I looked around the counter, spotting a couple sitting down at table two. I smiled. How cute. This was the only good part of working at this dump of a pancake house, that and the bare minimum wage I was paid every two weeks. But I wouldn't even consider the pay something I enjoyed about my job. Of course, it helped out the family especially when there wasn't enough food for all eight of us but what I really enjoyed about my job was watching love struck couples coming in on a breakfast date and knowing that I'll have that some day.

"Marissa you have table two today, stop standing around lollygagging!" I heard my boss, Selene shout from inside the kitchen. She was lecturing a worker on how to wash dishes right. What is the right way to wash dishes anyways? Everyone knows all you do is rinse, scrub, rinse and dry. Easy. Maybe he just does it on purpose to piss her off. I huffed and strolled around the counter, taking the pen from my ear and digging around my apron pocket for my notepad. The couple looked up at me, both showing straight white perfect teeth that pretty much almost blinded me.

"Hi. I'm Marissa, I'll be your server this morning can I start you off with a drink?" I asked. Perfectly practiced routine sentence. Sometimes it came out in a snap but most of the time, like today, it came out pleasant.

"Uh, yeah we'll both have coffee." The man ordered. I jotted coffee down on my notepad and nodded, swiveling and walking away to get one of those coffee pots and a couple mugs. I came back around and set down the pot and mugs for my table.

"Do you need more time to look at the menu?" I asked. They shook their heads in unison. "All right, then what will you have?"

"We'll have the heart shaped pancakes, large will do with extra butter and syrup." The girl said. I jotted that down for a cook in the back and walked away, ripping the paper off and sticking it to the order wheel. Our heart shaped pancakes usually were the best sellers in this place. Many couples come in on mornings hungry. I had no idea why they didn't go somewhere else where it was at least clean. But that was their choice. Mine, however wasn't an option. The day I had started searching for a summer job after graduation the only place that was hiring was this one.

The front door bell ringed as someone stepped inside, this morning this place was bustling with costumers. It was a girl who had short brown hair and blue eyes that I could see from all the way over here. She sat down at table three, next to the waiting couple. I walked over to her watching her flipping the menu pages, yawning like she just woke up.

"Hi." I said. She looked up at me and smiled. What was with all these people and perfect straight teeth? I felt envious. My teeth were horribly gapped.

"Hey. Are um, you my waitress?" She asked. Oops, Selene will kick my ass for that.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Marissa." She nodded. I felt so stupid.

"Um, can I have a couple minutes?" She asked politely.

"Of course, sure...yeah." I said and turned around, almost slipping on spilled syrup. I felt my cheeks get warm with pink. I was never like this with people. I walked, shaking my head back into the kitchen to see that table two's pancakes were done. Shit, I had to go back out there. I smiled and took the platter of large heart-shaped pancakes from the light and went through the winging door to serve them. I set down their breakfast with a smile and said 'enjoy'. See? I was calm and cool with them...what was it about her that made me so anxious? I walked over to her table.

"Um, are you ready to order?" I asked timidly. She giggled and nodded.

"I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes and some orange juice."

"Would you like bacon or sausage with that?" I asked. I seemed to be keeping it cool.

"Uh, yeah I'll have some bacon." She nodded. I took her menu from her, my fingers brushing against hers. I quickly snatched mine away, dropping the menu in the puddle of syrup on the floor. Crap, another reason Selene'll have to shout at me.

"Oh, crap..." I said and bent down, peeling the menu off the floor. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Ew..." I said, crinkling my nose as I looked at the cover of the menu, drenched in stickiness of the syrup. The girl was giggling, staring up at me.

"S-sorry." I quickly said and walked away as fast as I could from her table. I threw the menu in the sink full of suds in the kitchen, pulled off the paper, stuck it to the wheel, and sat down, taking a little breather. I had absolutely no idea why I was acting like this. I had just realized that she ordered orange juice and I'd have to go back. I held my forehead with my hand and rubbed. My head was pounding like crazy. I took the cup and held it under the lever until it was full with juice and walked back out to table three and set it down in front of her.

"Hey." She said to me. I looked at her.

"Uh...hi."

"Wanna have a seat with me?" She asked. I looked around me. Nobody else had sat down in my area and the couple at table two were still enjoying their love pancakes, gibbering away without a clue I was near.

"Um...my boss will uh...sure." I said and sat down the booth opposite her. The only thing between us was the hard, cold table. She sipped her juice.

