Arlo
Well, clearly this chick is having a bad day. That's not my problem and she needs to do her damn job. Otherwise I might be late for my night class. "That's the fakest smile I've ever seen..." I pause and lean in, staring at her nametag and then look up at her. "Nesi."
"My patience is really thin right now, man. Just order something or I'll release all of my anger out on you." Nesi snaps her fingers like she's the one in a hurry.
I peer up at the menu, since I can never remember what number the combo I always purchase is. "Oooh, I'm terrified. It's hard taking some chick seriously in a fast food uniform working the register," I say without even looking at her.
Nesi slams her fist down on the counter. "Maybe you'll want to take this outside? Fourth time's the charm, since no one else wanted to take this to the parking lot."
I shake my head. "Nope. Just get me a large number nine with an ice water."
Our gaze finally meets, and she's staring daggers at me. She taps buttons on a screen without even looking at it. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't creepy. Her eyes squint at me and I guess she has the order totals memorized because the next words out of her mouth are, "That'll be $10.73."
I get my wallet out and shove my credit card into the little device in front of the register. "Been working here awhile, have you?"
Nesi folds her arms over her chest. "What makes you say that?"
I pull my card out when the payment goes through. "You told me the total without even looking." I glance back up and see that she's still staring at me. What the hell is this? Do I have something on my face? Is my hair standing up? Damn. I realize people are supposed to stare at each other when conversing, yet that's never 100% of the time unless I really don't know how to socialize.
"Or I'm just smart," Nesi says, walking over and sliding an empty cup and lid over to me. She also hands me a receipt with my order number.
"Sure," I say. I grab the cup and walk over to the drink station. The water is never labeled, so no matter what restaurant I'm in, it's a chore to find. When I finally fill my cup and turn around, Nesi stands right there, having followed me from behind the counter where she clearly belongs. I've worked fast food before and leaving the assigned post is a huge no-no. I know the drill and she's not following it. "Uh... is my order ready?"
Nesi says nothing. Now that I stand in front of her, we're the same height. She's got some pretty dark eyes. Dark brown? I know black isn't possible, yet that's the color they look like. The restaurant seems less busy than I expected, considering it's about 6:00 PM. My night class starts in 30 minutes and campus is at least a 15 minute drive and that doesn't include parking and walking to the building. "No," Nesi says, breaking my stressful thoughts. "Your order isn't ready."
Nesi's right in my personal space. "You looking for a tip or something? I know it's hard to press buttons on a screen, but come on." I look down to poke a straw through the lid of my ice water and bring the straw to my lips, taking a few gulps. She steps closer until the front of our shoes touch and I stare at her with the straw still in my mouth. I can't help it. I'm thirsty.
There's a chuckle that comes from the corner of the room. I turn and see a man clutching a small cup of coffee. Must be fresh, considering a good amount of steam rises from it. A bit late in the day to be drinking coffee, but I'm on my way to a night class, so I can't be that hypocritical. I wouldn't mind one right now but caffeine really messes with me, so I avoid it entirely. Hence the water.
"You think you're pretty funny, huh?" Nesi asks me.
I gulp some more water, feeling the coldness flow through my body like a wave of relief. I do my best to keep my gaze focused on Nesi, but the urge to look away and at anything else feels overwhelming. "Sometimes." I pause and see another worker with my hairstyle placing a brown bag on the counter. "Oh, look. My order is ready." I dig the receipt out of my pocket and confirm the number. "836."
"Yeah? I need to go get it, huh?" Nesi shoves my shoulder, making the lid pop off my water, and it spills onto the floor. I take a few steps back.
"Hey! What the hell?!" I wipe my arm off and luckily the water missed my clothes and landed on the dirty floor instead. When I look up, Nesi's closed the distance between us again. "What's your problem?"
Nesi puts her hand on her chest. "My problem?!"
"Yeah! I just want my food and to leave!" I snap back.
"You're the one being an asshole!" Nesi yells. She reaches forward and grips my shirt like a bully.
This is a great way to get herself fired. Maybe that's what she's trying to do for all I know. I grab her hand, but her grip is firm, bunching the fabric of my t-shirt in her grasp. "Shit, I forgot we were on the playground. Do you want my lunch money?"
Nesi grins. She walks forward and that makes me walk backward until I'm back against the wall by the fountain of drinks. "Do you remember what we said as kids when boys and girls would fight? When we were young?"
I give her a face. "Uh... You lost me."
Nesi flicks my cheek with her finger, making me flinch. "You look like a pretty boy... are you gay?"
My cheeks feel warm. "What the fuck? No!" I push her back. Wait... I remember having a girl bully me as a kid. It wasn't this Nesi chick, but I later learned that my bully liked me and that's why she bullied me so hard. "Hold up. Are you saying that you like me? Is that what this is all about? We just met and honestly, you seem a bit crazy."
