Elisa

3

"Yo, where are the two large pizzas for table seven?" Romeo calls to the kitchen. 

"We're working on it!" Uncle Leo calls to him. 

It's only Wednesday, so I'm not sure why it's so busy in here tonight. It feels like a Friday.

Uncle Leo runs the kitchen with the other cooks, while my dad manages the floor of the restaurant. He checks in on tables to greet our customers, makes sure the wait staff is doing their job, and handles any financial situations that need handling. 

"Can you fill these drinks up for me? I'm dying here. Two cokes and a water." Romeo asks Fi and I. I nod my head as I finish filling the drinks up for table two. 

Fi rolls her eyes and glares at him as he smiles at his customers. "I'm going to kill him. He only is managing three tables at a time tonight. How can he be dying?"

There's twenty-three tables in our restaurant, with six waiters/waitresses working at a time. Usually five are on the floor and one is working as a host, but can jump right in if someone needs to take their break. I have five tables at a time tonight and so does Fi. Romeo lucked out with only having to manage three tables. Why he's asking us to fill his drinks up for him is beyond me. 

In a rush, I carry my tray of six drinks to table two. I see Gio on the other side of the restaurant, wiping down the table of a family who just left. Did he switch out for a clean dish rag? That one smells like mildew. 

CLINK.

I gasp as the ice cold glass of water that just spilled on the table trickles onto the elderly man's pants. He shoots out of his chair and curses. 

"Are you kidding me?" He glares at me with icy blue eyes. 

I scramble try and absorb the water on the table. "I'm so sorry, sir. I'm not sure how I managed to do that."

"You managed to do that because you're not paying attention and you're careless. I'd like to speak to the manager." The man crosses his arms. I don't want to call my dad over because he'll end up telling the man that dinner is on the house, even though he's incredibly rude. And then he'll take it out of my pay check. 

"Hello, sir." A voice says behind me. "I heard the commotion and decided to come over and see if everything's alright. Do you need a towel?" 

It's Romeo. 

"You're the manager?" The man looks confused.

Romeo laughs politely. "Yes, I get that a lot. I help run my dad's business, I'm afraid he's not here right now, so I'm in charge for the night."

"Oh." The old dude looks at me. "Your waitress is awfully careless." 

Romeo raises his eyebrows. "I wouldn't say so. Mistakes like these happen on the daily. How about a free dessert, on the house?" 

The guy nods his head, and Romeo thanks him for his patience. Patience my ass. Drinks are spilled at least once a day and it's a lot easier if the customer is more understanding about it. I am glad that Romeo is helping me out, though. He's just taking Remi's role as my protector while Remi isn't here. 

We both walk back into the kitchen, and he nudges me with his elbow. "No need to thank me." 

I roll my eyes at him. "Thank you." 

"I hate when assholes like that come in here, treating us like we don't know what we're doing. We grew up in this place." 

He's talking to me? "Yeah. It's really stupid." 

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Knock Knock Knock.

"Come in!" I say, laying my electric guitar on my bed.