Member
Festive
Snowdrops
Nightwing95
Chronic
TokyoPewPew
Aeolian
Tlaloc
Apoalo
Little Bird
The three Blake Siblings: Nathaniel, Hannah, and Patricia have always been ones to take prolonged journeys through Los Angeles. Some days when they have the time to spare, they will take strolls down Santa Monica Pier, or take a tour down Sunset Boulevard and see all of the stars down Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. they have even been known to go all the way up to Mountain Hollywood and camp overnight (even though it’s technically illegal). Honestly, the three of them just love the city and when both of their parents are out of town on business and their maids can’t be bothered to keep track of them, the three of them go everywhere together.
And on a sunny Friday afternoon, they were out of school and wanting to do something exciting, but there was one problem: they were hungry. So in typical Nate, the Great, fashion, he suggested they go to his favorite diner.
“The Sunshine Diner again?” Hannah whined because she knew why he wanted to go there. It wasn’t because of the food or the history. He wanted to see his girlfriend-not-girlfriend, the pretty brunette waitress.
Hannah was always one to call Nathaniel out on his logic. She was the only one who had the stones to do it. Patricia, bless her heart, was too timid and lacked the assertive gene to do it herself, though she did share the same annoyances as her older sister. Nate, on the other hand, always used the same card any time Hannah protested.
“If you don’t wanna go, you can take the bus. In fact, there’s a bus stop down the street. I can just dine with my favorite sister!” He stuck his tongue out at her immaturely.
The middle sibling threw up her hands into the air and silently followed Nate and Trish as they walked down the street and entered Sunshine Diner. The aroma of the classic home cooked meals immediately assaulted their senses roughly and Nate welcomed it with an empty stomach and a credit card given to him by his mother that was to be used for emergencies only.
And, like the irresponsible person he was, he took it out.
“Mom’s gonna kill you.”
“Shush! I’m getting us a booth!”
And as they were seated, Hannah sitting opposite of Nate and Patricia, Nate spotted her. Perfect skin, beautiful brown hair, and the cutest round cheeks. It’s been weeks since he has been coming here and it was always with his siblings. He has been lucky enough that Mandy was his/their waitress every time. Almost as though a higher power was helping a bro out.
“Oh god, here she comes!” Nate started to panic. “Both of you, act natural!”
“You mean like a customer? On it, big brother!”
As Miranda approached her next customers, she was having a hard time keeping her ‘happy’ face on as she thought about all her stresses and worries. From her anxiety toward her roller derby match that would happen later on this day to her sister bringing up news that she didn’t really know how to take, Mandy was having a hard time being her usual self. Welcoming and full of pleasantries.
Her team was called the Jawbreakers and so far, they were in second place. Her personal nickname on the ring was ‘One Hit Wonder’ because it only takes one hit to knock her opponent out of the match, for good. Most of her opponents fly away like a bat from hell, fearing her reputation. Yet, most don’t even witness her knock someone out. Did she live up to her reputation? Attend one of her matches. You’ll see.
As for her personal drama, her sister had made a proposition of them transferring to an elitist school because she found someone that would pay for their education to go there. Why the fuck would she accept that? Their mom may not be working at the moment, bed ridden with grief and sadness, but that didn’t mean they should or would whore themselves off to some rich boy, all for what? Because now her SISTER had ‘a rich boyfriend’? Yeah, right. That wasn’t going to last long. Not by a long shot. And Mandy had PRIDE. They’d have to do way more to convince her because just asking her to accept it was fucking dumb. No one accepted money like that from a stranger! Especially NOT her.
Before she approached the familiar faces she knew by name, she took a deep breath in and then out. Once she gained her composure, she glided to them with her skates. Smoothly and without any struggle. She spun and twirled around the other staff members of the diner, as if she was dancing in the sky around clouds. Effortlessly and in her element.
She was the only waitress that wore her skates every shift, since she had confidence in her skills and NEVER fell. Without a notepad, as usual, she came to an abrupt halt in front of Nate and his siblings, “Are we going to get the usual or try something new?” She let the question linger, before continuing, “BTDUBS, good morning. Patricia, Hannah... Nate. It’s nice to see you!” Her customer voice was off. There was a hint of exhaustion and annoyance, but she tried her best to hide it with a bright smile plastered on her pale face.
