Page 137 of Secondhand Smoke
It just made it all more real.
55 - Nell
1990
“How do you want your eggs cooked?” Nell tapped her pencil on the side of the notepad as the customer hummed, trying to decide on the best kind of egg.
“Over easy, I guess,” the customer said, closing the menu and sliding it across the table to her.
Nell smiled and jotted it down with the rest of his order. “Great choice. Sit tight. I’ll go get this started for you.”
She walked back behind the counter and passed the ticket to the line cooks in the back before heading to grab six cups of coffee for three different tables.
Tuesday mornings were surprisingly one of the busiest in the diner. Nell was the key to keeping it all in order during the rush, mainly because she was the veteran amongst the servers. Most of them were either fresh out of high school, looking to make some quick cash before leaving for college, or college students back for the summer and looking to make more cash before leaving again.
Nell, unlike them, would stay here until she decided where she would go and what she would do with her life.
Three of the servers stood off to the side, giggling over a newspaper while pretending they were cashing out a check.
“My older brother went to high school with them. He said they were weird.”
“Have youmetyour brother?He’sthe weird one.”
All three of them giggled, and Nell chuckled under her breath as walked past them.
“Jamie, table twenty-four looks like they want their check,” Nell said, smiling to herself as they all jumped at the sound of her voice and spun around. They gave her sheepish smiles, and Jamie took the excuse to disappear. Nell laughed and turned back to her coffee, starting a new pot.
“Janelle, did you know them?” one of the girls, Margaret, asked.
“Know who?”
“Seventh Circle.”
Nell paused, her whole body going still. The coffee pot hadn’t even made it into its place yet.
“You’re kind of their age right?” the other girl, Carrie, asked. “Did you go to school with them?”
Nell’s heart thrummed, a faint memory of Barrett’s pattering heart under her ear passing through her.
Sure, she heard about them every now and then. It was difficult not to when they showed up on MTV sometimes. Plus, they were local heroes now. Apparently, the best way to overcome being a social pariah in your small town was to become famous.
Nell overcame it by pushing herself back into society and getting a job. Slowly but surely, people started to treat her normal. That’s why she liked working with the younger girls who were almost too naive to hold any big grudges.
Younger girls also really liked rock bands, apparently.
Nell cleared her throat and put down the coffee pot. “Yeah, I knew them.”
The girls gasped, and Nell picked up her tray. She turned and found them both taking up her entire space, looking up at her with wide, amazed eyes.
“Are they that hot in real life?”
“I heard Toni used to have a buzz cut in junior high.”
“Can you bring your yearbook next shift?”
“Barrett is my favorite. I heard in an interview that they used to play at The Pour House. If I had known that before, I would have gone!”
“Are you going to see them in Bellevue on Saturday too?”