"So your name is Marissa, eh?" She asked, setting the cup down on the table and wiping her mouth with a napkin she pulled out of the container next to her.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly. Her eyebrows pulled down.

"Your name is Marissa, right?" She asked again, eyeing my nametag on my chest.

"Oh, yeah." I said and gave a nervous laugh. Her lips pulled up into a smile.

"I'm Heather." She introduced. I said nothing, keeping my hands up on the table, one on top of the other. She took another sip of her drink and looked at me. Just then, I started worrying. I looked like crap! My hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, I had a dirty effing apron around my waist, and I was in a McGregor's Pancake House uniform. I hid my face with my hands and shook my head.

"Is everything all right?" Heather asked from across the table. I slapped my hands on the table and nodded.

"Yeah...everything is just wonderful." I lied. What has come over me? I looked up on the serving wheel and her pancakes were done, under the warming light.

"Your breakfast is ready, I'll be right back." She nodded her head. I got up from the booth and took her plate from the light, walking back and sitting down handing her, her meal. She smiled.

"Thanks." I nodded. She dug into her pancakes, pouring syrup over them.

"So, uh why did you ask me to sit down?" I asked, curiously.

"You looked stressed. I thought you needed a break." She said, then bit pancake. I looked down at my hands. I had noticed I was clenching them together.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I looked back up. She had followed my gaze to my clenching hands. I shook my head.

"I know I'm a stranger but you can tell me." She assured.

"Oh, let's see. I work in a shit-hole of a restaurant, my family can barely eat because it's so damn big and we're all pigs, something's happening to me today that I have no idea what it is!" I spilled and then took a breath. That feels better. She nodded.

"Pretty stressed, huh?" I nodded.

"Marissa," She began. I felt something when she said my name...I don't know what, but it was definitely strong in my stomach area. "Maybe you should take a break from work. Relax for a while." I looked at her.

"You're right." She nodded and smiled, taking another bite of her giant pancake. I rested my head on my now relaxed hand and looked at her.

"Can I have the check?" She asked nicely.

"Yeah...sure." I said and got up from my place, adding up her bill. I handed it to her, she took it and her fingers touched mine again. This time, I didn't snatch my hand away. We stayed there, our eyes on each other's, our fingers touching. And then she noticed how long we were stand there, that pretty much the whole restaurant was watching us. She took it from me and cleared her throat. I scratched my head and walked away to find Selene. Knowing her it was impossible to get a vacation, but she had to give me one this month and she knew it.

I knocked on her door and I heard a faint 'come in'. I went in and sat down. She looked up at me like I was one of the rodents in this place. Kidding, this house was sure not clean but we didn't have rats.

"What do you want?" She asked. I crossed my legs.

"I want my vacation." She snorted, her shoulders shaking with laughter. She slammed her pen down and sat back in her chair, putting her feet up on her desk.

"You want a vacay, huh?" She asked. I nodded and smiled like I was in on this joke. She swiped her feet off the table and leaned on it, getting in my face.

"What have you done for this pancake house to deserve a vacation, Marissa?" She spat. I scowled and got right back in her nasty face. I was absolutely done and if I got fired from this lousy job, then so be it.

"Don't be so naive, Selene," I spat back. "You know damn well I've worked my ass off for this shithole you call a restaurant. I have cleaned up messes that you have made, saved your butt when the health inspector arrived, I've taken dozens of orders every damn day, making sure your customers will come back, and you'll get the money I deserve. Don't tell me I don't deserve a break after making sure your business wouldn't go out." She looked threatened.

"All right, then you got your vacation. But when you come back you better know that you won't get another vacation until you prove all that stuff you said you did." She said, marking her calendar. My mouth hung open. Isn't she at least one bit grateful of having me here to help? Whatever, I'm not fighting back I got what I wanted. I stood up from the uncomfortable chair and strode away out of her office and back into the main room where both my tables were empty with people put full with dishes.

I went to table three first, picked up Heather's dish, and dropped in it the washer shoot. I grabbed a rag and a bucket of soapy water and cleaned off the table, moving the bill. After I was done, I saw my tip on the table. I smiled and took it. It was the nicest tip I've had all day. I cleaned off table two and took my two-dollar tip and I was out of there. I threw my apron into the basket and went out the door into the parking lot.

I got in my old Ford and slammed the door, turning it on and hearing my radio. I was out for a week. Thank the Lord. Thank Heather.

Heather.

I smiled and thought about her. But I scowled and though about I had acted. Almost tripping, stammering and blushing. Was it her fault? I drove away, thinking.