He was frozen where he sat. And speechless, at that. That was how you knew Nathaniel Blake had it bad (whatever “it” was, at least). He smiled, of course and gave Mandy a wide one. A laugh followed only so that he could transition his way into something that resembled coherent words but whenever he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was gibberish, to which furthered the-already-at-peak annoyance Hannah had.
And at the moment she kicked him from under the table top, he grunted, shot her a glare, but it also did what it needed. “It’s great to see you too, Mandy! You’re looking beautiful as ever!” As those words left his mouth, he had hoped the cheek-to-cheek grin was enough of a mask to cover up how utterly stupid he was feeling at the moment.
“Excuse him. It’s been a very long day. He fell asleep on a rock last night.” Hannah commented. She didn’t know why she had to be the one to always excuse him. It was only when he was near Mandy here that he lost all sense of acting like a normal human being. “Anyways, I think we’ll just take the usual: pancakes with the works for me, pastrami on rye for Trish, and,the triple bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato curly fries for my brother here. And, I guess three milkshakes since, well, it’s a diner and everything. Might as well go the whole nine yards.”
“Right.” Mandy disregarded the compliment that the boy gave her, thinking he was just saying it out of politeness and not because she was actually attractive. Before she could dismiss herself, dainty hands touched her shoulders. Poking her head from behind, a friend and a fellow waitress at the diner decided to invite herself into the conversation.
“Consider getting today’s pie! I’ve been teaching her how to bake and I’d say today’s special is extra delicious.” The cute girl, with half of her hair in a fountain ponytail and the rest down, pink lipstick on, and light green eyes that could brighten anyone’s day, read the situation and decided it was in her job description to intervene. “She’s too embarrassed to advertise that she made the pies! It’s blueberry.” The small girl, especially in comparison to Mandy, winked at the boy, giving him an opportunity to make her friend feel special.
“Leyla, don’t you have tables to wait?” Mandy brushed the bubbly girl off of her, who in return crossed her arms and ‘hmpfed’.
“I’m on my 15! Thank you very much.” With exasperated eyes, and a heavy sigh escaping her lips, Mandy dully blinked at the girl, who was wasting her break to cling to her and do… whatever she was doing.
“I don’t think we’ve had the blueberry yet.” Nate thought on that for a moment. They have been coming to the Sunshine Diner for so long and frequently at that, he could recall just about every desert item they’ve tried, but the blueberry pie wasn’t one of them. Then it was at that moment, when Nate’s smile made its way across the table that his mind was made up. “We’ll take three slices of the blueberry pie as well!” He would inform Mandy without talking to his siblings, an act that earned him a sigh from Hannah and a small laugh from Trisha.
“Wonderful!” Leyla punched Mandy’s arm, which was rewarded with a death glare.
“Okay. Pancakes, the works. Pastrami on rye. Triple bacon cheeseburger, with a side of sweet potato curly fries, three milkshakes—” When she said the flavors, she looked at the person it belonged to, first Hannah, “Chocolate and vanilla swirl,” then Trisha, “Strawvberry,” and lastly, Nate, “Good ol’ vanilla—”
“And three blueberry pies!”
“Yes… I’ll get that to you guys right away.” Turning around, faster than usual, she quickly dodged Leyla from grabbing onto her arm and skated away.
“Wait for me!” The dork chased the skater girl, who was ten times faster than her, and when she caught up with her she was huffing and puffing. Mandy slapped the counter and repeated the order, before angrily turning to the meddlesome brunette.
Leaning in, Mandy growled, “Why the hell would you make up shit like that? I don’t bake.” Rolling her eyes and giggling, Leyla shrugged, “They bought it. And let’s be real, that boy, he’s sooooooooooooooooooooooooo into you.”
“Your full of shit.”
“Good shit!”
“Stop.”
When Mandy and Leyla walked away, Nate knew this was the perfect time to just watch her from afar. He saw how the two were giggling -- well one was, at least -- and Mandy was doing something that drew him further and further into a daze. He hated how much of a coward he was. All he would have to do was to get up from his seat, walk towards her, and say that he liked her, but when he was within ten yards of her, hell when the thought of seeing her again crossed his mind, Nate was no longer the beacon of confidence he normally was nor did he have his I-don’t-care-what-they-think-about-me attitude. When it was everybody else, he didn’t care because at the end of the day, what the preps at Bev High thought about him didn’t affect how he saw himself.
