Chapter 7 – Meddler & Noob
Working at Eman's family restaurant should have been simple. Take orders. Serve food. Smile politely.
Instead, it was a disaster.
Keifer had been volunteered to handle drinks, which meant customers got whatever he felt like making. "They ordered iced tea, Keifer," I hissed.
"Yeah, and I made it better. See? I added lemon and sugar. That's love."
"That's diabetes," I muttered, snatching the tray from him.
Meanwhile, Kiko was "accidentally" lingering at tables with cute girls, Drake was terrifying customers by silently refilling water glasses without saying a word, and Aries had somehow taken over the kitchen like he was auditioning for a cooking show.
And in the middle of it all, I was darting around like a referee with a whistle.
"Stop flirting with the customers, Ci-n i WILL tell rakki."
"Keifer, that's not lemonade, that's syrup."
"Drake, maybe say something before you appear behind people like a horror movie villain."
"Jay," Keifer drawled, leaning against the counter. "You realize you're bossing us around like you run this place, right?"
"I'm preventing this place from burning down," I shot back.
From the kitchen, Aries called, "Official meddler of Section E!"
The name stuck instantly.
By the end of the night, even Alys was laughing. "Meddler suits you."
"Oh yeah? And what's your title?" I asked.
"The noob," David answered for her, popping his head out of the kitchen. "Still figuring out how to survive us."
Alys rolled her eyes. "Great. Love that for me."
Later, while wiping down a table, Alys found herself next to Drake, who was polishing silverware with his usual too-intense focus.
"You're really not a people person, huh?" she said.
He glanced at her. "People are loud."
"And you're… what, allergic to noise?"
He smirked faintly. "Selective hearing. I just don't waste words."
She tilted her head. "So why talk to me now?"
Drake's eyes flicked to the group laughing at the counter, then back to her. "Because you're not as loud as the rest of them."
It wasn't romantic — not yet — but it was the longest sentence she'd heard from him. And from the small, surprised smile on her face, she knew it meant more than he'd admit.
By the time closing rolled around, the restaurant was still standing, the customers were oddly happy, and Eman's parents looked less exhausted.
And just like that, the meddler and the noob had somehow wrangled Section E into doing something good.
Even if the chaos levels were off the charts.