Post by Kiri on Aug 3, 2009 23:15:56 GMT -5
Chapter 3
The pair pulled up to the restaurant in a black 2-door jeep. Celestine climbed out and looked around, Zeben followed suit, hit the automatic lock button on his key and walked up to the door.
“They might be closing soon.” Celeste pointed out as she walked through the door he held open.
“They close at 10. We have 45 minutes. No worries.” Zeben smiled and followed in after her. Celeste huffed slightly when she realized how short she was compared to him.
“Hello, welcome to Abigail’s. Just two?” The hostess greeted them. Zeben smiled and nodded. “Ok. Just to let you know, we do close at 10.” She explained as she led them to a small booth.
“Oh yeah, we know. We won’t be staying for hours upon end. Just a small bite to eat is all.” Zeben stated as he sat down. Celeste slid into the other booth seat as the hostess handed them each a small menu.
“Tabby will be your waitress for the night. We have all our sandwiches on special. Just the sandwich is half price, and the deluxe or basket is the price for the sandwich; so it’s kind of like being half-price.”
“Alright. Thank you so much.” Zeben dismissed. The hostess turned and slowly walked away. Celeste watched her, laughed to herself and held the menu up to cover her face. “What?” He asked. He grabbed his menu and looked it over.
“She was definitely checking you out.” Celeste giggled quietly from behind her menu.
“Well--” Zeben began, only to have the waitress, Tabby, come up.
“Evening. Care for anything to drink?” Tabby asked, her voice cheerful. Celeste observed her to have a very bubbly personality. She smiled to herself.
“Yes, I’ll have some coffee, if you still have any. Decafe, preferably.” Zeben chose.
“Need cream with that?” Tabby asked. Zeben shook his head. “For you?” She asked Celeste.
“Hm… I’ll have… iced tea, please.”
“Alright. Sweet or unsweet, and lemon or no?” Tabby asked; her big green eyes looking at Celeste.
“Unsweetened and no lemon. Just plain.” Celeste smiled.
“Alright. I’ll be back with your drinks then, ‘k?” Tabby stated as she turned and walked away. Celeste shook her head slightly and looked over the sandwiches.
“As I was saying, she’s going to be disappointed. I wasn’t looking at her.” Zeben shrugged, then sighed. They were sitting in silence when Tabby came back.
“Coffee… and tea.” She smiled and stated as she set each drink down. She reached into her apron then set a straw down for Celeste. “Ready to order?” She asked. Celeste looked at Zeben and he nodded his head once.
“Sure. I’ll take a triple cheeseburger basket with everything on it. Extra pickle, tomato, and mustard on the side please.” Zeben smiled and looked at Tabby. She wrote it down and nodded, then looked at Celeste.
“I’ll take… uh… the turkey club; just the sandwich.” Celeste ordered.
“No. Give her the basket.”
“It’s ok. I don’t want the fries.” Celeste argued with Zeben.
“I’ll eat them. Give her the basket, please.” He told Tabby.
Tabby laughed, “I’ll have them put the fries in another basket.”
“Thank you so much.” Zeben stated as he grabbed Celeste’s menu, put it with his and handed them to Tabby. Tabby grabbed the menus then walked to the kitchen.
“So…” Zeben stated and grabbed a fair amount of sugar packets for his coffee. He looked at Celeste as he beat the sugar to the bottom and tore the tops off.
“So…?” Celeste rephrased after him, grabbed her straw and took the wrapper off. She put the straw in her glass, grabbed the glass and took a sip.
“Going to college for anything?” He asked. “If you’re even going to college, that is.”
“Oh, I am. I’m going for physical training and such. I wouldn’t mind being a personal trainer or something.” She smiled.
“Oh wow. Extensive training. Having to learn things for nursing too, don’t you? To treat injuries?” Zeben asked. He stirred his coffee slowly, took the spoon out, then sipped it.
“Yes. There is plenty of that.” She laughed softly.
“So how did you get interested in that?”
