Chapter 17: How idiots order at a restaurant

"Yo," Alex is leaning against the wall outside my classroom when I get out after school.

"Hiii...?" I say hesitantly.

"Is today your first day at that new work place?" Alex asks, walking along beside me, swinging his bag onto his shoulder.

"Yeah," I turn to look at him suspiciously. "How'd you know?"

Alex shrugs. "I dunno."

"How do you not know that you know?"

"I don't know."

"How do you not know that you don't know that you know?"

"What?"

"How do you know?"

"Huh? About what?"

"My new job...?"

"Um, your mum told me?"

"Why does that sound like a question?"

"Its not. Your mum told me."

"Ok. You could have just said that in the first place," I laugh and he chuckles awkwardly. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're being really awkward, Patricia."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so what's wrong?"

"Does something have to be wrong for me to be awkward?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"You're never awkward."

"Thanks mate," Alex pulls my head under his arm and rubs his knuckle into my head.

"Ow!" I say, pulling out of his grasp, pouting as I rub my head.

"Sorry," he smirks. "How are you?"

"What the hell is WRONG with you today, sweetpea?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never ask me how I am!"

"Well, now I am."

"What!" I yell, confused.

"How are your feet?"

"Um..good?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Well, I-" he's interrupted by a fake brunette with a face full of makeup.

"Alex?" Amanda asks sweetly.

"Hi Amanda," Alex turns to her as she clutches his arm.

"Alex, you know I told you not to talk to her," she tilts her chin down and looks at him from under her hideous fake eyelashes.

"Oh, um," Alex coughs. "Yeah, of course," he swallows and walks off with Amanda, without even saying goodbye. I stare after the couple, shocked. Alex was acting really weird, but now its EXTREMELY CONCERNING. He's never just left me after talking to me. Well, I wish he never talked to me in the first place, so we must be one step close to achieving that.

I shrug and walk off, finding Bubbles and Meghan in the car park. "Hey guys," I click my car keys and we all hop into the car.

"You look confuzled, Nat. What's wrong?" Bubbles, who's sitting in the backseat, asks.

"Oh, nothing," I shake my head as we leave the school behind.

"Its not nothing," Meghan raises her eyebrows.

"Yeah! It is!"

"C'mon Nat," Bubbles says. "We know when something's bugging you."

"What is it?" Meghan continues with my friends' questioning.

"No!" Bubbles jumps up and down in her seat, making the whole car boing along with her. "Its not what, it's who!"

"You sound like someone from a crime novel," Meghan swivels in her seat to look back on Bubbles.

"Its Alex. Isn't it Nat? What has he done this time?" Bubbles asks me.

"Nothing! Nothing is bugging me!" I tell them loudly as we stop at a pedestrian crossing to let a young family walk across. They give me a wave and I drop my angry expression and smile back at the little two year old girl across from me.

"Oh look! That little girl's got blue eyes and blonde hair! She's your daughter!" Bubbles exclaims.

"Um... what?"

"Your future daughter will look like her!"

"I don't have those eyes though."

"You dumb dumb!" Bubbles rolls her eyes along with Meghan. "Its Alex's daughter too!"

"Ew Bubbles," I roll my eyes like they did just a second before and continue driving.

"Back to the situation at hand!" Meghan claps and Bubbles nods.

"There is no situation!" I sigh.

"Honey, just own it!" Bubbles says in a fake voice.

"Yeah, own it Nat. What is troubling you. I doubt its a girl," Meghan continues.

"Yes! Its Amanda! Right. Are you ok Nat?" Bubbles asks.

"Oh, is she getting into your head about Alex?" Meghan adds.

"Just ignore her, bruh."

"She's nothing my than a snobby teenage mean girl."

"She can't make you stay away from Alex!"

"Yeah, you guys see each other every weekend."

"Nat, if its troubling you that much jus-"

"GUYS!" I yell, slamming on the breaks at a red light. They jolt forward in their seats and turn to look at me.

"Yes?" they ask in sync.

"Jinx!" Bubbles yells.

"What is it Nat?" Meghan says after rolling her eyes.

"I'm not mad, I'm  just a bit anxious about this new job, ok?" I sigh breathlessly, turning to them. They stay silent and nod until the lights turn green and we drive off. I see them exchange glances in the rear view mirror, smiling slightly. I mentally groan as we continue driving to the cafe.

***

We pull up in the staff car park of Cafe extra and hop out. We walk in through the back door, closing it behind us. Meghan, Bubbles and I walk down the hallway and into the small room behind the kitchens, where Rosemary told us to wait in a message she sent me.

