Raindrops on Roses and Girls in White Dresses

"Kat, two sodas for table nine," Mila called, as she strided into the kitchen, holding an empty tray in her hands.

I nodded. Ricco, from the kitchen staff, poured Coke in two glass cups and handed them to me. I placed them both on an empty round tray and held it firmly, heading carefully out of the kitchen and into the main dining room. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, talking among themselves animatedly. I bet their day wasn't nearly as messed up as mine.

While I walked past some tables, I could distinctly hear a whistle coming from behind me. I turned my head around only to see an old man with a top hat licking his lips at me in an erotic and quite frankly, disturbing manner.

I tried my very best not to gag on the job. I made a look of disgust, and wheeled around, heading for table nine in a hurry. Getting there, I saw a boy and a girl sitting across from each other. The table was small and only fit two people.

It looked like they were on a date. The girl was wearing a silky blue dress, with her blonde hair tied neatly into a high ponytail. The boy, who looked no older than twenty, had a small smile on his face. His black shoulder length hair adorned his slightly feminine face quite nicely. He was very good looking, no doubt. His hair wasn't the type of hair I'd seen in most guys that came to this restaurant.

It was weird, though. While the boy was all smiley and looking at the girl with great interest, the girl seemed to be absent-minded, staring down at her pink fingernails in boredom. It looked as though she didn't want to be there at all.

But hey, looks can be deceiving, right?

"Here you go," I said to the young couple, as I set their drinks down in front of them with a polite smile. "Two Cokes."

The boy looked up at me and smiled back. "Thank you."

"No problem," I replied.

The girl probably didn't even notice I was standing there, as her fingernails seemed far more interesting than my presence.

"What will you two be eating?" I asked, taking a notepad out of my apron pocket and holding my pen out, ready to write the order down.

The boy looked down at his menu and scanned the names of all the main courses listed. "Hmm....the chicken sounds nice. I'll have that. What about you, Natalie?" He asked, looking at the girl expectantly.

She didn't answer.

"Um, Nat?" The boy repeated a bit louder.

Her head perked up at the sound of her name. "What?"

"What do you want to eat?" He asked, with a nervous laugh.

She raised her eyebrows, looking up once at me and then back at him. "I don't really care. I'm not very hungry." Then she looked back down at her fingernails, sighing as if she were bored with life in general.

The boy's face fell, and I was surprised that the girl noticed. She rolled her eyes, sighing. "Fine. I'll just have whatever you're having."

I made a funny face, but quickly straightened it out once the boy glanced at me again. He smiled crookedly, holding out the menu.

"Er, I'll be right back with your orders," I said quickly, taking the menus and walking away from their table.

Once I had set everything on the tray, I walked back out of the kitchen, holding the tray up and making sure I wouldn't trip over anything or anyone. Because let me tell you, once a waitress trips and food and drinks start flying about, all hell breaks loose.

"Whoot."

There goes the whistle again. I ignored the perverted old man, and continued walking as if I hadn't heard. As I was reaching table nine, I realized that the girl wasn't sitting across the boy anymore. He was there alone.

"Your order," I stated, setting down the plates with chicken on the table. The boy smiled up at me.

"Thanks."

I nodded in response. Maybe it wouldn't be polite to ask where the girl was. Maybe she just went to the bathroom. Maybe I should stop trying to be so helpful.
It was just sort of sad seeing the kid sitting there all alone.

I shrugged it off, sincerely hoping their date would work out. "Hey, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"Sure thing," He replied, not even paying attention to me anymore.

I walked away, changing directions on my way to the kitchen, avoiding the creepy old man with the top hat.

______

The day was finally over and I was now walking back and forth, pensively, outside of the chique restaurant I worked at.

My uniform, which was a simple white dress, was mostly covered with a black hoodie. In one hand, I was holding my black pumps. I had tried many times to persuade my boss into letting us waitresses wear normal shoes, like flats. You know, not the kind of shoes that make you want to cut your feet off after a long day at work.

But did that work? Oh, no. So after taking this waitressing job, I was forced to learn how to walk in heels, something I've always hated ever since I could remember. I had Mila to thank, though. If it wasn't for her teachings, I would have been jobless.

I shivered. It was sort of chilly outside, and I was waiting for Mila to come out. She told me she had to talk to someone and that she wouldn't take long. She might have been more specific than that, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

I tried avoiding thinking about Ben. I tried focusing my mind on other things, like the cold weather or cigarettes. I thought about how they could relieve stress and all that other shit, but then I mentally slapped myself. I wasn't going to smoke cancer sticks just because I was stressed out.
There had to be other ways to relieve the undeniable stress.
Like medication, for instance. Or even being more optimistic about things.
Ha, that's a laugh.

I shook my head, mentally slapping myself again. "Stop sounding so damn desperate."

I then laughed a little, knowing I was doing what I normally did while undergoing stress. Talking to myself.

A few groups of people were now leaving the restaurant, and I stood up against the brick wall of the building. Suddenly, I spotted the black haired boy.
He was standing alone near the exit doors, with his jacket draped over his arm. He looked down at his shoes and shook his head solemnly to himself. I noticed his lips moving fast, like he was talking to himself.

Hm, so maybe I'm not the only one whose stressed out and had a bad day.

I tried my best not to stare at him, and wondered why his date -- what was her name? Yeah, Natalie -- wasn't with him.
His head slowly lifted and he began looking around. That's when his eyes came across my face. My eyes quickly averted, and I pulled out my cellphone from my pocket, pretending to text someone.