Celeste looked at her tea as she stirred the ice around with her straw. “I don’t exactly know. I like working out and such, and when I get injured I want to know what I did wrong. ‘Why are all my knuckles fine except for this one? How did I hit it wrong? How did I manage to pull this muscle?’ All a curiosity concept for me. Plus, I figured it’d be helping someone.” She smiled and looked at Zeben.
“Not bad. I think that would be a good trait to have with us.” Zeben muttered to himself.
“What?” She asked and looked at him.
“Nothing, talking to myself.”
“So why are you ‘rooting’ for me?” She asked, lowering her voice. Celeste leaned in, as did Zeben.
“I already told you…”
“No… you didn’t.”
“damn you’re good. You’re really the only one that looks to be hopeful. You can aide us more than the others. Adam, like me, is rooting for you too. The other guys,” he shook his head and looked around as he sipped his coffee, “they don’t get it… I heard Adam and a few others talking about it… He said you were the only one that was actually cautious about going into this. That shows that at least someone is hopeful.”
“You don’t think a guy is going to get it?”
“No. Eric is too headstrong. He doesn’t listen. Zack and Mitchell look like they don’t want to be here. Maggie, well… she looks like just words can break her. She may be able to use words as weapons, but once they are turned on her… she may breakdown. We don’t need that. You, on the other hand,” His honey-brown eyes seemed to sparkle with something, “you have the physical and mental stamina… You have the snap with words and can take them without breaking yourself. As stated, you can aid us more than what they can… I believe strongly that you’ll break through this all…” Zeben stated as he took a drink from his coffee. Celeste looked at him and blinked. She leaned back against the booth, brought her glass to her lips and took a drink from the straw. Her light green eyes searched around Zeben’s face to trace a lie, but found nothing. She smiled.
Tabby came back with a tray of food. “Alright! So, we have the turkey club…” She set the sandwich in front of Celestine. “And we have a triple cheeseburger.” Tabby grabbed the plate and set it in front of Zeben. “Fries…” She stated, grabbed the basket and set it in between the two. “Here’s the mustard and some ketchup, ‘k? Enjoy!” She smiled. Celeste watched her walk away.
“You going to eat that all?” She asked Zeben. He smiled, nodded and picked up the burger top. He added a few more pickles and more mustard. As he put the top back on, Celeste picked her sandwich up.
Around 10 minutes later, Tabby dropped the bill off. Both of them had finished their sandwiches, and Zeben was working on the fries. Celeste went for the check, but Zeben quickly grabbed it with one hand and another fry with the other.
“I told you, I got this.” Zeben stated with a wink. Celeste frowned and looked at him, shaking her head. “Don’t give me that look!” Zeben laughed.
“Let me leave tip?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m treating you. No.” Zeben firmly stated. Celeste sighed and finished her tea. Zeben smiled, leaned back and pulled his wallet out. As he did so, his cell phone went off. He set his wallet next to him and pulled out his cell. As he answered it, he let the phone rest on his shoulder and he pulled out a $20. His face turned serious as he talked softly into the phone. Zeben held his hand up to wave Tabby over. Tabby came back and looked at the bill.
“I’ll be back with your change.” She stated. He shook his head, grabbed the paper with the fries and got up.
“All yours.” He muttered quickly, then hurried out. Tabby looked at Celeste with a smile.
“Nice guy you have.” She complimented Celeste.
“Oh no… oh... Oh! Thank you.” She smiled. She noticed the hostess was listening to their conversation. Tabby winked at her and mouthed, ‘She wants him.’ Celestine looked at the hostess, climbed out of the booth and hurried out of the restaurant.
Zeben climbed into the jeep just as Celeste reached the car. Zeben leaned over and opened the door for her as he hung the cell up.
“Well… I have good and bad news.” He greeted her.
“Oh?”
“There are only 2 people going for this. That’s the good news. Bad news: you and Eric. We plan on determining who’s joining us tonight.” Zeben explained as he quickly started the jeep, put it in reverse and backed out. Celeste blinked, then grinned to herself. Zeben glanced over at her, “What?”
