Deadly Secrets

Chapter 37: The Diner

[Half-revised] 

"Order up!" The cook yelled from the kitchen. Two steaming plates appeared on the sill of the kitchen's pass-through window, and an order slip was plucked from the overhanging metal rack. Zara rushed over, wiping her hands against her jeans and swiped the plates. She immediately made her way around the long counter and towards one of the tables, occupied by a middle-aged couple. They chatted away until Zara placed their orders on their small rotund table with a grin stamped on her face.

"A chicken burger with fries for the lady and a club sandwich for the gentleman," the muscles in her cheeks were hurting but she had to keep smiling until she moved to the next table, "Is there anything else I can get you?" The male shook his head and grinned back, muttering a 'thank-you' before digging in. Taking it as her cue to leave, Zara made her way towards one of the booths, where two adults and two small children were waiting with their plastic menus in front of them. They all looked severely overweight, and she wondered how their chairs didn't cave in underneath them. She pulled out her notepad and pen from a back-pocket.

"May I take your order?" Zara asked politely, flipping her ponytail back over her shoulder. She stood there awkwardly for about a minute before the female finally decided to order for the whole table.

"Yes, I'd like four large sodas, sausages with baked beans, two chicken schnitzels with extra fries for the kids, and one bacon and hamburger with fries," Zara nodded and scribbled down everything. The children were starting to bicker amongst one another and the mother yelled at them, her chins bobbing up and down menacingly.

After repeating the order out loud for confirmation Zara added, "Would you like a dessert as well? We have apple pie, cheesecake—" She didn't have enough time to finish because the woman had already shoved the menus towards her with a shake of her head. Meanwhile, the children were slapping each other, making a ruckus loud enough to be heard on the other side of the diner.

Zara managed to walk away before the urge to strangle them with their own fat rolls overtook her. She made her way back to the kitchen, but not before stopping by another table and grabbing the empty plates, placing them on a tray. Two hours into her shift and she was already exhausted. She was still relatively new and had a long way to go before she could get into the grind of working the late shifts at the diner. It was especially dreadful on a Friday night; because the place had a plasma TV, a lot of the male patrons sat around it and watched the latest football games. Another typical weekend at Sammy's. 

She dumped a stack of dirty plates into a dishwasher and picked up two sodas as she hurried by the kitchen's pass-through window. Her head spun as she wove between tables, careful not to bump into anyone and spill the drinks. She placed them on one table and went to another where a customer was forking out bills and placing them into a check folder. As she approached him, she briefly turned her head to look at a clock hanging on the wall. 

Only five more minutes.

Then she would have ten minutes all to herself.

"Have you enjoyed your meal Mr. Browner?" She asked, trying to keep her eyes on his face rather than on the folder. Mr. Browner, having made her acquaintance only two shifts ago, had quickly taken a liking to her because her quick-witted and polite nature was a 'refreshing change to the sloppy floozies'—his words not hers. Despite his somewhat grouchy persona, he was a great tipper, so she couldn't complain.

He pulled out a ten dollar note and placed it on the closed folder. "Don't spend it all at once," he winked.

Zara slipped the bill into her bra and collected his dirty dish and cutlery, a grin on her face. She thanked him as he left and returned to the kitchen, giddy in anticipation of her much awaited break.