Hold On

Chapter Eight: Early/ Late Shifts

A few weeks later I was awoken by my very annoying alarm clock at the ungodly hour of 4am. I'd been working at the diner for a month and a half now, and Maxie thought I should pick up some more hours, including the super early and late hours on the weekends.

I'd become closer with the boys, still gravitating more towards Luke ever since our study date.

I showered half asleep and didn't even bother with makeup afterwards. How many people look like models at 5am? Not many, and I wasn't planning on trying to be one of the few that could.

I quietly snuck out of the house, and quickly made my way to the diner. The door was locked when I got to the diner, and I had to fish out the key that Maxie gave me incase the boys weren't there to open it for me.

It was kinda eerie walking into the diner with all the lights off and the chairs on top of the tables. It was light enough from the rising sun through the windows to see where I was going, but I still had trouble finding the light switch.

I decided that in order to really find the light switch, I'd put my bag behind the counter, and do a search of the diner. Bad idea.

I'm clumsy enough as it is in the clear daylight, but in the semi-dark, it was hell. I managed to almost get behind the counter when I tripped on a broom that was ever so strategically for an unsuspecting co-worker.

I tripped and landed on the floor, and just lied there on the floor in a messy heap. My skirt was flared up, and I could see the contents of my bag all around me. Including my camera. I just continued to lie on the floor, wondering how long I could stay here and maybe take a nap. It was only 4:45 in the morning...

I stayed there for a total of 10 seconds until the harsh lights flashed on and exposed me on the floor behind the counter.

"Julia?"

Shit fuck. "Yeah?" I squeak out, tucking my legs underneath me and raising my head above the counter.

"Are you alright?" Calum asks, not too overly concerned given the fact he was trying to hold in a laugh.

I flicked my wet hair off my forehead, and stood up. "Yeah, I just uh- tripped"

"I can see that" Calum remarks coming closer to me, taking his backpack off his back. I bent down and started picking things that came out of my bag off the floor. Calum bent down to help me, and I offered him a quick "thanks"

"How did you know it was me?" I ask while crouching down and putting my wallet back in my purse.

"I could only see your feet and calves from the side of the counter, and you're the only one who has white Converse that you can actually tell are still white" Calum chuckles and reaches for my camera that was beside the broom that had tripped me. "Hey, you still take pictures like you did the first day?"

"Um, yeah I do... I don't always take pictures like that. Like I mean, as creepily as those ones were" I stutter trying to explain myself.

"It's all good, they were really god pictures" Calum says, smiling and standing up putting my camera on the counter. "You should take more pictures around here, it'd be good for the diner. And I'd get more pictures of myself" Calum smirks.

"You're so full of yourself" I tease, pulling my camera closer towards me.

"That hurt" Calum sarcastically whines, throwing his bag underneath the counter.

"The truth hurts sometimes" I reply, hip bumping him out of the way.

"How can you be so sassy this early in the morning?"