8: The Usual-3

"Elle, table ten." Steve's voice called from the kitchen. His wrinkles doubled with his smile, making him look old enough to be my grandfather. At the sight of my approach, the table of blonde- and brown-haired heads whispered and giggled like they shared one brain cell. "Eleanor?" Camille's friend's voice grated on my ears as sandpaper and pushed her glass to me. "Don't you have any diet tea?" "Diet tea?" I echoed and placed their tray down. "No." "Then I'd like a refund on our drinks." Camille flicked a few blown-out blonde strands over her shoulder. All glasses were pushed to me. College, college, college. My nostrils twitched as I rolled my lips in. "Derrick?" I waved him over. "Table ten wants a refund on four sodas." "Fine but -" His eyes dropped to my phone tucked in my pocket. "No phones at work, Elle." "It's on silent," I mumbled as my cheeks flushed warm. One of his long, pale-skinned arms extended to the table area. "Go clean the lobby." I grumbled at the punishment and took the slowest possible steps to the cleaning cabinet. After I pulled out a bottle of spray cleaner and a clean towel, I wiped down all the black and white checkered tables and black chairs. A conscious effort kept me away from corner table number ten. If I cleaned slowly enough, then Camille's bimbo squad would eat their three bites and leave. "Elle, trash." Derrick's pale finger pointed at an overflowing can. I puffed my cheeks puffed out on a forced exhale and retrieved a clean trash bag. The number of non-Pizza Palace trash items never ceased to amaze me. Oh, eww! Was that a diaper? "So gross." The smell wafted across my face as I smashed the overflowing trash down and mouth-breathed to escape it. Definitely a diaper. Outside, I tied off and clutched the bulging bag in my fists. My wrists shook under its weight and I walked bowlegged across the lot with the hopes that it didn't leak on my shoes. The phone in my pocket buzzed in the trash dump area. I flung the sagging, rancid bag with a grunt. Harper: I'm grounded. No more coffee house. Harper: Try to be disappointed about that. I wasn't disappointed, only confused. Harper stuck to her curfew, so what the hell had she done now? My low-wage money was on a boy. I ducked behind the trash area door. Awful smells were worth the Derrick privacy. Me: Do I want to know why? Harper: Dad caught me with a boy. We were only kissing. Harper: Total 🍆 block. Only Harper. Me: Sorry to hear that. She didn't answer, which meant her Dad took her phone privileges too. The rest of my shift called me back inside, which I returned to on dragged feet. Two hours left. *** "Hi, Ellie." Mixed feelings stirred in me from Jake's greeting. I turned from the herd of napkin dispensers I refilled to his tall frame at the counter. Normally, I was ecstatic to see him because it meant my shift was soon over. But today, aches in my shoulders and hips reminded me of my lack of sleep. My shoulders slumped, my eyelids drooped, and a dull headache throbbed in my forehead. From the first minute my shift started to the last heel click of Camille's friends to our dinner rush, I counted down the remaining minutes. Jake pinched his nose. "You stink, Ellie." He wasn't wrong. The two customers before him insisted on extra anchovies. A stuck can lid meant I wore the stinky tiny fish instead of the pizza. A greasy film coated my skin, which I couldn't wait to wash off with the fish stinks and crawl into bed. "Can't say I appreciate you pointing that out - oh, shit." Kieran's blonde head appeared behind Jake. He flinched with a cough, which showed a faded purple and brown bruise under his left eye. Fuck, Jake had hit him. Kieran's eyes averted under my glare and he shifted his weight. Based on Jake's casual expression and relaxed shoulders, those two were chill with each other. How? Why? I'll never understand boys. A third boy stood back, younger, leaner, and a little bit shorter. He wore the same Cardinals' varsity jacket as Jake and Kieran, but his smaller shoulders were a coat hanger in comparison to them. His ducked-down head gave me a clear view of his medium brown hair stuck in random directions. His kind, warm brown eyes averted down and a slight pink blush sat on his cheeks, the innocent look of a newbie that hadn't yet gone through Jake's hazing. His new wide receiver. Jake's eyes were glued to mine as he not-complimented me in a dry, flat voice, "Ellie, you also look like shit." I rounded my back and leaned my elbows on the counter with a scowl, "No different than any other day." My pepperoni pieces had shifted. They covered my nipples but pointed in different directions. I adjusted my shirt with a sigh. "Sorry," Jake said with a sheepish grin. "I meant you look tired." "Hmm, wonder why?" I palmed my hips. "Maybe if I hadn't had to deal with a certain someone's late-night escapades, then I would've gotten some more sleep." "I'll make it up to you." He closed his left eye in a wink and turned to the boy next to him. "This is Brody. He's my new wide receiver. Brody, my sister, Ellie but everyone else calls her Elle." "Hi, Brody." I gave him a small wave. "Nice to meet you before my brother corrupts your innocent, impressionable mind." "Hi, Elle." Brody's soft voice barely reached my ears, but it pinched my heart. An extra pinch was the pink blush that filled his cheeks. I shifted my eyes back to my brother. "Usual times three?" Jake nodded, so I rang up his meat-obsessed order bigger than a small family needed, grabbed their drinks, and put up an order slip for three large carnivore pizzas. Close to closing time, Derrick and I were the only ones here. I slapped on my eightieth pair of plastic gloves, rolled out three dough forms, and sprinkled sauce and heaps of toppings on them. Pepperoni, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and beef. The more meat, the better. "Except anchovies." My lips pulled into a grin as I doubled up the cheese and skipped the stinky fish. Twenty minutes later, I dropped three pizzas in front of three salivating boys. "Enjoy." Every fiber in my body screamed relief once my shift ended. My nose twitched from our bleach cleaner as my palm rubbed the counter one last time. My purse bounced on my hip as my heavy feet shuffled to Jake, Kieran, and Brody's table. A few crumbs sat where their pizzas were. And, of course, no fat on them. Jake's eyebrows lifted at my entrance. "Ready to go?" My head bobbed since idle customer chat left my lips dry, throat sore, and brain fried. I cleared my throat and croaked out with my last ounce of energy, "Please." "Actually, Elle? I was wondering if I could take you home." Kieran's large frame shifted in his seat. I turned my head to Jake so Kieran couldn't see the gigantic 'No' my mouth formed. Whatever he had to say, I didn't want to hear it. Loud laughs escaped Jake's mouth. Thankfully, he said, "Nah, I owe her. Let's go, Ellie."