Paralysis

Chapter Three

"Yes?" Olive said with a forced enthusiastic tone, trying hard not to lose her composure.
  "I need a refill on this." A dark haired male student, that sat directly across from Morgan held up a cup that was still weighted with plenty of soda. He and Morgan had the same rage inducing smirk. Olive furrowed her eyebrows with confusion.
  "It's not even half empty." Olive mentioned, already losing patience. Though, she still managed to be polite. She could sense the fellow students were purposely being rude in order to get a rise out of her.
  "Oh, is it?" Morgan questioned, grabbing the cup from the student opposite from him, and tossing the liquid on Olive with zero hesitation. Olive gasped, taking a step back. She looked down at her uniform, consciously aware of the sticky mess that would form if she wasn't quick to clean it up. Morgan and the male across from him laughed, causing the student seated next to Morgan to chortle along.
  "Now it's empty." Morgan continued, slightly leering at Olive. She seethed, no longer able to hold her emotions back.
  "Are you kidding me?" Olive shouted. She was riled up with outrage, but she just laughed at Morgan, thinking the pettiness he held over Olive was beyond childish.
  "You all are so pathetic." Olive stated, grabbing napkins from the table opposite to theirs.
  "What happened to hospitality?" The student sitting beside Morgan mentioned, smirking at her. Olive's eyes relaxed in an annoyed manner as she glared at the students with a tiny grin on her face.
  "Hospitality is for respectful people. All of you are far from that." Olive spoke while laughing at them mockingly.
  "So sorry, I had a spastic reaction." Morgan excused, making Olive roar into laughter. Her reaction started to attract attention from everyone else in the restaurant.
  "That's not how that condition works, genius." Olive spoke harshly, finding it amusing that her fellow high school students would think such a petty act would somehow make her risk losing her job. The three students weren't expecting her to react the way that she did, but they still wished to continue. Morgan figured she was just holding herself back.
  "Oh well, not much you can do about it now, huh?" Morgan stated as the other two students laughed along with him. Olive rolled her eyes, sighing at his inability to give up. The missing fourth member of the group from prior had finally returned to the table after being in the restroom. He seemed just as annoyed as Olive with the situation, yet still chose to sit back down at the table. Olive glanced over at the vexed student while she wiped the soda from her uniform. She then realized it was the same guy she met after school.
  She gazed at him, surprised at first, but then walked off, showing no interest whatsoever. Olive looked down at her uniform, lowly groaning when she realized the soda had soaked through to her undershirt. Olive clicked her tongue with annoyance.
  "Hang on, turn your ass around right now." Franky stood in front of Olive, not allowing her to pass by. Olive furrowed her brows and shot her head back slightly.
  "Dude, I'm not dealing with them anymore." Olive's eyes relaxed in a disgruntled manner, slightly perturbed at what Franky had said.
  "Come on, trust me." Franky leaned down toward Olive's ear to whisper this statement, as she grabbed Olive by the wrist to pull her back to the table.
  "Hey boys, please apologize to our waitress. What you did was uncalled for." Franky demanded. The three students only laughed obnoxiously, while the other student that Olive met at school remained silent, looking through his phone. He was clearly refusing to involve himself.
  "Apologize to a rat? You're dreaming." Morgan objected. Franky leered, taking a breath as her nostrils flared. Franky leaned in towards the boys and began to speak calmly. The student Olive met after school had Franky's full attention, becoming amused by her words and attitude.
  "Apologize to Olive, or one of our cooks here will turn you into a buffet for the rats out in the back." Franky threatened, though, she and Olive were the only ones that knew it was a bluff. Olive held back a smirk by firmly pressing her lips together. The three boys remained silent, looking over at Olive. She was quietly staring at Morgan, knowing he was always the one to start drama out of his group. Franky's idea pleased Olive, knowing how persuasive she can be towards hostile customers.
  "You can't threaten us." The male sitting beside Morgan mentioned, peering up at Frank. Franky snickered, biting her bottom lip out of aggravation.
  "Why not? It's not like anyone will believe you." Franky stated softly, making the boys realize the position they were in.
  "You're absolutely right, I really shouldn't threaten three young boys. Yet, you're harassing my coworker for no reason in an established place of business, so how else should I respond? Actions have consequences, kiddos." Franky continued. Morgan squinted his eyes, almost wanting to challenge Franky for the way she was speaking to him. The familiar, but mysterious student to Olive was sitting back, observing. He proceeded with his interest on the situation, almost like he was watching a reality TV show.
