Please Comment and let me know what you think.
---------------------
"I hate this job." I tell Lillian Adams as I pull my Apron over my head, tying it quickly.
"Most 17 year old girls would be happy to have this job." Lillian starts the grill and smiles at me.
"If I got Payed I would like it."
Lillian is my guardian, My mom died last year and My dad died when I was alittle girl. Lillian had been the only person my mom could trust. I smile back at Lillian before giving her a good head to toe look. Her blonde but graying hair was pulled into a bun and there were bags under her blue eyes. She was ageing and her health was dropping.
"We're working on pay." She runs to the front of the diner and flips the sign around so it says open. A few smiling regulars that always come in at this time, take they're booth.
The diner is a small restaurant that everyone seemed to love. The tiled floor was black and white, the booths a glittery red, and an old record machine sat in the back corner. I started the coffee, as Elido, the weekend chef started frying the bacon.
I liked to complain about my job but some times it was great. There were older people that liked to sit at the bar and tell stories about how things used to be.
They're were people my age that loved to come and enjoy Lillian's Moon Drop Milkshakes. The moon drop is a regular milkshake but the unique crescent shaped cup it was made it, made it taste like so much more.
Lillian gave Edlido the orders and gave me another smile. "You ready for a long day?"
I quickly nodd, Saturday was always the busiest day.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Did you see the cute soldier?" Lillian asked with a teasing smile. It was lunch time, every table was full and a few people lingered outside.
"Cute Solider?" I was leaning against the counter, in between orders.
"Back Corner." I lean forward, and look towards the back. There was a soldier in the back, his military green stuck out. His black hair was short, but not cut like most military guys. He had his back to everyone and he was slumped foreword. From my view he wasn't cute but Lillian never lied.
"Has anyone taken his order?" I looked down the bar to Kayla, the perky redhead that got paid to do this job. She was flirting with a boy in front of her but she kept glancing at the soldier.
"You better hurry."
I smile and grab my pad, making my way over to him. I only stop once and its to stick my tongue out at a frowning Kayla.
"Hello. Anything I can get for you." The boy looked up and the green-ness of his eyes shock me.
"Is the Original Moon Drop good?" His voice is flat, and he still slumps forward.
"Yes." I smile, hoping to lighten him up abit.
"Then I'll take one of those."
"Anything else." I quickly write M.D. on my pad of paper.
"Not right now."
"I'll be right back with that." I feel bad for the guy, after just taking his order I can tell that he's been though alot.
I place his order in and Elido gives me permission to make perpare it myself, I quickly grab one of the blenders and pour it in the funny shaped cup. I place a straw in and take it over to the boy. He gives me a tight smile before taking a big drink.
His face tightens and he struggles to swallow it. "This isn't what I asked for." He frowns.
"That's the moon drop." I frown, he was the first to say that he didn't like it.
"The moon drop has coffee in it?" He pushes the cup back towards me.
"No..." I glance back towards the counter behind the bar, I mentally slap myself, The blender sitting out clearly said it was the coffee version. "I'm so Sorry. I'll get you a new one, On the house."
"I'll pay if you talk with me." He looks up at me.
"Talk with you?" I re-write the order.
"I have no one to talk to, Will you sit and talk with me?" He looks vulnerable and weak.
"Oh, Of Course. I'll go get your new drink."
"No Coffee this time please" He gives me a real smile before I walk back to the counter.
Elidio laughs at me. "Why didnt you tell me I was making the wrong one." He just shrugs.
I brace myself against the counter, I suddenly cant breath and tears are threatening to fall.
"Taylor, Sweety whats wrong?" Lillian comes up and puts her arm around my shoulders.
"He has no one." I always feel bad when I see people alone, When I realised that the person had no one to make them happy. Guys like him that saw all of those horrible things while away at sea needed someone they could go to.
"I'm sure he has someone." She rubbs my arm.
"He said he had no one to talk to." My voices sounds like his did when he first spoke to me.
"Go get him his drink. Your break starts now, go spend an hour talking to him" I gave her a small smile as she had Kayla put my time card in for lunch. I make him the moon drop that he wanted. I grab a napkin dispenser and look in to the mirrored side, making sure you cant tell that I've been crying.
