“Let’s wrap up the lesson for today. Fridays are usually your busiest days at the diner, correct?” the homeschooling instructor questioned me as she began to pack up her things.
“It’s busier on Saturday, honestly,” I murmured more to myself than to her, standing to my feet and stretching my arms. It had been a long session of World History today, with us mostly focusing on China. It felt tedious, yet I was somewhat intrigued about each dynasty and how they evolved over time. The instructor (who was conveniently named Nicole, my mother’s name) even taught me a cute song to go with it.
“Shall I drive you over there for your shift? I honestly need something in my stomach right about now,” she asked kindly, snatching her phone from the table that we were sitting at.
I shrugged at her and yawned. “Only if you want to. It’s not that far of a walk.”
“It’s almost forty degrees, I can’t have you walking to the diner in that weather! Your parents would probably sue me!” she exclaimed. Nicole threw her large purse over her shoulder and waved towards the door.
“C’mon, we can get split one patty melt that your father makes oh-so deliciously well!” Her voice was gushing with so much optimism and happiness that I was going to puke unless she stopped talking. It was honestly getting on my nerves.
I just wanted to get the diner, get to work, get the Friday pay, and get home so I could be annoyed by my sporadic powers. At least I could avoid her that way.
“On my way,” I stated before noisily shutting the door to the room. We both shuffled out to Nicole’s car, with Nicole putting all of her teaching materials in the trunk of her car. I slid into the passenger seat, pulling out my phone after what had seemed like an eternity. I didn’t have any notifications—except one, from my mother.
Hope you’re having a good day… the diner isn’t that busy today, so I took a break despite what your father’s words.
I giggled to myself, knowing that my father had a LOT of words to say to my mother about taking an unplanned break during shifts. There was still more, so I read on.
Oh, I also think that someone from the education system is supposed to be coming into the diner tonight, along with their daughter. It’d be nice for you to make a new friend!
My eyes widened at the sight of that sentence. Making a new friend? I have never heard those words come out of my parents’ mouths. It utterly shocked me. I don’t know if I was ready to make a new friend.
What if my powers decided to make a grandiose appearance? What if I accidentally dropped a plate? What if… what if…
“TO THE NOOK!” Nicole yelled excitedly, slamming her car door. I let out a surprised yelp as he shoved her keys into the ignition, starting the car and quickly pulling out of the parking lot. I clutched onto the edges of the seat, trying not to let my nerves get to the best of me while we zoomed off to the diner.
-~-
I waved to a passing customer as I slid over the counter once again, going to the back to stretch. I strode over to my mother, who was grasping at another tub of ice cream in the fridge. She looked up at me and smiled, opening the tightly shut container with her hands.
“Did you see the instructor leave?” I asked her, taking the lid from her and placing it on a nearby counter.
“Yes, she left about five minutes ago? Why?”
“Was that the person you were talking about?” I questioned, poking my two index fingers together. I had a nasty habit of doing it, but it helped me calm down whenever I was nervous.
“What? Heavens no, I didn’t know she was coming in the first place,” she wiped her forehead with a small rag she kept in her back pocket. I never understood how a person who was primarily cold all the time could sweat.
“Maybe they’ll be here in a little bit. Get back to serving customers, you know how your father gets,” she spoke with a small chill in her voice. I giggled a little and hopped back over the counter.
As I continued to serve tables, I began to count the families that treaded in in my head.
Family of two… family of three… two again… another family of two…
It was an hour before closing, and the amount of people who were shuffling in were starting to thin. They said their usual goodbyes before leaving, and then went to enjoy the rest of their Friday at home.
The time soon became a half hour before closing. Then fifteen. Ten.
I blew out a sigh of relief. They weren’t coming. Maybe it was for the better. Maybe making a new friend wasn’t worth it at the moment.
“Alright Mom, I don’t think they’ll be coming tonight,” I muttered, stretching to relieve my bones of the stress that was walking around and carrying plates.
“That’s fine, sweetie. Maybe I had gotten my dates mixed up. They’ll come tomorrow then, probab—”
My mother’s voice was cut off by the sound of the bell that rang whenever someone decided to enter. Surprisingly, someone did decide to enter The Nook.
“Hey Nicole! Nice to see you again!” I could hear a voice shout from across the counter happily. My mother gravitated towards the door to meet a tall woman with black, curly hair.
“Tabitha! It’s nice to see you again as well! Um, why did you come so late?” my mother questioned, undoing her apron.
“Yes, why ARE you here so late?” my father spoke, coming from the kitchen. He placed a burly hand on top of my head and another on the counter, a common trait of his. It usually messed up my hair, but I didn’t really mind.
“Oh, y’know, I wanted to avoid the rush of the customers on one of your busiest days,” she stammered.
“Well, sorry, I just turned off the grill, I apologize,” Mr. Nook stated with a small smile. “It’s fine, I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn’t have come so late,” her voice
starting to drift. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you a bit about Novella’s performance in the homeschooling program. Do you mind if we could sit down here… in private?”
“Well, we were actually about to—” my father began.
“It would be perfectly fine,” my mother cooed, scurrying over to my father and placing his arms around her. “I’ll lock up The Nook tonight, honey. You and Novella run home and start a movie or something,” my father huffed out a slightly irritated sigh before giving her a peck on the forehead.
“Alright. I’ll see you later,” he said. “Novella, pack up your stuff and meet me at home.” I swiftly nodded, scampering into the break room to grab my drawing things.
“Meet a new friend, yeah right…” I expelled my own sigh, folding up and placing today’s homework in my pocket. “I should have doubted that from the very star—”
“Ahh!” I heard the door shut quietly behind me, causing me to flip around and hold my arms like I was about to shoot something out of my hands. I shook as a pair of silver eyes stared into mine from across the room.
“Maybe this was a bad time to come in…”
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