Paralysis

Chapter Four

"Hey, Olive." One of the cooks uttered, coming from around the corner. Olive jumped.
"Jesus, Dean! You scared the shit out of me." Olive whispered, holding her chest. Dean chortled, patting Olive on the back.
"There, there. You'll be okay. We don't have to worry about any heart complications, do we?" Dean asked while smiling at Olive.
"Oh, cut it out. I'm not a child or an old woman." Olive swatted Dean's hand away while she finished placing the dirty plates and cups in the bin.
"How do you deal with all that shit?" Dean questioned, curiously. Olive glanced at Dean with a puzzled look on her face, slightly tilting her head to the side.
"What shit?" Olive asked, not understanding what he meant.
"With those guys earlier." Dean reminded Olive. He was surprised she didn't know what he was talking about right off the bat, considering he was the one who escorted the three boys outside.
"Oh, well, to be honest, I don't really deal with it. I just tend to ignore them and move on most of the time." Olive relayed with a blank expression. She understood that Dean and herself were fairly close, yet she still wasn't in the mood to talk too much about the entire situation.
"I guess that is the best thing you can do when it comes to high school. College is so much better, so don't worry if you plan on going." Dean reassured Olive. She nodded in agreement.
"Well, I would hope so. I want to go to a really good college and not just a community college either." Olive shared, leaning against the metal counter of the sink.
"That's good, I sometimes wish I could've finished college." Dean brought up, not giving too much detail on the subject. Olive moved her lips to the side in a curious manner.
"What was your major?" Olive asked, hoping Dean would converse more with her.
"I was a double major. I studied for graphic design and software engineering. I wanted to start my own company and get at least a master's degree in both of my majors. I was hoping to design and develop video games." Dean explained cheerily, excited to bring up the memories he once had while attending his old college.
"What stopped you?" Olive asked, completely absorbed with the conversation.
"After I moved out on my own, all the money I saved from working here and the second job I used to have was kept in a safe in my bedroom. While I was working, my whole apartment was trashed and all the money was stolen out of the safe. It looked like someone bashed it over and over with a sledgehammer or something. So, because of all that, I couldn't pay for my next semester in time with all my other bills I had to pay."
"That's fucking bullshit." Olive exclaimed, angrily. She felt bad, knowing it wasn't even Dean's doing as to why he couldn't continue going to school for what he desired.
"I know. But, I'm still saving so that I can go back. I never gave up on what I wanted to do, it just had to be postponed unfortunately. I'd risk waiting the next twenty years if I had to and I'd still never give up on going back."
"Hell yeah!" Olive exclaimed before continuing.
"How much was stolen?" Olive asked in a concerning emotion. Dean looked at Olive with wide eyes and a halfhearted grin while he readied himself to explain it further.
"Almost ten thousand." Dean regretfully informed Olive. It pained him to admit it.
"Jesus Christ!" Olive looked at Dean, gritting her teeth with remorse, sharing the frustration along with him.
"Yeah, it was really hard for me to accept that it actually happened after all that time I spent saving up that much, but this type of crap can happen to anyone. It's just bullshit that it happened to me." Dean laughed it off, knowing he could make that kind of money all over again. Even still, Olive knew how upsetting it was for Dean to have to start completely from scratch.
"I heard that." Olive agreed, fully understanding what Dean had explained. He let out a short chuckle.
"Well, just keep that enthusiasm that you have going. You're gonna need it." Dean explained, lighting a fire underneath Olive.
"I'll try my best." Olive smiled, thankful for the encouraging words.
"Talk to you another time." Dean muttered softly, heading back to work with the rest of the cooks in the back.
"Bye." Olive voiced, walking back behind the counter with the tub of dishes. She then strolled over to the older couple again, making the assumption that they were ready to leave once she finished up any last transactions they needed to make. She noticed a card laying on top of the check, placed at the end of their table, waiting for Olive to retrieve it.
"So sorry for the wait, I'll be right back with your card." Olive explained, taking the check and the card along with her. She paced behind the counter towards the register, swiped the card for the machine and headed back over to their table once the two receipts had been printed out. Olive placed the card and the receipts on the table. She sat down a pen for the card owner to sign. The older man took the card from the table and signed his name on the restaurants receipt, pocketing his copy. The man handed Olive the pen and receipt back to her while himself and the older woman got up from the booth, prepared to depart.
"You both have a great rest of your evening." Olive stated happily, with a polite smile.
"Thank you so much for coming in." Franky added, waving her hand at the couple.
"Thank you very much for everything, girls." The man stated before walking out of the entrance, taking the older woman's hand in his. Once they left, Olive walked over to their table to wipe it down. She stood there silently once she caught a glimpse of what the couple had left without Olive noticing. It was two twenty dollar bills laying on the table. Olive took her tip with an elated grin and continued to sanitize the table.
"Nice smile, how much did you get?" Franky asked, grinning at Olive. She knew the sudden jump in Olive's mood was likely from a tip that the couple had left. Franky was correct.
"They left me a forty dollar tip on a sixteen dollar check." Olive waved the two bills around proudly.
"Jesus, what did you do, massage their feet when I wasn't looking?" Franky joked.
"I didn't do anything. I think this is pity money because they asked about those guys from earlier. I just said that it wasn't that big of a deal and they must've felt really bad." Olive clicked her tongue, a bit annoyed with the knowledge that she was only given that kind of tip because her character was deemed as lesser or something to sympathize with by the couple.
