Chapter Text
"Welcome to your first day," the woman said as she chewed gum. "I'm Dana. I'll be showing a few things today, and then tomorrow, you can do it yourself."
"Nice to meet you." Buffy said, forcing a smile.
She hated how flat her voice sounded to her own ears. She hated even more of how it came to be.
She had been expelled. She killed her boyfriend. Her mother kicked her out. Saved the world but lost everything that mattered.
Maybe it was bound to happen eventually.
A curse of being a Slayer.
Dana showed Buffy the table-listing-map-thing.
"Your section can change depending on the day." Dana explained. "Since you're with me, the section we'll be dealing with is this one."
She circled a spot on the laminated map type thing with her index finger.
"Gotcha." Buffy said.
"They pay at the register when they finish up." Dana went on. "Do your best to bust the tables in your section. You got time to help out, you do the others too. Just remember those tips go to the person who has that section."
"Okay."
Dana blew a bubble and popped it between her lips before sucking it back in to chew. She stashed the table thing back by the register.
"And since it's a week day and the morning, we ain't gonna be busy until closer to lunch." Dana went on. "So I'm gonna show you a few light things. Rolling up the silverware and filling the sugar." She motioned for Buffy to follow.
Buffy obeyed quietly.
"Spoon, fork, butter knife." Dana said before blowing another bubble. "Set them like this. And then roll like this."
Buffy mimicked the motion.
"First try. Not bad, Anne."
Buffy gave a small shrug and said:
"Really good hands eye coordination."
They took care of the cutlery until Dana had decided they had put together enough for the day. Then she showed Buffy to where they kept the sugar containers.
"You pour this," Dana said hoisting up a pitcher thing, "into these." She set the pitcher down and opened up one of the containers.
Buffy watched her pour the sugar in, shaking the container as she did so.
"This way the sugar can be kinda even." Dana explained and once again blew another bubble. "Careful though, it can get heavy."
If only.
Dana set the pitcher down and screwed the lid back on the container.
"Give it a shot."
Buffy opened up the other container and did exactly as Dana showed her.
"Damn girl." Dana huffed. "I have to brace myself even when its on the damn counter."
"Gymnast once." Buffy said with another shrug.
"Makes sense."
Dana let Buffy fill the containers while she quickly placed them on the tables around the entire diner.
By the time they had finished, people were beginning to file in. Buffy followed and observed Dana during the morning as they took orders, delivered food and beverages to tables, dropped off bills and paid them at the register.
The whole morning was dizzying despite how slow it was at the start.
Lunch was even worse. So many burgers, daily specials, and a need for dessert of some sort. One guy stepped walked in and waved at Dana. She waved back and went straight behind the counter. Buffy followed suit, watching the man.
Perfectly tailored suit. Brown hair styled, so it was slicked back but not greasy looking. Ever so slight color on his skin that made Buffy think of that supposed olive tone some people had. He slipped quietly into the booth in the corner, setting his brief case on the table and flipping it open. He pulled out a couple of documents and looked through them with a focused gaze.
"Don't we need to grab him a menu?" Buffy asked as Dana fetched a full pot of coffee and a mug.
"Nah," she replied and motioned for Buffy to the mini-fridge full of desserts. "He orders the same thing every day at this time."
Buffy knelt down and opened the fridge door.
"Cherry pie." Dana said.
"I'm not seeing it." Buffy pushed the pies and cakes about trying to locate anything that looked remotely cherry in the center.
"Check the back." Dana said. "That's where I usually stash a slice for him."
Buffy dug further in the back and located a plate with a single slice of—sure enough—cherry pie. As gently as she could, she freed it from its hiding spot and stood.
Dana, with a mug and pot in hand, motioned with her head for Buffy to follow, and the duo went over to the small booth in the corner.
"Coffee and a cherry pie." Dana said, setting the mug down and filling it with the coffee pot.
Buffy set the pie down.
"Thank you." He said, looking up at Dana and smiling.
Low and a bit gravely. Not unpleasant. Something about his accent made Buffy think of Giles, but maybe not as posh, or whatever the term was.
"No problem." Dana replied and set the pot down on the table. "Anything else we can get ya?"
"Not at all." He leaned over to look at Buffy. She noticed his eyes zero in on her name tag.
"Oh, this is Anne." Dana explained, clasping her hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I'm training her."
"Nice to meet you, Anne." He said with a small nod.
Buffy nodded back, keeping her head down.
Something about his dark eyes. As though he could see through the fact that she was lying about who she was. Like he knew more about her than perhaps most. Again, not unlike Giles.
Please don't be a Watcher.
She wouldn't be able to deal with them after everything. As of now, all she wanted to do was not go back into that sort of world that took her life from her, not once, but twice.
Dana dragged her off and the two went about taking orders and ringing up customers; delivering food and busting tables. Buffy couldn't help but occasionally look up to stare at the man.
He ate the cherry pie and drank his coffee in silence, eyes scanning the outside world as people walked past the window. When he had finished his pie, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and shook one out. At the next moment, Buffy looked at him he was smoking peacefully while people bustled about inside. There were times where he still looked through the files he laid out on the table in such an organized manner and studied each of them carefully. Once he seemed to get all he wanted out of the papers, they were put back into the brief case. He pulled out his wallet at some point and pulled out some cash, setting it in two neat stacks, jotting something down on the napkin with the pen she didn’t realize he had at first. Dana helped Buffy get the bill for the man, and the two returned to his side.
"Thanks for stopping by." Dana said politely.
"Always a pleasure." The man replied as he finished his cigarette.
"Anything else you need?" Dana asked.
"No, thank you."
Dana dragged Buffy back to the register just as the man stood, closing his brief case and taking it with him to the front. Dana rang him up and made sure to give him his change. The man left with a small wave and walked out of the diner. The two went over to bus the table and Buffy stared at the napkin, rag in hand.
The writing on it read:
For Anne
Dana pushed it over to Buffy and grabbed the other little stack of cash.
Buffy picked up the money unable to help but count it.
“This is way more than what the coffee and pie cost.” She said.
“Yeah.” Dana scoffed. “So?”
“I just... that’s generous.” Buffy muttered, tucking the tip into her apron. “And probably idiotic.”
Dana shrugged and tucked her own tip into her apron. She grabbed the pot with one hand, stacked the mug onto the plate, stuffed the napkin into the mug, and jerked her head toward the table. She walked off. Buffy took that as her cue to quickly wipe the table and the seats down and followed Dana.
“Does he do that often?” Buffy asked.
Dana smiled.