a/n:
•10k?! Ohmyjesus, I love you people so much! And what a great way to start the new year!
~Mikayla's pov~
The next day was uneventful, but if you find the fact that Jacob and I didn't talk for the whole day interesting, then there you go. I felt bad for what I said and wanted to apologize, but it didn't seem Jacob wanted to look at me for more than a second, like he was taking all costs to avoid me.
Oh, I did also get looked at weirdly when my English teacher asked for the homework assignment and I had to say I hadn't done it in front of the entire class. But, weirdly enough, I hadn't cared that I didn't complete it. How does he expect that little words from such a story? Usually, I'd feel guit if I didn't do homework but this time when I remembered about it, the only thing that came from me was a shrug and I continued with what I was doing.
When school finally let out, I walked to the diner where a lot of other students were headed for an afternoon meal. I was going to reach to open the door when a arm reached for it behind me and opened it for the both of us. I turned and smiled when I saw it was Jesse, with the others just getting out of the car in the parking lot.
"Hey," I greeted.
He smiled back. "Go work," he waved me off.
I ran to the back of the counter where they kept all the aprons and supplies, but it looked like they were all being used or something. I didn't want to work without the apron or the permission from my boss, so I turned from the rack and made my way over to Sean's office, which was in a more secluded corner.
I made sure to knock before entering. "Sean?"
He turned from his computer to face me in his spinning chair. "Yes?"
I leaned on the doorframe. "What happened to the aprons?"
Sean's eyes widened. "I forgot to tell you!" He face-palmed. "The waitresses got new uniforms." He walked away into his supply closet and came back out a minute later, a pink dress-thingy and a pair of some roller-skates in both hand's grasp. "There you go." He shoved the new uniforms to my chest. Sean had always aimed for the diner to look more of an 50's type of place and had always made changes here and there around the diner, so I was sure there was no surprise on my face when he showed the things to me
I took the things. "What would have happened if I didn't know how to skate?"
He looked at the skates then me. "But you do, don't you?"
I did. "Well, yeah but—"
"Then that's all I need to worry about," he interjected, then waved me out of his office and to the front.
I hurried off to the restrooms so I could change into the new clothing and leave my regular ones in my locker. Tying the lace of the skates wasn't easy, I'd usually kneel when I tie up my shoes, but that was only when I was comfortable and familiar with the floor so much that I wouldn't have a problem lying on it. But I didn't know what people did in these restrooms so I didn't want to lay in there at all. And given the fact these were skates made it all the more difficult.
Once out of the restrooms part of the diner at the kitchen part where only employees were permitted, a tray was shoved to my chest with such force it was a wonder how none of the food was spilled onto me.
"Take this to table three." It was the girl Sean had hired a couple weeks ago. She looked almost overwhelmed with the amount of orders she would have to take based off the line, including the part it was her chance to make good impressions. I almost felt bad for her, I remember being under all that pressure.
I nodded and she sent me off with a couple of spoons and forks. It wasn't an easy task weaving my way through the cluster chatting amongst themselves as they waited their turn to order, but once I made it through, I quickly spotted the awaiting table. It was two girls, maybe in college, laughing about something on one of their phones.
"Here you go," I said to get their attention. They looked up, wide grins still on their faces from laughing as I placed the tray at the table and handed them each their food when I raised the plate and one raised their hand.
Amy waved me over from behind the counter. We traded trays, mine empty when her's had drinks. She told me what numbered table. I hated trays with drinks, I was scared I would lose the balance I had on it and the drinks would spill over, making a laughingstock of myself.
I faltered in my own steps—or glides—when table eight was right in my line of vision. Jesse, Alyssa, Max, Adam, Ethan, and Jacob. The fight we had last night in his car replayed over and over again in my mind until I wanted to shout at it to stop.
I looked around to see if there was any other available waitress to trade trays with, it wouldn't be the first time someone trades orders because they wanted to avoid someone. There was too many people going back and forth that once somebody's hands were empty, something was shoved back into its place and then the person was given directions and they were off to another table.
I remember the warning I was given when I first was hired here. 'After school is always our busiest hours,' and there was another one. 'When there is a football game, you just may get stampeded on if you lose your footing.' The last one may be a exaggeration, but it was an example, but the part of falling was more plausible with the roller skates.
Annabelle's words repeated in my head. 'Suck it up, and deal with it,' was all the things I needed to hear to begin skating over to my friends.
"Coke?" was all I needed to say to have all their heads turning up to the voice. I smiled at them. My heart sped up when I saw Jacob was at the edge of the booth, meaning he was closest to me, with the exception of Adam on the other side of the table.
Adam raised his hand to say it was his ordered drink. I called out more drinks as they dwindled off the tray until there was only one left. And I knew exactly who's it was. Jacob's. Because it was Sprite, and we both share the same favorite soda
I gave the remaining cup to him seeing how he was the only person missing a beverage.
When I set the cup down on the table, fingers wrapped around my wrist. Fingers that sent the goosebumps up and down my arm as they squeezed when I avoided any sort of eye contact with the owner, I looked at everyone else as they talked amongst themselves and no one payed any attention. I tried tugging my hand away but Jacob wouldn't let up. I took a quick glance at him, he looked so desperate to say he was sorry, but that didn't make sense because I'm the one who's supposed to be taking any chance I get to apologize with the things I said last night.