We drop our bags next to the comfy armchairs we sit in. It looks more like a hotel lobby than a place for staff at a restaurant. I start talking to them about my first meeting with Rosemary, and soon she comes hurrying around the corner.

"Hi! Natalie!" she says. I stand up and she pulls me into a tight hug. "My God, we are so, so grateful you volunteered! Our business would be down the drain if you hadn't. Ah, and these must be you friends!" she looks over at Bubbles and Meghan.

"I'm Meghan," she says.

"And I'm Claudia," Bubbles introduces herself. Its really strange to hear her normal name after calling her Bubbles for so long.

Rosemary shakes their hands. "So, today we'll just get straight into it," she says, gesturing for us to follow her into the kitchens. "Have any of you  been a waitress before?" she asks. Meghan and Bubbles shake their heads.

"I did a bit last year in Paris," I say.

Rosemary looks over to me. "You lived in Paris?"

"Yeah. Another friend and I worked at a restaurant a couple of nights a week."

"But all the cafe's in Paris have very precise waiters. You must be a natural!"

I laugh. "Not really..."

"Oh, of course you are!" Rosemary waves my comment off with her hand. She presents us with a pile of clothes. "These are your outfits, tell me if they don't fit and I'll get some new ones. Your hair needs to be in a bun. Off you go. Come back once you're dressed, the toilets are just over there," she gestures to a doorway beside us. We walk over and into the toilets.

I get changed. The outfit is just a simple black shirt with a white collar and cuffs. We wear a black skirt with a small white apron tied around our waists, its only an apron that covers our legs (up to mid-thigh) and doesn't cover the top. When we hop out of the bathrooms, we tie up our hair in buns with the black hair ties provided.

Meghan, Bubbles and I walk out to the bathrooms and see Rosemary walking around the corner with a girl around our age, maybe a year older. She's wearing the same outfit as us and has her long black hair tied in a ponytail behind her.

"You all look great," Rosemary tells us, surveying us up and down. "No new sizes? Right?"

We all shake our heads, the outfits fit perfectly.

"This is Sara," she gestures to the girl beside her, who nods at us, smiling. "She's the head waitress. She'll show you the roots and give you your schedules."

"Hi!" Sara  waves at us and we smile politely back at her. "I'll take them from here, Rosie."

"Ok," Rosemary casts one more glance at us, smiling before walking back down the corridor towards the kitchens. "Bye!" she yells after her. "Good luck!"

"So! First things first," Sara says, clapping. "Your names?"

"I'm Meghan."

"Claudia."

"I'm Natalie."

"Cool. So, I'll show you the routine around here and then hopefully you can start?" Sara says.

"Yeah," we all nod.

***

Things seem pretty laid back for a busy cafe in California. All we have to do is find people a table, serve them their drinks, take their orders, be friendly, serve their meals and take away their plates.

With Sara teaching us its easy to learn everything and soon she's sending the three of us to welcome an older couple into the restaurant.

"Hi, welcome to cafe extra!" Meghan smiles brightly as she speaks to the couple. Bubbles and I stand behind her while she talks. "Table for two?"

"Yes, thank you, dear," the older woman says.

Meghan leads them towards a table in the center of the restaurant, Bubbles and I walk over to Sara, who watches Meghan with a satisfied look on her face. She turns to look at us after Meghan gives the seniors a menu each.

"Nat, that group over there looks like they're ready to order," Sara points to a group of boys in our grade sitting down in the corner. I mentally groan as I walk over to them, pulling the pen and small notebook out of my small apron/pouch thing.

"Hi," I say through gritted teeth. I haven't necessarily met these boys before but they are in a few  of my classes. They all play soccer. They're always looking for someone to hook up with. The few girls that come near them always leave a day later.

"Hey girl," a boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes drawls.

"What would you like?" I ask, ignoring him.

"Natalie. I didn't know you worked here," a boy with sandy blonde hair says. I have absolutely no idea who he is. I didn't think anyone knew my name.

"Er... yeah. I started today. So... what would you like?"

"Can I order you?" another boy asks. I turn to look at him in disgust.

"Are you a cannibal? If you're not, I'd suggest the fries and the BLT," I say before I can stop myself. His friends shove him, saying, "Ohhhhhh!" I roll my eyes. They order a couple of chips and drinks.

"Thanks Natalie!" a boy hoots after me as I walk away.

