly.
"Please I just need to give her something." Then I realised it's Blaze's voices she's talking too. I shoot off the floor and wipe my eyes just in the nick of time as the door opens.
I fling the metal door of my locker open, pretending to busy myself as the sting of my eyes subsides.
"Are you okay Blondie?" He asks watching me turn to face him.
"Yeah I'm fine, are you okay?" I step closer to see if he gained any injuries but surprisingly he's come out mark free, except his knuckles with are cored in blood- Connors presumably- "I'm sorry I didn't mean to drag you into something! You didn't have to do that-"
"I was just bringing you this," He holds out his leather jacket, "I didn't know if you'd have a change of clothes and your... kind of covered in milkshake." He stares at the floor as I take the item from his hand.
"Uh, thanks," I reply, watching him open the door and disappear back out into the diner.
And like that he was back to being cold again.
At least his jacket's warm, I think slipping it over my arms.
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