But with Mandy, it was different. Even if she didn’t know it, what she thought about him and whether she smiled at him or didn’t meant more to him than the thousand opinions of people he barely knew. As to why he felt so strongly for Mandy was a mystery to him. It was one of those unexplainable wonders of life that you just know is right.
“You’re staring again.” Hannah had decided to finally say something after more than a minute passed of seeing her brother watch Mandy like a hawk.
“What?” His delayed response came with absolute confusion.
She shook her head with great annoyance. “I don’t understand you, Nate. Why don’t you just go talk to her? We’ve been coming here for weeks. It’s not like there isn’t a diner near our house. You only come here to see her.”
“Hannah, I don’t think--”
“You’re infatuated with her. Not that I don’t mind it. I’m sure you saying she’s beautiful is very complimenting for her even if she brushes it off, but if you don’t say anything, is it really just fine for you to come here day in and day out just to see her? Are you happy with that one-sided arrangement?” Hannah wasn’t trying to be too blunt. She loved her brother and could see how strong his crush on the waitress was, so maybe she wanted to give him the boost of confidence she had seen him display excessively. “What is it about her that makes you like this? That’s really what I’m asking.”
Nate didn’t have an answer for her right now because he didn’t have it for himself. So he shrugged. “I can’t explain it, Hannah. There’s just something about her. I’m sure you’ve had those kind of crushes. Or if not, you will and you’ll know it’s not as simple as walking up to the person and confessing.” Maybe part of the reason was the potential of rejection, but Nate wasn’t trying to appear sad in front of Mandy. Happy thoughts result in happy smiles!
Placing their milkshakes on a platter, Miranda distressingly took a moment to breathe. Tonight would help her kick her problems out the door, even if it was momentarily. Roller derby usually made her feel good. Everything else, though? Not so much. Work was work and that’s about it. That being said, she needed to keep her personal life out of the diner.
It didn’t help that Leyla was still… there. Talking and talking and talking. “Mandy, come onnnnn. Live a little. Do you do anything besides school and work? And yeah, your derby thing, but you get what I mean! Even if you don’t like him, play a little! If there’s something you should learn from your sister, it’s OKAY to let loose and act, well, your age.”
“Don’t bring up Meg. You know I’m pissed at her. And I’d love to have a life but—”
“He wants a slice of baked heaven. I bet your pie is especially sweet.” Playfully, Leyla did a little shimmy and gave her friend’s bottom a tap.
With that, Mandy laughed out loud. Okay, if her goal was to cheer her up, she was doing a bang up job, especially with that metaphor. Shaking her head, Mandy gave a shy smile, “No way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have customers to serve and your break is just about over.”
Pouting, Leyla grabbed her notepad off the counter and whined, “No fun! One day, Miranda, I’m going to get you a date.”
Waving goodbye to her friend, Mandy chuckled, “Fat chance,” before skating back toward the group of siblings, and looking less gloomy than she was earlier. Whether she was aware of it or not, her friend was medicine to her mood. “Your shakes.” Placing them down one by one, her short hair falling with each motion, the waitress with the glasses gave drinks to their rightful guests. Bringing herself back up, she held the platter close, as she scanned the faces with benevolent warmth, “I’ll bring out your food soon… are you okay?” Mandy asked Nate, noticing something didn’t feel quite right with his demeanor and how he was looking at her.
Nate had his head in the clouds for a good couple of moments. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m great!” He perked up, giving Mandy a smile as well as a slight nod, but then he felt a kick in the shin from Hannah, which prompted him to glare at her. She subtlety jerked her head to him and then to Mandy. At that moment, he knew what she wanted him to do. And he hated how pushy she was being.
“Actually..” Nate spoke up, feeling the pit of his stomach growing deeper and the sinking feeling increasing with it. God, how he hated this.
“Sorry, I gotta use the restroom,” Hannah interrupted Nate, signalling Trisha to follow and she would get out when Nate allowed her to.
Nate scratched the back of his head. “So, uh, how do you like working here?”
Tilting her head, surprised by the question, no one really asked her about her day here, customers that is, Mandy considered how she should reply. “It could be worse.” She shrugged, while looking around at the diner. “A diner that caters to families. With an okay pay. And it hires just about anyone. I don’t hate it, I guess.” It wasn’t like she could be picky. She needed to take care of her family, and this diner was hiring and luckily for her, she could wear her skates. “Why? Do I look like I hate it here?”