"Yeah, it smells like pity money, too." Franky jabbed, satirically at Olive as she sniffed the air.
"Piss off." Olive tittered with knitted eyebrows as she shook her head.
"Off topic, but how are you doing with your cello skills?" Franky asked, switching the topic.
"Decent, I guess. I've been in school music events, but I've never played in front of a big audience, so I can't say for sure." Olive shrugged her shoulders softly, not really sure where to place herself as a musician.
"Really?" Franky asked, shocked. Olive glanced at Franky before walking back behind the counter with the rag she wiped down the table with.
"It's true, I'm actually somewhat terrified of it. As if my hands won't do what they're supposed to." Olive admitted, chuckling nervously.
"You get over it, though. Once you face your fears it's as easy as breathing." Franky assured.
"Yeah, and when you're actually facing that fear, breathing is the last thing you're worried about." Olive laid her torso against the counter, resting her head on her arms.
"Better to get it over with while you can." Franky mentioned, encouraging Olive.
"We'll see." Olive closed her eyes as she spoke.
"Do you want to go to a performing arts school after you graduate?" Franky continued, wanting to know more about Olive's plan for the near future.
"Yeah, I've looked up a few of them." Olive shrugged, not very enthused.
"Any local ones?" Franky added. Olive opened her eyes and shifted her head up towards Franky.
"The closest one that I could actually get into, that's known well for its arts department is nearly two thousand miles from here." Olive stated in a defeated tone.
"Oh wow, really?" Franky inhaled deeply through a clenched jaw, surprised at hearing how far away the school was from Olive's home.
"Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to afford to go to an arts school around here until a few years after I'm already graduated from high school." Olive rubbed the space between her eyebrows.
"Don't be so upset with yourself. You can always sign up for grants or scholarships." Franky attempted to alleviate some of Olive's stress.
"I highly doubt I'll get any." Olive was undetermined about the entire ordeal. She didn't really understand why she felt that way so suddenly, but she simply went with it.
"Now, you shut the fuck up. Where's that cheerful, positive Olive that I've known for all these months?" Franky exclaimed, nudging Olive gently.
"She's washed down the drain along with her confidence of getting into a good college." Olive replied. Those melancholic words made Franky's shocked expression diminish. She sighed greatly.
"You never know unless you try. I thought the same in high school because my grades were in the shitter. I never had the drive to play an instrument or get involved in any sports or extra curricular activities. But, guess what? I do online courses with the Highland Community College to get my degree. Once I'm finished with that, I want to transfer to Chicago University and either study online again, or move out there in the future to attend classes in person." Franky gave Olive the best advice that she could. She knew how hectic it was going to school as a teenager, but Olive also juggled a part-time job to top it off.
"I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything." Olive was still in disbelief over the ordeal. Doubtful that she could get into a good university. Olive took a deep breath, standing up straight suddenly. She wanted to reassure Franky that she didn't always think of the situation so harshly.
"I get like this sometimes, anyways. My mood just drops out of nowhere and I seem to just mentally attack myself." Olive shared with Franky. Franky nodded her head slowly, understanding exactly what Olive was saying. Franky hummed.
"As long as you try, man. Besides, wasn't that Bach guy deaf?" Franky mentioned, halfheartedly, clearly joking in order to raise Olive's spirits. Olive suddenly began to convulse with laughter. While she started speaking, she found it difficult to get words though while the titters still leaked through her speech.
"No, Beethoven was deaf. He was mainly known as being a famous pianist, but he was also a violinist, and violist. Bach made one of the most famous cello pieces, but he was mostly known for violin and harpsichord. I never really got that into playing the piano, but I'm about as decent with a violin as I am with the cello." Olive still couldn't stop laughing at Franky's question. Franky chuckled in amusement after being capable of making Olive laugh that way when she was so upset prior.
"See, you know more about this shit than I do and you're a multi instrumentalist, that's definitely something to be proud of." Franky laughed along with Olive. Olive inhaled harshly, holding her chest from all the laughter.
"Do you actually think I could get into a good school?" Olive asked seriously, unsure of her talents.
"I think that as long as you're confident in yourself and try your best, there's nothing you can't do." Franky replied, her voice sounding like a blanket covering Olive's fiery insecurities.
"Fuck, you really do sound like my mom." Olive's eyes widened at how alike the two sounded. Olive was grateful of course. It wasn't every day that Olive would hear such advice from anyone other than her own mother.
  "Oh, Jesus, don't tell me that." Franky pleaded, covering her ears. Olive simply laughed in response to Franky's reaction.
  "There's only two hours left." Franky mentioned, disgruntled after she had glanced at her watch.
  "You and I both know it's going to feel more like ten. If only we could bring our laptops and watch a movie or something." Olive mentioned, causing a light bulb to go off in Franky's head.
  "Who says we can't? Jill won't care and you know how dead this place is most of the time." Franky spoke up, nudging her elbow against Olive's side.
  "I feel stupid for not thinking of it sooner. I'll bring a shit ton of movies to watch tomorrow." Franky announced, contentedly.
  "I'll bring my laptop. You up for some gore?" Olive asked, grinning happily at the thought. Horror had always been her favorite movie genre.
  "Of course, who do you think I am? I'm always up for that and cliché character development." Franky added, excitedly.
  "With how uneventful our shifts are, we could probably watch an entire movie series in one shift." Olive admitted. Franky laughed in response.
  "It's really sad how true that is when you really think about it." Franky added.