  "You either apologize, or you get kicked out. Pick one." Franky warned, making it completely simple. All three boys looked at each other. Morgan looked over at Olive, then sighed in a defeated fashion.
  "I'm sorry." Morgan said, halfheartedly. Olive crossed her arms.
  "Apology accepted. You're lucky I'm in a good mood, gobshite." Olive insulted in her Irish tongue. The peculiar male snickered at her comment. She stared at him with a stale expression.
  "Something funny?" Olive asked, raising an eyebrow. She continued to keep her arms crossed.
  "Yeah, your insults are pretty unique." He explained, sounding serious. Olive softened her expression, nodding once. She appeared pleased.
  "Glad I'm here to put on a comedy show for you." Olive stated a bit sarcastically.
  "More like a freak show." The dark haired student that sat across from Morgan uttered, making the other two laugh. Franky walked away and Olive already knew what she was planning to do. Olive just stood aside, chuckling to herself.
  "You know, that little mouth of yours is gonna bite you back one day." Olive added, looking at the three students, but mostly referring to Morgan, as he was the self proclaimed leader of their assembly. The boy who sat next to Morgan guffawed at her comment.
  "You're one to talk. Nearly every person in school fucking hates you for how much your run your mouth." Morgan continued the argument. Olive gave him a looming smile.
  "Oh, I'm aware. You all only hate me because I don't sit back and take any of your crap like you expect me to." Olive replied. She then alleviated her countenance after Morgan became silent. Olive sighed, walking away. She scanned the rest of the restaurant and noticed one of the cooks from the back making his way over to the table in order to escort the boys out.
  "Oh, come on, man! This is harassment!" The blonde haired student shouted. The cook laughed.
  "That's golden coming from a cad who thinks pouring a drink on a waitress is hilarious. It's time for you to leave." The cook stood aside, waiting for the group to get up from the table on their own.
  "We'll leave on our own." Morgan reassured, slightly stuttering out of alarm. Olive was nearly about to dissolve into laughter over how timid the three students had become.
  "If you come back here with that smug attitude again, there won't be a warning from anyone." The cook warned. The arcane student got up on his own to leave.
  "Damian, help us out!" The black haired student yelled, worriedly. Damian scoffed, glancing over at the group with a grin.
  "Help with what? You guys are shitty company to keep. Thanks for buying me dinner, though. I'll look at it as payment for having to put up with all of you today." Damian replied firmly, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.
  "You fuckin' asshole." Morgan growled. Olive turned around and headed back behind the counter to clean up more of the soda mess all over her clothes.
  "Take 'em away." Damian cleared the way for them. The cook let out a breathy laugh, amused with his snarky attitude.
  "Start moving." The cook demanded. The three boys followed orders and began to walk towards the exit while the cook followed behind them. Franky stopped in front of them, holding her hand out at the boys.
  "Your meal will be twenty-six forty-seven." Franky stated, smiling coyly at the boys. Morgan clicked his tongue out of annoyance, but gave Franky thirty dollars from his wallet. Franky hummed to herself, looking over the bills. She figured that Morgan expected to get change back. She chuckled.
  "I'll give the rest as a tip to Olive for putting up with you. Thank you." Franky spoke in a smug tone. Morgan furrowed his brows angrily at Franky, but didn't speak a word.
  "Have a nice evening." Franky commented before turning to walk away behind the counter. The cook continued to escort the boys out, grinning at Franky's amusing banter. Damian looked over in Olive's direction where she was wiping down her apron and blouse.
  "Need any help?" Damian requested, expressing that he genuinely wanted to assist Olive. Franky placed the amount due from the boys' meal in the register. She then headed back to the table to grab their plates and cups.
  "You've all done quite enough, thanks." Olive stated, disinterested with Damian's urge to assist.
  "Sorry about those guys, Olive." Damian apologized for the behavior of the three students. Franky walked passed Olive, heading to the kitchen in the back. As she did so, she stared at Damian briefly. He did the same in return. Franky seemed to study him as he stood in front of an occupied Olive. Olive sighed, annoyed with the reminder.
  "Yeah, well what can you—" Olive stopped speaking suddenly, then looked up at Damian. His eyes widened moderately at her reaction, while he tilted his head to the side out of confusion. Franky returned from the kitchen with a rag and cleaning spray after she placed the dishes in the dirty bin.