Nate shook his head. “What? Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that. Quite the opposite! You’re always so friendly. And you’re pretty patient with me on those days that I struggle with what I want. It’s kind of one of the main reasons why I come out here so often. We don’t get that kind of service at the places where I live at” He rubbed the back of his head, smiling at Mandy.
“Thank you?”Puzzled, she responded. “There really isn’t much to it. I’m just doing my job and treating you how you should be treated. Like a decent human being.” The waitress didn’t know where this was going or if he just wanted to check how the working conditions were at Sunshine diner, but hopefully she was providing the information he was seeking. “I guess... sorry you have shitty customer service everywhere else?”
He shrugged. “It’s to be expected. People in Beverly Hills tend to not care about manners.” He sighed. How he wished more places were like Sunshine Diner. “I really wish the waitresses were more like you: just as pretty as they are gracious to their customers. That’s what the food industry needs!”
“Funny…” There he went again, calling her pretty. He did it twice in one sitting. He must pity her. Her apron was dirty, her hair was a mess and barely brushed, and she probably looked like the walking dead from working till midnight last night, right after school. “Beverly Hills, huh? If there’s so many jerks from there, why do you exist?” Maybe her sister’s proposition wasn’t so bad. He didn’t talk highly of the rich from there, but to her, if there were a handful of people like him, it probably could be tolerable. Plus, it seemed like she was the make or break of whatever deal her sister had going on with this rich boy that she, herself, hadn’t met yet. Unknowingly, she came off kind of flirtatious. Although, for her, she was simply speaking her thoughts out loud.
Her comment caught him completely off guard almost to the point where he couldn’t think of anything clever to say back. “I don’t know to tell you the truth, but maybe we can find the answer over dinner sometime?” He smiled and instantly he froze when he realized what he just said. It was too late for him to go back now, so he kept on smiling despite having a lowkey meltdown on the inside.
“M, ORDER UP! TABLE 4.” Unfortunately for Nate, Miranda didn’t fully catch everything he said because at the same time she was called back to work.
“Uh, sorry! I’ll bring out your food shortly.” Cutting their conversation, the girl who thought she was an ugly duckling sped off to take care of the other customers. Creeping out of the blue, leaning behind him on his chair, in another booth, Leyla dramatically sighed, “GODDDD, SHE SUCKS.”
Nate took the chance without realizing that he did. He put himself out there and God herself cockblocked him. Maybe it was a sign? Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Or maybe the chef just really didn’t want to be kept waiting? He could spend the whole day going over all of the ‘what ifs’ and drive himself bonkers in the process. So instead, he’ll let his sisters who conveniently returned from their long trip to the bathroom.
“Hope you two enjoyed that trip.” Nate laughed, rolling his eyes.
“What? We really did have to use the restroom.” Hannah shrugged, feigning complete innocence that Nate wasn’t buying for a second. “But, how were things? Did anything happen?”
He shrugged. “Well, I guess you can say that. I sort of asked her out.”
Immediately, Hannah hit his arm victoriously. “See, I knew you could do it. All you needed was a push in the right direction.”
“Calm down. We were interrupted by the chef -- cook. So she didn’t actually get to give me an answer. So, I don’t know. Probably not meant to be.” Now Nate, who was usually all smiles, looked positively bleak.
Frustrated, as she hid from her work duties, Leyla scribbled something on her notepad, ripped the paper in frustration, stood up, and then walked past their table, placing it with an audible ‘slap’. She then walked away. Damn Mandy! Damn Mandy for being naive! And too much into her head! Now she had to play fairy godmother. On the paper, she wrote: stupid. don’t give up. the dollosseum, every other friday. 7PM. Starting today.
As he read the piece of paper, at first Nate was confused. “Dollosseum? What’s that? Is that some store you buy dolls at?”
“No, it’s a place where you can skate,” Trisha clarified for her brother. “It’s pretty popular. I’ve been there a few times.” When she revealed that, it was quite surprising for her two siblings.
“Skating rink huh..” A familiar sense of dread passed over his body, making its home on his face. “And I’m guessing you have to rollerskate?” He asked, fear laced in with forced positivity.
“Nate, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to skate. And now, the only chance to see Mandy, I have to learn.” He swallowed whatever dryness was in his throat. “I can do it! I! Must! Do! It!”
His confidence was back, even if it was mixed in with fear. Nate had no problem doing things he either didn’t know how to or was afraid to. If this was to be his only chance to see her where it wasn’t her place of work and the risk of being interrupted was less than what it was at the diner, then Nathaniel Blake was going to learn how to roller skate.
