Tessa's POV

I walked into Denarii's with an air of confidence. From my past experiences, they hire people who are confident, not cocky. I walked over to the manager, who was sitting behind the counter in a bar stool. That's what most of the managers in Nerja do.

"Hi, you're the manager, right?" I asked her just to make sure.

"Yeah, sweetie. What's up?" She asked while she put her magazine down.

I put my hands on the counter. "I'm Tessa. I'd like a job here." I said, actually putting myself out there.

"Have you worked in waitressing before?" She wondered.

"Yeah, I worked here every summer up until three years ago. So I worked here for three summers." I told her.

"Good, you're hired."

"Really? It's that simple?" I asked quizzically.

"Sure. Your blonde hair and big, blue eyes will be a refresher for this place. You're young and tan. Most of the employees here are pale or brunette. You've got the looks, girl. Hopefully, you'll attract more people." She gestured to my hair and other various places.

Then she went to get my uniform: a white V-neck, black bikini, and a black circle skirt. It was a full-on uniform. We used to just have to wear a polo and a pair of jeans. It was cute, but I didn't know if it would look good on me. I guess they couldn't have gotten where they were unless they did some upgrades. I didn't usually wear skirts; I was already thinking this was a bad idea.

She handed the uniform to me; at least everybody else was wearing the same thing. "Here's your uniform. Your shift is from eleven until four if that's alright." When I nodded she continued. "Which means that you start in thirty minutes." She walked away from me and went back to her magazine.

I put my uniform in my bag, and went to find my group. If they were up by now, they'd most likely be at the boardwalk. I went there first.

"TESSA WHITE! That cannot be you!" I turned around to find the voice. It was none other than Liam, one of my closest friends.

"Liam!" I ran over to him and threw my arms around his neck. I buried my face into the crook of his shoulder and nuzzled, breathing in the familiar scent of Liam.

"Where have you been, Theresa?" He pulled away and held me by the shoulders. I giggled because, for some reason, he is the only one who can call me by my full name.
"For the last three years? I'll try to name it all. There was school, homework, boring stuff, college visits, and NYU-"

"You got into NYU?" He interrupted me. I nodded my head like a crazy person. I felt so elated. "Wow, that's amazing Tessa!" HE congratulated me by pulling me into another hug. "I'm so proud of you!" He mussed up my hair. I fake-scowled at him.

"Excuse you sir. I have a job in fifteen minutes. I have to look decent, and that won't happen if you mess up my hair."

"Really? You're not in uniform." He noticed.

"Well, you wouldn't wear it all the time either if it were you." I told him. "Speaking of which, I have to get to said-job. You can come with if you want."

He nodded. "Let me just get a couple of people from our group first." He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking away.

I rushed back to Denarii's and quickly got dressed. The uniform was so…Ech. Not that it looked bad, but it was a little slutty. Like, major slutty. At least I got a free swimsuit out of it. I threw my hair up in a messy bun before walking out to start my shift.

"Lookin' good, sweetie." My manager, whom I still didn't know the name of, winked at me. I blushed at her 'compliment.' I immediately worked on clearing tables, putting dishes into bins and bringing them to the kitchen, fun stuff.

"Wait, the Tessa?"

"…Tessa White…"

"…back…"

"…Can't believe…"

"…How hot…"

I heard some of the whispers while I walked around but not all. I could only imagine what people were saying about me. It had been three years, and I was pretty popular when I came here.

"Hun," My manager tapped my shoulder to get my attention. "Go escort people to their table and take their orders. You're pretty, you shouldn't be doing dishes." She walked away-smacking her gum-before I could give an answer. I put my half-filled container of dishes before grabbing a notepad and making my way to the front. My first customers were none other than Liam and part of my group. I rushed to hug them all.

After hugging Liam extremely quickly, I hugged my best friend. "Cara!" She kissed both of my cheeks-she's French-and squeezed me tight.

"Tessa White! Where in the world have you been? You look so grown up! No! You were not supposed to grow up without me!" I laugh/cried along with her.

"Oh my goodness, talk about growing up! Look at yourself! Puberty did you good, girl." I winked at her.

We hugged again before she allowed me to greet everyone else. Lola was first. Or second. First after Cara, I should say. She squealed and squeezed the life out of me. Lola was the polar opposite of Cara, but somehow they made it work. Cara had brown hair and tan skin, she was all natural; Lola dyed her hair vibrant colors like blue and pink, and had pale skin, the opposite of natural. I loved them both dearly, but I always hung out with Cara. I just wasn't as close to Lola as I was to Cara.

After Lola had her fill of me, I was passed along to Sailor. I was never really friends with her, but I still gave the effort. Not much could be said for her. She grimaced and gave me a weak hug. Like, weaker than the hugs that Jesse gives me, and that's saying something. "Oh, Tessa. How much I missed you." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. I just fake-smiled and hugged her back.

Then, I moved onto, last but not least, one of my other guy friends, Noah. Noah was like everyone's little brother. He was only two years younger than us, so that puts him at seventeen. Not the little fourteen year-old from three years ago; he'd gotten bigger, stronger, and more confident. You could see that all of his awkwardness had disappeared only to be replaced by cockiness.

He pulled me into a hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek before smiling at me. "Tessa, you look radiant." He said, causing me to blush.

I smiled. "Oh, thanks. It's so good to see you again. You're not that little kid anymore, are you?" I ruffled his hair and he laughed. "Well, let me show you guys to your table. Do you guys want a booth or do you want to sit at the bar?"

Liam took the lead. "We'll take a booth, thanks." I smiled at him in response while I led them to their table.

I passed out their menus. "Do you guys know what you want to drink or do you need a few minutes?" I asked.

"We just got the menus. Leave us in peace for a second." Sailor said, rather rudely. Like I said, we were never really friends. Liam and Cara both gave her a look while I just ignored her.

Liam placed his hand on my wrist before I could walk away. "We'll be just a few minutes, Tessa. Thank you." He told me. I nodded my head and walked away to help other customers.

I still heard hushed whispers about me again. I shrugged it off while I led a couple to sit at the bar. After I took their order-they were actually ready and polite-I went back to the group to take theirs. I got their drinks, and left them to it while I helped other customers. While shifting around, I was tapped on the shoulder by Liam and Cara who told me they were leaving. Liam pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead before telling me to text him. Cara wrapped me in a hug and whispered in my ear. "You better call me later. After your shift. I know where you live." She threatened me. I laughed, and I told her I would. Then they left me to my boring job. Great, I thought. It's only twelve thirty. I have at least three more hours before Niall gets here. Another three hours of this constant whispering and rumours.