Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Suicide Squad or any of the characters. I only own my OC.
"Everything in life has a place, and when one thing moves, it must go somewhere else."― Cecelia Ahern
Chapter 8: A trip down memory lane
Estelle wanted to punch her giant ass of a boss Jerry. Seriously, she wanted to punch him right in his face. In her opinion doing that would have been justifiable. Especially since he was making her work the later dinner shift on Christmas Eve.
What kind of a jerk makes someone work late on Christmas Eve? Apparently her boss, Jerry.
Except as much as Estelle wanted to do to punch her boss, she knew she couldn't. She needed the job in order to afford Lilly's medication. If she quit she wouldn't be able to pay for rent and they'd be out in the streets. Living in the streets of Gotham was a huge no for the twenty-one year old.
In times of stress, much like this one, Estelle couldn't help but think that maybe moving back to Central City to live with Barry again wouldn't be such a bad idea. Her stubbornness though wouldn't allow that.
Besides, the heart surgery she needed to get Lilly was way less expensive in Gotham. Anyways, she didn't want to be a nuisance to Barry. He was busy protecting his city from crime. Along with trying to prove his father's innocence.
Speaking of Barry...
She and Lilly got a Christmas card from him today in the mail. Even though Barry was Jewish, he knew how much the holiday meant for them...especially for Lilly. Before Estelle left for work in the morning she got a chance to read the card. Honestly the cordial Christmas card from him was one of the reasons why she wasn't in a full bad mood. The other reason was Lilly.
Even though she was missing out spending Christmas Eve with her sister, Estelle had the joy of knowing she wasn't going to work tomorrow. So there was that. She would be able to spend the day with Lilly and give her the present she bought for her. Even though they were scarce with money, Estelle was able to pull some aside for a simple Christmas gift for her.
Nothing major, just some new pajamas. Star Wars theme. With the design of R2D2 on them. It might have not been an extravagant gift, but it was at least something. Estelle wanted to at least give her little sister something. It was Christmas after all.
Plus she wanted to lift up her spirit since she hadn't been feeling well the last couple of days. The new medication she'd been taking had been somewhat helping at first but now it was causing her to lose energy. Now that Lilly was off them, she just felt dispirited about going to the doctor again. So Estelle hoped the gift would brighten her mood. Barry's card certainly did. It got Lilly to smile.
Estelle also wanted to make up for lost time. She'd been working so much at the diner that she hadn't been able to spend time with her. Again, she had her jerk of a boss Jerry to thank for that. At least she wasn't the only one having to suffer. Her co-worker Macy was there with her as well. Although right now Macy was in the back alley having a "break." This being her third one...but whatever. She wasn't going to call her out for it.
It was Christmas Eve. So Estelle understood why she was angry. At least the strawberry haired girl wasn't taking out her frustration on the customers or on her. Not yet anyways.
The twenty-one year old walked over to one of the tables and picked up the now empty plates. Balancing them in one of her hands, she used the other to pick up the check. She scoffed at the tip that they left her. Shaking her head she made her way behind the counter. She placed the used plates there, grabbed a cleaning rag, and then went back to the table. Once there she started to wipe the table.
By now the song Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses was playing throughout the diner. Yet another Christmas song. The diner had been playing non-stop Christmas music the whole day. To add to the Christmas spirit she was even kind of dressed for the holiday. She was wearing a silly reindeer antler headband. Apparently it was required for her to wear today. It was Christmas Eve.
Now Estelle wasn't Grinch or anything. She loved Christmas. It was one of her favorite holidays. Right after Halloween, but the fact that she was working today, and not with Lilly, made whatever Christmas spirit she had leave her. So the reindeer headband was beginning to annoy her. Especially since it had silly jingle bells on it.
But you know what else was beginning to annoy her? The rude customers that have been coming in and out today. She would have figured nobody would come to the diner today, and if they did they'd at least tip her generously. But no, she was wrong, in both assumptions. People still came in and their tipping was nowhere near holiday tipping level. That was a major blow for Estelle. She hoped, since she was forced to work today, that she'd get more tips but no. Apparently the holidays didn't make people more generous.
But what did she expect? This was Gotham City.
Estelle continued to wipe down one of the diner tables. She let out a frustrated huff.