Wiping down a table, Leyla looked from Mandy serving a table to Nate talking to his siblings. Hopefully, her magic worked! She was rooting for them, even if she didn’t know the guy at all! A guy was a guy and he liked her Mandy, so he must be a good guy.
And on a sunny Friday afternoon, they were out of school and wanting to do something exciting, but there was one problem: they were hungry. So in typical Nate, the Great, fashion, he suggested they go to his favorite diner.
“The Sunshine Diner again?” Hannah whined because she knew why he wanted to go there. It wasn’t because of the food or the history. He wanted to see his girlfriend-not-girlfriend, the pretty brunette waitress.
Hannah was always one to call Nathaniel out on his logic. She was the only one who had the stones to do it. Patricia, bless her heart, was too timid and lacked the assertive gene to do it herself, though she did share the same annoyances as her older sister. Nate, on the other hand, always used the same card any time Hannah protested.
“If you don’t wanna go, you can take the bus. In fact, there’s a bus stop down the street. I can just dine with my favorite sister!” He stuck his tongue out at her immaturely.
The middle sibling threw up her hands into the air and silently followed Nate and Trish as they walked down the street and entered Sunshine Diner. The aroma of the classic home cooked meals immediately assaulted their senses roughly and Nate welcomed it with an empty stomach and a credit card given to him by his mother that was to be used for emergencies only.
And, like the irresponsible person he was, he took it out.
“Mom’s gonna kill you.”
“Shush! I’m getting us a booth!”
And as they were seated, Hannah sitting opposite of Nate and Patricia, Nate spotted her. Perfect skin, beautiful brown hair, and the cutest round cheeks. It’s been weeks since he has been coming here and it was always with his siblings. He has been lucky enough that Mandy was his/their waitress every time. Almost as though a higher power was helping a bro out.
“Oh god, here she comes!” Nate started to panic. “Both of you, act natural!”
“You mean like a customer? On it, big brother!”
As Miranda approached her next customers, she was having a hard time keeping her ‘happy’ face on as she thought about all her stresses and worries. From her anxiety toward her roller derby match that would happen later on this day to her sister bringing up news that she didn’t really know how to take, Mandy was having a hard time being her usual self. Welcoming and full of pleasantries.
Her team was called the Jawbreakers and so far, they were in second place. Her personal nickname on the ring was ‘One Hit Wonder’ because it only takes one hit to knock her opponent out of the match, for good. Most of her opponents fly away like a bat from hell, fearing her reputation. Yet, most don’t even witness her knock someone out. Did she live up to her reputation? Attend one of her matches. You’ll see.
As for her personal drama, her sister had made a proposition of them transferring to an elitist school because she found someone that would pay for their education to go there. Why the fuck would she accept that? Their mom may not be working at the moment, bed ridden with grief and sadness, but that didn’t mean they should or would whore themselves off to some rich boy, all for what? Because now her SISTER had ‘a rich boyfriend’? Yeah, right. That wasn’t going to last long. Not by a long shot. And Mandy had PRIDE. They’d have to do way more to convince her because just asking her to accept it was fucking dumb. No one accepted money like that from a stranger! Especially NOT her.
Before she approached the familiar faces she knew by name, she took a deep breath in and then out. Once she gained her composure, she glided to them with her skates. Smoothly and without any struggle. She spun and twirled around the other staff members of the diner, as if she was dancing in the sky around clouds. Effortlessly and in her element.
She was the only waitress that wore her skates every shift, since she had confidence in her skills and NEVER fell. Without a notepad, as usual, she came to an abrupt halt in front of Nate and his siblings, “Are we going to get the usual or try something new?” She let the question linger, before continuing, “BTDUBS, good morning. Patricia, Hannah... Nate. It’s nice to see you!” Her customer voice was off. There was a hint of exhaustion and annoyance, but she tried her best to hide it with a bright smile plastered on her pale face.
He was frozen where he sat. And speechless, at that. That was how you knew Nathaniel Blake had it bad (whatever “it” was, at least). He smiled, of course and gave Mandy a wide one. A laugh followed only so that he could transition his way into something that resembled coherent words but whenever he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was gibberish, to which furthered the-already-at-peak annoyance Hannah had.
