A/N: Ben 10 does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. I claim the characters that I create.
"Meena! Order up!" She turned, blinking at the hulking form of Cook. Cook was very muscular, taller than five foot six, and rather impatient. Cook had been here for at-least twenty years easy and no one messed with Cook if they wanted to stay… would the word be unharmed? Perhaps. She knew never to make Cook angry, never to get in Cook's way. Or argue.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Cook's look softened slightly as she took the plates away before turning back to the kitchen, barking at the others under her command. Cook had been the one to let her work here, even after Mr. Rosebaun had told her probably not. It was Cook who took her aside, telling her that she could waitress, that if she messed up big time even once that she would be out. And it had been Cook who had glared down Mr. Rosenbaun when he saw her working the very next day, trying her hardest to get everything right. So he agreed to let her stay, but if she messed up, she was out.
So, she's been trying her very best to make sure she did Cook proud.
"Ah, thank you for waiting! Please, enjoy!" She smiled at the young family, waving at the little boy. His eyes lit up at the sight of his chicken nuggets and he smiled brilliantly, waving back while his mother helped him with the ketchup. The bell over the door jingled and she looked at the couple. "Hi, welcome! I'll be with you in a minute." She hurried toward the podium, grabbing menus and smiling at them. "This way, please." Kate had called in sick and Jenna had left some hours ago as she got off her shift, so, she was left alone. Not that it was a problem, it was a slow night. But all the same, Rachel should be here in half of an hour. You never can tell with her though… "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Thanks." She nodded, then left them alone, moving towards the others in the diner.
"Can I get you anything? Another coffee?" The man didn't look up from his paper. He had been here for almost two hours, asking for a bowl of soup when he came in and a coffee. This was his third cup already. All he was doing was reading the paper and looking around him every now and again. Cook told her never to bother the customers; if they wanted to sit in a booth and read a book all day, let them. As long as they paid, of-course. She could see that, even sitting down, he was tall. From what she could tell, his eyes were dark and she saw dark brown hair peeking out from under his hat. It was by no means hot, but then again, it wasn't cold. Which made her curious about his long coat.
"Fine." She moved toward the counter, letting out a breath and grabbing another mug and filling it with the dark liquid. She really didn't like coffee, smelled funny in her opinion.
"Tough day, Miss?" She bit at her lip, looking up and giving a small nod to Mike.
"Y-yes…" Mike helped out where he was needed, but typically stayed behind the counter, distributing the morning meals and talking with the diner's regulars. It wasn't that he scared her, but… he was Mr. Rosenbaun's nephew… so one mistake, one slip-up…
"Tell me about it?" He was maybe twenty-three, twenty-six at most. He got lazy sometimes and didn't shave, so, currently, he had dark stubble. Dark hair and light eyes, like his uncle, she supposed he was handsome, but she didn't have a good reference for comparison. "I won't interrupt."
"I-it's nothing, sir." She smiled, turning to take the coffee to table seven.
"I'll be here if you need to talk." He was polite and, from what she could tell, nice, but all the same, she'd rather not get too close. Bad things have happened before because of her willingness to trust in people too quickly.
"Here we are! If you need anything else, I'll be around." He said nothing, turning the page. "R-right…" She moved toward table ten, where the couple was. "Now, what can I do for you two?" She smiled.
"I'm here~!" The door burst open and she blinked at the bright flash of headlights. "What? I'm only like…" Rachel peered at her watch. "Ah well. Better than last week." Sporting the diner's uniform of a black knee-length skirt, a dark red, loose, long sleeved shirt, and a black vest, she wore her long hair down. Plus dark brown cat ears and a tail. Mr. Rosenbaun had told her not to wear them, but after a surge in a younger crowd, he allowed her to continue. Meena thought she looked pretty with them. Her gold eyes were courtesy of contacts, which Mr. Rosenbaun, surprisingly, had no issue with.
"H-hello, Miss Calico Ma'am." She rolled her eyes at her, waving her off.
"Knock it off, Kid. I'm just Rachel. Or Kitty, whatever floats your boat."