Just two more hours and you're out of here.
Estelle thought to herself as she got rid of the last smudge that was on the table. She gave herself a nod of approval and then started walking to the counter again. Just before she was about to go behind it, she caught sight of a young girl.
The young girl was sitting on one of the seats towards the side of the counter. Estelle right away noticed she was writing in some type of notebook. The girl was dark skinned and she had brown hair. She had on a warm style of clothing. So at least she was dressed right for the cold weather surrounding Gotham at this time of the year. Except what really caught Estelle's attention was that the girl was around Lilly's age and that she was here by herself. The young adult didn't see anyone else with her and that greatly concerned her. She guessed it was just her older sister's habits coming through, but she wanted to know if the young girl was okay. She made her way towards her.
"Everything okay over here?" Estelle asked her once she finally reached her. It was the usual recited question she would ask customers. Except this time she softened her voice and gave her a friendly smile.
The young girl looked up from her notebook. She caught sight of the waitress and nodded her head. While looking at her the girl noticed that her name-tag read Estelle. "Yes." She responded back to her.
Now that she was closer to her, Estelle noticed she didn't have any order of food. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Has someone helped you out?"
The young girl tilted her head a bit. "Well kind of. A girl with reddish hair sat me down. But once I told her that my mom dropped me off and that I was waiting here for my dad, she said she would be back in a few. She hasn't come back since then."
Estelle pursed her lips at the thought of Macy. How could have she just forgotten about a customer? A look of annoyance wanted to appear on her face, but she held her composure. She once again gave the young girl another smile. "Well, my name's Estelle and I'll be taking care of you now, okay?"
She already knew her name thanks to her name-tag, but she smiled anyway. "Okay, my name's Zoe." Zoe said, introducing herself to the waitress. She was much nicer than the last one.
"It's nice to meet you, Zoe." Estelle said and then took out her small notebook and pen from the pocket her diner dress had. "Now what can I get you?"
Zoe hesitated. "Can I just get a strawberry milkshake?"
Estelle frowned a bit. "Is that all?" She asked, lowering her pen away from her notebook.
"My mom didn't give me much money and like I said, I'm just here to wait for my dad to pick me up." Zoe explained to her in a soft voice.
Estelle put away her pen and notebook back inside her dress pockets. Inside she was feeling bad for Zoe. Her mother just left her here alone and with little money. At least the young adult had the reassurance that her dad was coming to pick her up. And hopefully soon. Because it wasn't necessarily a good idea to leave your child alone and unattended in Gotham, especially if it was at a diner like The Wallflower.
The twenty-one year old gave Zoe a thoughtful look before softening it. "Alright, I'll come back with your order." She told her and then walked off towards the kitchen.
Once there, Estelle got started on making the milkshake herself. After she finished putting the cherry on top of it, she grabbed a slice of pumpkin pie and put it inside a to-go box. She then took both items back to where Zoe was sitting. She placed said two items on the counter, but once Zoe saw the to go box next to her milkshake she gave Estelle a confused look.
"It's pumpkin pie." Estelle told her.
"But I didn't order pie." Zoe said, bemusement evident in her tone of voice. "I only have enough for the milkshake."
"Don't worry, it's on the house." Estelle replied with a small smile.
Zoe's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"
Estelle nodded her head. "Yeah."
This time Zoe returned the smile. "Thank you."
Estelle watched as she took a sip from her strawberry milkshake and noticed the happy gleam that went through her eyes. She felt content that she was able to make Zoe happy.
"I like your headband." Zoe suddenly said, taking Estelle by surprise. "The bells on the antlers look pretty cool."
Even though the headband was beginning to annoy Estelle, hearing Zoe's comment on it lessened her annoyance. A smile graced her face. "Thanks." She said as she flicked one of the bells with her hand. Her blue eyes then landed onto the notebook Zoe had been writing on when she first saw her. "What are you working on?" She asked.
Zoe took another sip of her milkshake before she gazed down at her notebook. "My math homework. But I barely understand what I need to do to solve this problem."
Her reply, along with the messy erase marks she saw, were enough for Estelle to finally understand how irked she was. "Do you mind if I take a look?" She politely asked Zoe.
The young girl eagerly nodded her head and handed over the notebook.