And at the moment she kicked him from under the table top, he grunted, shot her a glare, but it also did what it needed. “It’s great to see you too, Mandy! You’re looking beautiful as ever!” As those words left his mouth, he had hoped the cheek-to-cheek grin was enough of a mask to cover up how utterly stupid he was feeling at the moment.
“Excuse him. It’s been a very long day. He fell asleep on a rock last night.” Hannah commented. She didn’t know why she had to be the one to always excuse him. It was only when he was near Mandy here that he lost all sense of acting like a normal human being. “Anyways, I think we’ll just take the usual: pancakes with the works for me, pastrami on rye for Trish, and,the triple bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato curly fries for my brother here. And, I guess three milkshakes since, well, it’s a diner and everything. Might as well go the whole nine yards.”
“Right.” Mandy disregarded the compliment that the boy gave her, thinking he was just saying it out of politeness and not because she was actually attractive. Before she could dismiss herself, dainty hands touched her shoulders. Poking her head from behind, a friend and a fellow waitress at the diner decided to invite herself into the conversation.
“Consider getting today’s pie! I’ve been teaching her how to bake and I’d say today’s special is extra delicious.” The cute girl, with half of her hair in a fountain ponytail and the rest down, pink lipstick on, and light green eyes that could brighten anyone’s day, read the situation and decided it was in her job description to intervene. “She’s too embarrassed to advertise that she made the pies! It’s blueberry.” The small girl, especially in comparison to Mandy, winked at the boy, giving him an opportunity to make her friend feel special.
“Leyla, don’t you have tables to wait?” Mandy brushed the bubbly girl off of her, who in return crossed her arms and ‘hmpfed’.
“I’m on my 15! Thank you very much.” With exasperated eyes, and a heavy sigh escaping her lips, Mandy dully blinked at the girl, who was wasting her break to cling to her and do… whatever she was doing.
“I don’t think we’ve had the blueberry yet.” Nate thought on that for a moment. They have been coming to the Sunshine Diner for so long and frequently at that, he could recall just about every desert item they’ve tried, but the blueberry pie wasn’t one of them. Then it was at that moment, when Nate’s smile made its way across the table that his mind was made up. “We’ll take three slices of the blueberry pie as well!” He would inform Mandy without talking to his siblings, an act that earned him a sigh from Hannah and a small laugh from Trisha.
“Wonderful!” Leyla punched Mandy’s arm, which was rewarded with a death glare.
“Okay. Pancakes, the works. Pastrami on rye. Triple bacon cheeseburger, with a side of sweet potato curly fries, three milkshakes—” When she said the flavors, she looked at the person it belonged to, first Hannah, “Chocolate and vanilla swirl,” then Trisha, “Strawvberry,” and lastly, Nate, “Good ol’ vanilla—”
“And three blueberry pies!”
“Yes… I’ll get that to you guys right away.” Turning around, faster than usual, she quickly dodged Leyla from grabbing onto her arm and skated away.
“Wait for me!” The dork chased the skater girl, who was ten times faster than her, and when she caught up with her she was huffing and puffing. Mandy slapped the counter and repeated the order, before angrily turning to the meddlesome brunette.
Leaning in, Mandy growled, “Why the hell would you make up shit like that? I don’t bake.” Rolling her eyes and giggling, Leyla shrugged, “They bought it. And let’s be real, that boy, he’s sooooooooooooooooooooooooo into you.”
“Your full of shit.”
“Good shit!”
“Stop.”
When Mandy and Leyla walked away, Nate knew this was the perfect time to just watch her from afar. He saw how the two were giggling -- well one was, at least -- and Mandy was doing something that drew him further and further into a daze. He hated how much of a coward he was. All he would have to do was to get up from his seat, walk towards her, and say that he liked her, but when he was within ten yards of her, hell when the thought of seeing her again crossed his mind, Nate was no longer the beacon of confidence he normally was nor did he have his I-don’t-care-what-they-think-about-me attitude. When it was everybody else, he didn’t care because at the end of the day, what the preps at Bev High thought about him didn’t affect how he saw himself.
But with Mandy, it was different. Even if she didn’t know it, what she thought about him and whether she smiled at him or didn’t meant more to him than the thousand opinions of people he barely knew. As to why he felt so strongly for Mandy was a mystery to him. It was one of those unexplainable wonders of life that you just know is right.
“You’re staring again.” Hannah had decided to finally say something after more than a minute passed of seeing her brother watch Mandy like a hawk.
“What?” His delayed response came with absolute confusion.
