Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.

-C.S. Lewis

*********

-Luke-

"Tell us about your friend Luke." My dad sad with a smirk after Maggie left. My mum nodded eagerly and hooked her arm with my dad's.

"Oh yeah. She seems really nice." I laughed and clasped my hands together on the table. "Well, she really is nice. But she's stubborn too. Like, grams stubborn." I started. They smiled as I continued.

"Uh, she also-"

"Alright. Looks like I'll be your waitress for tonight. So let's start with drinks." Maggie said as she walked up with a notepad. I smirked and looked at her with amusement.

"Would you look at that. Minnie Mouse will be serving me food." Maggie glared at me before facing my parents with a smile. "What would you two like?" After my parents and I put in our drinks she left to go get them, pulling the hem of her shirt lower to hide the exposed skin.

***********

-Maggie-

"Oh my God. Who is that cutie at the table you're serving?!" Bay asked. I glared at her and started pouring wine into two glasses before setting them on a tray.

"A guy I know from school. Why did you have to give me this shirt? It exposes my belly button." I said, pulling it down once again. Bay scoffed and smacked my hands away.

"Stop messing with it, you look fine! Now, I'm expecting you to tell me more about that dude." She said. I rolled my eyes and started on Luke's drink.

"There's nothing to tell. He's just a new kid at my school. That's it." I replied.

"Says the girl who wasn't self conscious about her outfit until now." She muttered. I rolled my eyes and picked up the tray.

"Okay, whatever. I gotta go." I walked out through the double doors and made my way back towards the table.

"Okay, we have two glasses of red wine and a lemonade." I passed the wine to Luke's parents and gave Luke his drink.

They all thanked me and I took out my notepad, ready to write down their orders. "Okay, have you decided what you want to eat?" I asked.

I quickly wrote down each of their choices before excusing myself from the table, wanting to be as far away from Luke as possible right now.

"Quin, I have an order for you." I said once I walked in the kitchen. Quin, our lead chef, looked up and grabbed the paper from me. He smirked once he read it. "Fifteen to twenty minutes tops." He said. I nodded and went to go serve another table meanwhile.

**********

-Luke-

I watched Maggie as she talked with a little girl a few tables across from us, a smile grazing her lips. If she's this good with other people's kids, then I'd like to see how she is with her own child.

"Why are you smiling honey?" My mum asked. I blinked and turned my attention to her. "Nothing. This is just a really cool restaurant." I took a sip of my drink to distract myself.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Luke, guess who I ran into?" My dad asked. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Who?"

"Guess." He insisted. I shook my head.

"Just tell me." I pleaded.

"Come on, you gotta guess."

"I don't want to though. Might as well tell me." I replied.

"Just-"

"Dad I'm not gonna guess so just tell me or don't let me know at all." I said pleadingly, cutting him off. Mum stifled a laugh as my dad huffed.

"Fine right, you could've just told me you didn't want to guess." He mumbled. I dropped my jaw, completely agitated.

"Okay anyways, do you remember Miranda?" He started.

I looked up from the glass cup I was straddling with my hands. "Miranda, my best friend from my seventh grade class?" My dad nodded his head eagerly.

"Yeah. I ran into her when I went to the bank, and apparently she's here for vacation. You should show her around and everything." He suggested. I widened my eyes.

"She's here? As in here in California?!" I asked. My dad nodded his head.

"Yep. She removed her braces too."

I nodded my head. "I'll do it. Did she say where she was staying?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, I think in the Hampton hotel near the beach." I smiled and shook my head as I leaned back in my chair.

Miranda Jeffries and I were best friends in middle school. We were practically like milk and cookies. At first our parents thought we liked each other but after awhile they realized we're just really great friends. I haven't seen her since I moved from England though and lost contact after I broke my phone.

"So how did the phone call with grams go?" My mum asked, sipping on her wine. I bit my lip and scrunched up my nose.

"Oh, she bought two plane tickets. She uh, wants me to bring Talia there when I visit." I added.

The table went quiet, mom looking down at her nails and dad adjusting his tie.

"You haven't told mum yet?" He asked. I shook my head in reply, gulping down my lemonade.

"She'll have questions dad. I'm not ready to answer them."

"What about Maggie?" I looked up at mom, furrowing my eyebrows. "You seem attached to her. It's not everyday you bring a girl home just so she can sleep. You've had your eyes on her since we got here too."

"What are you getting at mom?"

"I'm just saying you seem to care for her already. Just like you did with Talia."

"This isn't the same th-"

Maggie suddenly came with our food. "Two alfredo lasagna roll up dishes, and one plate of parmesan garlic spaghetti with a side of bread sticks. Do you guys want anything else?" She asked with a smile.

I rubbed my foot against her ankle to distract from the tension at our table only to have her kick me in the shin. I flinched and pulled my foot back.

"No, that's all. Thanks Mags." I said through gritted teeth. She smirked and walked off.

"Enjoy your dinner."

**********

"It's getting late. We should start heading home now." My dad announced. I waved Maggie over and asked her for the bill. She smiled and shook her head as she looked at my dad.

"It's on the house. You two are so nice and I feel bad that you have to raise him." She teased, pointing at me. My mum grinned and faced me.

"I like her even more." She said. We all stood up and started to walk to the exit. Maggie walked towards the front desk and organized the menus along with some other papers.

"You guys go ahead. I forgot something important." I said. My parents nodded and walked out of the restaurant, their arms linked.

I took out my wallet and fished out a twenty dollar bill before sliding it in front of her. She looked at it before trailing her eyes all the way up to my arm and to my eyes.

"What's this?" She asked. I quirked an eyebrow.

"A tip." She snorted and shook her head.

"I don't take tips. Keep it." She replied. I rolled my eyes and slid it closer to her.

"Just take it Maggie." I insisted.

She sighed and put the menu in her hand down on the desk. "I'm not going to take the tip. I appreciate it, but no thanks." She walked away and I had no choice but to go outside.

I searched the parking lot and saw her car parked in a space reserved for employees. I smirked and walked towards it.

She may be stubborn but I am too.

************

-Maggie-

"So what did he want?" Bay asked as I walked in the employee break room. I sighed and plopped down on the couch.

"He wanted to give me a tip." I replied, closing my eyes.

"Let me guess, you didn't take it?" I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at her.

"I never take tips. I always reject them." Bay groaned and crossed her arms.

"I still don't understand why you don't like taking tips." I shrugged my shoulders.

"The people who eat here already pay enough for he food. Besides, if they want to give out money might as well give it out to charity." I stood up and slid on my jacket as I clocked out.

"I have to go now. Have a nice night."

"Bye. Oh, don't put on any makeup when you come back next time. I have a little something planned." She said.

I nodded and walked out of the restaurant towards my car. Sarah had come home and given me a ride to go get it from the school parking lot. I had to tell her where I was all day in return when I get back home from work.

I saw a paper underneath one of the windshield wipers on my car and furrowed my eyebrows as I walked towards it. There's no way I could get a parking ticket. I'm parked in an employee parking space.

I scoffed once I got closer and shook my head. "Unbelievable." I muttered. I took the twenty dollar bill and stuffed it in my purse before reading the note.

It won't kill you to take a twenty dollar bill. Keep it.

I sighed and put the note in my purse as well. He has good writing, I'll give him that at least. I got in my car and started to drive home with my window down.

***********