Estelle looked over the problem and not even ten seconds passed before she figured out the answer. She gazed back at Zoe and offered her a smile. "It's 87 degrees. You were on the right track. You did use the right numbers, but you just needed to subtract them rather than multiply." She easily explained as she handed the notebook back to her.
Zoe was left with an awed expression. "Wow, you're really smart!" She exclaimed now, smiling brightly at her. Her math notebook was now somewhat forgotten as she looked at Estelle with fascination. "How'd you know how to do all that without writing anything down or even using a calculator?"
Estelle found the fascination she showed for her math skills to be adorable. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant about the compliment. "Math has always been an easy subject for me. Well, math and science." She told the young girl. "Those were the two main subjects I focused on when I went to college."
"You went to college? Did you already graduate? " Zoe asked her.
Estelle's cheerful exterior fell. "Uh, no. I unfortunately didn't get the chance to."
Zoe noticed the sudden change."Was math what you were studying?" She asked her.
Estelle shook her head. "No, science actually. Physics, to be more exact." She surprisingly said to her. The more she talked about college the more she started to reminisce about her college days. She tried her hardest to push away said feelings. She collected herself and then gave Zoe a small smile. "But math follows behind science, so I kind of just always welcomed the two of them. Plus my little sister loves math. She's really good at it too. So math is something I'm used to."
"You have a little sister that loves math?" Zoe asked in shock.
Estelle laughed a little at Zoe's reaction. "Yeah, she's in middle school."
Zoe's eyes brightened up. "I'm in middle school too! What school does she go to? What's her name?"
Estelle liked how eager she sounded with her questions. "Her name's Lilly, and―" But she never got to finish that sentence because a gruff male voice interrupted her.
"Zoe?"
Estelle noticed how Zoe didn't even turn half away before a delighted expression broke out on her face. "Dad!" She exclaimed with a smile.
The twenty-one year old turned to look where Zoe's attention was at. There walking towards them was a man who looked to be in his late thirties. He too was wearing clothes made for the cold weather. As he got closer to them, Estelle was able to see the strong resemblance he had to Zoe. This led her to believe that he was the young girl's father.
Once he reached them, he pulled Zoe into a hug. The young girl who was sitting down returned the hug.
"Your mom called saying she dropped you off here." He said with a frown as he pulled away from her. "But she didn't say anything about where she was going. So where did she go?"
Zoe lowered her eyes. "She said she was going to meet up with Darnell." She said in a low voice.
He shook his head, clearly displeased. "I swear that mother of yours." Estelle heard the man grumble.
All of a sudden the man looked at her. Taking notice of the young adult. It had been so quick that it kind of took Estelle by surprise. She remained composed.
"And you are?" The man said, narrowing his eyes on her.
She cleared her throat and was about to speak up, when Zoe beat her to it. "Oh, this is Estelle." She said, looking up again towards them. "She works here, dad. She gave me a slice of pumpkin pie for free and she helped me out with math homework too!"
"Floyd." He nodded his head at her. Finally introducing himself. His expression became muddled after he heard his daughter mention her homework. "She did?" He questioned, still staring at Estelle. Her work uniform now became apparent to him, along with that silly reindeer headband she was wearing.
"Yeah, I saw her sitting by herself, so I wanted to see if she was okay." Estelle explained to him. She then offered a small smile. "My protective instincts kind of kicked in, I guess."
"You got a kid too?" Floyd asked her, furrowing his eyebrows.
Estelle suppressed a laugh, but still smiled. "No, but I have a little sister. She's probably around the same age as your daughter."
Floyd nodded his head, his hard exterior lessening. "She said you helped her with her homework?" He asked, curious.
Zoe was first to answer. "Yeah! She's really smart, dad." The young girl said animatedly. "She was telling me how she took math and science classes in college."
Floyd looked towards his daughter. "That's nice. Listen Zoe, why don't you wait by the door while I pay."
"Oh, but mom gave me money for the milkshake.' Zoe furrowed her eyebrows a bit.
Floyd gave her a small smile. "It's okay. I got it."
Zoe stayed quiet for a few seconds before she nodded her head. "Okay." She said as she grabbed her things. Once she was out of her seat she looked at the waitress who had been so nice to her. "It was nice to meet you, Estelle." She said with a full smile.
