Axis

august 8th

TUESDAY NIGHTS ARE THE slowest nights to work at Sunken Treasure. The dinner rush never exceeds a five minute waiting period, and things are relatively quiet, save for the clinking of glasses and low hum of voices.

While it's always refreshing to keep the number of annoying tourists or loudly opinionated regulars to a minimum, it is kind of disappointing to miss out on making money. But on the bright side, my second favorite people that work here—behind Jasper, of course—are both on shift tonight, making the night immensely more tolerable.

"The woman at table fifty-three will not stop talking with her mouth full. I came over to ask if they needed anything, and she goes, 'Some more Coke would be great,' and the whole time I'm just staring at her green beans swishing all around in her mouth. Why. Me." Olivia throws her hands up in a dramatic gesture and Quinn and I exchange amused glances.

"You should've asked her if she prefers ice or backwash with that Coke," Quinn jokes.

Olivia shoots him a dry wow you're so funny look.

I laugh.

Olivia, a twenty-one year old who works at Sunken Treasure every summer when she's not attending college at ECU, is the closest thing to a girl best friend that I have.  She is everything that I wish I could be, and I would give anything to have even a fraction of the confidence she exudes. Her hair is so long that the tips reach her pants line, and it's this gorgeous shade of dark brown that is so shiny, it looks like it belongs in a shampoo commercial.  Her eyes are a deep, tropical shade of blue that remind me of the Mediterranean Sea, unlike my dull, lifeless gray-blue irises. She's tall and slim and has a killer tan, not to mention a really cute tattoo of a line that turns into a wave on her ribcage.

She's going to college to be a sports therapist, which is appropriate because back when she went to school at Abilene, she was our school's best female athlete. Basketball was her main sport, but she also played volleyball and tennis. Her picture hangs in our school's athletic hall of fame showcase window, an eternal legacy.

She's got a wicked sense of humor and an approachable personality that reels people in, and she took me in under her wing on my very first day here. I'm openly invited to hang out with her and her friends whenever I want, and while most of my classmates would dive headfirst into this possibility without second thought, I rarely take her up on this offer.  It's not that I don't want to, but I feel out of place when I'm with her and her friends who are actually her age. They all have high school memories and college and boyfriends and drama to talk about, and I just sit there quietly, having nothing to contribute.  It's awkward and I can always tell that her friends don't really want me there and I would much rather hang out with Olivia alone when she's not distracted by her friends.

Quinn, on the other hand, is twenty, and probably the cutest guy I know. Not hottest, but definitely cutest. He goes to ODU and wants to become a lawyer, which is wildly appropriate because he can convince people of anything. One look at his curly blonde hair, innocent brown eyes, and enchanting smile and you're already captivated under his spell. He's an avid drummer full of seemingly unlimited energy, which explains why he can be so loud and rambunctious. Besides that, he is hilarious, like Olivia, but while Olivia has a mean bone in her body that she is not afraid to pull out when need be, Quinn is the biggest sweetheart. I don't think I've ever once heard a customer complain about him in the five months I've been working here. I don't see how it's possible to have a single complaint about him. He radiates sunshine and happiness and can lift anyone's spirits within seconds.

I've had a suspicion that Quinn and Olivia like each other since my second day here, and that suspicion only heightened when I overheard the kitchen staff discussing their obvious thing. It makes sense since they're around the same age and both of them are literally perfect.