Fate and Friendship

surprise, surprise

     After sitting in complete silence for half an hour, I looked at my phone to check the time. It was already 12:30. "Dang, I gotta go,"I stood up and dusted the sand off of my legs. "There is this stupid live performance once a week at my uncle's restaurant and I 'have to go," I said using air quotes. I thought I saw Dalton smirk, maybe he was happy I was leaving. "Glad to see me go, are you?"

  He suddenly turned serious. "Not at all, but I'm here for another week, so we can hang out, if you want." I pulled out my iphone. "Here, put your number in pretty boy." He chuckled and handed me his phone. Then we both laughed in unison. We both had the "Nightmare Before Christmas" iphone cover. This guy was too good to be true.

   "I'm gonna go, text me later?" He nodded and waved before he turned to go the opposite way I was headed. I knew he would text me, unlike the other guys who claimed to have lost my number. As I made my way back home I couldn't help but think of how great the day was so far. I met a cute guy who made me feel good and who I swore looked slightly familiar. Normally I liked the the dark haired and tan type but his blond hair and blue-green eyes worked so well together.

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   I walked into "Kai Grill" and smelt the delicious scent of Hawaiian burgers. Nothing beats a juicy pound of meat slathered in teriyaki sauce with pineapple on top. Yummy. I walked into the kitchen and helped myself to some fries. My uncle was really stressed as he always is when we have live performances and large dinner parties. "Lilliana, I need your help!" he pleaded. This was my cue to start acting as a waitress. It wasn't fun, but it bought me new clothes once a month.

    "How can I help you?" I asked a young couple with a little boy. "Mommy, can I get a soda?" the little boy begged. "Of course you can.." The lady was cut off by her husband. "Not this time Andrew." I watched the disappointed look on Andrew's face and I felt bad for him. Then I looked at the couple's stern expressions towards each other. "You know what, why don't I come back in a few minutes."

   I walked into the kitchen and asked Talia, my favorite waitress, to please switch tables with me. She was always staring at my uncle and I knew there was something going on there. But I wasn't nosy, so I let her be.  "I'm sorry, but I am not good at breaking up disagreements and you have way more experience than I do." Talia was always there for me, when my mom was busy, so a lot. "Oh alright, but that means you're in charge of the party outside." That was fine with me.

    I made my way outside, where the amps and microphone were being set up. I was a little curious as to who would be performing that night.  I walked over to the dinner party, where I saw Katrina, my ex-best friend, and about a dozen other girls from my school. Katrina and I used to do everything together, but then she randomly turned against me and became 'popular'. Whatever, I don't need her.

   I tried my best to force a smile. "What can I can I get you to drink?" Katrina looked at me with disgust and said she wanted an iced tea. Then the other 11 girls asked for iced tea too, except for Caitlyn, who asked for a piña colada. But of course Katrina didn't allow that. "She must be tired from the massage she had earlier, she meant to say iced tea."  I felt sorry for Caitlyn, she was actually one of the nicest girls I had ever met and I wasn't quite sure what she was doing with Katrina's group.

   I slowly dragged myself to the kitchen because I was in no hurry to serve Katrina. I was secretly planning on doing a bad job as a waitress just to make sure that she and her group would never be back. After 5 minutes passed, I got 13 iced teas and placed them on two trays. I had recently mastered my serving skills and could hold up to 20 drinks at once.

   I went to give the iced teas to Katrina's table and then realized I had forgot the ice. Whoops.

   Uncle Kai came up behind me. "Thank you so much, you've been a big help, after you serve those, why don't you sit down and enjoy the music. I'll get someone else to take the dinner party." I smiled and thanked him. Then I got the ice and gave the iced teas to their not-so-deserving but cash-paying owners.  Then I sat down at an empty table and drank some limeade.

   My uncle made his way to the stage and thanked everyone for coming. I couldn't tell who was going to be singing because there was a pole blocking my view.  "Everyone please give a warm welcome to Los Angeles's very own, Dalton Rapattoni!" I don't think my jaw could have dropped any farther.