It was one of those cold mornings with a little drizzle. I gazed down the street and people were moving fast, cars hooting, all in the crazy morning routine of living in a city. I loved our spacious flat on the 10th floor because I had the best view made it more fun. I was day-dreaming when my phone rang. I rushed to pick it up.

“Hello” I said.

“Hey Luna. I was wondering if you’re not so busy, can you get here and cover Kat’s shift?” our boss said on the other side.

“As in now?” I questioned.

“Yes please. We are short staffed so I would appreciate it if you could come over.”

“Okay, no problem, just give me 30 minutes.”

“Thank you, you’re such a life saver,” he said and hung up.

I liked our boss, he wasn’t “bossy” but was like a father to all his employees. He was a kind person to work for.

I rushed to take a quick shower. Luckily my other uniform was clean, so I got my black pants, black blouse and grey sweater on and went to catch a bus.

“Hey everyone,” I greeted when I got to work. “So what am I covering today?” I asked, fixing my name tag.

“Front sweetie,” Ben, our boss said.

“Order taking.” Matt, one of the stuff members said laughing.

“Really Uncle Ben?” I said with a sad face.

“Yes, Kat was supposed to be on the front,” he said.

No one liked taking orders in this franchise, it was the most tiring shift ever. I was so unlucky to be in that shift, but I had to do it. I fixed my smile and started the work. Though we were short staffed we managed to pull through the day and we were so close to closing when this couple and this man walked in. I was so mad but didn’t want Ben to see, so I asked Matt to take the couple and I took the other guy.

“Hello sir and welcome to Big Ben’s. May I take your order please?” I said with a crooked smile.

“Hello there, I hope I didn’t get here at the wrong time,” he said with a smile.

“Not at all, although we were about to close but it’s okay. What can I get for you?” I said, still faking the smile.

“I am glad, you look so young to be working, you should be at college or something,” he said looking straight into my eyes.

“I would be glad to take your order sir,” I was slowly losing my kindness but kept the fake smile.

“I was just saying that you’re too young to be…”

“Look, I am here to take your order. If you don’t know what to order just get your detective self-up and leave. Geez, what is wrong with you?” I shouted. Uncle Ben headed our way and apologised to the customer and got Anita to take his order.

I was in the staff room trying to calm down when Matt got in.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yes, he just got on my nerves, but I am alright.” I laughed.

“That’s how customers are, remember?” he said giving me a little smile.

Uncle Ben walked in.

“I am sorry Uncle Ben, he was getting on my nerves… I just couldn’t take it anymore, please forgive me.”

“It’s okay sweetie, he gave you this as a tip and he ordered a take away,” he hand me some money.

“Are you kidding me?” I was shocked at the tip, and after being so rude to him.

“Maybe he liked you,” Matt said teasing me.

We finished cleaning and closed for the day. Matt and I headed to the bus station. Matt and I were friends ever since I got to work at Big Ben’s. He was the one who showed me how things were done and he had a soft spot for me.

“So I guess tomorrow our plans of going out are cancelled?” he said.

“Yes, sorry. I guess some other time,” I said.

“I am coming in too,” he said smiling at me.

“No you can’t do that, you need to rest.”

“When you take your day I will ask Ben to shift mine too,” he said.

I looked at him like he was nuts. We heard the guitarist at the station singing to John Legend’s ‘It’s Cold Outside’. We sang along, hand in hand.

We sang, dancing and laughing, till the song was over. His bus arrived and we said our goodbyes. After a while, mine arrived too and off I went.

When I got home I took a warm shower and got ready for bed. I wasn’t in the mood for cooking so I ordered some pizza, lying alone had some advantages. After I was done I went straight to bed.

***

Tell us: Why do you think the guy left a tip even though Luna was rude to him?