“We’ll see if he can actually beat anyone’s ass…”
The pair pulled up to the restaurant in a black 2-door jeep. Celestine climbed out and looked around, Zeben followed suit, hit the automatic lock button on his key and walked up to the door.
“They might be closing soon.” Celeste pointed out as she walked through the door he held open.
“They close at 10. We have 45 minutes. No worries.” Zeben smiled and followed in after her. Celeste huffed slightly when she realized how short she was compared to him.
“Hello, welcome to Abigail’s. Just two?” The hostess greeted them. Zeben smiled and nodded. “Ok. Just to let you know, we do close at 10.” She explained as she led them to a small booth.
“Oh yeah, we know. We won’t be staying for hours upon end. Just a small bite to eat is all.” Zeben stated as he sat down. Celeste slid into the other booth seat as the hostess handed them each a small menu.
“Tabby will be your waitress for the night. We have all our sandwiches on special. Just the sandwich is half price, and the deluxe or basket is the price for the sandwich; so it’s kind of like being half-price.”
“Alright. Thank you so much.” Zeben dismissed. The hostess turned and slowly walked away. Celeste watched her, laughed to herself and held the menu up to cover her face. “What?” He asked. He grabbed his menu and looked it over.
“She was definitely checking you out.” Celeste giggled quietly from behind her menu.
“Well--” Zeben began, only to have the waitress, Tabby, come up.
“Evening. Care for anything to drink?” Tabby asked, her voice cheerful. Celeste observed her to have a very bubbly personality. She smiled to herself.
“Yes, I’ll have some coffee, if you still have any. Decafe, preferably.” Zeben chose.
“Need cream with that?” Tabby asked. Zeben shook his head. “For you?” She asked Celeste.
“Hm… I’ll have… iced tea, please.”
“Alright. Sweet or unsweet, and lemon or no?” Tabby asked; her big green eyes looking at Celeste.
“Unsweetened and no lemon. Just plain.” Celeste smiled.
“Alright. I’ll be back with your drinks then, ‘k?” Tabby stated as she turned and walked away. Celeste shook her head slightly and looked over the sandwiches.
“As I was saying, she’s going to be disappointed. I wasn’t looking at her.” Zeben shrugged, then sighed. They were sitting in silence when Tabby came back.
“Coffee… and tea.” She smiled and stated as she set each drink down. She reached into her apron then set a straw down for Celeste. “Ready to order?” She asked. Celeste looked at Zeben and he nodded his head once.
“Sure. I’ll take a triple cheeseburger basket with everything on it. Extra pickle, tomato, and mustard on the side please.” Zeben smiled and looked at Tabby. She wrote it down and nodded, then looked at Celeste.
“I’ll take… uh… the turkey club; just the sandwich.” Celeste ordered.
“No. Give her the basket.”
“It’s ok. I don’t want the fries.” Celeste argued with Zeben.
“I’ll eat them. Give her the basket, please.” He told Tabby.
Tabby laughed, “I’ll have them put the fries in another basket.”
“Thank you so much.” Zeben stated as he grabbed Celeste’s menu, put it with his and handed them to Tabby. Tabby grabbed the menus then walked to the kitchen.
“So…” Zeben stated and grabbed a fair amount of sugar packets for his coffee. He looked at Celeste as he beat the sugar to the bottom and tore the tops off.
“So…?” Celeste rephrased after him, grabbed her straw and took the wrapper off. She put the straw in her glass, grabbed the glass and took a sip.
“Going to college for anything?” He asked. “If you’re even going to college, that is.”
“Oh, I am. I’m going for physical training and such. I wouldn’t mind being a personal trainer or something.” She smiled.
“Oh wow. Extensive training. Having to learn things for nursing too, don’t you? To treat injuries?” Zeben asked. He stirred his coffee slowly, took the spoon out, then sipped it.
“Yes. There is plenty of that.” She laughed softly.
“So how did you get interested in that?”
