Scott's Shift

First of Many

"5:00 right on time. Hi! You must be Evangeline, I'm Gracie. Gavin told me something about fresh meat at five." A voluptuous blonde with bright green eyes giggled to herself.

"Evie is fine. And yeah, he told me you would be training me tonight but to talk to Scott first, let him know what's going on." I forced a smile through the cramps.

"Oh, honey. Twelve years of customer service and 26 years of being female, I know what that smile means. Come with me, I have some meds in my purse that'll help you feel better." She had a beautiful smile on her round face. Her little button nose gave her an overall elvish, maybe fairyesque look.

We walked inside the restaurant and Gracie led me to the kitchen. We passed a few other members of the waitstaff and a chef.

"Is that the new blood?" The chef chuckles at Gracie as we pass. I feel slightly self-conscious when he mentions blood. Geez, how could my period come on the first day of being so busy?!

Following Gracie through the kitchen, I couldn't help but notice how nicely her jeans hugged her body. She was short but her legs made up for it. I feel a slight blush forming on my cheeks because I've never looked at anyone like that, let alone another woman.

She came to a stop in front of a pair of freshly shined, black dress shoes. As I looked up along the soft grey suit pants, I noticed Gracie's butt again. My eyes followed the fancy dressed figure up to a button down pale blue shirt.

"Gracie, I'm very busy right now. What do you need?" A deep, melodius hum vibrated lowly through the kitchen.

"Scott, ease up. This is the new hire that Gavin gifted us. I'm supposed to let you know that she's here and she's mine." Gracie licked her lips and grinned at the man.

"Ah, Evangeline. Yes, he told me about her. Show her how to seat people, take orders, and serve our guests Sammy's way." Scott replied rather monotone.

"You're the boss." Gracie shrugged at him.

Scott had a narrow, angular face. His jaw looked so sharp it could cut steel. His nose had a crook in it as if it'd had one too many breaks in boxing, but it was perfectly placed. His lips were thin but they were beckoning.

I wondered if the pale blue shirt was intentional to draw focus to his eyes. They were almost an icy, pastel, aqua color but they were hard to notice underneath his heavy set and protruding eyebrows.

I must have been lingering too long, drinking in his image because Gracie tugged on my shirt softly and whispered "Evie, let's go clock in."

She walked me through the steps of how to sign on for a shift on the computer system. She gave me my own access code to use during my shifts so I wouldn't have to use her numbers.

Gracie explained everything as she showed me so I really got the audio-visual one-on-one training.

"This is the easiest part of the job, Evie. This," she pointed to a star shaped button on the computer. "This is how we put our orders in for the chef to cook. You tap the star, push the picture of the menu item that was ordered, and voilá! Now, say a customer wants something special. Let's assume this customer has an allergy to something like, oh! Pickles, perfect!

Okay, so our customer has a preference of no pickles on their sandwich. You push the star, push the little button with a sandwich on it. Then you click the square next to it that looks like a notepad. For notes, duh." Gracie's sarcasm actually sounded like a regular, sincere part of her everyday jabber.

"So in the little notepad you'll just type out 'NO pickles' or whatever the case is. Always put the indicator in all capitals to draw the chef's attention. If you are adding something just type 'ADD' and if you are taking something away, obviously just type 'NO'.

The chef won't see any orders until you push the green 'SEND' button so don't worry about it if you want to practice a few times. Oh, and by the way. You can always put an order in for yourself anytime during your shift for free. Just add a note with your name on it and he'll set your order to the side. You can order anything on the menu as many times during your shift as you want as long as your work is still getting done.

Drinks are free and unlimited, too." She smirked at me.

"Free, unlimited food?" Gracie laughed as I gawked at her.

It would be like working in Aunt T's house! Aunt Thelma always calls me "a healthy girl" but anyone could notice I have an inappropriate relationship with food. My curvy hips and bubbly cheeks give me away on that one. My love affair with food was only increased and emboldened when I moved in with a big-boned woman who has a passion for cooking and baking.

This is definitely going to be a fun job.

"Okay so I just sat a table down by the window, do you want to try taking their order and sending it in?" Gracie was giddy to be training me. She seemed to love sharing her knowledge and showing off how good she is at her job all in the same moment.

I nod at her and she leads me to a two-top in the corner.

"Good evening, and welcome to Sammy's. Can I get you started with some drinks?"

"Remember your name!" Gracie whisper-shouts at me.

"Oh, right! I'm Evie if you need anything while you are dining." I blush and look down at my shoes, beginning to feel anxious and embarrassed. How stupid of me to forget my own name. This must be a first for me. I don't know where all this nervous energy is coming from tonight.

"Two teas would be fine, thanks. We'll need a minute deciding on our food. We just have so many favorites here. Thanks, Evie, and don't worry. First days are always the worst." The lady smiled at me while the man buried his nose in the menu.