Push and Shove: The Ghost Bird Series: #6 (The Academy) by C. L. Stone Page B

you end up with change like that, just toss it in the tip jar.”
    “Aren’t the waiters supposed to collect it?”
    Gabriel waved a hand through the air. “Write on the ticket how much they paid in total. They’ll divide it up later. Sometimes they leave cash on the tables I have to clean, too, so I just drop it off in the jar and let them fight over it.”
    “But...”
    Gabriel picked up his bucket, holding it to his waist with one hand. He slapped me on the thigh. “Don’t worry so much. Just stand there and look pretty.”
    I sought out Luke, but he was sitting down across from a customer, another older gentleman with a newspaper and sipping coffee. Luke was laughing at whatever he was saying. He was so distracted, he didn’t catch my eye.
    ♥♥♥
    I n a half hour, the tip cup was stuffed with one dollar bills, a couple of fives, and a handful of pocket change. While the majority of people paid for their food with a credit card, most of them also carried cash and dropped a tip on the table for Gabriel or Luke to collect, or stuffed it into the cup.
    I scanned tickets and made change, and rang up credit cards. It was okay work as all I had to do was smile and the customer passed me a ticket. They didn’t seem to mind when I avoided direct eye contact and waited patiently as I rang up, counted coins and passed back change. After each time, I felt nervous, like I should have said something like thank you, but most of the time, Gabriel or Luke beat me to it as they called to the customers as they walked out the door.
    When Gabriel didn’t have tables to clean, he took turns with Luke being a server. I liked watching them work. Luke was smooth, friendly. Gabriel had flair, and even from a distance, I could hear his sweet baritone humming a few bars of a song as he walked the floor.
    While it had picked up, babysitting the register was not enough to keep my mind from wandering back to Nathan and worrying about him. My legs ached to walk around instead of standing in one place.
    To make up for it, I made myself familiar with the contents behind the counter. I counted the extra napkin dispensers, straightened the take-out containers, discovered the location for a key to the jukebox, and stacked extra plates and silverware into neater collections. There was a soda fountain behind me, along with a large coffee maker.
    Gabriel materialized next to me as I was staring off at the door. “How’s it going?”
    I tilted my head, continuing to stare off instead of facing him. “I think I like making pies better.” I perked up and turned to him. “Want to switch places for a little while? I can clean tables and wash dishes.”
    He laughed, and his hand met my shoulder, rubbing the muscle. “You’ll want to be up here. No one tips the bus boy.”
    “Then how do you make money when you’re doing dishes and other stuff?”
    “I get a paycheck.”
    “Can’t I get a paycheck?”
    “Trust me, Sang. You want tips. That’s where the money is.” He patted my back close to my butt and disappeared behind the swinging doors toward the kitchen.
    I sighed, glancing again at the clock. It was almost nine. How long was a shift? How late did the guys normally work?
    The crowd started to really thin out. Luke picked up trays that I was sure would be too heavy or unbalanced to lift, but he managed perfectly. Gabriel held his own, but often enough, it was Luke that helped him split a large order, and carried half of the items on a tray.
    I ended up scanning more tickets and running a lot of credit cards as people were leaving. There was a rush of folks coming in to pick up take-out orders. Gabriel replaced the tip cup with a bigger jar he found in the back. He used a Sharpie to write something on the front, and wedged it in front of the register out of my view. I got so busy I forgot about it.
    When Gabriel dashed behind the counter and headed toward the soda fountain, he was grunting. He punched at the dispenser to hurry. He had