  "How did you know my name?" Olive continued, knitting her eyebrows at Damian. Franky walked off once more to wipe down the table and floor where the drink was spilled. She acted like she wasn't interested in the conversation between Olive and Damian, though it was apparent that her ears were alert.
  "Name tag." Damian pointed at the identification on her blouse. She then felt foolish for asking. While Damian continued to stand there, causing Olive to feel a bit awkward. She decided to change the subject.
  "Well, I need to clean up and get back to work, so you should leave if you're finished." Olive kindly invited Damian to exit the restaurant.
  "Of course." Damian pulled out his wallet and left a fifty dollar bill on the counter before heading out. Olive's eyes broadened and she instinctively grabbed a hold of the bill and held it up between her thumb and index finger.
  "What is this?" Olive questioned, setting her elbow on the counter, leaning forward. Damian turned to face her.
  "That would be a fifty dollar bill." Damian answered. Olive became displeased, staring at Damian with half lidded eyes.
  "Yes, I'm aware of the currency, why did you leave it here?" Olive questioned his motives immediately. She figured his actions weren't just a coincidence after their encounter at school a few hours prior.
  "It's a tip." Damian answered. His voice was somewhat sultry when replying. He looked at Olive with a blank expression. It made it hard for Olive to decide what he was really plotting.
  "A tip for what?" Olive continued, clearly in disbelief. He looked around for a moment before replying.
  "I'll let you know when I think of a reason." Damian smiled kindly, heading towards the door.
  "Whatever." Olive mumbled to herself, putting the bill in her apron pocket.
  "My name's Damian." He turned to say, while holding the entrance door open.
  "What?" Olive was befuddled as to why he introduced himself out of the blue.
  "You wanted to know my name at school, right? It's Damian." He answered immediately.
  "Oh, yeah. Thanks." Olive gave Damian an awkward, tight lipped smile with slightly raised eyebrows.
  "Let me know when I start to interest you more." Damian left after saying those last words. Olive glowered with parted lips.
  "Fucking weirdo." Olive muttered under her breath. Franky returned from cleaning the soda mess shortly after Damian had departed.
"Cocky assholes like that piss me off." Franky complained with a breathy sigh before leaning against the counter next to Olive.
  "Don't go using my lines now." Olive joked. Franky opened her mouth to speak.
  "Here's your tip from that blonde douchebag." Franky handed Olive three dollars and fifty-three cents after placing the rest in the register. Olive let out an amused giggle.
  "Three dollars, thanks." Olive joked, leading Franky to nudge her shoulder playfully.
  "It's better than nothing. That prick looked at me like he expected me to give him change back too." Franky continued, chuckling to herself.
  "Yeah, he's that type." Olive replied, nodding.
  "So, that Damian guy was music room boy, huh?" Franky grinned, raising her eyebrows up and down in a teasing manner. Olive shook her head, briefly chuckling.
  "Unfortunately." Olive leaned on the counter as well, resting her chin on her open palm. Franky could tell that Olive didn't want to discuss the topic any further.
  "Today's Monday and we've been known to be slow, especially this time of day." Franky explained, already dreading the long, boring shift ahead of them.
  "Yeah, since I only work here four days a week I'm kept pretty busy." Olive spoke with a bored tone of voice.
  "You're lucky. I work here every fucking day. But I guess it's good for you still being a high school student getting eight bucks an hour, including tips." Franky pursed her lips, thinking something over.
  "Are you sure it was okay to actually threaten them like that? I knew you were kidding, but they might say something." Olive asked, worried for Franky. Franky shrugged her shoulders.
  "Oh, I wouldn't sweat it. Even if I were being serious, Jill is my best friend. She also loves the hell out of you, so I'm sure she'd understand. Besides, who's gonna believe a group of childish shitheads like them?" Franky scoffed at the thought. Olive nodded in agreement.
  "Which reminds me, what was that insult you gave one of the guys?" Franky questioned, amused with the way it sounded. Olive smiled widely as she laughed at the memory.
  "Gobshite? It's an Irish insult." Olive explained. Franky nodded with squinted eyes.
  "I'm stealing that." Franky declared, happy to add something new to her insult arsenal. Olive's memory was sparked when Franky mentioned Jill.
