Half Bad

"Ohh..." I muttered in complaint. "I have the utmost respect for waitresses, after tonight."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Phil patted my arm sympathetically. The two of us were sitting at a booth in the lobby after our grueling work shift from hell.

"Pretty close, though." Karla called from behind the waitress stand, where she was wiping things down. She laughed and winked at me, letting me know she was only kidding.

"Thanks Karla. Love you too." I called back to her, resting my head in my arms. Worst of all, I didn't know where I was going to get the energy to ride my bike back home. I still had that paper to finish..

"Just teasing you, kiddo." She called back cheerfully. Once the customers had left, she turned into a relatively normal person, thankfully. Looking in her late twenties, I couldn't help but wonder what a woman as beautiful as Karla was doing waiting tables. Squinting my eyes, I wished I could have her shiny dark her and deep brown eyes. Forget her figure, I could never even wish for something like that.

"Like I was saying, your night wasn't that bad." Phil commented.

"Yes it was."

"How so?"

"How wasn't it!?" I cried in frustration, counting off on my fingers. "I created a nice little lake of coffee in the waitress station, took forever to get a man his coffee, which I think might've been regular instead of decaf so there might be some really hyper old man running around right now, and I forgot to get him his silverware and he didn't leave me a tip, saying that the pasta salad was too cold.

Too cold. Let's not forget how I had to wait on my former best friend and his new girlfriend, whose silverware I dropped on the floor at the sight of them, then it took all my lack of strenght not to dump the pizza right into that bitch's lap."

"Lindsey.. breathe." Phil grabbed my shoulders and shook them gently. "Shit happens. Not usually that much, but it happens."

"Story of my life, Phil." I gave him a half-smile.

"Guys like the old man come in all the time. Some people you just can't please. And maybe a little caffeine will do him some good. Ya never know."

"Oh, gee thanks. I feel so much better now." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not finished here." He pointed out.

"Sorry." I smiled. "Please continue."

"As far as your ex-best friend, sounds like someone's a little jealous in that department."

"Jealous?" I asked, my smile immediately dissolving into a frown. "That's not it at all."

"I'm just calling it how I see it." He sat back in his seat and gave me a knowing look.

"You didn't see anything." I retorted.

"Oh, then who was that standing in the middle of the kitchen, planning mental death threats at that girl when she walked up to pay at the register? Certainly wasn't Karla, that's for sure."

"Samantha? That the girl you mean?" I asked.

"Whatever her name was." He shrugged.

"She.. stands for everything that I'm against. I'll leave it at that." That's about as nice as I can word it.

"Ok, but it doesn't take an idiot to realize you have feelings for the guy."

"Zac!?" I squeaked. "I do not have feelings for him."

"You just keep telling yourself that, kiddo. But I saw the way you were looking at him." I didn't like the way Phil was still smiling at me. Not at all.

"We used to be friends, best friends until Samantha.. well, I'm sure you can fill in the pieces." Why I was confessing all this to my co-worker, someone who was a few years older than me and probably didn't really care, I had no idea. At the same time, it felt kinda nice to get some of these feelings out.

"I'm sure you'll work it out. You seem like a smart kid, Curly."

"Gee, thanks Phil." I buried my head in my arms, hoping to end the conversation.

"Why don't you grab something to eat?" He asked me. "That'll make you feel better and I haven't seen you eat all evening."

"That's ok." I replied quickly, making a face at the suggestion. The idea of a greasy slice of pizza in my stomach made it already feel a little nauseaus. Besides, I doubted anything on our menu fitted into any of mine.

"Suit yourself, Cranky. So how's modeling school treating you Karla?" Phil interrupted my brooding. I glanced at him surprised before looking back to Karla.

"Karla, you're a model?" I asked. She nodded with a smile.

"Wow.." I was impressed, to say the least.

"Better mark your days with her on the calender, before she comes out with her own." Phil replied to me, laughing heartedly.

"That'll be the day." Having overheard our conversation, Karla laughed. "If I can just get enough jobs where I won't be waitressing twenty hours a week, that'll be the day."

"I'm sure you'll make it. If I weren't taken, you'd be in some serious trouble of being pursued by me, Karla."

"Get a life, Phil." That comment came from me.