"Waitress!"
The fingers moved from my hand to their cup to make it seem like he was drinking and was never trying to get my attention. I turned to the voice. A man was waving me over seeing as all other waitresses and waiters either had their hands tied or were in the kitchen fetching orders from the cooks.
"Someone will be here to bring your food," I said to my friends and smiled before skating over to the guy and hearing him complain about how we must've mixed him and his kids orders with someone else's. I apologized profusely but he kept talking about how he needed to be somewhere and he didn't have to take this. He was discernibly and increasingly angered and instead of shaming me like it normally would have when this would happen, it began to irk me.
I sighed, showing my annoyance. "Sir, I am so, very sorry for the mix up. I'll bring you your correct orders with a fifty percent off charge," I bargained through my gritted teeth. It wasn't the part that I was making him a deal that bothered me, it was the fact he had already ate halfway through the plate. So had his kids.
I took out the notepad as he and the kids recited the orders and wrote them down. They passed me their plates and I set them above the trash cans then clipped the order to the hanger where all the cooks ran back and forth grabbing paper orders and yelling them out to others then taking one for themselves.
The chaos went on for another hour or so before things in there started slowing down and the new girl had a chance to calm down from her panic. The only people who had stayed were the man I gave the discount to—funny, thought he had somewhere to be—and my friends, but it seemed like they were just getting ready to leave.
I was sweeping now that things weren't hectic so I would pass by them occasionally. Jacob was the first to get up, swinging his jacket on when he stood to his feet. He grabbed his plate and headed to the trashes. He looked at me as he passed, then continued his way to the original destination. I made it look like I payed no attention as he walked by me, but I was peeking at him through the hair that covered my face from anyone's view. Jacob turned to me again, gave me his back, then returned his gaze back to me. Before he could walkover, though, Sean walked through the door, excused himself because Jacob was in the way, and took the trash bag under the shoot where Jacob was standing.
"Mikayla," my boss called. I looked up thinking he had caught me looking at Jacob. Instead he held the bag of trash out and gave me a smile. "Be a doll and take the trash out for me."
I sighed and leaned the broom against the counter, passing Jacob to get to Sean and the stinky bag. Grimacing when it was in my hand, I walked outside to where the back dumpsters were. Voices sounded behind me on the trip there and I heard heavy footsteps then someone grab me from behind, almost making me slip because they pushed me forward when I had these skates on, then grabbed me when I let a squeak.
"Sorry, sorry sorry!" It was Alyssa I saw when she turned me around to apologize. Then Max showed up and grinned scarily from ear to ear and grabbed my hand then started running, making me drop the trash bag. I screamed at him to stop but he just laughed and continued to spin, push, and pull me around. After countless of times begging, he let me go and soon enough I slowed to stop, where the boys were waiting for them, but Jacob and Max left to go do whatever before anyone spoke.
"Do you need a ride?" Adam asked.
My shift was ending in a while. "I don't want to make you wait." I shook my head.
He smiled. "You're too nice for your own good. I'm taking you home," he declared and based off the look he was giving me, he won't accept room for further argument.
"Fine," I turned to the bag I had dropped. "Just, let me throw that away and I'll be back out in a while." I pointed to the bag on the floor.
He nodded then waved me off.
I went over to pick the bag up, Jacob and Max not too far away as they talked on the wall that was short enough people usually sat on it. This time as I made my way to the back, there were no interruptions making me fall or scream my head off, but the smell was nauseating enough to make you want to scream and run. After tossing the bag into the even smellier dumpster I rounded the corner where I'm sure everyone still was, but the sound of my name in a conversation brought me to a standstill. I peeked around the corner and saw two bodies sat on the wall.
"Did you get her pregnant?" That was Max. I had to coerce myself not to walk over and push him off the wall. Jacob snapped his head and shoved him for me.
"No!" he exclaimed.
Max held his hand up in surrender. "Just making sure." He stuck a candy from his pocket in his mouth. "Then why won't she talk to you?"
"Got in a fight. Today during school, I didn't talk to her at all but then I wanted to talk to her and now she's avoiding me, and I don't know what to do," he groaned.
Max patted his back and sighed. "Well, I don't know what you guys said to each other, but I can tell you this. Alyssa told me she's once assumed she'd always be alone, so she blocked Alyssa and Aiden out for a while. If your fight was bad, maybe she's just scared you're going to leave her someday and doesn't want to go through that pain again, so she may think she might as well get it over with before you guys got even closer," he explained, patted Jacob on the back once more, then hopped off the wall and began heading to the car.
It was true. Every single bit of it. I did fall into a stump at one point in my life and it took me a whole year to overcome it. A part of me knew I was going back to blocking people out ever since my mom didn't want to tell her new family about me, but I hadn't wanted to listen. It was like a switch had flipped and I made the decision without knowing it and I pushed Jacob away.
Should I let Jacob back in and trust and pray that he doesn't break our friendship, or just push him away so I won't have to bear the pain of yet another person I care about, leaving me?
The answer was pretty clear.
I couldn't let him forget and leave me again.
_
a/n:
•two updates in under twelve hours? Whooooo!!
•i. cant. believe. i. have. 10k reads
•vote if you liked this chapter, comment your thoughts on it, & share if the story deserves it
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