Celeste looked at her tea as she stirred the ice around with her straw. “I don’t exactly know. I like working out and such, and when I get injured I want to know what I did wrong. ‘Why are all my knuckles fine except for this one? How did I hit it wrong? How did I manage to pull this muscle?’ All a curiosity concept for me. Plus, I figured it’d be helping someone.” She smiled and looked at Zeben.
“Not bad. I think that would be a good trait to have with us.” Zeben muttered to himself.
“What?” She asked and looked at him.
“Nothing, talking to myself.”
“So why are you ‘rooting’ for me?” She asked, lowering her voice. Celeste leaned in, as did Zeben.
“I already told you…”
“No… you didn’t.”
“damn you’re good. You’re really the only one that looks to be hopeful. You can aide us more than the others. Adam, like me, is rooting for you too. The other guys,” he shook his head and looked around as he sipped his coffee, “they don’t get it… I heard Adam and a few others talking about it… He said you were the only one that was actually cautious about going into this. That shows that at least someone is hopeful.”
“You don’t think a guy is going to get it?”
“No. Eric is too headstrong. He doesn’t listen. Zack and Mitchell look like they don’t want to be here. Maggie, well… she looks like just words can break her. She may be able to use words as weapons, but once they are turned on her… she may breakdown. We don’t need that. You, on the other hand,” His honey-brown eyes seemed to sparkle with something, “you have the physical and mental stamina… You have the snap with words and can take them without breaking yourself. As stated, you can aid us more than what they can… I believe strongly that you’ll break through this all…” Zeben stated as he took a drink from his coffee. Celeste looked at him and blinked. She leaned back against the booth, brought her glass to her lips and took a drink from the straw. Her light green eyes searched around Zeben’s face to trace a lie, but found nothing. She smiled.
Tabby came back with a tray of food. “Alright! So, we have the turkey club…” She set the sandwich in front of Celestine. “And we have a triple cheeseburger.” Tabby grabbed the plate and set it in front of Zeben. “Fries…” She stated, grabbed the basket and set it in between the two. “Here’s the mustard and some ketchup, ‘k? Enjoy!” She smiled. Celeste watched her walk away.
“You going to eat that all?” She asked Zeben. He smiled, nodded and picked up the burger top. He added a few more pickles and more mustard. As he put the top back on, Celeste picked her sandwich up.
Around 10 minutes later, Tabby dropped the bill off. Both of them had finished their sandwiches, and Zeben was working on the fries. Celeste went for the check, but Zeben quickly grabbed it with one hand and another fry with the other.
“I told you, I got this.” Zeben stated with a wink. Celeste frowned and looked at him, shaking her head. “Don’t give me that look!” Zeben laughed.
“Let me leave tip?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m treating you. No.” Zeben firmly stated. Celeste sighed and finished her tea. Zeben smiled, leaned back and pulled his wallet out. As he did so, his cell phone went off. He set his wallet next to him and pulled out his cell. As he answered it, he let the phone rest on his shoulder and he pulled out a $20. His face turned serious as he talked softly into the phone. Zeben held his hand up to wave Tabby over. Tabby came back and looked at the bill.
“I’ll be back with your change.” She stated. He shook his head, grabbed the paper with the fries and got up.
“All yours.” He muttered quickly, then hurried out. Tabby looked at Celeste with a smile.
“Nice guy you have.” She complimented Celeste.
“Oh no… oh... Oh! Thank you.” She smiled. She noticed the hostess was listening to their conversation. Tabby winked at her and mouthed, ‘She wants him.’ Celestine looked at the hostess, climbed out of the booth and hurried out of the restaurant.
Zeben climbed into the jeep just as Celeste reached the car. Zeben leaned over and opened the door for her as he hung the cell up.
“Well… I have good and bad news.” He greeted her.
“Oh?”
“There are only 2 people going for this. That’s the good news. Bad news: you and Eric. We plan on determining who’s joining us tonight.” Zeben explained as he quickly started the jeep, put it in reverse and backed out. Celeste blinked, then grinned to herself. Zeben glanced over at her, “What?”
“We’ll see if he can actually beat anyone’s ass…”