She shook her head with great annoyance. “I don’t understand you, Nate. Why don’t you just go talk to her? We’ve been coming here for weeks. It’s not like there isn’t a diner near our house. You only come here to see her.”
“Hannah, I don’t think--”
“You’re infatuated with her. Not that I don’t mind it. I’m sure you saying she’s beautiful is very complimenting for her even if she brushes it off, but if you don’t say anything, is it really just fine for you to come here day in and day out just to see her? Are you happy with that one-sided arrangement?” Hannah wasn’t trying to be too blunt. She loved her brother and could see how strong his crush on the waitress was, so maybe she wanted to give him the boost of confidence she had seen him display excessively. “What is it about her that makes you like this? That’s really what I’m asking.”
Nate didn’t have an answer for her right now because he didn’t have it for himself. So he shrugged. “I can’t explain it, Hannah. There’s just something about her. I’m sure you’ve had those kind of crushes. Or if not, you will and you’ll know it’s not as simple as walking up to the person and confessing.” Maybe part of the reason was the potential of rejection, but Nate wasn’t trying to appear sad in front of Mandy. Happy thoughts result in happy smiles!
Placing their milkshakes on a platter, Miranda distressingly took a moment to breathe. Tonight would help her kick her problems out the door, even if it was momentarily. Roller derby usually made her feel good. Everything else, though? Not so much. Work was work and that’s about it. That being said, she needed to keep her personal life out of the diner.
It didn’t help that Leyla was still… there. Talking and talking and talking. “Mandy, come onnnnn. Live a little. Do you do anything besides school and work? And yeah, your derby thing, but you get what I mean! Even if you don’t like him, play a little! If there’s something you should learn from your sister, it’s OKAY to let loose and act, well, your age.”
“Don’t bring up Meg. You know I’m pissed at her. And I’d love to have a life but—”
“He wants a slice of baked heaven. I bet your pie is especially sweet.” Playfully, Leyla did a little shimmy and gave her friend’s bottom a tap.
With that, Mandy laughed out loud. Okay, if her goal was to cheer her up, she was doing a bang up job, especially with that metaphor. Shaking her head, Mandy gave a shy smile, “No way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have customers to serve and your break is just about over.”
Pouting, Leyla grabbed her notepad off the counter and whined, “No fun! One day, Miranda, I’m going to get you a date.”
Waving goodbye to her friend, Mandy chuckled, “Fat chance,” before skating back toward the group of siblings, and looking less gloomy than she was earlier. Whether she was aware of it or not, her friend was medicine to her mood. “Your shakes.” Placing them down one by one, her short hair falling with each motion, the waitress with the glasses gave drinks to their rightful guests. Bringing herself back up, she held the platter close, as she scanned the faces with benevolent warmth, “I’ll bring out your food soon… are you okay?” Mandy asked Nate, noticing something didn’t feel quite right with his demeanor and how he was looking at her.
Nate had his head in the clouds for a good couple of moments. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m great!” He perked up, giving Mandy a smile as well as a slight nod, but then he felt a kick in the shin from Hannah, which prompted him to glare at her. She subtlety jerked her head to him and then to Mandy. At that moment, he knew what she wanted him to do. And he hated how pushy she was being.
“Actually..” Nate spoke up, feeling the pit of his stomach growing deeper and the sinking feeling increasing with it. God, how he hated this.
“Sorry, I gotta use the restroom,” Hannah interrupted Nate, signalling Trisha to follow and she would get out when Nate allowed her to.
Nate scratched the back of his head. “So, uh, how do you like working here?”
Tilting her head, surprised by the question, no one really asked her about her day here, customers that is, Mandy considered how she should reply. “It could be worse.” She shrugged, while looking around at the diner. “A diner that caters to families. With an okay pay. And it hires just about anyone. I don’t hate it, I guess.” It wasn’t like she could be picky. She needed to take care of her family, and this diner was hiring and luckily for her, she could wear her skates. “Why? Do I look like I hate it here?”
Nate shook his head. “What? Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that. Quite the opposite! You’re always so friendly. And you’re pretty patient with me on those days that I struggle with what I want. It’s kind of one of the main reasons why I come out here so often. We don’t get that kind of service at the places where I live at” He rubbed the back of his head, smiling at Mandy.