"You know them?" Sara asks me when I get back, looking over my shoulder at the boys.

"No. But they know me somehow..." I say, turning around and looking at the soccer guys.

"You go to the same school?" Sara asks.

"Yeah," I nod.

"Well, go and put that in the kitchens, I'll wait for Bubbles to come back then have a chat," she waves me off and as I walk away I see Bubbles talking to a family, taking their orders no doubt. She bends down and says something to the small toddler, who giggles when Bubbles pokes her on the nose.

I place the order on the kitchen bench and walk back outside. "Okay, we're all here," Sara says when I arrive. "Lets just go back down into the staff area and have a chat."

We walk back down the corridor and sit down in the armchairs. We see three other girls seated.

"So! Everyone, just quickly, I'd like to introduce y'all," Sara says, and claps her hands.

"This is Claudia, Meghan and Natalie. Make them feel welcome," she points to us each in turn. The other girls nod and say their names.

"I'm Ella," says a blonde haired girl with brown eyes and a big smile. She looks like she might be a junior, and is the youngest of the trio.

"Molly," says a girl with dark hair and eyes, she raises a hand and waves.

"Konnichiwa! I'm Hannah," says a Japanese girl around our age.

"Hi," Bubbles, Meghan and I say together.

"Yeah, so we aren't low on staff anymore... so you won't get paid as much," Sara says, earning a series of groans from the other girls. "But you'll have less work to do and less hours. Get back into it ladies!" Sara says. The other three walk off, but Sara gestures for us to stay.

"They seem nice," Meghan says and Bubbles and I nod.

"Yeah, they are," Sara tells us. "Ok, so you guys do everything I taught you, if you need help ask me or any of the other girls, I'm sure they'll be happy to help. Your shifts finish at 8:30, in two and a half hours. The shop will start filling at around 7, even though its a Monday night. But people, especially teenage girls, like to come to watch our entertainment. I recommend at around 7:30 you stop serving people and let them watch the first performance. Be quick after because you don't want to block them from the next song. And.... I think that's it. If you drop some things, its fine, we have heaps more. Good luck!"

"Thank Sara!" Bubbles says and we walk down the corridor and into the main part of the restaurant.

"Oh, one more thing!" Sara calls after us, causing us all to turn around. "You can watch the performance if you want, most of us do. Rosemary and the others really enjoy it," she winks, spins around and walks away.

"Ok...." Meghan says. We walk away, towards the kitchens. We take the plates and cups. I'm glad Bubbles takes the soccer guys' meals to them. I take meals to a group of girls who look older than me and probably older than Sara too.

"Are you new?" a blonde asks me.

"Um, yeah, I started today," I say.

"Did you join because of the singer?" A brunette asks me.

"Er... no? Why?" I say, confused.

"Gurl, you'll get to know him! Everyone wants to. I just know I'd drop all the plates if I signed up here, and they wouldn't have enough to get through the next day when I walk out the door," another girl says.

I nod and walk away after placing their cold drinks on the table. Bubbles arrives back from serving the soccer dudes and huffs when she sees me.

"Those fish heads..." she shakes her head and walks off.

The rest of the time passed quickly. It was really easy to pick up; the rules around here, I mean. Soon the restaurant started to fill up. I noticed a couple of people from school walk in, and, much to my dismay, a group of Amanda's minions. Sara comes up to me and sees me staring at them. She gives me a slight push.

I walk towards them and stop when I'm at least a meter in front of their table. I really don't want to have their heavily perfumed smell wafting up my nose. I'd sneeze. Not that that would be a bad thing if I didn't cover my mouth and stood right in front of them....

"Hello, are you ready to order?" I ask as politely as I can.

"Yeah, I'll take some fries without carbs thanks and a lemonade with no sugar," a short blonde says.

"Um... sorry, you can't really take sugar out of lemonade or take the carbs out of  chips," I say, resisting the urge to laugh at how idiots order at a restaurant.

"What?" the blonde looks up at me. She sees my face and scowls.

"Lemonade can't not have sugar and fries can't not have carbs," I say, uncapping my pen.

"What are you doing here?" sneers a brown haired girl with a full face of makeup.

"I work here now," I say. "Would you like a lemonade with sugar? Or just a water?" I address the blonde.

"Water," she mutters. I smile at her politely.

"Do you want anything else?" I ask the group.

"Water," they all chorus. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I spot another girl in the corner, its Brittany. "Brittany, what would you like?"

