Can u post what the title should be? Here Goes! Story: Chapter 1
Years of practice had perfected my waitressing skills. I took the tray and loaded it with 4 dishes quickly - not wanting the customers to get tired of waiting and leave. That happened a lot here at Thai the Knot. Our family, immigrants from Thailand, decided to come to America and open a restaurant. I was a regular waitress, coming right here after school, and I had a LOT of practice. “Here you go, sir,” I said to the man when I gave him his fried rice. “Enjoy!” I noticed he had tattered clothes. He said thanks and started chowing down like he was starving. I paused when I got back to the kitchen. It wasn’t every day that a person came in looking like that.
I delivered 8 more dishes to the customers and checked back on the man. He was done eating. “Would you like your check, sir?” I asked him. “Uh, yes, please miss…” He said.
“Natalie,” I answered with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Natalie. My name’s Jeff.” He also managed a grin.
“Well, Mr. Jeff, here’s your check.” I replied as I gave it to him. His face paled a little as he saw the total. I saw him dig in his pockets. “Oh, shoot. I forgot my wallet,” Jeff grimaced. “Do you accept cash?”
“One second, Mister. I need to check with my parents.” I turned and ran to the kitchen. “Dad?” I whispered something in his ear. But I didn’t say anything about cash. My dad smiled. “Yes, only this once, though.” I beamed at him and raced off.
He was still digging in his pockets when I got back but he looked up when I came. “Sir, you can take that for free.”
Jeff glanced up again. “No, no. I-”
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“No charge?”
“No charge.”
“Well thanks, Natalie! And be sure to thank your parents for me!”
I grinned again and took his plate. “Have a nice rest of your evening!”
“You too.” Jeff stood and walked out of the restaurant with a smile on his face. The whole rest of the night, I had a warm feeling in my stomach.
Chapter 2
The next day at school, I was in the lunch line with my friend, Melissa, and I noticed a new kid. He was picking out fruit and a burger. He started for the exit and the lunch lady saw him. “Hey, kid!” He turned around.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you gonna pay for that?”
“Oh, uh, I didn’t know I had to-”
“Well ya’ do!” She glared at him and his face fell. “Oh, uh, ok. I’ll have to put this back I guess…” The boy started putting the food back.
“What are you doing,” I asked him. He turned red.
“I-I,” He stuttered, embarrassed.
“Yeah, I know. You can’t afford it,” I looked at the kid with true sympathy. I knew how that felt. “Sit with us. We’re at that table over there,” I pointed. “But first, I need to do something.”
I marched over to where the lunch lady stood. “Excuse me,” I cleared my throat.
“Yes,” She demanded.
“I noticed that you told the boy in line that he had to pay. He’s poor. This may be his only proper meal all day!”
“I don’t care. This school’s more important than one student.”
I looked at her, shocked. Then I spun and ran back to my table. I gave the boy some of my lunch (which was also meager) and we ate. Later, in class my friend passed a note to me.
Hey, Nat. Why’d you do that earlier?
-Melissa
Do what?
I wrote on the back of the paper and passed it back. This time, it took a long time to see what she wrote.
You know. You stood up for that new kid and then told off the lunch lady. If he can’t afford it, he can’t afford it. You're giving that new kid food. That's weird. He comes from a weird family and is poor. Why are you so nice to him?
What? Did my best friend just write that? None of my true friends would say that. Would they? I gave her an angry look and tore up the note. Unfortunately, it made a really loud sound and disrupted the teacher. He looked up and glared.
“Excuse me, Natalie. I am under the impression that you were writing notes and you disrupted the class. Do you have anything to say?”
I started to argue but Mr. D cut me off.
“Detention, after school, young lady.”
I sat in the room, bored. Then a thought occurred to me.
“Mr.D?” He looked up. “I work at a restaurant after school. I have to go now or else my parents will kill me. You see, we are low on workers and…”
“I understand.” Mr. D said and he almost smiled. “You are free to go.” “Thanks.” I sprinted to Thai the Knot. When I got to the kitchen, I immediately put on my apron and got a couple of menus. “Hello, Ma’am. Have you decided on a drink yet?”