“Thank you?”Puzzled, she responded. “There really isn’t much to it. I’m just doing my job and treating you how you should be treated. Like a decent human being.” The waitress didn’t know where this was going or if he just wanted to check how the working conditions were at Sunshine diner, but hopefully she was providing the information he was seeking. “I guess... sorry you have shitty customer service everywhere else?”
He shrugged. “It’s to be expected. People in Beverly Hills tend to not care about manners.” He sighed. How he wished more places were like Sunshine Diner. “I really wish the waitresses were more like you: just as pretty as they are gracious to their customers. That’s what the food industry needs!”
“Funny…” There he went again, calling her pretty. He did it twice in one sitting. He must pity her. Her apron was dirty, her hair was a mess and barely brushed, and she probably looked like the walking dead from working till midnight last night, right after school. “Beverly Hills, huh? If there’s so many jerks from there, why do you exist?” Maybe her sister’s proposition wasn’t so bad. He didn’t talk highly of the rich from there, but to her, if there were a handful of people like him, it probably could be tolerable. Plus, it seemed like she was the make or break of whatever deal her sister had going on with this rich boy that she, herself, hadn’t met yet. Unknowingly, she came off kind of flirtatious. Although, for her, she was simply speaking her thoughts out loud.
Her comment caught him completely off guard almost to the point where he couldn’t think of anything clever to say back. “I don’t know to tell you the truth, but maybe we can find the answer over dinner sometime?” He smiled and instantly he froze when he realized what he just said. It was too late for him to go back now, so he kept on smiling despite having a lowkey meltdown on the inside.
“M, ORDER UP! TABLE 4.” Unfortunately for Nate, Miranda didn’t fully catch everything he said because at the same time she was called back to work.
“Uh, sorry! I’ll bring out your food shortly.” Cutting their conversation, the girl who thought she was an ugly duckling sped off to take care of the other customers. Creeping out of the blue, leaning behind him on his chair, in another booth, Leyla dramatically sighed, “GODDDD, SHE SUCKS.”
Nate took the chance without realizing that he did. He put himself out there and God herself cockblocked him. Maybe it was a sign? Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Or maybe the chef just really didn’t want to be kept waiting? He could spend the whole day going over all of the ‘what ifs’ and drive himself bonkers in the process. So instead, he’ll let his sisters who conveniently returned from their long trip to the bathroom.
“Hope you two enjoyed that trip.” Nate laughed, rolling his eyes.
“What? We really did have to use the restroom.” Hannah shrugged, feigning complete innocence that Nate wasn’t buying for a second. “But, how were things? Did anything happen?”
He shrugged. “Well, I guess you can say that. I sort of asked her out.”
Immediately, Hannah hit his arm victoriously. “See, I knew you could do it. All you needed was a push in the right direction.”
“Calm down. We were interrupted by the chef -- cook. So she didn’t actually get to give me an answer. So, I don’t know. Probably not meant to be.” Now Nate, who was usually all smiles, looked positively bleak.
Frustrated, as she hid from her work duties, Leyla scribbled something on her notepad, ripped the paper in frustration, stood up, and then walked past their table, placing it with an audible ‘slap’. She then walked away. Damn Mandy! Damn Mandy for being naive! And too much into her head! Now she had to play fairy godmother. On the paper, she wrote: stupid. don’t give up. the dollosseum, every other friday. 7PM. Starting today.
As he read the piece of paper, at first Nate was confused. “Dollosseum? What’s that? Is that some store you buy dolls at?”
“No, it’s a place where you can skate,” Trisha clarified for her brother. “It’s pretty popular. I’ve been there a few times.” When she revealed that, it was quite surprising for her two siblings.
“Skating rink huh..” A familiar sense of dread passed over his body, making its home on his face. “And I’m guessing you have to rollerskate?” He asked, fear laced in with forced positivity.
“Nate, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to skate. And now, the only chance to see Mandy, I have to learn.” He swallowed whatever dryness was in his throat. “I can do it! I! Must! Do! It!”
His confidence was back, even if it was mixed in with fear. Nate had no problem doing things he either didn’t know how to or was afraid to. If this was to be his only chance to see her where it wasn’t her place of work and the risk of being interrupted was less than what it was at the diner, then Nathaniel Blake was going to learn how to roller skate.
Wiping down a table, Leyla looked from Mandy serving a table to Nate talking to his siblings. Hopefully, her magic worked! She was rooting for them, even if she didn’t know the guy at all! A guy was a guy and he liked her Mandy, so he must be a good guy.
