I was sitting in my World History class, my chin resting on my hand, trying to keep focus. I was glad I had bangs because it made it easier to sleep in class. With my blunt-edge bangs that covered my eyes, I was able to close them without looking suspicious.

I yawned and closed my eyes, drowsiness taking over me as the professor's monotone voice lectured on and on and on...

♫"Look at all these happy people, living their lives. Look at all these plastic people, there's nothing inside."♫

I jerked awake, my cheeks reddening as my phone blasted an old-school Good Charlotte song. Cursing internally at myself for not turning my phone off and at the caller who should have known I was in class, I pulled the phone out of my bag. The sound was magnified out in the open and my hands shook as I lowered the volume.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! I thought it was off!" I squeaked to the professor, who was now glaring at me. Several students were looking at me, amused looks on their faces.

"Anyone else?" the professor asked, looking around with an annoyed expression.

I saw several students scramble around and check their phones to see if they were off or on vibrate. My cheeks continued to burn.

I put my hands under my desk and checked to see who had called.

Missed Call: Work flashed on the screen. I wondered vaguely what Steve wanted and cursed him again for calling me in the middle of class. I had given him my class schedule; he should have known I wouldn't be able to pick up.

Then I felt bad. What if something happened and he needed help? But why would he call me...?

I glanced at the time. 12:30 pm. Fifteen more minutes...

"Hello?" Steve answered the phone.

"Umm...why did you call me? I was in the middle of--" I started saying, but I heard a commotion in the background.

"Is that her?! Is that Nicky?!" I heard the inmistakeable sound of Jaime's voice shout.

"Yes, go back to serving tables, Jaime. We have customers!" Steve yelled.

"Let me talk to her!" she exclaimed, her voice becoming louder. I was sure she was trying to pull the phone out of Steve's hands.

"No! I'm her boss! I should tell her!" Steve argued.

"But I want to tell her the news!" Jaime cried.

"Jaime!" he warned.

"Steve!" she complained.

"Guys! Just tell me whatever it is you need to tell me! I have class in like, five minutes," I said.

"Aha! Success!" I heard Jaime's voice say loudly. She had gotten the phone.

"Hi, Nicky!" she exclaimed.

"Hi, Jaime," I replied.

"Guess what?!" she cried.

"Don't! I have to tell her!" Steve yelled from the back.

"Too late! I'm going to!" Jaime replied. I was sure she stuck her tongue out at him and he was glaring daggers at her. Honestly, those two were so cute. Steve was probably in his late 20's. Him and Jaime would make a good couple.

"We'll tell her at the same time, then," Steve suggested. There was silence.

"Hurry up!" I prodded.

"Fine," Jaime agreed. "I'm putting you on speaker, Nicky," she said.

"All right," I sighed.

"Ok, so let me just say that I wasn't the one that called earlier. Jaime did. And that's because  she has no patience," Steve explained. I could picture her rolling her eyes at him.

"You've been hired as a permanent part-time employee!" she exclaimed.

"I thought we said we would tell her at the same time!" Steve cried. She giggled.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"You're permanent part-time now. I finally fired Greg," Steve replied.

"Finally," I muttered at the same time as Jaime.

"So your shifts will start right after your classes, at 4:30, just in time for the dinner rush," Steve told me.

"Sounds good. Thanks, Steve!" I said.

"No problem, kid. See you at work later," he said.

"Bye, Nicky!" Jaime cooed.

"Bye, Jaime," I replied, a small smile on my lips.

Then I hung up the phone.

Well, this was just perfect. I needed a permanent job badly. Now I would at least have a somewhat steady source of income. I just hoped it would be enough...

"Welcome to your first day of work!" Jaime cried out when I stepped into the diner later on that day for my shift.

"Jaime, I've worked here for a year now," I said, rolling my eyes.

"But not as a permanent employee," she pointed out.

"You are way too excited about this," I said as I went into the back. She followed me in there, forgetting, as usual, to give her customers' orders to Steve, who was most likely preparing for the dinner rush.

