Like Buttons On A Shirt

Chapter 7

Patrick had more than just some Pancakes for me. 
Actually, he had already prepared a tray for me which was standing on the counter closest to the door. 
When I entered the kitchen, I could hear faint chatting coming from one of the other rooms close to the kitchen. I could see a door, almost closed, that was muffing the sounds. Maybe the others were having breakfast there together. 

I didn't want to disturb them, for it was my first day and I surely didn't count as a real server yet, but when I lifted up the tray, one of the forks fell to the ground and the sound of metal hitting the tiles made the people in the other room shut up instantly. 
"Fuck," I whispered and quickly picked up the fork. I had to leave before they even noticed me. 
But I knew it was too late for that, when I heard Patrick's voice saying: "That must be Frank!" 
I really liked him but honestly, I would have been happier if he hadn't said anything. 
And to make things worse, he started calling for me right after. 
"Hey Frank!" he yelled, "We're over here!" 
Oh Patrick... 
I couldn't help but think that he was too nice for a job like this. I could imagine him talking to customers, but not in a kitchen, where sunlight is replaced by LEDs. 

I noticed that I still hadn't moved from where I was standing and it seemed like I wasn't the only one. 
The door was opened just enough so Patrick could stuck his head out. He gave me a resuring smile. 
"Come on, Frank!" he grinned, "everybody is so excited to meet you! We were just having breakfast together!" 
"That's... Really nice I guess," I said, still not sure about this, "I don't want to interrupt your breakfast though" 
"Oh don't be silly!" Patrick exclaimed, "we were all waiting for you! Get your tray and come over already" 

I could hardly say 'no' now, right? 
So I took my tray, just like he said, and walked over to Patrick, who was still blocking the door. 

"Okay guys, are y'all ready to meet Frank?" he yelled over his shoulder. 
I had to laugh at how excited he was to introduce me. 
"Just let him in, Pat," a female voice said from inside. I could hear somebody holding back a fit of laughter.
"Yeah, Pat, he's got to be hungry. Oh wait... so are we!" another male voice added. 

Patrick rolled his eyes. 
"You guys are no fun. I was expecting applause at least"
And just when he said that, a few people actually clapped. 
I had to smile at that, because it obviously made Patrick happier. 

Then he suddenly pushed the door fully open, so everybody could see me, balancing my tray on both hands. 
"Voilá!" Patrick in a somewhat festive voice, "Frank" 

"Hey," I muttered, stepping into the big room. 
I was glad that I had a tray in my hands, because I know, if I hadn't, I would have waved awkwardly at the five people sitting around a round table. 

"Hello, Frank!" a girl with black hair was the first to greet me. 
The others followed right after and soon I was surrounded by a choir of voices, saying "hey" and "how's it goin'?". 
I was slightly overwhelmed by that nice welcome and to my luck, Patrick seemed to notice that.
"Alright guys, that's enough. Let that poor guy sit down first."

The girl with black hair shot him a fake glare. Everybody else shut up too. 
Patrick brought a chair from one of the corners of the room to the table and put it right next to himself. When I sat down, I noticed that Pete was sitting on my other side. Thank god, a face that I knew. 
He smiled at me. 
"Don't panic, bro. We don't bite."
"Well Jenny does sometimes," Patrick muttered next to me and I heard a girl huff. 

"So, Frank," Patrick started, "Those are Jenny, Mike, Brendon, Melanie and Pete. You know him already" 
I nodded and tried to burn the names onto my brain. 
"And... Who's who?" I asked.
Patrick opened his mouth to answer my question, but the girl with the black hair talked first. 
"I'm Jenny," she grinned, "I am the maid"
"And I'm Melanie," the other girl quickly added, "the other maid" 
"I really like your hair," I said. Half of her hair was black. The other half was green. It looked really good. 
"Thanks," she said. 
"Mike," greeted a male voice. It belonged to the guy who was sitting right in front of me, "I'm the gardener" 
"Oh! That's so cool. The garden looks amazing. I was actually wondering who was taking care of the beautiful flowers there. Isn't that a lot of work?" I asked. 
"Yes it is," Mike answered and I could see how a smile came to his face, "the roses are from Tibet and the lillies from Paris. It's really hard to find the perfect way of taking care of them because they're used to such different climates. Actually-..."
He was interrupted by the guy next to him. 
"Stop talking, flower boy," he said, "it's my turn now" 
Mike punched the guys arm, but he didn't even flinch. 
"I'm Brendon, nice too meet you," the guy said, "technician slash electrician 'round here." 
"Uhm... that's... Really nice too," I offered him a smile that made him roll his eyes in a friendly manner. 
"Well, you already know me and my boyfriend Pete," Patrick said and I saw him giving Pete a wink. 

"Oh guys, your homosexuality is showing," muttered Brendon and ate a piece of pancake. 
"Don't act like you're not gay yourself," Pete growled.
Patrick put a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder and patted him softly. 

"So what? It goes great with the fans," Brendon defended himself with a look of pride on his face. 
"Wait... fans?" I asked. Suddenly I was very interested in their little fight. 
"Yeah. Brendon thinks that his garage band has actual fans," Jenny said and giggled.
"You're in a band?" I asked and tried not to sound as excited as I actually was. 
"Yes I am. And it's not a garage band, Jenny, we have a lot of gigs," Brendon answered.

Jenny snorted at that, but decided to leave it. 

"Oh my god that's so cool," I burst out suddenly, not able to hide my excitement, "What's the name of your band?" 
"We're called 'panic! at the disco'. With an exclamation mark after the 'panic'."
"That's such a cool name. I had a band, too. Well... When I was in highschool," I shrugged, "I played the guitar and did backround vocals. How about you?" 
"I'm the singer. And I play the guitar sometimes too. Depends on if Ryan's with us or not. Because then he's the guitarist," Brendon explained.

I would have loved to hear more about his band and his music, but when I was about to ask further questions, I could hear a bell ringing. 
Everybody went quiet instantly. 
"That's the one in Mr. Way's room," Jenny said and turned to Melanie, "Can you go this time?"
"What?! I went last time! It's your turn now!" Melanie said. 
"Oh uhm... I think I will have to go. I told him to ring for me once he finished eating," I said and got up, "If was really nice meeting you guys. I hope I'll see you around"

I picked up my tray and realised that I had eaten about half the plate. It would have been more if it wasn't for the nice conversation we were having, because the food was really delicious. 
"Wait... eating.... Mr. Way doesn't eat," Melanie said. 
Both her and Jenny had a look of confusion on their faces. 

"I'll explain later," Patrick whispered. 
"Go and see what he wants. Good luck, buddy," Pete added. 
Everybody gave me a small wave, which I returned before I left the staff room. 

Let's see what today's plan is.

*A/N*

Hello guys!

Been a while since I've updated, huh?

Well I've been really extremely busy and I'm sure that it's going to take some time until the next chapter will be done so... I hope you enjoy this one and I'll try my best.
I promise!!

Thanks for reading :)