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That sounded rather normal for an assignment. so I nodded.
“My question is—how do you analyze eight paragraphs in depth when it’s depressing as Hell and I can’t decide whether the author wanted to kill herself or not?”
Okay, that was a loaded question. I did a quick scan of the restaurant and Ian raised his brows. I nodded then looked at Rachel. “Okay, short answer? She doesn’t want to kill herself. If you read it through, she’s devastated. It’s been time since he died, and she is trying to figure out if, in the time she’s mourned him, if the love she felt has depleted. If he would he forgive her if it had—but she’s never felt that way about anyone else, not in all those years. At the same time, she can’t wallow in that sorrow, because she still has a life and it can still be lived.”
Rachel stared at me, mouth open faintly and her eyes wondering.
“It’s depressing,” I told her. “But she’s not suicidal.” I tapped the page. “Try it again. I’ll be back.”
There was an order up, so I snagged it for Zabra, who wasn’t readily visible—probably grabbing a cigarette out back real fast—and swung the plates over to her table. After I finally reached Ian and Jake, they both grinned at me. Their food had long since been eaten and their shakes emptied. They were literally just taking up space, which normally I’d mind because turning tables meant I got more tips.
“We were thinking,” Ian said with a nod toward the clock. “You’re out of here, soon, right?”
I glanced over. It was twenty to nine. Holy crap, I was. “Yeah…” The shift had blown past me like I was sitting still—maybe because I hadn’t stopped running. “What’s up?”
“Jake said you’ve got that project for French class, which is the dessert you made for Mathieu and the video, right?”
“Yeah,” I said slowly, and Jake huffed out a sigh.
“Bubba wants to swing by, too. Archie texted—said he’d pick up stuff on his way over.” Jake wasn’t fond of the idea. I’d already thought about inviting Coop to give myself a buffer.
“Guys, that’s great…”
“Okay, I’ll let Archie know.”
“Wait,” I placed my hand over Jake’s on the phone. “I was saying that’s great, but I have all the clips. I just need to edit them together. I’ve got all the stuff I need for the dessert, too.”
“You don’t want company?” Disappointment echoed in Ian’s statement.
“More like, I need to do homework, I need to do the project, and if everyone is there, we’re going to be up super late.” I glanced at Jake. “I need to get some sleep, too, and so do you guys. Big game tomorrow.”
“Not that big,” Ian muttered.
“You’re still meeting us afterward, right?” Jake stared at me hopefully.
“With Archie,” I reminded him.
“Right. Arch.” He tapped the table.
I glanced around, we were relatively quiet, but I still had to do my job. Rachel had twisted in her seat and lifted a hand. I nodded.
“Look, I have to get back to work. But not tonight, okay? I’ll see you guys tomorrow, and we’ve got a big weekend.”
“Text when you get home?” Jake asked and Ian nodded.
“Yeah, just let us know you’re home and fine.”
“Sure,” I said, picking up their empty shake glasses. I’d left their check earlier. “You guys text me, too, okay? I want to make sure you find your way home safely.”
They both gave me an odd look, and I grinned. I’d had this job since the day I turned sixteen. I’d been working these shifts for almost two years, but I didn’t recall specifically texting them to say I was home before. We’d texted, sure, but not for one singular reason.
So fine, if they wanted me to text them, then I wanted the same courtesy. Zabra was out and Marsha motioned me over. I lifted a finger toward Rachel and said, “One sec, okay?”
In the back, Marsha beckoned me to follow. “Zabra’s taking over any new tables, so you can go ahead and finish your sidework and get out of here.”
Oh, cool.A little early but I’d stayed later the night before. In her office, she pulled an envelope out of a locked cubby then handed it to me. “Those are all your credit tips from last night.”
“Sweet. Thank you.” I pocketed it along with tonight’s cash. I’d get tonight’s credit tips on Saturday. I could stick around and total them out, but it was just as easy to wait until she ran the register and get them later.