Estelle easily returned the smile. "You too, Zoe."
After saying their goodbyes, Estelle watched as Zoe made her way towards the door. She went to pick up the milkshake, but Floyd's voice stopped her from doing so.
"College girl, huh?" Floyd asked with a lighthearted tone.
Estelle gave a sheepish expression. "Ex-college girl." She corrected somewhat awkwardly.
Floyd shrugged his shoulders. "Still, you went. That counts for something. It's not your fault that life got in the way."
Estelle tilted her head. "What makes you think life got in the way? I mean, I could have just dropped out because I didn't want to go anymore."
Floyd gave her an amused look. "And what? You quit because you wanted to work at a diner instead? Nah, not a chance."
Damn. He was right.
Estelle huffed but nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right." She said being honest with him. "Life just got a bit difficult for me and my sister."
"No parents?" Floyd asked her. There was a hint of concern Estelle was able to hear.
Estelle shook her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. "No, they, uh, died. Two years ago in a car accident. I've been taking care of my little sister since then."
"Which is why you left school." Floyd said in realization.
Estelle nodded her head. "Yeah."
"What school did you go to?" Floyd asked her.
"University of Washington." Estelle answered him. A bashful expression appeared on her face. "I was a physics major."
Floyd let out a whistle. "Damn, so you really are smart. I bet you took AP classes and were on that honor roll thing in high school, huh?"
Estelle laughed lowly. "Uh, yeah. It's what actually helped pay for college. It if weren't for my good marks I wouldn't have been able to afford it." After saying that her voice took a grim tone. She pursed her lips. "None of that matters anymore though."
There was a moment of silence between them. Floyd looked to be contemplating something before he finally spoke.
"While that may be true, you left for a good reason. You're a good older sister and that little sister of yours is lucky to have you. Nowadays it's hard to find someone so self-scarfing."
Estelle was touched by his words. Here was a man she just met, offering her words of kindness. She smiled at him. "Thanks."
Floyd waved one of his hands, nonchalant. "Nah, don't be thanking me." He said trying to sound serious, but she was still able to see his own smile as well.
"Estelle."
The twenty-one year old turned her head and saw her boss Jerry by his office door. He was giving her a stern look. She sighed already knowing what that look meant. He wanted her to stop talking and start working. Once he was back inside his office, she turned to face Floyd again.
"Your boss seems like a real piece of work." Floyd said, his voice hardening a bit.
Estelle let out a small scoff. "You have no idea." Her voice then softened a bit. "Listen, I have to go back to work now, sorry. Thanks again." When she saw his bemused expression she let out a bashful laugh. "For what you said...about me being a good sister."
Once again the man appeared to be indifferent to this. "Well it's the truth. Anyways, here." He said as he reached into his coat pockets and pulled out a few dollar bills.
Estelle reached for the money. She counted the bills and then furrowed her eyebrows. She looked at Floyd again. "The milkshake didn't cost this much."
Floyd shrugged his shoulders. "Consider it payment for the pumpkin pie."
"But that was free." Estelle gently protested. "You don't have to pay me for that."
Floyd rolled his eyes. "Fine, consider it your tip. Just take the money, College"
Estelle had to smile when she heard him call her that. It was kind of funny in a way. So she relented and threw him a grateful look. "Well, thanks." She said to him, and then decided to say something else. "Merry Christmas."
Even though it was Christmas Eve it was still weird for Floyd to hear someone other than his daughter say this to him. He saw the smile that was on the girl's face. Finally letting a full smile appear on his, he reached over to the silly headband she was wearing and flicked one of the bells. "Merry Christmas." He said to her before he walked to where his daughter was waiting for him.
Estelle watched as they left the diner, but through the window she saw how Zoe waved goodbye to her from outside. The twenty-one year old had to smile again. Her mood escalated a bit now, and she had every right to believe that it was because of her meeting with Zoe and her father Floyd.
Floyd Lawton―or as he preferred to be called, Deadshot―was thoroughly thrown off.
He recognized this girl.
It took him a few more seconds than needed, but he knew he had seen her face before. Her eyes were the first thing that struck something within him. And that's when the memory of meeting her hit him―hard.
The Wallflower Diner.