"And I have a boyfriend, thank you." Karla added from across the lobby. Figures she would.

"Well, what about you, Miss High-and-Mighty? Where's your other half?" Phil turned to me.

"I don't have one." I replied quietly, shifting my eyes to the floor. Glancing at my watch, I groaned with how late it was.

"I've gotta run. Phil, as always, it was a blast talking with you." I stood up and untied my apron, which by now was covered with miscellaneous food smears.

" 'Night, Curly."

"And don't call me that." I shook my finger at him threateningly. He held up his hands in mock fear, grinning widely.

"Oh, you're not worth it." I turned away from him and headed back to Jamie's office to return the apron. When I got there, I knocked softely on his door, even though it was open. Jamie looked up at me from his computer.

"Hi Lindsey." He spoke up cheerfully. "How'd the night go?"

"It was very.. interesting. I think I'll leave the waitressing to the waitresses though. They seem to actually know how to do it."

"Actually, you didn't look too bad out there. I was going to ask if you wouldn't mind waitressing for the rest of the week, just until we can hire some more people in here." With the strained look on his face, there was no way I could say no to Jamie.

"If it helps everyone out, which I highly doubt, then sure." I smiled sadly and tightened my grip on my apron.

"It sure would. Thank you Lindsey." Jamie widened his smile.

"No problem. I've gotta run, homework calls."

"Homework, huh? I remember having that.. You've been here too long; go home kiddo."

"All right, all right!" I threw up my hands. "I'm outta here. Thanks Jamie."

"Thank you Lindsey." He called after me as I walked to the workers' room. I sighed, throwing my backpack over my shoulder, heavy with my history book. With an inward groan, I left Pizza Palace and headed for my bike. As I unlocked the lock, I threw my heavy leg over the middle bar and sat on the seat. The pitch-black color of the sky was a little frightening, and the last place I wanted to be in the middle of the night by myself was downtown, so I started pedaling the three mile ride home.

"There you are." Mom whispered to me as I quietly shut the door. I jumped about three feet in the air at the sound of her voice, not expecting her to be awake now. Seeing her wrapped in her robe, I wondered how long she'd been waiting up for me.

"Yeah.." I gave her a questioning look. "What are you still doing up?"

"You had a phone call earlier." She handed a slip of paper with a phone number on it to me. "A boy named.. David?"

"From my drivers' ed class?" I asked, wondering what on earth would possess the boy to call me. She shrugged.

"I have no idea. He said something about a party."

"A party?" This was interesting news.

"Like I said, I don't know. I just take the messages. You'll have to wait until tomorrow before calling him, though. Now, upstairs and to bed, kiddo. It's late."

"Can't Mom," I explained, setting my backpack on the floor with a muffled thump. "I have a history paper due tomorrow."

"It's not like you to wait until the day before, let alone night, Lindsey."

"I know." I sighed quietly. "It's just that I've been so busy lately, I never have time for anything anymore."

"But that's good though." Mom smiled. "Your father and I are very proud of your change in behavior recently."

"You are?" This was even more interesting news.

"Yes Ma'am. You aren't wasting away your afternoons sitting in front of the television anymore." She reached out and patted me on the shoulder encouragingly. "Now, get that homework started. I don't want you up all night."

"Oh, don't worry." I promised her. "I've still got a few hours."

A few hours later..

"You know.." I stared down at my history book, lying open on my desk. "I really don't give a flying fuck about the Depression right now, Great or not. Can't you understand that?"

Worst of all was the massive headache I'd felt for the last three hours, the amount of time it'd taken me to catch up on all those chapters of reading. Now, at precisely two-forty seven a.m., as my alarm clock informed me, I had the eight-page paper to tackle.

" 'Discuss all the social, political, and economic factors leading up to the Great Depression of 1929'," I read my assignment for the fifteenth time tonight.

"Didn't I say that I don't give a flying fuck?" I asked, burying my head in my book. "This is taking too much brain power."

"On the other hand, Linds." I reminded myself, lifting up my face. "It's not like you have any more time."

Extension.. the sweet word rang through my head. You could always ask for an extension.

"I've never asked for an extension in my life.." I argued outloud. "Well, at least not for history class. I'm not even attempting to open my math book tonight."

"Lindsey?" Someone knocked softly on my door.