And after a while, when I got tired of pretending to be texting and thought he'd leave, I noticed the boy walking up to me. I fiddled more with the buttons on my cell, and pretended I didn't see him coming.

Click. Click. Click.

"Um, miss?"

Click.

My head shot up and the boy smiled crookedly at me.

"Yes?" I asked, blowing my fringe away from my eyes.

"You're the waitress, right?" He asked curiously. "The one who took my order?"

"Er, yeah. Was there something wrong with the food?"

"No, no. It was good."

"Oh, okay."

He nodded, stuffing one hand in his pocket. He looked pretty elegant, with his striped dress shirt and slacks. I'm a sucker for guys in striped clothing, as weird as that may sound.

"Waiting for someone?" He asked casually, as he gazed back at the people leaving the restaurant. Some of them seemed pretty stuck up in my opinion. Hell, I worked at a fancy-ass restaurant. What the hell was I expecting?

"Yeah. My cousin," I replied with a nod. "I've been waiting since forever."

He laughed a bit.

I rested my head against the brick wall, sighing.

Mila had offered me to stay at her place. I, of course, accepted. She told me she'd go with me tomorrow to Ben's and help me pack my stuff and bring it back to her house.

I shuddered at the thought of having to see Ben. Especially since I knew how awkward the whole situation would be. Ben was the most awkward guy I had ever met. And I don't know, maybe that's what drew me to him.
It was my fault, really. I just had to go for the badass type.

The boy looked at me wonderingly, and leaned his body against the wall, too.

What's he doing?, I thought.

"Do you dislike heels?" He asked, which caused me to stare at him weirdly.
What a random question. Oh well.

"Loathe is more appropriate in this case," I answered honestly.

This made him laugh a bit more comfortably.

"I would say the same...but, you know, I'm a guy."

I smiled. "Lucky you."

"Yeah, but even though us guys don't wear heels, we still suffer."

"Oh yeah? How so?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Our feet get stepped on a lot by those things. It kinda feels like taking a bullet," He said with another laugh.

"Ha. That's funny."

He made a face. "Yeah.....not really."

I shook my head, laughing silently. I looked down at my bare feet, not really caring that they were touching the dirty ground. It felt nice. Of course, some people didn't think so.

Talking to the kid was really helping me forget Ben. But, sadly, the image of his face popped into my head abruptly, making me sigh out in gloom.

"Um, I know we don't know each other at all," The boy began saying, and my eyes peeked over to his flawless features, "but you seem a bit...grieved? I-I mean, are you okay?" He sort of struggled to get all of that out, which was humerous in a way.

A complete stranger asking me if I'm okay? That never happens.

I pursed my lips, and straightened my dress out, which seemed awfully wrinkled. I seriously had to remember to iron it. What a slob.

"You wanna know if I'm okay?" I asked warily.

The boy shrugged, nodding.

I furrowed my brows. "I'm the exact opposite, actually."

His forehead creased. "Bad day?"

"You have no idea," I stated, letting out a humorless laugh. "My boyfriend dumped me."

"Oh," He said, shifting awkwardly on his feet. "I-I'm sorry to hear that."

I nodded. "And the worst part is that he did it over the phone. I guess technology is a main priority nowadays, huh?"

The boy fiddled with his jacket. "Y-Yeah, I guess."

Great, I made him uncomfortable. Where was Mila, anyways?

"But, you know," The kid began saying, which made me shift my gaze toward him again, "Shit happens."

I laughed. "That's my motto."

"And, hey, if it makes you feel any better, I had a bad day, too," He said, scratching the back of his head. "My date bailed on me."

My face fell slightly. "That girl you were with? Really?"

He nodded slowly. "She told me she was going to the bathroom but then, after ten minutes of waiting and no sign of her coming back, I already knew what was going on."

I clicked my tongue. "Wow."

"I know. I repel women," He said wearily.

"Oh, don't say that. She looked like she was bored out of her mind. Maybe she just didn't want to be there in the first place."

He raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "So you're saying I don't repel them, I just......bore them to death?"

I bit back a laugh. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all."

"Right," He said, with a laugh, which made me burst out in laughter, too.

"I hope my story made you feel better," He said.

"I don't really feel better with other people's misery," I stated with a small laugh. "Besides, like you said, shit happens. Most of the time with me, anyway."

"And me," He said, with a smile. I smiled back.

"Hey, I'm Bill, by the way," He stated, sticking his hand out in front of me.

"Kat," I said, taking it, as we shook.

He nodded. "Is it Katherine?"

"No, it's Katarzyna," I replied.

"Whoa. Cool name. Is it russian or something?"

"Polish," I corrected. "My mom's a fan of crazy european names."

He laughed. "It's unique. Better yet, I've never heard it, so you are officially the first Katarzyna I've met so far."

"Nice."

"Hey, Kat!" I heard a voice calling me. I turned to see Mila walking over to me. "Ready to leave?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered. I gave Bill a small smile. "I gotta go."

He nodded quickly, smiling back. "Okay. I gotta go, too. I mean, what are the chances of my date coming back, right?"

I laughed. "You live around here?"

He made a quizzical look, and rubbed his neck. "Uh...at the moment, yeah."

I nodded. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Awesome. Okay, so, um, bye," I said with a small wave.

He mimicked. "Bye."

Mila's arm was around my shoulder again and we both began walking away.

"Who was that?" She questioned in curiosity.

I shrugged. "Just some guy."

"Hmm. I like his hair."

I laughed quietly. And as we made our way around the corner, I saw Bill's figure disappearing as he walked away through the shadows of the streets.