CHAPTER TWO
LEIGH
"The assholes are out in droves tonight." Sealy mutters and drops into my booth. I can barely see her over the stacks of maroon-wrapped silverware. "When is football season over? Can it be tomorrow?"
"We've only had one game." I crack a smile at her even though I feel that same pain. "Still have a few more months to go. Don't worry, another few weeks and we've got the basketball guys with 'em."
"I'll take those guys over the football asshats any day of the week." Sealy grabs a stack of napkins and helps me roll. Normally, I have to beg for help, but sitting down during All You Can Eat Wings night is a hot commodity. "Mr. Big Shot over there tried ordering eight shots and got pissy when I said no."
"TABC would light your ass up."
"That's what I said!" She slams the roll of utensils into the tub. "Thought he could just throw his tiny little Jackson's at me and everything would be fine. Whatever, asswipe. I don't talk to anyone but Mr. Franklin."
We clink forks and keep rolling, ignoring everyone who walks past us. Natalie floats around our table, probably looking for a runner because she got stuck with the table full of meatheads, but I have no intention of stepping near them. I'm rolling silverware, not running 800 trays of wings out all night.
"I've done my cardio for the day." Sealy bares her teeth as Natalie walks by for the hundredth time. "Darren sent me over here. You ask him. He's already so far up their assholes he can probably tell what they had for breakfast yesterday."
"You're disgusting." I curl my lip and shudder a little. "Seriously. That's gross."
Sealy tilts her head at me and rolls her eyes. "You were watching that documentary on slaughterhouses last night, don't even start with me."
"Frankie said it was enlightening and you know I can't say no to that." I grin. "However, that may be the reason why I jumped all over silverware tonight."
"I'd eat chicken, whatever." Sealy shrugs and rubs her eyes. "I just want out of here. Why did Bryan decided to do All You Can Eat Wings during football season? What crevice of hell did he crawl out of?"
"Eighth level, maybe. Or is that for the murderers?"
Sealy pops an eyebrow at me. "You know I'm the wrong person to ask because I don't read your weird shit, right?"
"Dante is not weird shit. It's a classic. It's older than classics... like the OG of classics."
"Whatever. It's weird."
"Whatever, you look like shit."
"This class is killing me, Leigh. Killing me. I took calculus in high school! This should be a breeze! But none of these freaking formulas are working, and god help me if Wayne freaking Anderson beats me on another goddamn test, because I will drown him in that massive bowl of cereal he always brings to class."
"I hate that guy so much." As if on cue, my stomach clenches. "Thinks he's so much better at everything because he's got a damn penis. Whatever, bro. He fails English every semester."
"And says he doesn't care because it's a 'girl subject' and 'we all know girl subjects are unimportant', which is probably why he always sounds like a dumbass."
"Unless he's solving integrals. God, I hate him. Almost as much as the football players."
"Legit, they are equally bad." Sealy leans back and blows at her swooped bangs. "I'm going to die if I don't sleep soon. I just know it."
"Don't stress, okay?" I unroll a set of utensils to drag out the process. The large table of football boys got exponentially louder and I want none of it. "We’ll wake up early tomorrow and study before class. I've got some good notes that are floating me through. Maybe I've got something you missed."
"You're a goddamn saint, Leigh. I don't care what Bryan and Darren say about you." She winks.
"Bitch." I wink back.
Without Sealy, life in this tiny, cowpoke-y town would be unbearable. We met during freshman orientation, both freshly horrified at the life we'd respectively chosen to live over the next four years, and clung together. Haven't let go since. Now graduation was finally looming, but it felt twice as long away, like our dreams of moving to a big city and working towards space walks would never be a thing.
"We need more wings." A massive shadow falls over our table. "Can't find our bitch waitress. She left us with a shit ton of empties. That's not cool, man."
Sealy and I share identical looks of disgust, but she's out of the table before I am.
"Hey, champ. I see all those fucking shots you weren't supposed to have made your brain work real good! Why don't you go sit your happy little ass back at your table and I'll find the poor girl who's forced to smile at your dumb ass and bring you wings, okay?"
He frowns, slowly, and shoves a finger in her face. "I don't like the way you're talking to me. You're all bitches here, aren't you?"
"All right, that's enough." I push his finger out of Sealy's face and flag down Bryan across the bar. "Go sit down and we'll get this all settled, okay?"
"It's not like this job is even hard." He spits. "You stick your tits out for money. It's a strip club with better wings."
Bryan grabs the guy's arm before Sealy and I can verbally jump this drunk dude. We know he won't actually do anything, though, none of them will. All the managers are heavily invested in anything Aggie-related and probably give fewer shits about their staff than the patrons.
Graduation can't come soon enough.
"One day, Leigh, we're going to burn this place to the fucking ground."
"I'm so sorry." Natalie appears from behind us, looking every bit a hot mess. "I had to run to the restroom and they've been... getting rowdy."
"Greg should have taken that table." I rub her arm gently. "Not you."
"Normally it's not so bad. A little friendly smile here or there gets a lot of tips, and god knows I could use the money, right? But Henry broke up with me right before my shift started and I just can't handle it right now."
"Oh, fuck that guy." Sealy folds her into a group hug. "He's a dick. You were the best thing to ever happen to him."
"He graduated early and didn't want to wait. I can't blame him." She forces a smile and tightens her ponytail. "I'm sorry. I'll be okay. I'm so sorry they came over here to harass you, though. You didn't need that."
"I'll take the table if you need." I offer. "You can keep all the tips, too. It's not a big deal."
"No, I'll be fine. Thank you, though, Leigh. You're the best."
"She really is." Sealy nods. "I would've taken all the tips."
Natalie offers a lame smile and takes a deep breath before venturing back into the fray. The small seedling of desperation to get out of here sprouted some time ago, but I can feel it growing at a rapid pace.
My phone vibrates, a text from my dad.
"What does the old fart want now?" Sealy asks, looking over my shoulder.
His message is loud and clear without having to look at it. The same thing every day, week after week. "Probably another job listing for back home."
"He still doesn't get it, does he?"
"Probably never will. It's not enough that my brothers work in the same town. He needs me under his roof, where he can watch me until he dies."
"That's creepy."
"That's my dad."
"Just a few more months, girl. We'll be out of here." Sealy nudges my shoulder with hers. "Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City even. The world is our oyster and we'll rule it with our superior intellect. You know, the kind that allows you to master calculus and English. All at the same time."
"Blasphemy."
"Only if your name is Wayne Anderson."