Chapter 3
The syrup wouldn't come off the table. Who the heck cleaned the tables this morning? They did the crappiest job ever. Claire scrubbed furiously at the chipping table, some stacked cups in her opposite hand. She'd just finished serving a few middle-aged women out for a drink and now had to clean up the table.
Lindy's Diner was too cheap to hire bus boys. Whoever was in charge of the money and for keeping the diner nice was the worst cheapskate ever. Yet, despite the tables that were chipping and falling apart, and the booths that had one-too-many holes in the seats, Lindy's was never lacking customers. The jukebox in the corner played a Whitney Houston track for the fifth time since Claire clocked in for her shift. Some of the lights that had blown out months ago were still not replaced—though it did somewhat provide a nice dinner mood—and the bathroom doors were so old they practically crumbled just from contact with the air.
Whoever had the diner before Lindy wasn't the best caretaker.
Claire had been working for Lindy and her husband for the past 2 years. The second she turned sixteen, she'd had to get a job in order to help support the family. She'd been so ecstatic when she'd actually gotten the job and had since proven herself worthy of the position. She'd put in more overtime hours than any other worker and always helped clean while she waited for her tables to fill up. Unlike the other workers, she'd never stop to talk unless necessary and constantly had a courteous smile on her face. She never argued with customers like Sandy did, and she even took money out of her own paycheck to pay for a meal she'd screwed up once.
She put a little bit of her extra strength into wiping the syrup off the table with her wet rag before wiping down the salt, pepper, sugar, and napkin trays. Her eyes and ears stayed open as she watched and listened for customers. She paid special attention to Charlie and how he was doing, but he'd passed out half an hour ago.
Claire checked the clock on the wall. Seven thirty. Half an hour until Charlie's designated bedtime and an hour and a half more until her shift officially ended.
She quickly put the cups in the sink in the kitchen and brought out a new set of silverware for the table.
It was her advanced hearing that allowed her to listen to the conversation amongst a few of her pack members that sat in her section.
"...Way. I thought he wasn't coming back until he found the rogues who killed his Dad?" the male—Dan, maybe?—whispered, his voice taking on a shocked tone.
Claire moved some of her attention to the group, wondering who they could be talking about.
"No. Marcus told my Dad that he had to fetch him from the airport. He's definitely coming back," one of the girls replied, her mouth curving up into a confident smirk. "I can't wait until he gets back though. He won't be able to resist me anymore. I'm not that stupid little fourteen-year-old anymore."
"Ashley, it's been four years." The guy rolled his eyes. "Give it up already."
Claire's eyes widened. How had she not noticed Ashley at one of her tables? Was she so incredibly tired and out of it that she'd completely missed it?
Her whole body tensed, her wolf growling inside of her and ready to come out. Her heart started beating just a bit too fast. Ashley wouldn't dare confront Claire in the middle of a restaurant, would she?
Claire's hand clenched over her notepad in her apron. Oh no. She had to go over there and take their drink order.
"I'm going to have him so tightly wrapped around my finger, he'll have to declare me his mate."
The other girl, her light blonde hair striking compared to Ashley's deep brown, decided to speak up. "If he wasn't your mate before he left, what makes you think now is any different?"
Ashley glared at her companion. "Because, Alice," she hissed, "before he left, I hadn't shifted. You know males can't find their mate unless she's shifted."
"Oh. Yeah." Alice stayed quiet for a moment. "But, wait, doesn't that mean he could also find his mate among all the other girls too?"
"Alice! Shut up!" Ashley snarled at her friend.
Claire felt right then would be the best time to intervene. She cleared her throat as she stepped up to the table. All their eyes immediately locked onto Claire's frame.
Ashley smirked maliciously. "Well, look what the cat dragged in."
Claire bit her tongue to hold back the numerous things she wished she could say. "Can I get you guys anything to drink?" she asked politely.
