Finding Myself

Chapter 6

I changed into a pair of clothes as we made our way to our favorite diner, Mary's. We come here sometimes on Friday nights since our freshman year and it is like a second home to us. When we walked in, we went to our usual table. Thankfully, nobody has claimed it yet. I sit down in my usual spot and see a note in the middle of the table. I pick it and read what it says. To the three amigas. Anything is possible with the right people you include in your life and leaving the wrong ones behind.

Snapping in my face got me out of my thoughts and back into my surroundings. Our server, Victoria (V for short), arrived and was waiting to get our orders. There are 3 owners of this place, V being the quietest one. Well, to strangers. But get to know her and she is funny as hell, like the other two. She had her hair in a high ponytail with a black shirt and jeans with her notepad.

"Hola chicas. How y'all doing since the last time I saw you?" She asks us. V looks my way and stares and my wet hair. "What happened to your hair, Birdy? And don't say nothing because I'm pretty sure you didn't go on any water rides before coming here."

"The evil one and her minions went to see if beer could be a good substitute for shampoo and decided tonight would be a good time to test it on me," I said, before I decided to look down at my hands. I feel eyes on me and look back up to see V looking at me with pity eyes, my least favorite type of look.

"Give me a minute while I go into the kitchen to put in your usual," Victoria tells us as she walks to the kitchen. A couple of seconds later, I hear screaming from the kitchen as she runs out laughing. About 3 minutes later, the other 2 owners burst out of the kitchen like they had just ran from a fire.

"WTF V, why did you scream like that? I was in the middle of doing paperwork and you almost made me mess up the payroll. You had better gotten hurt. Scared the crap out of me." said Amanda (Mandy for short). She was the shortest but funnest owner with a blue dress on and a messy bun.

"Can you stop talking about your bowel movements for a second? I know you go all the time, but save it until we finish talking," says Mary (Mar for short). She slid closer to us before Mandy could hit her in the arm. Mary was the head chef of the place and the main owner, hence the place being named after her. Before Mandy could say something back to Mar, V spoke instead.

"As much as I love the nickname you guys gave me, can you not say it so loudly when people are here? I can get annoying and unprofessional at times," V says, acting annoyed, but with a smile on her face.

"I've been calling you that since high school and that'll never change till the day we all go down," says Mandy. Mandy looks at the table, sees me, and stops at me for a second. "Birdy, you do know that the fishpond is not for public use, right?" She then walks to my side of the table, smacks Mar in the back of the head (which I chuckled at), and taps me on the shoulder as I signal to make room for her to sit. Out of the 3 owners, I felt closer to Mandy because she was more like my fun and protective big sister. "You gonna wash that smell of beer out of your hair or are you trying out a new way to attract guys?" She gets up and grabs my arm. "Let's go little one and fix your head before it gets frizzy and puffy." Mandy practically drags me upstairs to her office to use her bathroom. I can hear the other 4 laughing from behind me. Traitors.

After I washed my hair and dried it with a towel, I stepped out of the bathroom and into Mandy's office area. There was so much clutter and books all over the place that it would be hard to navigate if you didn't already know the path.

"Sorry about the extra mess. I can never find anything when the place is too clean and I always have something to do that I don't have the time to organize for now. My brain works a little better when I remember stuff in its random spots." Mandy motions me to the guest chair and plugs in the hair dryer. "So, I see that Jen decided to strike and went for your hair. Out of all the places on you, your hair is the worst since it naturally gets puffy from it getting wet. Well, I'll do what I can and get you fixed right. Then we'll all talk about what happened when we back to the other in a few." She turns on the dryer and gets to work. After she finishes and makes sure I look presentable, we head back downstairs to join the others. Mar comes out the kitchen with a bowl and sets it on the table before sitting down. Mads and Sky were already consuming their meals. I see my bowl with my favorite, Sancocho (for some Hispanics, if you know what it is, then you should know that it is good. If not, it's a soup that has meat, corn, dumplings, potatoes, and other stuff either with rice on the side or in the soup itself).

"Come on, you two. Eat up before I eat it myself," Mar says to us before turning to the others for conversation. I don't need to be told twice. I sat down in my seat and started to eat my soup. It took me a minute to realize the table was quiet. I look up from my bowl to see them looking at me.

"What?" I asked. They laughed at my question then went back into their convo. I rolled my eyes and went back to my food. My perfect meal for any occasion.