{ Diner / Sophmore Year / with Tabitha }
Rudy pushed the door open with his shoulder, same way he always did, the jingle above barely audible over the low murmur of the guests and the clink of silverware. The diner wasn’t much, really, but it had a certain kind of charm. Fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead and the leather booths had that lived in stick to them, especially on humid days. But Rudy liked that, thought it felt honest, like the world wasn’t trying too hard in here. Like the diner didn’t care what you looked like when you walked in. He gave a little chin nod to the guy behind the counter - didn’t know his name, just that he smoked menthols out back and always had the same country station on low. He also didn’t bother to wait for a host. Just made his way to the same booth, second from the end, near the window, with a view of the parking lot that always had one lonely car in it. His booth. Unspoken claim! Only his, okay? Don’t come for it. He slid into the seat with the kind of comfort that only came from repetition. Familiar cracks in the table laminate, a salt shaker that always wobbled. And another familiarity - Tabitha.
She’d been working here long before Rudy started showing up regularly. He didn’t know her, not really. He didn’t know her last name, not where she went after her shift, not even if she liked her job. But he knew her patterns and how she worked around here. He’d seen her dozens of times across the room, floating between booths, laughing with regulars and now she was making his way toward him. He opened his mouth to recite the usual order - eggs, toast, hash browns, coffee with two sugars, no cream, but she beat him to it. ”You’re early,“ she said, already setting the plate down, a knowing smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. Rudy blinked. A slow grin crawled across his face as he leaned an elbow against the table. ”Damn. Am I that predictable?“ ”You’re a wednesday regular now. That’s almost a personality trait.“ He laughed under his breath, rubbing a hand across his jaw. ”Gotta be known for something.“ She placed the plate down, poured his coffee in one smooth motion. He was about to throw out some dumb line just to keep her standing there a little longer, something playful maybe, harmless, but she was already gone, pulled away by the chaos of someone else’s booth. So he ate.
Well… sort of. More like picked at the food in a rhythm, not really tasting it. It wasn’t about the eggs, it wasn’t even about the coffee though it really was bad. No, this place was more about not being anywhere else. Time passed like it always did in places like this… slow. A group of teenagers shuffled in at one point all noisy, knocking over a napkin holder and laughing like the world couldn’t touch them. Rudy kept his head down and just let the warm mug rest between his palms and watched the wind play across the parking lot through the window.
Then he heard it - a sharp voice from a few booths over. Some guy in a suit who thought volume made him important. Rudy didn’t turn to look, but his ears caught every word. Something about the burger. Something about incompetence. Like Tabitha had personally offended him by showing up in his field of vision… Can people just not be polite? What happened to kindness? Eventually she stepped away, heading down the aisle with her expression tight like she was holding something back. She didn’t look at him when she collapsed into the opposite side of the booth with a long exhale. She closed her eyes for a second while Rudy just watched, hands still curled around his mug… waited, wondering if she’d forgotten he was still here. Then she opened them, ”Sht, you’re still here. My bad-“ ”No, no, you’re good!“ Rudy sat up straighter, smiling a little too fast, a little too much. Like he was trying to make up for how shtty the guy before him had been. ”Guy thinks he’s Gordon Ramsay?“ And before he could let her properly respond, he leaned in a bit, lowering his voice just enough to feel like a secret. ”Hey, ever noticed how absolute sht coffee here is?“ He grinned, wide and boyish and a little too proud of himself and took a sip like it proved his point. ” Like… it hurts. But in a comforting way.“