Kaylen helped Eli get all his homework finished. It wasn’t one to one, and he was sitting with a girl he recognised from his art class. Jillian. She was failing Chemistry and Physics. Eli was only doing Chemistry, and he hadn’t done a test here yet, but he was certain his grade would be worse than hers. There was a sense of comradery when they were both equally terrible at the homework.

Kaylen had made Eli do a small maths worksheet. “This is beyond being behind because of moving school.”

“I was never a great student.” Eli admitted. He spent most of school days messing around with his friends, or getting dragged into trouble, or behaving like a zombie. The teachers never bothered with him and that suited him fine. His mom never cared about his school reports, and there’s no way Jackson gave a damn about poor grades.

Kaylen just gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’ll see you on Thursday, and if you need any help during the week, just let me know.”

“Thanks.” Eli finished packing up his books. They were the last ones to leave the classroom.

“I’ll catch you later.” Kaylen waved him off and trotted over to the other seniors heading down the hall. They had to write up a report of how the tutoring went after it finished.

Eli made his way outside, spotting Sinclair’s SUV sitting in the handicapped parking spot next to the door. “You know you‘re parked in—“

She cut him off as he climbed into the passenger seat. “I saw you coming out the door as I was pulling up. Anyway, my parents own a diner and they’re looking for wash-up staff. You ever do that kind of work before?”

“I haven’t had a part-time job before.” Eli answered honestly. Lying wouldn’t really do him any good.

“That’s fine, it’s washing dishes not rocket science.” Sinclair waved off his worries, “I’ll introduce you to them, and they’ll sort you out.”

Eli couldn’t help but be touched. She said it in a dismissive manner, but she was doing a lot for him. “Thank you.”

“It’s fine.” Sinclair cast a glance over him. “I’ve taken a liking to you.”

“Oh,” Eli tried not to smile. “I’ve taken quite a liking to you too.”

“Don’t be so gay.” Sinclair muttered.

Eli could only blink at her. “I think me liking you is the literal opposite of being gay. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me?”

She gave him a deadpan look. “Answer the question.”

“There was a question?”

“Are you gay?”

Eli, again, was taken off guard. “Yeah.”

“Okay, good.” Sinclair nodded to herself. “I didn’t want to say anything in case you weren’t. I mean I think the whole school assumes your gay because of the Cameron thing, but I didn’t want to pass remarks if it wasn’t true.”

“Oh, so you’re going to start passing remarks about it now?” Eli asked sarcastically, when she flashed him another annoyed look he relaxed. “It’s fine, I’ve never been ‘in the closet’ before.”

“Have you gone out with a guy before?”

“No.” Eli leaned back in the passenger seat, “Anyone I ever liked were either straight or not interested.”

“Not interested?” Sinclair raised an eyebrow, “You’re cute though.”

“That’s a girls way of looking at it.” Eli groaned, “Think of your ideal guy. He’s tall, dashing attractive and yadda yadda yadda. Well, that’s the same for most guys.”

“Cameron doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.”

Eli snorted. “I can’t really picture him being with someone bigger than him, he’s too…” he trailed off, not able to find the word for it.

“I know what you mean.” Sinclair continued on, “I did date him for an entire two weeks. He’s the one who needs to be in charge.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m surprised you know that after two days.”

“It’s fairly obvious” Eli looked around as Sinclair pulled the car into a small parking lot. The building had a large neon sign above the door saying simply ‘The Diner’. Eli could glimpse red leather through the windows, and rustic wooden counters on the far wall.

“Original, I know.” Sinclair got out of the car. “My mom and dad drove around to every diner they knew and then copied the design. It’s been thirty years, and the place hasn’t changed one bit.” She sounded annoyed as she spoke.

“You think it should change?” Eli questioned as they approached the entrance.

“There’s nothing wrong with the food or the service, but yes.” Sinclair gave the place a disapproving glance as she walked through it. “It’s too old. It needs a modern design, something lively something—“

“Here we go again” The woman behind the counter groaned. She was older, and her grey hair was tied up into a tight bun. Eli could tell at a glance she was Sinclair’s mother, they had the same brown eyes, and curved lips. “I swear you bring people here just to rail about the decorating. It’s called vintage honey, and we aren’t swapping it out for those cold greys you want to bring in.”

“It’s not grey it’s blue.” Sinclair shot back, “And not that horrible gaudy blue you were looking at either.” She sat at the booth in the corner with a huff and snatched a menu off the table.

