High School

Chapter 27

*Restaurant Thursday Night*

It was 6:20pm when I put in my Lyft ride to the restaurant. I grabbed my small shoulder clutch purse and filled it with my lipgloss, moisturizer, house keys, money and bank card, and my gum. I got the notification that my Lyft was outside waiting, so I walked out locking the door and getting in the car. The ride was quiet even with the music playing in the background. I made it to the restaurant around 6:49pm and walked over to Ms.Snow waiting to be seated.

My coworkers began rolling in one by one a minute later. We were all seated at our private dinning table in this really pretty party room. Everyone ordered their drinks, which no one but Ms.Snow could order alcoholic beverages, and their appetizers. I ordered the steamed chicken and pork dumplings and the lobster crawfish wontons appetizers with my water. I couldn't help myself since I walked into the restaurant I could smell such delicious food cooking in the kitchen. While we waited on our food, I took my overcoat off and slowly sipped my water until someone spoke. Of course it was Ms.Snow letting everyone know why we were out eating together.

Ms.Snow: I'll start by saying I know you're all wondering why I asked you to attend this dinner tonight. I just wanted to take a few moments to let you all get to know each other outside of work. This is a team, no matter your age, sex, or ethnicity. I want us to be comfortable and understand that we can come to each other about anything. I haven't done this before but it is long overdue and since we have a new member to the business, I want us to introduce ourselves better.

Arica: I can go first. My name is Arica. I'm fifteen turning sixteen in July. I'm a sophomore at Eastover and I'm a dancer on the team. I'm happy to have the opportunity to work for Ms.Snow and be your fellow coworker. I know I'm young but I keep my focus on what's important and try to put my best forward.

The rest of the group introduced themselves as I learned each of their names and faces to match. Our appetizers came out and we all dug in moaning to the delicious taste of love on our plates. My lobster crawfish appetizer was hitting every tastebud I never knew about. The dumplings were the perfect texture and flavor to match my woken tastebuds. I couldn't finish my food if I wanted to eat any entree on the menu, so I asked for a to go box for the left overs I had and gave my plates to our wonderful server. It was now time to order the main course and I asked for the Seafood curry then a Suspension cake and Toasted pound cake dessert to go. I know my food will be pricey with two appetizers and desserts but shidd I'm taking it home for another time. This food is definitely A1 and I need to savor the taste even from the comfort of my bed.

Fifteen minutes later the table was quietly eating again. My belly was starting to poke out from these jeans and I knew it was the moment to stop feeding my face. I ate about half of the seafood curry getting upset I couldn't finish it. However, I'm glade I have food for tomorrow when I get home. The bill came and I could see Ms.Snow's face get a bit red and I just knew the total was high. I took a peek at the bill seeing a $592.01 total and I began calculating the price of my meal and the gratuity charge. My food alone was $109.48 for the five items I had. I got our server to separate my meal from the total. Everyone else decided to just send their portion of the bill to Ms.Snow's bank through zelle.

I paid my bill with my bank card, gave the server thirty dollars, and the busser twenty dollars both in cash. Before everyone was ready to leave, I excused myself to the ladies room. I fixed my clothes, washed my hands, and gathered my things. I requested another Lyft back to my apartment while sitting back at the table. I checked to be sure I had all my things and all my food bagged up together. A conversation was proceeding across the table with a pleased expression about the dinner and hopes of doing this every few months. My ride was about two minutes away and I let the table know I was heading home.

I texted DeSean letting him know I was sharing my ride location back home. Had to be sure someone knew where I was just in case my driver was a creeper. I got the notification my ride was pulling up soon, so I said my good nights before walking out to find the car. I shared my ride location while getting into the car and got comfortable. I could feel myself getting sleepy but I played a game on my phone to stay awake. By time the car stopped in front my apartment it was 9:30pm. I told the driver thank you, got out the car, unlocked the door, and locked it behind me.

I was ready to hit my head into the pillows and blanket. I stripped out of my dirty outfit, grabbed my night clothes, and took a quick hot shower. I brushed my teeth and did my night time facial routine. I cleaned the bathroom and put the dirty towels and clothes into the basket. I took my time putting my left over food into the refrigerator but I ate my toasted pound cake because it came with ice cream and it started melting on the way home. Now I had to brush my teeth again before bed and set my alarm. I let DeSean know I was home safe and getting into bed. I put my phone on the charger seeing that it was only on thirty-five percent.

Tomorrow is the game and I need a full nights rest if I'm gonna have any energy to dance. I turned my tv to the YouTube channel and put on soft rain noise. My eyes closed once my face touched the pillows and my body relaxed into the mattress.