Pippi's Diner

Chapter 3

YAY!  7 votes and 6 comments!  Thank you guys so much, you made it!  I just finished this chapter and I'm proud to say that it is even longer than the last one.  It seems my chapters are growing!  This chapter is dedicated to Theunknown2you for being such a wounderful person and commenting/voting for my story right off the bat!  If you haven't, go check out her stories.  They are REALLY good!  I will also dedicate the next two chapters when I post them to others that have voted and commented.  Also, a little shout out to my Dad, whose birthday is today!  No worries dad, those grey hairs aren't that bad...

Now, here is chapter 3!!!

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Chapter 3

“Damn,” I mumbled under my breath, just loud enough for Ted to hear.  “I’m getting out of here.”

“Look, I know you don’t want to see or talk to him, but don’t just leave.  Wait in the back or something until my shift is over, in two minutes.  I’ll leave with you.”  Ted pleaded with me.  I was shocked.  Even though he hasn’t seen, heard from, or talked about Zane since he left, I knew that they used to be really close and I’m sure Ted would want to talk to him now that he’s back.

“Are you sure?”  I asked hesitantly.  “Don’t you want to talk to him?”

“Honestly, not more than my best friend.  He walked out of my life.  If I was that important to him he wouldn’t have left me.  He wouldn’t have left us.”  His voice trailed off at the end, and his eyes wandered as I’m sure his mind did too.

“Fine,” I spoke quickly.  “Zane is gonna find you soon, so I’ll wait in the back for two minutes.  If you’re a second late, I’m leaving without you!”

He began to chuckle lightly, thinking I was joking.  Then he looked down at my dead serious face and visibly paled.  Ted gave me a half-hearted mock salute and mumbled an okay under his breath.  After a curt nod from me we slipped past each other to our separate ways.

I always hung around in the back room behind the kitchens at Pippi’s Diner when Ted was busy at work.  Boozer was like a second dad to me, or maybe more like a cool uncle.  His real name was actually Pippi the third, named after the illustrious original owner of Pippi’s Diner.

Very few people around today have every met the original Pippi who founded the restaurant.  Only extremely close family still see him, since the business was still family owned.  We don’t even have any pictures to tell how old he was, what he looked like, or if he was even still alive.  Actually, we didn’t even know for sure if he was a guy.  But if anything, this little mystery only added to the appeal of the number one eatery in town.

Pippi’s Diner was the place to be throughout the whole city.  Everyone knew about Pippi’s, and when you walked in you felt like you had just came home.  All customers and workers were known and called by name, everyone was welcome, and if you were new to the diner, Boozer would give you a cake or pie of choice on the house, in exchange for your name and a friendly conversation.

Personally, it was a nice escape from family drama.  It was my home away from home.

I slipped through the back door to the kitchens, in hopes of avoiding Zane.  I was greeted by a loud chorus of “Hey Ray”s and “What’s up Rachel”.  I gave them all friendly nods and called out a few polite hellos to some of the kitchen staff, but today was not a day for pleasantries.  Scurrying along, I eventually reached the back room, otherwise known as Boozer’s office.