Eli slid the other one out with a cautious glance at her. “You don’t know what food your family’s diner serves?”

“Of course I do.” Sinclair scowled into the menu, using the paper to hide her face.

Eli nodded to himself and looked over contents. It was the standard food for a diner, though the desert menu held a lot more choice than he’d seen before. “Banoffee pie?”

“Biscuit base, banana and toffee middle and cream top.” Sinclair explained shortly.

“Sounds good.” Eli hummed.

Sinclair raised her hand to her mom. Eli’s jolted from his relaxed attitude, and a shot of embarrassment made his cheeks heat up. “I didn’t bring any money with me.”

Sinclair looked at him like he was an idiot. “It’s my diner, we’re not paying.”

“Hi there,” Sinclair’s mom extended her hand, “I’m Charlotte, you must be Eli.”

He shook her hand, and she sat down next to them. Sinclair scoffed and immediately stood up. “I’ll just help myself then.”

Charlotte ignored her. “Sinclair tells me you’re looking for a job.”

“I was hoping to find a place I could work weekends.” Eli lapsed into conversation with her. It didn’t feel like an interview. Especially when she talked about why she opened the place and then showed baby pictures of Sinclair. “She was so cute back then.”

Sinclair loudly placed two plates on the table. “I’m much cuter now.” She stated boldly. “She practically shoved the cake into Eli’s mouth with how pushy she was about taking attention away from the toddler staring up at them from the phone’s screen.

Charlotte just smiled at the display before standing up. “How does ten on Saturday sound?”

“That’s perfect.” Eli answered quickly.

“Good, we can train you this weekend and then go from there.” She nodded to herself before returning to the counter where there was a small group of teenagers waiting to order.

“My dad works in the kitchen, usually there’s two people on the counter and then a third in washup.” Sinclair nibbled at her cake.

Eli tasted it, then devoured the rest of it. “This is good,” He groaned. “I can’t remember the last time I had cake.”

“That rare an occurrence?” Sinclair raised an eyebrow, “You should ask Noah to bake for you.”

Eli snorted, letting out a small laugh. “I’ll do that.”

Sinclair only let a flicker of a smile show. “I have a thing on Friday, want to join me?”

“A thing?” Eli raised an eyebrow.

“You owe me.” She pointed out, “And I will be very nice and help you out even more if you say yes.”

“I feel like you’re trying to make me agree to something illegal.” Eli pushed away his empty plate. “But…” He glanced sideways at Charlotte. It wasn’t exactly easy for a teenager to find work, especially outside of the tourism season. “I’m in.”

“Great.” Sinclair beamed at him. “Tomorrow I have a little study session arranged.”

“Study session?” Eli’s eyes brightened.

“I sit beside you in most classes,” Sinclair finished off her cake. “You could do with a bit of help.”

“Thanks.” Eli said dryly. He still meant it.

Sinclair smiled at him again. “You’re welcome”

*

“You already found a place?” Noah sounded surprised.

“Sinclair helped me out.” Eli relayed what happened, “hopefully it will go okay.”

“Are you sure about wanting to work though?” Jenny frowned, “Oh, we haven’t been giving you an allowance, have we?”

“That’s okay.” Eli said quickly, “I don’t need one. And if I’m working, it’s really not necessary.” He peeked at Noah but he didn’t react to Jenny’s offer. Eli let out a breath of relief. Noah had been in a good mood since earlier, and Eli was taking it as a good sign.

“Just remember what I told you about your grades.” His father finished the last bite of his meal.

Eli actually managed to eat today. There had been no interruptions, no glaring – no awkwardness. It was just nice. “I remember, actually tomorrow I’m going to a group study session.”

“A group?” Jenny asked with a smile.

“I’m not sure who will be there, but Sinclair’s a straight-a student so she’ll be able to help me out at least.” Eli told her happily.

Noah’s phone buzzed.

Eli’s phone beeped after.

Eli ignored it and continued talking with Jenny. When he paused to take a bite of his dinner, Jenny continued to smile at him. “What?”

“Nothing.” She turned to her own food, “You’re in a good mood is all.”

Eli blinked. He glanced at his plate, and couldn’t help small smile. “I’m finally settling in I guess.”

Jenny’s gaze flicked to Noah, and the smile faltered. “Is something wrong?”

Noah was staring down at his phone with a clenched jaw. “Nothing.” He glanced at Eli as he said it. Eli felt the food in his mouth turn to mush and lose any of the appetising taste it had a second beforehand. He’d done something.