Just Another Night at Work

Matt picked up the dirty plates and glasses from a table that a couple had just left. It was a Monday night at The Grill and it was pretty dead. He usually saw at least a couple people from school come in when he worked nights but it seemed everyone was too busy enjoying the nice weather to come in and eat. He didn't blame them though, he would be one of them if he didn't have bills to pay.
He placed the dirt dishes into the bin and then sprayed down the tabble and cleaned it off and then went and stood at the bar. He glanced around the restaurant, looking for anyone who he might know to talk to and make time go faster.

Andrew had only been here once before, and he really enjoyed it - so why not eat here again? He went to a table and sat down and began looking at the menu. He was starved and he needed to speak to someone about booking some gigs here, if he was able to. If anything, he would play free - he didn't really mind. He tapped his fingers on the table to the beat of a song he was thinking of, his state football ring glimmering under the overhead light.

His eyes stopped on the menu as he found what he wanted, a Greek burger. How had he neglected this the last time he was here? Andy loved Greek food and would do anything to eat it, so when the waiter came by - he was getting at least four of them. Hell, if he didn't eat them all he could take them home, eat more - or convince Irene to try one. Now all he had to do was wait for the waiter, and he could get on his way.

Matt watched as someone he hadn't seen before walked into The Grill and sat down in his section. He sighed, it wasn't one of his friends, but at least it was someone. He walked over "Hey how are you doing, what can I get you?" he asked him while looking him over. He noticed a ring on his finger, but it wasn't just any ring it was a ring Matt had always wanted. "That's a nice ring, is it yours?" Matt asked him.

He smiled as the blond guy came over and asked if he was ready. Andy was a nice guy, so waiting was no problem and he certainly wouldn't snap at a waiter, regardless of how long they took. He handed him the menu and spoke to him - giving his order.

"I am fine, and yourself? I would like.... lets see, those Greek burgers. Can I get like ten of them? Two for here, and then the other eight to go?"

Andrew just felt fat, as he ordered all that food, waiting for the judgment of the waiter to pass over him. But he noticed the waiter staring at his ring, and how he even took an interest in it. With a smile on his face, Andrew stroked the ring slightly - before even telling this guy about it.

"Oh thanks, and yea it's mine. I got it when I played for my last High School in Miami. Do you play?"

"I'm good." Matt said while getting ready to write down his order. He raised his eyebrow as he heard the odd request but wrote it down. "Yeah that'll be fine. Anything to drink?" he said looking up from his notepad.
"Oh really? Miami? What brings you to Mystic Falls? And yeah I do, quarterback, how about you?" Matt hoped he was staying in Mystic Falls, after what happened to Jason he was pretty sure their winning season went down the drain.

He smiled, he was glad to know that the waiter was good - it made the night even better. Andrew had totally forgotten about a drink, he looked back up at the waiter and politely told him what he wanted.

"Could I get some... water, please?"

Splendid, he thought - the waiter played football. This night progressively got better and better, and he was loving it - his new life was lucky. He smiled and turned to face the waiter completely, as he began to go off on a rant about his football experience.

"Yes sir, Miami. Lets see.... I am here because I was sent by an adoption agency to live here, and then I got adopted actually... like yesterday. Um, dude, that's amazing - I gotta see you throw sometime. And I play wide receiver, last time I checked I was like number two on the East Coast, and in the top ten players in the Nation. Not bragging, just telling you. I was hoping to play for the team here, but I feel like I may be a little to late to join."

Matt nodded at his request and then stood there listening to him. He could feel his jaw drop, it was as if everything had fallen apart and then the pieces to put it back together were right in front of him. "That's awesome, we could definitely use you." He said, leaving out the part about Jason being killed.
"Here let me go put this in and then we'll talk more." He said waving the ticket and walking off. He came back with a glass of water and laid it on the table in front of the boy. "So what's your name?" Matt asked realizing he hadn't asked it.

Andrew smiled at the guy, maybe it wasn't everyday that a literal 'star' athlete sat in a diner with you. A giant smile came across his face, they could use him on the team - now he was excited. He nodded as the guy said he would take the order to the back then they could talk, that made him happy - maybe he had a new friend. Andy picked up the water and took a sip of it, as he talked to the guy.

"I am Andrew, Andrew Rossi. And you are? Oh, yea - are you hungry? I am willing to buy you food, I mean if you don't get to eat free... even if you do, I would gladly buy you some."

"Matt Donovan, and no thanks. There's only so many times you can eat here before it just becomes gross. But nice to meet you Andrew." Matt said smiling and offering his hand. Now he was glad they were dead tonight because it seemed him and Andrew had a lot in common. "So what grade are you in?" He asked.

He nodded as Matt declined the food, he did get what he meant. When he worked at the pizza parlor in Miami, he got tired of eating their food all the time - so it was no biggy. He smiled, Matt - a new friend, that was great.

"Nice to meet you too, Matt. And I am a senior, a bit young, but I am a senior. I have one of those late birthdays, but what about you?"

"Same here. I bet that sucked leaving your team your senior year." Matt said but then realized that the reason Andrew came here was good for him so he changed the topic. " Our team isn't the greatest right now, we just lost one of our best players so it's still early enough in the season we can get you in. I'm sure you'll have no problem."