"Lemon-" she looks around at her friends. "Water," she sighs.

I turn around and walk off. Sara is waiting for me when I get there. "You know them?"

"Unfortunately, yes," I sigh, collecting the water on a tray.

"Yeah, I get some girls that I know from college coming here, looking like that," she waves a hand at the girls and their made-up faces. I nod. "Oh, be quick! The entertainment's about to start!"

I quickly turn and take the tray over to the girls, placing the cups down in front of them all and ignoring all the hateful glances they send me. I see Meghan beckoning me over from a wall/post thing at the back of the room. We lean against it.

"Have you seen it yet Nat! Have you seen it???" she whisper-yells excitedly.

"Seen what?" I ask.

"Obviously not," she mumbles, pulling out her phone. "This!"

Its a picture on Instagram, from the magazine site I modeled at. Its the picture of when Alex tickled me and I laughed. My head is thrown back, laughing and Alex is grinning down at me. Meghan swipes right and the picture of me kissing him pops up. Its really gross, and I look away a second later.

"Its got a thousand likes! Look at the caption, Nat!" she says. I don't look, causing her to read it out. "Those we love can never be lost because, once we love them, they are forever a part of us."

Meghan turns to look at me. I grunt. "Gross."

"Oh my God Nat! You kissed him?"

"Only because they asked us to. And it was disgusting."

"Sure. Right. You know you are really lucky right? All he does is one night stands. To keep talking and hanging out with him is a BIG DEAL."

"I wish he never hung around me, the dirty piece of trash," I grunt again.

"C'mon, he fixed your feet! Are they hurting anymore? No. That means he fixed them. That means he spent a good deal of time on them. That means that he cares for you!"

"He does not! No one else could have done it! My feet were hurting and I couldn't stand!" I whisper-yell.

"Aren't his parents doctors?"

This forces me to stay silent and look at the floor. Meghan continues.

"Look at all these comments! What a cute couple. I wish I could be in a relationship like that. Who is this lucky woman? They are soooo cute together, love heart, love heart. Those two are in love! EXACTLY! You are in love Natalie! Admit it, admit it!"

I stay silent, but look up from the ground. "Remember, Meghan, that I have a boyfriend? He's a butt fish that belongs in -" I'm stopped when I hear the music starting.

"Its starting," Meghan nudges me to look up. I'm amazed at who I see on the small platform at the front of the room. "Its your guy. Go sing with him!"

I stare at Alex on the stage, he's wearing a nice, but not too fancy, dress-shirt and trousers with a tie. His hair is ruffled up perfectly and his shirt is clinging to his torso. Why the hell did he not cover that up? Couldn't he have worn a blazer or something? He has a girlfriend, he doesn't need more girls swooning over him. I feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach when I look at him. As soon as this happens, I look back down to the ground.

What the hell?

He.... I.... whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

My heart starts to pound and I try to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. I do not like Alex. I do not like Alex. I do not like Alex!

What is happening to me? I have a boyfriend, and Alex is the definition of a jerk. Maybe what I'm feeling is pure hatred. Yes. That's right, I hate him.

I look up again, coming to the conclusion that I despise him. When I look up at him again, my stomach erupts. Actually, I don't think they're butterflies. They're elephants, trampling on my stomach and making me feel sick just looking at his face. Still, they don't go away when he begins singing, and I can feel Meghan smiling at me from where she stands.

A/N: Please read the lyrics, Alex might or might not be singing them to her. *spoiler*

"I won't lie to you, I know he's just not right for you, And you can tell me if I'm off, but I can see it on your face when you say that he's the one that you want," sings Alex.

I stare at him, goosebumps running up and down my arms, I stand there, frozen listening to his voice. And, just like his looks, his voice is angelic. He catches my eye, not showing a hint of surprise when he sees me standing there.

"I know I can treat you better, Than he can, And any girl like you deserves a gentleman, Tell me why are we wasting time, On all your wasted cryin', When you should be with me instead, I know I can treat you better, Better than he can,"  he continues. He never breaks eye contact with me and I feel my cheeks tinge pink. Luckily, the lighting is dark and he can't see. I see a few people turn my way, seeing he's looking at someone. I spot the blonde idiot who ordered a no sugar lemonade scowl at me.

I look down when he keeps singing, not wanting to see him staring at me, I can feel his gaze burning into the top of my head.

"I'll stop time for you, The second you say you'd like me to,I just wanna give you the loving that you're missing, Baby, just to wake up with you."

