SUPER UNLIKLEY- PART ONE: PSYCHA

Ding ding!

Ana turned around from her spot at the back of the diner from where she was wiping down a table to the door as what Ana assumed was another customer coming in.

She skated to the door, pulling it further open for the elderly couple that was clearly struggling with it, only then realizing upon seeing the couple that it was the diner owners, who smiled gratefully at her.

”Thank you, Janice, these pressure doors are harder to operate in your old age. ” Marcus Fischer, one of the owners and the man at the door, told Ana with a twinkle in his eyes. Ana smiled at him and his wife, Lucinda, as they entered, letting the door close on its own as she skated back to the table she had left her towel on. She noticed the two of them walking over to Tony, who greeted them with a large smile and shook both their hands.

Ana watched them exchange words before Tony caught her eye and gave her a smile as Marcus and Lucinda talked among themselves. Anas eyes widened slightly in embarrassment but quickly crinkled as she gave him a smile of her own, quickly turning back to the table she was wiping, facing the leather booth seat away from Tony and staring wide eyed at it as she wiped the table with a little more force than necessary.

She hadn been able to stop thinking about what Tiffany had told her the entire yesterday afternoon, and the fact that she had run into a shirtless Tony in their apartments laundry room wasn helping her case. She told herself it was just because Tiffany put those thoughts in her head. And maybe she was right, not about Tony, but about her not getting out enough in her college life. She had called Tiffany later that evening and told her the next party she was attending to count her in. Tiffany was incredibly pleased and began asking around their social circle while Ana was off at work, which brings them back to the present.

Ana walked over to another table, spraying it down with disinfectant and wiping it, scrunching up her face to stop her intrusive thoughts that she pinned on Tiffany.

”Ana, hey Ana! ” Tony called.

Slightly annoyed, but mostly confused, Ana skated over to the counter where Tony, Marcus, and Lucinda stood, leaving the washcloth and spray bottle on the table she was cleaning,

”Whos Ana? ” Marcus asked as she approached.

Ana resisted the urge to let out a heavy sigh. ”Yes? ” She instead smiled at the three of them. ”We
e talking about getting more people in so we need to know your schedule now and what days you need off. ” Tony told her. Ana thought for a moment. ”My schedule is every day except the weekends and Monday, but now its just Monday since Betty isn around. ” Marcus and Lucinda nodded. ”I don get a break from school for another month, so I can work during the week after school, but Ill need the weekends for my assignments and stuff. ” She told them, conveniently leaving out that ”stuff ” was all the new events Tiffany was taking her to.

Marcus hummed in thought.

”You
e in high school deary? ” Lucinda asked. Ana shook her head. ”No maam, Im in college, Im a little less than two years from being done. ” She told her. Lucinda hummed. ”I remember when I was in college.. That was many moons ago.. ” She trailed off. Ana and Tony stood quietly with blank customer service smiles on their faces as they waited for her to snap out of her thoughts.

”You should be able to spend a bit more time out of work, ” She concluded. ”I know kids these days are all about parties and drinking among other things. ” Tony sniggered as Ana flashed her a smile. ”Well.. not too much.. ” Tony snorted, getting Anas attention. ”Rigght, I have way too many memories of you passed out on the floor in front of your apartment for you to say
ot too much. ” Ana rolled her eyes but didn protest.

”Its settled then, ” Marcus concluded. ”Get a notice from Betty about her situation and go ahead and make about two more waitress positions available, as well as some more positions for the kitchen. ” Tony nodded, pulling out a notepad and writing something down on it. ”Ill get right on it then. ” Tony smiled at them. ”Are you two staying? ” He asked. Marcus shook his head. ”We
e just stopping by, well be back again on Friday to check the progress. ”

Tony nodded at him, and Ana gave them another smile.

”Well have a safe trip back! ” Ana told them. Lucinda smiled. ”Thank you Kara. ” Ana heard Tony stifle a laugh as Ana kept her customer service smile plastered on her face as she nodded at them. The two of them waved Ana and Tony off, and Ana skated over to the door to open it for them, which they thanked her for.