Nesi spins around, a complete 360. It's like she's trying to appear innocent with her hands locked together behind her back. "You know what they say about crazy chicks," she mutters.
"Yeah, I do. Don't stick your dick in crazy," I answer with a straight face.
Nesi's eyebrows narrow. "Hmm, that's not what I was thinking. What's your name?" she asks.
I snort. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because I asked." Yup, she's definitely trying to appear innocent, and it's failing spectacularly.
Now, I'm the one rolling my eyes. "Well, since you've been so nice..."
"His name is Arlo," a voice says from the corner of the dining room.
I jerk my head over in that direction. It's the man with the small coffee that hasn't moved. "Uh... how do you know my name? That's more creepy than this fucking chick right here."
The man doesn't answer, and instead stirs his coffee with one of those skinny looking straws. My peripheral vision sees movement, and I look back to see Nesi's hand raised. She swings her open palm toward my cheek when yet another voice interrupts this romantic moment. That's a joke. This isn't a romantic moment. I flinch anyway, my face reacting as though Nesi is going to follow through with a slap that never comes.
Yet another voice cuts through the air with a low rumble. "Nesi!"
I'm not sure if it's the harshness of that tone that stopped her or if she never intended to hit me.
We both turn and look at who I assume is Nesi's manager, judging by his outfit. His nametag says Bill and he carries a bag meal with a ticket taped on it that reads 836. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he snaps, staring intensely at Nesi.
Nesi steps back to create distance between me and her. "Nothing. Arlo was being rude."
"Whatever," I mutter. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check the time. "Damn."
Nesi moves forward again, but Bill gets in the way. He turns his back to her and gives me my meal. "Here, kid," he says.
I take it. "Thanks." I would look around him at Nesi, but he's a bit too big to just lean over and see what's on the other side.
"I'd get out of here," he suggests. "Nesi has had one of those shifts."
I step to the side so I can see her. She's standing there with her weight on only one leg and her arms folded over her chest. That brown hair of hers definitely looks like it could use a wash. There's some dirt on her face and possibly some grease from a fryer or something. She moves her hands to her hips and locks eyes with me.
"I'd listen to him," she hisses at me. "I've tried to fight three other rude customers today and none of them have taken up my offer. Unless you—"
"Nope. You've already made me late for my night class. Thanks for nothing, Nesi," I mutter. I head for the door when I see the man sitting in the corner. Oh, that's right. This guy knew my name somehow. I never even said it. I walk up to him and slow my gait when I get closer to him. What if he has a gun or a knife or he's a creepy stalker that wants to jack my stuff? That's a pun, by the way. Get it?
Before I can say anything, the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card. "Here."
I take it. "A business card?"
He nods. "Yeah, an internship offer for your major at Mont Claire University." He takes another sip of his coffee, but looks sad when he realizes his cup is empty.
My eyebrows perk up. "Oh! Really?!"
The bottom of his coffee cup must have some secret meaning, because that's where this man stares. Not at me. Not that I care if this is a legitimate opportunity for me. "There's no interview time yet, but search us and do some research and think about it, okay?"
I look down at the card and see the name of a law firm. I've read law firms are a place where my degree would be useful and getting an internship before my senior year would look impressive. "Of course! Thank you so much!"
The man nods and stands up, probably to throw his cup away. "Run along. You'll be late."
"Thank you, sir!" I shake his hand and look back over to see Bill chewing Nesi out. I don't miss working in the service or retail industry. It's rare to get a good boss. Nesi and I lock eyes and she flips me a middle finger and sticks her tongue out at me.
How mature, I mouth at her, knowing she should be able to read my lips from just two simple words. She shifts her attention back to Bill and I walk out the door and into the setting sun.
All of that made me late for my night class. I make it there eventually, sneaking in about 20 minutes late. The professor didn't even notice and the other students in the class could give a shit that someone arrived late. It's pretty standard every week. Someone is always late.
Night classes are the worst and I'm sitting here twirling a pen around my fingers. There's only 12 students in this entire class meant for a room of at least 40. But when a class I need is only offered at night, then there's not much I can do about it. And even worse, this class is almost three hours of lectures every single week. There's nothing else. Just lecture after lecture and monotone voice after monotone voice.
At least make this more enjoying professor whatever-your-name is, damn. I can't pronounce it, but it's not like the professor interacts with us. He just stands his old wrinkled ass up there and talks. He doesn't even look at us and just stares straight ahead behind a podium. I guess this class doesn't have enough students or interest to fill a typical class time slot, like, say, in the afternoon or morning. Lucky me.
Since I have nothing better to do, I reach into my pocket and pull out the business card I got. I'm not the only one with a phone out, so I use this time to look up the law firm, called O.S. Law and Business, to know more about them until class finally ends. I'd rather have Nesi up in my face again smelling like french fries than sit here and be bored for eternity, because that's what these three hours feel like. An eternity.