"I think I'm going to ask Jill if I can do overtime on Saturdays. Either that, or see if I can work on Wednesdays. I need to make more money." Olive changed the subject.
"She'll definitely do that. Bosses love when people want to work more but," Franky leaned in close to Olive before continuing. "they also don't enjoy paying you for it." Franky whispered, jokingly. Olive nudged Franky away with her shoulder while laughing softly.
"But it does pay off at the end of the day when you have employees like myself who do their job well." Olive brought up, pointing both of her thumbs at herself in a wise-cracking demeanor.
"What does that say for me?" Franky asked, acting offended.
"I'm not sure, step up and then we'll talk about it." Olive stuck her tongue out.
"You little shit, I'm three years older than you and I've been working here longer." Franky made a rebuttal, adding on to the banter.
"That doesn't mean a thing. Unless you have had a mid-life crisis or have gone through menopause, you can't act like you've experienced so much more in life than I have." Olive noted, chortling a bit.
"Smart ass." Franky added, rolling her eyes at Olive's sarcasm.
"Hell yeah." Olive spoke, tucking hair behind her left ear.
"I'm gonna go see how that couple is doing with their meal. I'll take a guess that the little show they just witnessed has them filled to the brim with questions." Olive presumed.
"Good luck." Franky crossed her fingers as she spoke. Olive headed over towards the older couple she had served not too long ago, hoping they would kindly avoid asking her anything that had to do with the aggravating debacle that had occurred.
"Is everything going well over here? I hope your food is to your liking." Olive commented smoothly.
"Yes, it is; very much so." The older man answered, smiling lightly.
"It was delicious." The older woman mentioned with a smile on her face as well.
"I'm glad to hear that. Is there anything else I can do for you two?" Olive suggested, readying herself to grab her notepad.
"No thank you miss. I don't mean to intrude, but it's such a shame you had to deal with all that?" The man brought up what Olive had dreaded.
"Yeah, you're in high school right? You and those boys look fairly young." The woman stated, worriedly. Olive kind of shrugged it off.
"Yes, I am a high school student and those guys were just being themselves." Olive explained very briefly, as to not delve too far into the topic.
"That's horrible, it makes me wonder how their parents raised them." The woman complained. Olive shrugged temporarily, but then agreed.
"That's true, but then again I get it a lot so it's no big deal." Olive brushed it off, not really wishing to speak about it any further.
"No one should have to deal with that crap." The man spoke with perplexity in his voice. Olive understood the frustration that both of them held. She assumed that they likely had children they spent their entire adult life protecting. Olive was beaming at the thought.
"Of course no one does, but I'm doing well regardless. It's just a stepping stone." Olive admitted to the older couple, lying. They both stayed quiet, looking up at her, admiring her for her strength and maturity.
"Are you sure there's nothing else I can get you both? We have a wonderful dessert menu." Olive suggested, swaying her torso briefly.
"No thank you, honey. We'll just have our check." The older man replied. Olive nodded.
"No problem. I'll bring it to you right away." Olive headed off behind the counter to grab their check for them.
"They're still boring." Franky whispered in a humming tone to Olive once she passed by. Olive released a breathy laugh, rolling her eyes at Franky's sarcastic comment.
"They're sweet. Besides, boring people are perfect for each other." Olive whispered back to Franky with a smirk on her face.
"Definitely, they can spend their anniversary playing Sudoku." Franky jabbed, placing her hands on her cheeks in an extremely exaggerated etiquette. Olive snorted, stifling her laugh with the back of her hand. Franky placed her head down to silently laugh.
"This is why I love shifts with you." Olive mentioned.
"Same here." Franky agreed with Olive, joyously nodding.
"Okay, I got their check. So, I'm gonna go hand it to them, they're going to pay; leave; and then we will have four hours of this remaining shift to most likely stand here and do nothing." Olive proclaimed with irritation in her voice. She let out an exhausted sigh.
"At least we'll be sharing that agonizing boredom together." Franky reminded Olive.
"Fuckin' true." Olive answered before heading over to the older couple's booth with their check.
"Here's your check. I'll take your plates for you." Olive mentioned, noticing that they were officially empty.
"Thank you, miss." The older man noted politely. Olive took their plates with their cups, then headed to the kitchen to place them in the dish bin to wash at the end of the shift. While Olive did so, the couple briefly talked over how they wanted to pay for their check.