Ana skated back over to the counter, where Tony was giving her a huge smirk. ”That was so nice of you Kara. ” He told her. Anas smile dropped into an expression of annoyance. ”I swear they
e just doing it on purpose. ” She told him, making Tony burst into laughter. The noise brought Stephanie out of the kitchen, peering at the two of them curiously.

”Who was here? ” She asked them.

”Marcus and Lucinda. ” Tony told her. ”Ah, ” Stephanie said, walking out of the kitchen. ”Did they finally remember your name Ana or did you get another butchered variation of it? ” She asked. Ana opened her mouth to answer when Tony cut her off. ”Whos Ana? This is Kara, Stephanie. Try to learn your coworkers names. ” Stephanie snickered as Ana rolled her eyes, skating back over to the table she was cleaning.

”So something Lucinda said earlier made me think of something, ” Tony said after a few minutes of silence. Ana looked up at him. ”When we met and even the first few weeks of you working here you were, whats the word.. You were a lot more out there I guess. You were always hanging out with someone, going somewhere, how come you don really do that much any more? ” Tony asked her. Ana stood up straight to look at him.

”You know my best friends been badgering me about that.. We
e going out again soon, she says I need to have more of a college experience I guess. ” Ana told him. Tony hummed. ”I mean, you don have to go to a bunch of parties or whatever. ” Tony said quietly. Ana tilted her head curiously at him. Tony chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.

”I mean, I didn have a really social college experience, ” He told her. ”I mostly kept to myself aside from the few clubs that I joined. I was never a fan of parties. ” Ana stared at him thoughtfully which seemed to make him squirm a bit. ”Not that Im trying to tell you how to live or anything, Im just saying if you don go partying every week not to feel too bad about it. ” He rushed.

”I- ” The doorbell chiming cut Ana off, which made Tony let out a soft sigh of relief as he greeted the customer that had just entered. Ana skated over to the counter to put away her cleaning supplies and took a menu from Tony, going into waitress mode and their previous conversation slowly fading from Anas mind.

—

Ana sighed as she shut off the lights of the diner floor, and turned off the jukebox, using the faint light from the main counter as a guide to the bathrooms so she could change. Ana pulled on a pair of black glittery tights and a white fluffy sweater with stains of pale pink, blue, and purple all over the sweater. She pulled her hair into a messy bun, noting how much her hair had grown since the last time she had cut it. She felt a strand with her fingers that had fallen out from her bun. Her hair used to reach her lower back until she cut it after she moved out of her parents house after an argument, which of course made them as angry as she expected, as they were of the old-fashioned belief that she shouldn cut her hair.

Ana sighed and shoved her uniform in her bag, shutting off the bathroom lights and walking out back to the counter, where Tony was waiting for her. Stephanie and Mike had left half an hour ago, Ana was a bit envious of them, however there was a group of people who spent two hours heckling and drinking which gave the kitchen crew plenty of time to clean up.

”You ready? ” He asked her, handing her the keys to the awning. Ana nodded and hoisted her bag further over her shoulder as she followed Tony out of the building, shutting off the lights around the counter. Ana pulled the glass door closed and locked it as Tony told her, ”Ill have a quick smoke then well go alright? ” Ana nodded as he pulled the awning down far enough for her to reach.

Ana was about to pull the keys out of the lock in the door when she saw a soft glowing light coming from the storage room. ”Tony! ” She called. ”Yeah? ” He called back. ”You turned off the light in the storage room right? ” She asked him. ”There isn a light in that room, remember? ” He called back to her. ”I keep forgetting to replace it, remind me tomorrow! ” He said off handedly.

Ana looked back at the soft light from inside the room.

There wasn a sign or anything plugged in, so Ana had no idea what it could possibly be.

”Ana, you done yet? ” Tony called to her. ”Just a minute! ” She called back to him. Ana concluded that it had to be a light coming from another building and shining into the room, ignoring the fact tat she didn remember whether or not the room had a window.

”Ana! ”

Ana snapped out of her gaze and pulled down the awning, locking the padlock on the bottom, dashing towards Tonys car, not another thought about the strange glowing light.