Christmas Eve.
It had been a while ago, but the memory of her was still there.
She was the waitress that he met through his daughter. His daughter Zoe had talked so highly of her, even when they left the diner. It was an odd thing, given she hadn't known the waitress for so long. But his daughter, even with her young age, had always been a good judge of character. And because of this he even remembered the girl's name.
Estelle.
Hell, he also remembered the kind words he'd surprisingly said to her. The story she told him about her leaving school to take care of her little sister just stuck with him. He was rarely kind to anyone, unless they had a past with him. That and his daughter, but that was about it. So it was strange that he had empathy for this girl with just one meeting. But alas he did. But now he was running into her again, only this time there was a question going through his head.
Just what the hell was she doing here?
By the looks of it, it appeared as if she remembered him as well. But she wasn't making a big spectacle out of it. If anything she seemed genuinely surprised to see him. So that led him to believe that she really didn't know he was in here. Still his gaze lingered on her form. He saw how she was discreetly sending him a 'I'll explain later' type of stare. At least that's what he assumed it was. One thing he knew for sure was that she didn't want him calling her out. So he didn't. He instead moved his gaze to the colonel and the other woman who was there as well.
Estelle let out a low breath of relief that he hadn't said anything regarding her. She still kept her cool as they brought him closer. The guards made him come to a stop when they reached the table.
"Unlock him." Rick ordered sharply.
Estelle right away saw how Griggs eyes widened in surprise. He glanced at the table that had various types of guns layered over it and then back at Deadshot. There was no doubt that he was feeling absolute fear. Both on the outside and inside. His anxious expression pretty much confirmed that.
"What?" Griggs asked, his voice taking a bemused tone.
Rick remained stern. "You heard me."
"Do you know what this man can do?" Griggs questioned him.
Rick hardened his stare at him. "I'm here to find out. Lose the restraints." He ordered more firmly and Estelle was quick to hear how his southern accent became more pronounced. Being the observant person that she was, she took into account that his accent became more clear whenever he got irritated. Like he was right now with Griggs.
Said guard had a dumbfounded look on his face. He faltered his protests however due to Rick's unwavering stare. He gave one quick look at Deadshot, and right away saw how amused he looked. Once again, Griggs had to hold in his insults and instead gave one of the other officers a stiff nod. He watched as the officer came towards Deadshot and unlocked his cuffs.
As soon as he was free from the handcuffs, Deadshot rubbed his wrists and then stretched his arms out. While doing that he made sure to throw another smug look towards Grigss' way. He let his eyes wander to where Estelle was at. He kept his gaze on her before shifting to the table that had all the guns. He raised his eyebrows and then gazed over towards the Colonel. "So, what's this? Cheerleading tryouts?" He questioned caustically.
Rick didn't pay attention to his witty remark. Instead he nodded towards the table that had all the guns on it. "Let's go. Let's see what you can do. They say you've never missed a shot. Prove it."
Not having to be told twice, Deadshot walked towards the table that held all the guns and picked the nearest one. He raised it in the air, enjoying the feel of it in his hand. It had been a while since he was able to hold one of these bad boys. He lowered it a bit and quickly loaded it.
"Hmm, you got one in the chamber." Rick said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you gonna do with it?"
Almost immediately after Rick said that, Deadshot aimed the gun directly at Griggs.
Estelle saw how Griggs' face became white as a ghost.
"Shit!" He shouted and jumped in place.
The other guards that were with them were quick to act. They pointed their own guns at Deadshot, hoping that would make him back off. Said man did not back off. He wasn't fazed by the guns that were pointed at him. Unlike with Griggs, who was practically shaking like a leaf.
The other guards offered to shoot him, but Rick was fast to intervene. He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. Estelle was right behind him, ready to use her powers to protect him if needed.
"Everybody calm down!" Rick yelled. He looked at the scared guard. "Griggs, tell your men to stand down." He stridently ordered him to do so.
Not seeing another option out of this pickle, Griggs decided to follow through with the order. Reluctantly though. He glared at Deadshot, who was now full on smirking at him. Griggs spared Rick a glance, before moving his unnerving gaze to Deadshot. "Colonel, for the record this is exactly what I was worried about!"
"What's for dinner?" Deadshot asked him facetiously.