"You aren't excited enough," she retorted. I looked at her.

"Why are you so excited?" I asked.

"Because now I get to work with my favorite person here!" she exclaimed giddily, grinning widely at me.

"Oh, please. We all know your favorite person here is Steve," I said, opening my locker and pulling my apron out. I closed the door and smirked at her devilishly.

"When are you going to stop about that?" she asked, pinching my side. I let out a yelp and then nudged her in the ribs.

"When you finally admit that it's true," I answered.

"You're mental," she said, rolling her eyes at me. As she walked back out, she sent a wink at me, with the typical Jaime-smirk.

That was another thing I admired about Jaime: she wasn't easily fased or embarrassed.

I had never seen the girl blush. Not once. Not when she fell on her butt in the middle of a dinner rush because she was wearing a pair of new ankle boots with heels. Not when she accidentally knocked a tray of glasses filled with water on herself when wearing a white t-shirt and a red bra underneath. Not even when she was serving an elderly couple and her phone went off at its highest volume singing, "Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me. Doncha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me..."

No. She never blushed. And I envied her for it.

I made my way into the kitchen and found Steve, who's face was red from the heat of the stove.

"Hey, Steve," I said. He forced a smile at me.

"How's it going, kid?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Good, I guess. I just wanted to thank you," I said. "You know, for giving me the job. There were plenty of others that you could have given it to--" I started.

"Don't mention, Nicole," he said, cutting me off. Steve was never one for intimate moments. I chuckled and shook my head, grabbing my notepad and walking out to greet my customers.

"Hello, Oliver!" I said, going up to my usual customer. He was holding a book in his hand. The cover read, Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica. "You're here for dinner today?" I asked. He looked at me with his same bored expression.

"I got out of class late today. It put me behind schedule," he explained.

"Ah, that explains it," I said. "Would you like the usual?" I asked.

"You know me well, Nicky," he replied. I smiled at him and jotted down his name on the notepad.

"I'll bring it right out," I said.

"Take your time. I'm in no rush," he answered, leaning back against the vinyl lining of the seat he was sitting in. He propped open the book he had in his hand and began reading again. His desire for knowledge never ceased to amaze me.

"Hey, Jaime. I thought your shift ended early today?" I asked when I went to the back to give Steve the orders I collected.

"Oh, I finally found a good babysitter for Taylor. She's 15 and doesn't charge as much as the older ones do," she told me.

"That's great!" I said. She nodded her head, smiling at me. "You know, if you  ever need help with her, just let me know. I'm usually great with kids," I offered.

"Thanks so much. I might even take you up on that offer. But she's quite a handful," she replied.

"I think I can handle her," I said. She pinched my nose. Steve gave her her orders and she waltzed out the door to deliver them in a grace that only Jaime had.

The dinner rush was busier than ever that night. Once again, with mine and Jaime's dynamic teamwork, we managed to make quite a sum from tips between the two of us. However, the clean-up that night was a lot worse that usual. The guy that did the dishes, Jorge, had left early because he had a sick child at home. So Jaime, Steve, and I stayed back and washed them together. It was pretty late when we got done and called it a night.

"Good-night, Nicky," Jaime called sleepily as I departed ways from her. Steve was going to drop her off at her house since it was on the way back to where he lived. He offered me a ride as well, but I declined since I lived on the other side of town. But really it was just because I wanted to take a walk.

I was wide awake now, even thought it was almost 10. I knew I wouldn't get any sleep that night. It had been too eventful of a day.

Stuffing my hands in the pockets of my light jacket, I set forward, walking to wherever my footsteps took me to.

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A/N: More of Jaime. Keep Steve and Oliver in the back of your minds. I really want you guys to follow Oliver's character. There's a reason he's going to keep popping up in the story. Just try to figure out what purpose he serves.

Like I said, I'm trying to make this story a little more complex and developed. I'm taking a fiction class and this stuff just fascinates me.

Please, comment! And Vote! You guys are doing great so far!

XOXO