JAMES - TVD

1

Working five days a week after school, Jamie Ashton had no choice. She was the sole earner for her household and enjoyed the working water, electricity, and functionality of her house.

Jamie worked at a small diner just on the outskirts of Mystic Falls. It was the kind that people went to to pass the time. Most people didn't stay in the small town of Virginia for too long. So, she quickly grew accustomed to seeing new faces and never seeing them again once her shift ended. The diner itself, known as Barry's Diner, looked like every other one across the country. Walking in, bright red booths were running along the wide windows and walls. They sat over a bland gray linoleum floor that was so shiny that sometimes the light reflected could hurt your eyes (per Jamie's manager's request). Further, round-top stools matching the booths rested below a long counter. The entire place was cliche. It was the kind of diner you'd see in a movie, but it was homey and kitschy.

Jamie enjoyed the simplicity of it.

It was a Friday night, and while every one of her classmates was at the Falls enjoying their time at a party, Jamie was cooped up behind the counter of Barry's Diner, trying her hardest to fix the coffee machine.

"Still no luck?" April, the only other waitress on Jamie's shift, asked.

Jamie sighed in frustration. "No, I keep telling Bill that we need a new one, but his 'cheap ass' continues to tell me that until he sees it for himself, he's not even thinking of going to the store. Now, I'm going to have to tell that man." Jamie nodded her head in the direction of the overweight man with flannel and a trucker hat who was impatiently sitting in his seat at the counter, "that this is the second thing that we don't have tonight."

April turned her head, her blonde bob shaking, as she glanced at the man subtly. She then turned her head, making eye contact with one of the few customers at a booth. "I'd offer to break the news to him for you, but my table in the corner just waved me over." April smiled apologetically before quickly walking out from behind the counter to the table.

Jamie took one deep breath in and then out. She took one last look at the coffee machine, a small part of her hoping that it would magically fix itself, and then she turned her body around completely. The man, already irritated over not getting his blueberry pie, sat staring at the young girl in frustration. She tried not to let it get to her, but she worried about his reaction.

Before she made her way over to the impatient trucker, Jamie noticed the tall man who had walked in and sat himself at her counter. In fear of having two men angry at her for the night, she stopped by the new customer and said, "I'll be with you in a second."

The man, with the brightest blue eyes and darkest hair she had ever seen, responded swiftly, "Take your time."

She smiled appreciatively and rushed to the man before him.

"Hello, sir," she tried, putting on a fake smile, and she kept her hands behind her back to hide the twiddle of her fingers.

"Have I had my coffee yet?" he sneered, his eyes glaring at the young girl.

"I'm sorry," Jamie started, "but our coffee machine is broken. Is there something we could substitute it with?

"If I wanted something else, I would have ordered it." The man fumed heavily. His face slowly rose to a soft red color.

"If it's the caffeine you need, we have some new energy drinks." Jamie tried to find a solution—anything to make this man calm down and have his face go back to the sickly white that it was when he first arrived.

The man's jaw clenched, and in a fit of anger, he slammed his fist against the counter. "I did not want no damn energy drink, you stupid bitch!"

The diner's soft hum and delicate whispers were silenced. Jamie jumped back, fear flashing in her eyes as she looked around the diner for any semblance of help. She noticed April remained frozen in her spot, and Jamie felt relieved because she didn't want her in the middle of this. The only cook in the back, Sam, had stepped out for a smoke long ago.