I sit it in front of him before sliding into the seat infront of him. He take a drink, before giving me a small smile.
"Thats alot better."
"I'm glad you like it."
"Whats your name?" He watches me as he sips from the straw.
"Taylor Blaze." I push the hair thats fallen out of my pony tail back. "What about you?"
"Max Ostow."
"Nice to meet you."
"You to."
We get talking and I quickly find out that he was home after 3 months of Basic training. He had come home to vist his dad, only to find out that his dad just days before he came home. There had been no one to inform him due to lack of family. His mom had died after giving birth to him and he was left with no one. I told him how my dad had died in a car crash when I was 8 and my mom died last year due to a pill over dose. We both had tears in our eyes. We moved on to lighter topics, He was 20, enjoyed the things he was doing in basic training but was glad he was moving up a level. The hour flew by quickly and before I knew it Lillian was walking up to the table.
"Tay, time for you to get back to work." She smiles at Max before returning to her work.
"Will I ever be able to talk to you again?" I ask max. He gets a napkin from the dispenser then pulls out a pen. He writes down something and slides me it to me.
"Call me when you get out."
I smile and nodd. Before he leaves I give him a quick hug, I thought of it as a gesture to show that he wasn't alone but by the look on Kayla's face, it didn't look friendly. I frowned and punched my card. Kayla was always with different guys so why did I care that she gave me that look?
~~~~~~~~~
"What are you doing?" I giggle. Me and Max were at the park.He was going across the monkey bars, his legs from the knee down were dragging on the ground. Its been a week and I've gotten to know him very well. I had even gone to his dads funeral, I had to escape many times to sit the bathroom and cry, Not many people had come and I refused to cry in front of Max.
"I wish I was a kid again." With a sigh, He tosses him self down next to me. He is wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans. The army green and cuteness is what attracted me to him but it was his attitude that kept me around.
There was one thing me and max were avioding and thats the fact that he has to leave tonight. Tonight he heads to Kentucky for his next step in Training.
"Can I send you letters?" He asks after a moment of silence.
"Of Course, How else would I keep up with my new best friend." Even though I sorta of thought Max as good enough to be more then a friend I refused to say or do anything about those feelings, not until he came back again.
"Good. I need someone to send them to." He frowns, his green eyes darken as he looks down at me.
"I know you do." I lean against him and resit the urge to cry.
~~~~~~~~~~
The first letter came two weeks later
To My New Friend Taylor,
The worst part about the being promoted out of basics is leaving all of the people I've gotten so used to back at the old base. Don't take this the wrong way but the only thing I miss about home is you. You really brought up my spirit with your bubble attitude.
Was I bubbly? I never thought of myself as bubbly, I certainly wasn't bubbly after my mom died.
Do you know what its like to be alone? Like really alone, with no one to call, no one to write to, no one to tell how your day had been? I've always been alone, my dad has been disable for as long as I remember, when I first joined the army I had written him everyday but after getting sick of no replies I stopped. It hurts to see all the other guys get mailed delivered to him while I get nothing.
Was I ever really alone? No. I had always had someone weather they were really listening or not someone had been there to listen, For the past six months I certainly hadn't been alone, Lillian really did listen. My heart was starting to break for this boy.
When I found out about my dad, I didn't feeling anything. As I look back on it, it makes me feel heartless. I had known for a whole day before I cried. That doesn't make me a bad person does it? When I came to the diner I had just gotten done crying, I needed something to pick me up, you know, like a drink or something but instead I found a human pick me up. I dont know you know her or not but her name is Taylor Blaze, she has blonder hair and bright blue eyes. And to tell you the truth, she doesn't know how awesome she is. :P
He wasn't heartless, He had is reasoning for not crying right away. If he hadn't cried at all, I wouldn't know how to answer the question but the fact that I sat next to him and rubbed his back while he cried at his dads funeral. I smiled slightly at the human pick me up thing, It made me feel special like I did something good for some one.
Well I gotta go now, time for my morning jog. I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about you. Please write back.
-Max Ostow.