Estelle couldn't help but wonder if that question had some sort of meaning behind it. It sure did sound pretty personal.
"Ames, if this man shoots me, I want you to kill him and I want you to clear my browser history." Griggs said to one of the other officers without taking his gaze off Deadshot.
That comment almost made Estelle roll her eyes and scoff, but she stopped herself from doing so. She noticed Deadshot looked quite amused by his response.
"So, the firing pins is filed down, right? Or a mag full of dummy rounds? If I pull the trigger nothing happens." Deadshot said keeping the gun pointed at Griggs, his finger ready to pull the trigger. He kept his cool, as wariness still lingered. A table full of guns for him to use just seemed too good to be true.
"You're absolutely right." Waller said coming up behind Deadshot. "Why would we give a loaded weapon to an infamous hitman? Go ahead, pull the trigger. Empty it."
"Don't empty nothing." Griggs said, quick to protest. "You don't even know this lady. I've known you for like nine months." He said lamely. "Remember when I brought you that cookie? That was a real cookie."
Deadshot, wanting to know if the gun was really loaded or not, lifted it up in the air and pulled the trigger. He was quite shocked when it actually fired. Shocked, but also pleased.
"What?!" Griggs exclaimed in pure shock.
Well damn. Estelle was expecting the gun to fire, but even she had to admit she was still somewhat taken back by the gun going off.
Rick and Waller, on the other hand, remained indifferent by this. The Colonel shrugged his shoulders."Opps." Was all he said.
Deadshot finally released a chuckle. "Y'all jokers must be crazy." He commented before he grabbed another gun from the table and then started aiming at the shooting targets they had lined up for him.
What happened next was just astonishing for Estelle to witness. Gun after gun, the twenty-one year old watched as he hit every mark right on the bullseye. Never missing a single shot. Honestly, it both amazed and slightly scared her. No wonder he was such an infamous hitman. Her mouth was open a bit, and she noticed how all the other guards were more shocked by the hitman's abilities. One last shot was fired before he dropped the gun he was holding and then went over to where the Colonel was at.
"Now that you know what you're buying, I'm gonna tell you the price. First, I want out of here." Deadshot said, gesturing around the prison with his hand. "Second, I want full custody of my daughter, alright? And her mom can have supervised visits, but her stank ass boyfriend can't come. Darnell, can't come."
"Darnell's out." Rick repeated, nonchalant.
Deadshot nodded his head. "He's out. Third, you all gonna pay for my daughter's whole education. Best schools, and then I want her to go to college, like Harvard or Yale."
"It's Ivy league." Rick said, seemingly appearing to follow along with the hitman's requests.
"Ivy league, yeah. One of them big joints. I'm sure College here can help pick out a few good ones." Deadshot said, gesturing his hand towards Estelle. Said girl was looking at him with an expression that held puzzlement with a tad bit of amusement underneath. "And if she can't cut it and her grades start slipping I need you to white people that thing."
"Hmm." Rick replied, keeping his expression neutral.
"You know how you all do." Deadshot said earnestly.
Rick nodded his head. "Oh yeah."
"Now that's my price. What I'm concerned about is that I don't see people writing shit down." Deadshot stressed out before his eyes went onto Estelle. "Unless you got College here memorizing everything I'm saying."
Estelle this time kept her expression placid. She didn't want a smile to break out or anything from hearing him call her by that nickname. That would have caught the attention of Rick and Waller.
Much to her luck, Rick focused more on Deadshot's requests. She saw him give Deadshot a tight smile. "You're in no position to be making any demands."
Deadshot did a fake surprised expression. "Oh, I'm sorry. You thought I was talking to you? No errand boy, I'm talking to your boss." He said pointing to Waller. He turned to look at said woman as he was being handcuffed again. "That's my price sweetie. You know what it is." He let gaze fall onto Estelle again and he gave her a nod. "College." He said right before he was dragged off by the guards.
After he left, Estelle was left in an even bigger dilemma. Especially when she finally noticed the stares she was getting from both Rick and Waller.
A/N: So what did you guys think of the flashback? The next chapter will finally have Estelle with the rest of the squad. So that means she's gonna be seeing a certain blonde who's gonna be more than happy to see her again.