It didn't really suck, him leaving his old team. He won them state with several touch downs, but they never thanked him, or even acknowledged him. There was still hope then, it was still early in the season - so he only missed pre-season workouts. That was no big deal, but the fact that he could get on the team was amazing.

"My team didn't appreciate me, even though I scored six of our state touchdowns, last year. But yea, that sounds great! I will gladly play, and I am sorry to hear that you lost your player... but yea man, if it is okay with the school and coach, I am in."

"Well that's messed up." Matt said while looking around. Andrew was the only one in his section, so he sat down across from him. "I'm sure you'll have no problem. You came at the right time, we're pretty desperate. I'm team captain, so getting the coach to agree will be no problem. When do you start school?"

Awesome, he was already friends with the team captain - he felt great. Andrew flashed Matt a grin as he sat across from him, it was interesting. He nodded at every word Matt said, and they were all good.

"Sweet, I start tomorrow morning... so I guess I will find the coach tomorrow and talk to him. And I assume I will see you there, because I know no one, yet."

"Yeah, just look for my piece of shit truck, it's not hard to spot." Matt said grinning. He got up and peeked his head to see if Andrew's order was up, which it was. He walked over and grabbed the two plates and brought them back to Andrew. "Here are these two, their getting the other ones ready now."

He couldn't help but smile in synchronization with Matt about the shit truck. Andy had never seen it, but it couldn't be that bad - or maybe it could. As Matt brought back the first two burgers, he smiled really big - and took a bite out of one of them. And to be expected, they were freaking amazing. He quickly chewed up his food so he could speak and not be disgusting.

"Alright - look for a shitty truck, check. And thanks man, they are really good."

Jennifer walked into the Mystic Grill. She was bored to death, but didn't want to go home. She looked around and saw a few people from school which she barely knew, so she picked a table for herself, and sat down. "Alright - look for a shitty truck, check. And thanks man, they are really good." As she heard someone saying "a shitty truck", she had to smile. Not that it was funny, though. She turned her head, and looked at the two guys talking to eachother, and supposed that "really good" applied to the burger which one of them was eating. Ofcourse, as clumsy as she was, Jennifer dropped her purse, and everything fell out of it. "Damn, just my luck..." She said, a bit annoyed.

"Alright, good to hear. I'll let you eat then." Matt said and looked around to see someone else had walked in. It was a girl he had seen around school but never talked to. As he was walking over she dropped her purse. Hearing her words Matt said, "Hey if we didn't have bad luck we wouldn't have luck at all." as he leaned down to help pick up her things.

As Jennifer was gathering her stuff from the ground, she looked up and saw a guy from school. It looked like he worked here, and I thought that he would just pass, but surprisingly he helped leaned down to help her pick up her things. Jennifer looked at the guy and thought: "Well, I think that I just got quiet lucky." But instead, she smiled and said: "Heh, true. Thank you, for helping me." When she gathered all her things, she extended her hand for a friendly handshake. "I'm Jennifer, by the way."

"Yeah no problem." Matt said handing her the last few things off the ground. He stood back up and shook her hand. "I'm Matt, you're at Mystic Falls High right?" He was pretty sure she was a sophomore or junior, but he couldn't remember.

Jennifer nodded as Matt asked her if she was at Mystic Falls High. "Yes, I am. I have seen you there before, I'm just not quiet sure if we have any classes together. I didn't really pay attention to my classmates." She sat down at the table next to her and asked: "Wanna joi- Oh, wait. You're working. I'm sorry, I hope that I didn't keep you up too much."

"I don't believe we have, and if so then that makes me a jerk for not noticing you." He smiled while handing her a menu. "No it's fine, we're actually pretty dead so I've just been talking to Andrew over there" He said nodding his head towards Andrew's seat. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Well, you don't really seem like a jerk to me." Jennifer said, smiling at him. She took the menu, took a look at it, and then placed it next to her on the table. Then she turned her head towards Andrew and nodded. "Oh, I see... Well then, you can join me if you want to? Of course, only if your girlfriend won't come and kill me afterwards." When Matt asked her what he could get her to drink, she asked: "You're the one who works here, is there anything you recommend?" Jennifer knew that that was one of the most stupid sentences on earth, but at the moment, she didn't really trust her mouth.

"Glad to hear that." He said giving a small laugh. He let her look at the menu for a minute. "Ah, well it would be nice, however I don't believe my boss would like it much. But, if it's just you and Andrew, I don't think I'll have to go anywhere." He smiled, letting the girlfriend comment go for now. "Um we have Coke products, so you can't really go wrong with a Coke."

Jennifer shrugged. "No need to thank me, I just told me my opinion. It's upto you if you care or not." She smiled, to show that she didn't want to be mean or anything. When Matt told her about his boss, Jennifer shook her head and looked at him with big eyes. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I don't want you to get fired because of me!" She listened when Matt told her that they had Coke products she pursed her lips a little before saying: "Nah. Give me something stronger, or mix it. Be creative. But I need something to survive the night." Jennifer chuckled and looked at Matt to see how he would response.