Diner Talk

Seven: Butterfly Breaths

Sang

I wiped my palms on my bubblegum pink butterfly skirt before tying my apron in front of me. The almost-too-tight feeling of the strings biting into my waist brought a comfort I hadn't expected, and I tried to focus on that rather than the anxiety mounting in my chest.

Victor's ingenious and his knowledge of my ring size meant that the panic button had been secure on my finger since I had put it on last night, and I fiddled with it as Uncle handed me my little server notepad. I'd already tucked my sparkly lime green pen behind my ear, and half of a BFF pendant that matched with no one dangled from my neck.

Silas tugged on one of my pigtails gently. Gabriel had done them in Dutch braids this time, and the plaits started at my hairline instead of by my ears. The look was distinctly different, and I liked it a lot better. I could look in the mirror and not notice just how empty the space where Piper was supposed to be standing was. I don't know if it was a coincidence or if one of the boys had noticed how upset the pigtails had made me, but I was grateful for it either way.

I pulled my phone out of my bra and opened my text thread with Gabriel, searching for a few moments before I found what I was looking for. I sent him a little yellow heart and stuck it into the pocket of my skirt that Gabriel had hastily sown in not two hours ago.

"No need to give them even more reasons to touch you. And putting your phone in your apron is a good way to get it stolen," he had mumbled around the sewing needle in his mouth. He had let me be his assistant, threading needles at his request and finishing the last of my homework by his side. I'd even started on his math homework for him, digging through his bag and puzzling out the geometric proofs happily. I liked feeling useful.

"I really do need a run-down of all the things my phone can do. I couldn't find the little picture things, the emo-whatsits." Victor stared at me for a second before shaking his head.

"God, you're like a grandma. They're emojis, Sang. Emo is what you call whatever North is." He waved a hand at North, who looked a little affronted. "Oh, don't do that. I follow you on Spotify. You listen to My Chemical Romance as much as you do Highly Suspect." North grumbled something profane, but he must have been in a charitable mood, because he said nothing else. He just gave me a quick squeeze before I turned to face Uncle.

"You have section four this time, and it's the same structure. Tables thirteen to sixteen, just take orders, give them their food and if they try to get you to leave, scream and scram. Got it?" I nodded up at Uncle and he patted my shoulder comfortingly. I waved shakily at a grimacing Victor and walked out of the little office still flanked by Silas and North.

Silas usually worked in the kitchen, but the rule was at least one person had to be on the floor with me, and Uncle was short more waiters than kitchen staff anyway. He was dressed in a diner t-shirt that was just a little too small, and he patted my head while we collected our menus from the register.

I focused on my tables. A couple holding hands, two groups of adult men, and the man from yesterday that asked how old I was. Lena had said he was a regular, and he apparently liked the sections by the windows.

I decided to say hello to the man I already knew, and I bounded over with a confidence I didn't feel. "Welcome to Bob's Diner, my name is Sang. Can I get you another Stella today, or would you prefer something else?" He looked up from an unfamiliar newspaper, the Record-Courier. It was from the Sunday just past. His eyes were a little unfocused, like he had been utterly engrossed in what he had been reading and I had just pulled him out of it.

"Ah, a familiar face. You're right, I'd love another Stella, as long as it's past five. Before that it feels like day drinking."

"My shift starts right at five, so if you see me around, you're okay for a drink." He smiled at me softly as I wrote it down, and I looked back up. "Do you know what you want to eat? One of the other waitresses mentioned that you're familiar with our menu."