I walked into the diner, calling out to Steve that I was there and on time. Rushing to the back, I pulled my apron on and grabbed my notepad and pencil. Then I went back to the kitchen.

"Hey, Steve," I said.

"Can't you girls ever be on time?" he asked.

"I was on time!" I exclaimed defensively.

"You got here a minute before your shift started," he pointed out. I rolled my eyes at him.

"How'd the day go?" I asked.

"Pretty well. Lunch wasn't as hectic as it usually is," he said.

"Is Jaime working tonight?" I asked. He shook his head.

"She worked this morning," he told me.

"Bummer," I said, plucking a piece of lettuce out of the bowl that he had just washed.

"Hey! No eating on the job," he said.

"You're hilarious, Steve," I said, patting his shoulders.

"This is what I get for not being strict with you guys; you don't take my threats seriously," he said.

"That, and the fact that you're a very non-threatening person," I said.

"Go wait on some tables," he said, rolling his eyes. I chuckled and went to the exit.

"Who's working with me tonight?" I asked.

"Randy," he replied.

"Perfect," I mumbled under my breath.

Randy was a college freshman and he was completely hopeless. He had dark brown hair, thick framed glasses, and pale pasty skin. He wore skinny jeans, band tees, and oversized Vans on his feet. And he had a huge crush on me.

Whenever Randy worked with me, he would make a point to try an hit on me. After the first time we met, he lent me several CDs of bands he liked listening to, which actually weren't that bad. But I had made the mistake of telling him that I enjoyed the music and told him he had good taste in sound. Ever since, he's made me twenty mix CDs and insists on talking about bands and music all the time with me. He also said that we were soul mates because of the music of love or something like that. I just thought he was trying too hard. Jaime thought it was hilarious.

I went out to wait on my first customer, which was Oliver.

"Hey, Oliver," I said. He was reading yet another book.

"Hello, Nicky. How are you?" he asked me, putting down the book he was reading.

"Same as usual," I replied. "What are you reading there?" I asked.

"I'm re-reading for the sixth time Plato's Republic," he answered. I raised my eyebrows.

"Nice. Isn't that really heavy reading?" I asked. He shrugged.

"If by heavy you mean gives you something to think about, then yes, it is heavy reading," he replied. I smiled at him.

"I might have to ask you for some help writing an essay for my philosophy class," I said.

"Help is not the same thing as me dictating something to," he said, giving me a knowing look.

"Of course not," I replied cheekily. He smiled at me. "The usual for you?" I asked.

"You shouldn't even ask anymore," he said. I shrugged.

"Well, I figure I should anyway, just in case you decide to change your mind one day," I said.

"Doubtful," he replied.

"We'll see," I said before walking back into the kitchen.

I had already told Steve to prepare the order since I knew he wouldn't change it up. I brought it out to Oliver and told him to enjoy his meal and then moved on to the next table, which seated a young woman who looked a bit older than I was. She was reading a book like Oliver, except hers was a lot thicker.

"Hello, welcome to Steve's Diner. My name is Nicole and I will be your waitress for the afternoon," I greeted. She looked up from her book.

"Hello, Nicole," she said in a kind voice.

She was pretty. She had straight, dark brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. She wore a flower print dress with a cardigan and ballet flats. On her wrist was a thin, delicate looking watch that looked more for decoration than for convenience.

"Can I start you off with a drink?" I asked her.

"Yes, I'd like an iced tea with a lemon slice on the side," she replied.

"I'll bring that right out. Here's our menu. The special today is the tuna and veggie wrap, but personally, if you're a meat eater, I recommend the chicken sub on Italian," I told her, handing the menu over.

"I'll have the recommendation, then," she said. I smiled at her and jotted her order down.

"One chicken sub on Italian bread coming right up. Would you like to personalize your order at all?" I asked.

"What do you usually put in it, besides chicken?" she questioned.

"Well, you can have whatever you like in it. I personally like to put lettuce, tomatoes, porvolone cheese, onions, and banana peppers on it," I told her.

"I'm not really a fan of tomatoes," she said. "I'll have all of that without the tomatoes," she told me. I wrote that down.

"Would you like it toasted?" I questioned.

"Yes, that would be lovely," she said.

"And what kind of sauce would you like?" I asked.

"Surprise me," she replied. I smiled at her and capped my pen.

"That, I will do," I said.

I went back to the kitchen and gave Steve the order, telling him to put a combination of mayonaise and ranch as the sauce on it. I heard the door chime and a few seconds later, Randy rushed into the kitchen.

"HiStevesorryI'mlate!" he said, speaking in his quick tones.

"Randy, it doesn't help to apologize when you are late every single day," Steve said.

"IknowI'msorry.Itwon'thappenagain," he rambled. I rolled my eyes and looked at Steve who shook his head.

"Oh, hi Nicole!" he said, spotting me and smiling toothily.

"Hi, Randy," I replied.

"How are you? You look pretty. As usual," he said, talking fast again.

The other thing about Randy was that he always seemed as if he were on a constant caffeine high. He talked quickly and fidgeted with everything. He was physically incapable of sitting still. Jaime once asked him what was wrong with him. He just said he had a lot of energy all the time.

"Thanks, Randy," I replied.

"There's a customer outside, by the way. He hasn't been helped yet," he told me.

"Then go help him," I said.

"I can't," he said, blinking at me from behind his glasses.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I have to put my apron on," he said simply. Then he turned around and walked out the door.

"That kid--" I started.

"Be nice," Steve finished.