I look up when Meghan elbows me in the ribs. "Ow!" I yelp quietly. She just rolls her eyes and points to the stage. Alex is looking down at the ground while he's singing. "What the hell is wrong with him? Isn't he supposed to be the entertainment?"

"No, stupid, he wants you to hear the lyrics! And you're not looking at him, he feels rejected. Especially since the lyrics relate so closely to what he wants to say to you. Especially, that last one," she winks.

I groan. "The lyrics do not relate, look at him! He must have stage fright!" I say, gesturing to the stage as we see him swallow.

"Would be everything I need and this could be so different, Tell me what you want to do."

"He's totally head over heels Nat," Meghan says, nudging me and grinning. I roll my eyes. "Just like you."

"He has a girlfriend," I shove her and groan. An older man in front of us turns around.

"Could I get a refill?" he asks. I step forward and take his drink, walking out and towards the kitchens, grateful to get out of the room with Alex's goosebump-worthy singing voice.

"Do you know Alex?" I jump when I see Sara seated on the armchair.

"Yes." Is all I say.

"And I'm guessing there is something going on?" she says.

"No. I mean, he's a trash can, and I hate him, but nothing is going on. Ew. Gross," I roll my eyes and busy myself in refilling the man's glass.

"C'mon, Nat," Sara walks over. "You can't come back all flustered and red and say there is nothing going on," she raises her eyebrows.

"But there is nothing! At all! I'm gonna go and give the man his drink," I quickly walk out of the room and into the restaurant, handing the man his glass. When I walk back to the pole, I find Bubbles has replaced Meghan.

"I'm not gonna say anything," she says. "Just let you know: You love him, he loves you, go get married, have children, he'll sing them lullabies with you, you'll come back here one day and laugh over how you resisted each other."

"Oh, come off it, Bubbles," I groan and cross my arms as I lean against the wall thing.Meghan arrives back from attending to a family and grabs me by the shoulders.

"You should've seen his face when he looked back to see that you were gone. You could've sworn you heard him gulp."

"Yeah!" Bubbles nods furiously.

"Ok. I'm not gonna talk to you guys until the song finishes ok?" I roll my eyes and close my mouth.

Meghan and Bubbles gossip about me and jerk-face until he returns onto the stage. I look him up and down, from his polished shoes to his bright blue eyes and ruffled dark hair. He takes hold of the microphone and starts singing, his eyes are closed, but when he opens them, they focus on me. I roll my eyes and he smiles.

"I found a love for me, Darling just dive right in, And follow my lead, Well I found a girl beautiful and sweet,I never knew you were the someone waiting for me," he sings. I look at him and he looks back at me, I wish his ocean blue eyes would just look somewhere else, the elephants in my stomach are either having a party or at some kind of fun jumping place.

"'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love, Not knowing what it was, I will not give you up this time, But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own, And in your eyes you're holding mine, Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms, Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song, When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath, But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight."

His voice is actually too good to be true. I wonder how much he gets paid, he must draw a big crowd. He keeps looking at me, until the chorus stops, and I see an unknown expression cross his face, before he looks down and someone else walks onto the stage.

"Well, I found a man stronger than anyone I know, He shares my dreams, I hope that someday we'll share a home, I found a love to carry more than just my secrets," Amanda walks out onto the platform in a grey/green dress, her hair done up in a fancy bun and red lipstick across her lips. Her voice isn't necessarily bad, its just not very good, either.

She walks over to Alex, touching his face as though this is a movie, and singing into the microphone with the other. "Darling, just hold my hand, Be your girl, you'll be my man, And I see my future in your eyes," By this time Amanda has turned Alex side on to face her. She pulls one of his arms around her waist and curls a hand around his neck. They start dancing and sing together.

"Well, baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms, Barefoot on the grass while listening to our favorite song,When I saw you in that dress looking so beautiful, I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight," Alex sings softer than before, since his voice is much stronger than Amanda's, and his would be the only thing heard. Of course, that would be so much better. But he probably doesn't want to face Amanda's wrath. Amanda clutches onto one of his hands and spins out then back in. She stands in front of him and pulls his arm around her waist, swaying. She look up at him and reaches a hand up to his face, making him pull it down and look at her before she wraps and arm around the back of his neck.

"Er, guys. I'll just go to the toilet, I'm busting," I say, and quickly rush off. I turn my head towards the stage before I exit and Alex looks up. He stares at me and I stare back before Amanda pulls his head back down to look at her.

_______________________________________________________

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