Alice was the first to speak up. "Can I have a water with a lemon?"
Claire nodded and turned to the guy, Dan. He was in her math class last semester. He avoided her gaze, mumbling, "Coke."
Ashley simply crossed her arms casually. "I'll have an iced tea."
Claire got out of there as quickly as she could, ignoring their snickers at something mocking Ashley said as she left.
She already dreaded going back, knowing having to serve them was going to be horrible. Taking a deep breath, Claire grabbed the drinks and slid them onto a carrying tray. Then she headed off to what would only be torture.
"Excuse me, waitress!" Ashley beckoned using a disgustingly sweet voice.
Claire scowled at the napkin holder she'd been replacing. What could Ashley possibly want now?
When she got to the table, Ashley shoved a plate of chicken and vegetables towards her. It whizzed to the other side of the table.
Except Ashley had pushed the plate way too hard. Claire watched in horror as it tottered on the edge of the table for a moment, seeming to go in slow motion, before slipping right off.
With her heightened speed, she managed to snag the plate right before it hit the dirty tiled floor. Though she couldn't say the same for the food. She stared hard at the pieces of chicken and gravy all over the floor.
The animal inside her hissed and snarled, pulling at the invisible chain that kept it inside her. Claire fought back frustrated tears, telling herself that snapping at Ashley now would only risk her losing her job and make things worse for their family in the pack.
"Oh, Claire, look what you've done!" Ashley said loudly in a horribly fake shocked tone. "I can't believe you would do that to my food! I was just going to ask if you could heat it up."
Alice and Dan erupted into snickers at Claire's expense.
"I hope you're planning on giving me a refund for that, Claire." Ashley's façade of disappointment crumbled as a smirk began to ride on the corners of her mouth.
Hearing a loud, distraught customer, Lindy stepped out from the back room. She took in the scene and Ashley's sadness and full heartedly apologized to the "customer" for her employee's clumsiness and then promised that their entire meal would be completely free.
Just as her boss left, she whispered harshly in Claire's ear, "Clean up this mess quickly. Their meal will be coming out of your paycheck, as well as whatever they want for dessert."
Though Lindy's whisper was quiet, Claire knew all three of the customers could hear. With their enhanced hearing, they could probably hear if a pin dropped all the way on the other side of the room, even with all the noise of the diner.
Claire swallowed hard and nodded. She kept her gaze completely on the floor. Not once did she dare raise her head, even as she got the mop from the supply closet and began cleaning up. Her wolf had a bit of a fit, upset by her refusal to meet the enemy's eyes, but Claire held her back.
She hand wiped the floor where the gravy spilt, knowing if it wasn't cleaned up correctly, someone could slip. She could feel Ashley's glares on her back. "Hmm, anything I want for dessert. Fantastic."
Claire bit her lip and swallowed. This isn't that bad, she told herself. There are children like Charlie out there who are starving. This is nothing compared to that. Besides, it's just one paycheck. What's one paycheck lost?
She glanced at Charlie. Could he deal without a new pair of shoes for a week or two? Would they have enough money to fill their crappy, barely-running station wagon with gas? Did this mean she couldn't buy a new pair of jeans to cover the old pair that was practically capris now?
Claire took their dessert order, her jaw almost dropping in horror at the long list.
It wasn't until they were finally checking out that Claire wanted to cry. Those three kids must've eaten like kings. With the measly hours a week that she worked, it would take almost a full paycheck to cover the cost. She couldn't believe anyone could spend that much in a run-down diner like Lindy's.
She couldn't believe that she'd just technically spent that much at Lindy's.
"Thanks for that food, Claire! You're a doll." Ashley winked as she left. She was halfway through the door, numerous leftovers wrapped carefully in the plastic bag in her hand, when she turned back around. "You should definitely be a little more careful next time, Claire."
And with one last evil smile, she was gone.
Claire had to use her tips the next day to buy Charlie ice cream.