Second day of work.

I never enjoyed the act of washing dishes. I was never against it, but I never found it fun like some people claimed. That was until I realized it was a break from having to wait on tables.

Being a waiter was stressful, I had learned. It was nerve wracking and busy. Washing dishes, on the other hand, was quiet and peaceful. A pile of dirty dishes and cups was a welcome sight because it meant I didn’t have to deal with customers and could leave it to my boss for a while.

Pro tip: When you don’t enjoy every second of your job, learn to appreciate the more peaceful moments. It won’t make it all better, but it’ll help recharge your batteries for a moment until your shift ends. That advice comes from older me.

The pile of dishes, however, disappeared as I set the last one to dry. Peaceful times were over.

Maria walked into the kitchen, or more like peeked her head inside. “Oliver, another group came in. Are you done with the dishes?”

“Yes. I’ll see them right away,” I answered.

“Thanks!”

The door to the kitchen was behind the counter. I walked out and saw Maria working on an order for a group of girls from my school. The new group she mentioned was yet another three girls from my school, still in their uniforms. That made it eight customers in the shop right now.

I took a second to brace myself. My heart was pounding already. This was my second day working here, and I still couldn’t fully get used to dealing with customers. That first Saturday, however, was eye-opening in many ways. I felt more ready now than I did last time.

“Welcome to our shop,” I greeted with a small smile. I still remembered Maria’s warning about me frowning too much, but I feared too big a smile would just make me end up looking creepy. Please don’t laugh, but I tried practicing in front of a mirror last night and managed to get something decent. So far, the gentle welcome seemed to be working well.

“Th-Thank you,” one of the girls said, blushing, and her friends giggled to themselves as they took their seats at table six.

The girls looked younger than me. They were from my school, but I didn’t know them. Sophomores, by the looks of it. They shared knowing grins as they looked at me.

I took their orders, now writing them as abbreviations to get it done faster. I wrote them as full words on my first day, and that took a lot of time. Now I was going for something like this:

-T6: Fr.T+Lat; Chck+Moch; Dnt+esp.

That meant: Table six, fruit tart + latte; cheesecake + mocha; donut + espresso.

So long as I understood it, it was fine to get weird abbreviations, and it helped save time.

“I’ll be back in a moment, then,” I told them, keeping my formal smile and going back to get the order ready. Even if I didn’t feel it, I had to at least try to look as calm as I could. Remember, people come here to have a relaxing time, not to be glared at.

Maria was going over to table eight with a full tray, so I got the juice and all the pastries ready before she came back to ask her to prepare the coffee. I had learned to operate the machine, but coffee duties were still the boss’.

As I walked with the tray to table six, my ears caught more giggling from table eight. The three girls there were looking at me, too. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Let it get to you and you’re bound to trip, make a fool of yourself, and worst of all, owe Maria for wasted food and broken cups.

I was serving the cups and plates, when one of the girls, the most outgoing of the bunch, apparently, spoke to me with a flirty grin.

“Hey, you go to our school, right? What’s your name?”

I felt my chest freezing and a knot forming inside my throat. It was one thing to greet and thank people, to take their orders and wish for them to enjoy themselves. I could look at it as nothing but business, and that helped me relax enough to get it done. But making conversation with strangers? Nope, still not quite there.

NEVERTHELESS! I couldn’t run away. It wasn’t an option at all. I couldn’t be rude, either, so ignoring them now was out of the question. I had to watch my words. Be polite, smile, act sure of yourself. Fake it until you make it, as they say.

I widened my formal smile just a bit more as I answered. “Yes, I go to the same school. I’m Oliver. If you need anything, just call.”

I gave them a little nod that was just short of a bow. That sent the girls into another giggling fit and allowed me to safely retreat without seeming rude. Once behind the counter again, the tension on my shoulders left. Somewhat. And as I relaxed, I began to think of what I had just done.

That was… good, right? It felt good. I didn’t think I did anything uncalled for, I gave my name in a polite way, I smiled and offered to serve as best I could. But those giggles… Could they have been laughing at me for something weird I said or did?

“Very nice, very nice,” Maria praised me. “You’re handling yourself so much better today. No stuttering, and you have a very nice smile. Yes, keep that up, Oliver.”

A genuine smile crossed my lips as pride swelled inside me. It wasn’t wrong to do that. I’d done well. If I could keep this up, then…

“But you know…” Maria muttered, glancing around at the customers in her shop. “I didn’t expect it to work THIS well. Word spreads fast.”

The bell at the door rang, and every muscle in my body tensed up again. I turned around to greet our new customer, and all that tension went down the drain when I saw it was Thomas who was coming in.

“Yo!” he greeted me with a big grin and a casual hand wave. “Busy day, by the looks of it.”

“Thankfully,” Maria answered.

“H-Hello, ma’am!”

I held back my snicker. The moment he addressed her, he got all stiff.

“Here to cheer on your friend?” she asked.

“W-Well, yeah,” Thomas laughed. “Never in my life would I have imagined him as a waiter. I can’t help but worry.”

“Have you boys known each other long?” she asked.

“No, not even a year,” Thomas admitted. “But we get along.”

“That’s nice. Well, what will you have?”

“Um… An espresso and some cookies, please.”

“Coming right up.”

Maria went over to the display to gather the cookies for his order, and Thomas’ eyes followed her like they were glued to her.

“Well, that’s an improvement over last time,” I said, grinning and leaning on the counter.

“Shut the fuck up.” He groaned and hid his face in his hand. “I’m here to check up on you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh, you don’t believe me, do you?”

“That excuse won’t last you very long.”

“...Have some mercy, man.” Thomas’ shoulders dropped in resignation.

“Sorry, sorry.” I chuckled.

“It’s not that I’m going to… Ugh, it’s stupid, okay? I just… felt like coming here after practice.”

“Thank you for your patronage.”

“I liked you more when you were quiet,” he grumbled and went over to a small table while I laughed.

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