"B-but, I haven't got a boat…" She gave her a look and Meena wondered if it was something she said. Her eyes locked onto something behind her and she shifted, turning to look at the table where the couple was. The girl had excused herself to use the restroom and the boy was there, currently having a staring contest with Rachel. "Miss Rachel?" Rachel grinned, showing her perfect white teeth.
"Hey. Haven't seen you in a while." Meena looked between the two, watching as the boy relaxed, smirking.
"Job gets in the way." Rachel strode towards him, pulling out a seat at the next table. Meena assumed they began catching up. The young family had since left and the man was still working on his third coffee, still reading his paper. She walked back to the counter, pulling out a stool and sitting, poking at the surface.
"Offer still stands." She looked up at Mike smiling down at her. She gave a small smile in return, shifting away slightly.
"Well… It's—It's really nothing…" He leaned down on the countertop, his eyes calm and telling her to continue, that he would listen with no judgment, even try to help if he could. "My… my brother called me a few nights ago... He wants me to come home..." Mike gave out a little hum of understanding.
"Ran away, didja?" She looked up at him fearfully, wondering if he would tell his Uncle he had a runaway on his payroll. "I won't tell. What'd he do to make you so upset?" She looked back down, her nails digging into her palm beneath the countertop.
"He's just… he just was so… he just acted like… like he's King or something."
"You the baby of the family? Yea, I get it. It's rough." He turned toward the fridge, pulling out a carton and a glass, filling the cup and sliding it over to her. She peered down curiously into the light brown liquid.
"What… what is this?" Mike laughed at her and she ducked her face down.
"You ain't never seen chocolate milk before? Now I understand why you bolted!" She pushed the glass away lightly, her hands growing cold. He pushed it towards her once again, letting go of his laughter. "Try it. It's good." She looked up at him through her lashes, cautious. He raised a hand up, giving her a salute. "Promise. Scout's honor." She had no idea what a scout was, but he promised that it was good. She picked it up, sipping at it gently. "Well?"
"It… it feels weird…" He tilted his head slightly, brows furrowing in confusion.
"'Feels'? Whaddya mean 'feels'?" She took another sip, trying to convey how this new thing was in words.
"It… it feels like there's something… coating my mouth, like, like peanut butter."
"Oh. Okay, I get it. Yeah, that's normal. Haven't you ever had milk?"
"No." He shook his head at her and she drank more of the chocolate milk. He straightened up, then reached across, patting her head. "W-what was that for?"
"You just remind me of my little cousin. That's all." He moved off, whistling. Meena blinked as he walked into the kitchen, smiling at Cook and hugging her. She smacked him, but was laughing all the same as he kissed her cheek. "Good night, my love~!"
"Get off with you, you scoundrel!" Cook brandished her spatula and he side stepped, waving to the rest of the cooks before leaving through the back door. "Meena!" she stood up quickly, almost tripping over the stool in her haste to the kitchen. She left the glass where it was, afraid of dropping it should she try to put it away.
"Y-yes Ma'am?" She breathed deep, wondering if Cook was going to kick her out. From the corner of her eye, she saw the man at table seven look up curiously, bracing his hands out as if he was to stand.
"Take off early. Rachel can hold down the place." Meena blinked and Cook frowned. "Well?"
"T-thank you!" She smiled brightly, restraining herself from hugging her.
"Yeah, yeah. Go on, get out." She hurried out, grabbing her coat and untying her apron. Perhaps, for once, she could get some decent reading done with this extra time.
"Miss Rachel, I'll see you tomorrow!" She looked up absentmindedly from painting her nails.
"Hm? Fine, yeah, whatever. Have fun, Kid." The bell rang over the door as she left, hurrying up the hill to where she would be able to reach home in at-least half the time by the main road.
Well~ a decent beginning. Next one will be longer, I promise. I just didn't wanna shove everything in at once, ya know? I know there's not much here, but I promise, it will get sooo much better. And longer.
Thank you for reading, I hope you continue. I try to do the best I can and I hope it comes out that way.