"Come in," I replied, not wanting to waste the energy to stand up and open the door myself.

"Can you keep it down?" Heidi stuck her head in my room, squinting under the light. "I can hear you arguing with yourself all the way from my room. The rest of us have to suffer because you have to be up so late, you know."

"Sorry." I replied shortly.

"What are you doing, anyway?" She asked me.

"Writing a history paper that's due tomorrow." I replied crossly, throwing my pencil down. "I just don't have the energy to stay up and write it, but I don't have any time left."

"Pulling an all-nighter, huh?" She grinned at me.

"I guess so." I replied, rubbing my eyes. Funny enough, the idea of getting no sleep hadn't occurred to me until now.

"Be right back." She said, disappearing into the dark hallway. She returned a few seconds later with a cup of water in her hand and a bottle in her hands.

"What's this?" I asked as she handed them over to me.

"Caffeine pills. They'll help you stay awake."

"Oh, no." I held them back to her. "I'm not getting into any of this crap. These are dangerous."

"They are not!" She replied quickly. "Cliff gave them to me, and he wouldn't have if they were dangerous. He uses them all the time."

"Heidi.. I'm too tired to even ask who Cliff is right now."

"Hello, my new boyfriend?" She asked in a haughty voice.

I should've known, I groaned inwardly.

"Oh.." How are I supposed to reply to that? "Well, thanks for the concern, but no thanks."

"Just take two of them tonight to stay awake. They really work." Heidi insisted.

"I'll leave it as a last resort, thanks." I assured her, resting the bottle and water next on the corner of my desk.

"Ok, but don't complain if you start falling asleep before I get back in bed." She closed the door behind her quietly.

"You've got to be kidding me, Heidi." I grabbed the bottle of pills, turning it over in my fingers.

" 'Safer than drinking a cup of coffee.' " I read off the label, before placing the bottle back on my desk. "We'll just leave you as a last resort."

"Holy shit." I woke up with a start. Glancing at my clock, I suddenly became panicked to see that it was six thirty.

"Six thirty!?" I stared at my clock in shock. "There is no way I can write an eight-page paper in.. forty five minutes." It seemed hopeless. I glanced down at my notes from the night before in front of me, barely recognizing the words.

"Ok, fingers, I'm counting on you now." I mumbled, moving the mouse for my computer to wake it up. Upon starting my word processing program, I tried to make coherent sentences out of my notes. It was the least I could do.

***

"I think it's the worst thing I've ever written, but at least it's done." I snatched the paper from my printer and stapled the corners together, hoping that my notes were complete enough. I couldn't even remember all of what I'd written, but at least it had amounted to eight and a half pages.. or at least close to that, after I'd changed the font setting and margins.

"Heidi!" I yelled loudly, running over to my closet and throwing on the first outfit my fingers touched. After struggling to put on the shirt and jeans, I stuffed my feet into the closest pair of shoes next to my feet, jammed my homework into my backpack, and dashed out of the room.

"What?" She called from the front hallway, where she was putting on her coat to leave.

"Can you please give me a ride to school this morning?" I begged her. She examined me for a second.

"Sure, but let's go. I can't afford to be late again to first period. And I don't have time to wait for you to eat breakfast."

"That' s ok. Bless you, Heidi."

"No problem. Just remember this when you buy my Graduation present." She smiled and walked outside. "You know, after your birthday, you really need to invest in your own car, Lindsey."

"I know, I know." I replied crossly. "I'm working as much as I can to save money."

"You don't have to get cranky with me, you know." She retorted. "I could leave you here on the sidewalk, you know."

"I'm sorry, Heidi." I replied sincerely as I slid into the passenger seat. "I just didn't get a whole lot of sleep night, that's all."

"Did you take any of those pills?" She asked, pulling out of the driveway and in to the street.

"No." I spoke honestly, sending her a sideways grin. "I fell asleep before I got the chance."

"Told ya." She replied with a shake of her head. "Cliff has an exam on Friday, so just make sure you give them back to me by then, ok?"

"Not a problem." I said. Finding nothing more between us in common, the two of us rode to school in silence. As I slid into my seat for first period, study hall, I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out my history paper to start editing it. I'm sure it had more than enough room for improvement, to say the least.