Double Shifts

Miriam sighed as she saw two teenage girls slide into her biggest booth. She’d begged Grimm to let them start seating the customers, but he’d just thrown a plate at her and told her to shut up. She probably shouldn’t’ve asked him right after he’d gotten bailed out, but it wasn’t her fault he couldn’t keep his temper. She picked up two menus and put on her best smile, hoping to coax a decent tip out of them.

“Welcome to Grimm’s Diner, best coffee and short-stack in the state. My name’s Miriam, I’ll be your waitress today.” She set the menus down, already flipped to the beverage section. “Can I get you something to drink today?”

With the same beige hair and chocolate eyes, Miriam was sure they had to be twins. The one on the right looked confused. “What’s a short-stack?”

She smiled again. “Pancakes, hun. And we have the best!” It was a little over the top, but it usually worked. “That what you’d like?”

The girl on the left, eyes blurred by mascara, asked for black coffee. “Scalding, please. I like it really hot.”

Her sister, hair pulled into a messy ponytail, ordered tea with lots of sugar. “Real sugar, please. I hate the fake stuff.”

Miriam nodded as another wave of nausea passed through her. She gritted her teeth against it. “Coming right up!” Clutching her notepad against her stomach, she scurried to the bathroom and threw up as quickly as she could. Spitting in the sink, she scrubbed her hands and crunched three mints, then ran back and poured the girls’ drinks. “Hot tea, hot coffee! You sure you don’t want something for your coffee, hun?”

Mascara girl shook her head. “Nah. But can I get a, uh, short-stack please? With extra butter!”

Scribbling, Miriam looked at the other girl. “And you, sweetheart?”

Ponytail set her menu on top of her sister’s and handed both over. “Eggs and bacon, please. Scrambled eggs, extra-extra-extra crispy bacon. Like, just short of burnt.”

“Okay, then.” Miriam felt sick again at their choices. Not that she would normally, but she was just so sensitive right now. “Those should be up for you real soon.” She went to the kitchen and slapped the order onto the wall. “New order, Grimm.”

He ignored her, pouring batter into the waffle iron, but she knew he’d taken care of it. A few more of her tables filled up and she spent the next ten minutes busy, ferrying drinks and orders back and forth. Miriam checked in on the girls once, topping off their drinks, before hearing the bell for their meals. She hustled it over, and was amused to see them dive into their food as soon as she set the plates down. They’d probably ridden in on the bus.

Then the bells rang again, and she rushed to get all the other orders out. She tried to pay extra attention to the twins; they seemed sweet, but a little lost. When it came time for the bill, she snuck two dollars off their total. Grimm wouldn’t notice. “Here you are, hun.”

The girl with the ponytail held out a ten, but hesitated. “Um. Do you know where a Chinese place is around here?”

Miriam blushed, and fanned herself with her notepad to cover. “Phew, it’s hot in here. Yes, there’s a new one not too far, about two blocks past the hardware store. It’s pretty tasty, too.” She laughed. “You must be growing girls, though, to ask about another restaurant when you just ate!”

“No, it’s. . .” Ponytail reached up to play with her hair, eyes troubled. “The last time our dad sent the child support, he said he was working at a Chinese restaurant in Flashtown, and. . .”

“We wanted to visit,” said her sister, wiping at her make-up and making it worse. She frowned. “Mom’s new boyfriend’s a real jerk. He calls us ‘half-breeds.’ We thought maybe Dad would let us stay for a little while, teach us Indian stuff.”

“Native American!” her twin corrected.

Mascara nodded. “Yeah, that.” She peered at Miriam. “Hey, are you okay? You went all green.”

Her sister punched her in the arm. “Shut up, Casey!” She smiled apologetically. “Sorry.”

“It’s. . . it’s okay.” Miriam spoke too loudly and the girls looked startled. She swallowed hard. “Casey, huh? That’s a pretty name. Are you two twins?”

The other girl sighed. “Yeah. My name’s boring, though—Jane. I hate it.” She brightened. “Hey, if we live here, I could change it, right? Nobody’ll listen to me at home, but I could tell people it was something different from the beginning and they’d never know.”

“Dad would.”

Jane shook her head. “Nu-uh, ‘cause we could say it was a nickname. Like. . . Miley! I like that. I’m going to tell everybody that my name is Miley.” She looked at Miriam. “You won’t give me away, will you?”

Miriam shook her head, not trusting her voice anymore.

“Great. Well, we’d better get going. I bet they get real busy at lunch.” Jane set the money down. “Thanks for all your help!” She yanked at her sister’s arm, her ponytail bobbing at the movement.

“Yeah, thanks!”

The girls ran out. A few of the regulars chuckled.

Miriam leaned her forehead against the wall, taking refuge in its coolness, until Becca Grimm touched her shoulder. “Ahh! What?”

Becca winced at Miriam’s yell, the skin around her right eye still green. She was holding her left hand stiff against her side. She leaned in and whispered. “Can you take the next shift for me, hun? I don’t feel so good.”

Miriam blinked, then frowned. “I dunno. I worked a double yesterday, and—”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Ignoring her, Becca slid out the door, brushing past a huge group and practically running down the street.

Miriam stood in the middle of the crush, the pit in her stomach suddenly feeling very empty—and much too full.


--the characters of Miriam, Grimm, and Becca Grimm, and the diner, are all creations of other authors. This was written as part of a writing exercise.