I gave him a look before huffing and heading out the door to take the new customers, mumbling under my breath at what an idiot Randy was. I cursed Randy further when I saw who the new customers were. It was Caleb and his little brother. Internally yelling at Randy, I forced myself to go up to them, trying to remember that this was my job and that they were just my customers. This proved to be a lot more difficult because of Liam, who immediately smirked evilly when he saw me.

"Hi, my name is Nicole and I will be your waitress this afternoon," I forced out. Caleb looked up at me and then raised his eyebrows.

"Nicole. So that's what your name is," he said. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you obviously know mine and Liam's names because we were saying them in front of you that one day. But I never got your name," he said.

"You could have asked," I mumbled.

"You know, I didn't really take you for a Nicole," he said, gazing up at me. I tried my best not to walk away and ignore him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Well, Nicole is such an average name. You look more like a Natasha or a Juliet," he said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Nicole was my grandmother's middle name," I said. This, of course, wasn't true at all. My grandmother's middle name was Gertrude. I just wanted him to get off my case.

"Doesn't matter. You don't look like a Nicole," he said.

"Ok, this is silly. What can I get you to drink?" I asked. He smirked at me.

"Umm, I'll have a Coke. Liam will have..." he trailed off.

"Whatever she recommends," Liam said, winking at me.

"I could tell you what I recommend, but I'd get fired," I muttered under my breath to myself.

"What was that?" Caleb asked.

"Nothing," I said, trying to force a smile. "The lemonade is a popular choice among kids," I added.

"I'm not a kid!" Liam whined.

"Yeah, you are," Caleb said, looking at him. "We'll have a Coke and a lemonade, then," he said to me.

"Ok, I'll bring those right out. In the mean time, you can take a look at our menu and decide on what you'd like to order," I said, reciting the same line I used with every customer.

"I bet you hate having to be nice to us," Caleb said as I handed him a menu. I placed the other one in front of Liam.

"I'm not at liberty to respond to that," I said and then walked away.

I went to the kitchen, slapped Randy on the back of his head--making him sputter--and filled up two glasses with lemonade and Coke. I picked up the order for the woman in the flower print dress and went back outside. I went over to the woman first.

"Here's your sub with no tomatoes, just like you asked," I said.

"Oh! Thank you! This looks delicious!" she said, smiling brilliantly at me.

"And I bet it tastes that way, too," I replied, making her laugh. "I'll come back to check on you in a few," I said. Then I went to Caleb and Liam's table and set their drinks down in front of them.

"No lemon slice?" Liam asked. He let out a sudden yelp and I knew Caleb had kicked him from under the table.

"Have you decided on what you wanted to order?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll have the cheeseburger and Liam will have the cheese fries," he replied. I jotted it down.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Liam exclaimed. We both looked at him and he smirked at me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You," he replied. I rolled my eyes and walked away as he started to laugh at his lame attempt at flirting. I heard Caleb telling him what an idiot he was as I retreated to the back to give Steve the order. Randy flinched when I walked by him.

"Do you know those guys out there?" he asked me when he realized I wasn't going to punch him again.

"No," I replied shortly.

"That guy seemed like he knew who you were," he said.

"Randy, instead of listening in on my conversations with my customers, how about you go have some conversations with your own customers?" I asked him, deflecting his answer.

"No one's out there yet," he said.

"Did you check?" I asked. He shifted slightly on his feet before shaking his head and then walking outside. Steve chuckled and shook his head.

"What?" I asked.

"You are such a bully," he said.

"Am not!" I responded.

"Right," he replied, shaking his head at me.

"Whatever, Steve. You know I'm the nicest one here," I said.

"After me, of course," he added.

"Of course," I said, smiling at him.

He handed me Caleb and Liam's orders and I went back out to deliver it to them.

"Here you go," I said, setting their food down in front of them.

"Why is the cheese so orange?" Liam asked.

"Because that's the color of cheddar cheese," I replied.

"It's not this orange, though," he said. I glanced at Caleb, who just shook his head.

"I'll be back to check on you guys in a few," I said, before going back to the woman in the flower dress. "How's the food?" I asked. She was half-way done.

"It's great! This is the best sub I've had in a while," she told me.

"That's what they all say," I replied. She grinned at me and I smiled back before going to Oliver, who was finished.

"Looks like you're busy today," he told me as I picked up his glass and plate.

"I am. Randy's not," I replied.

"Does he still have that crush on you?" he asked me.

"What do you think?" I asked. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, honestly, he'd be crazy not to," he said. I felt my cheeks flush slightly.

"Thanks, Oliver," I said to him. He smiled at me and patted my shoulder. He handed me a few bills and told me to keep the change, which was six dollars, more tip than he needed to give.

"Take care of yourself, Nicole," he said.

"See you tomorrow, Oliver," I replied.

After Oliver left, the dinner rush started. Randy finally came out and helped me wait tables. Caleb and Liam and the woman in the flower dress, whose name was Reese, left shortly after Oliver did. The diner soon became its busy self, although I noticed a significant decrease in the number of customers we usually had.

"There's not as many people out there as there usually is," I said to Steve while I was waiting for him to make an order.

"I know," he replied, his face grim. I gave him a pity smile and patted his shoulder. He was clearly stressed out about the situation.

I wondered why business was slowing down. The diner literally had everything to be a successful restaurant: great food and a bar. I didn't understand what was happening. I just hoped that whatever was the cause, it would blow over soon.

______________________________________________________________________

A/N: Randy <3 lol He's in the side bar. Played by William Beckett from The Academy Is...

I need help picking an actor to play Oliver, guys.

Who thinks it's funny that Liam keeps trying to flirt with Nicole?

Leave me a comment! I love reading them!

And please, VOTE! (The orange button is right down there!)

XOXO