So two days after, Lizzie made a trip to the Cool Beans diner during the afternoon. She wore a thick trenchcoat on her way to the place. When she entered, she saw Amber, sitting in a counter stool, talking to Hank while he polished glasses from behind the counter.
Lizzie approached the counter. "Hi, Hank," she said.
"Hi, Lizzie," Hank greeted back.
Lizzie looked at his girlfriend. "Amber."
"Leper," Amber responded. "Oops, I mean Lizzie."
"So what's up?" asked Hank.
"I was wondering if I can have a seat as I came to dine," said Lizzie.
"Sure thing. Just let me clean this one last cup and I will show you your booth."
"Understandable."
As Hank polished a glass cup with a wet washcloth, Lizzie sat down next to Amber in an empty stool. She untied her belt and slid off her trenchcoat, revealing a skimpy outfit. It consisted of a bright yellow cropped tee with off-shoulder ruffled sleeves, a ruffled, bright yellow mini-skirt, and bright-colored bangles, all suiting well with her woven sandal wedges with yellow pieces.
Lizzie's sex-appealing outfit caught Hank's eyes. He said, "Whoa" before dropping his glass cup on the floor, shattering it into pieces.
"Lizzie, please, this is a classy restaurant," said Amber. "Not a trashy restaurant."
Lizzie squinted her eyes at Amber. "Sorry, but I was feeling--" She crossed her legs. "--'ruff'. Get it? 'Ruff'? As in 'ruffles'."
"You're not funny."
"I-I-I will show you your seat," stuttered Hank. He walked around the counter towards Lizzie and held her arm to guide her to her table. "Watch out for the broken glass."
"It's behind the counter," Amber stated.
"It's still dangerous."
Lizzie sat down at her table. "Thanks, Hank."
"Sure thing." He pulled out a pad and paper. "What would you like to drink?"
"I would like a glass of waiter. Oops, I mean 'water'."
Hank chuckled nervously. "Coming right up."
He walked away into the open kitchen.
"Nice play on words," called Amber.
"If it came across as sexual," said Lizzie, "it wasn't supposed to be honestly. Like if you spelled 'water' with an I--"
"Shut up!"
"Geez."
Hank arrived with a cold glass of water. He placed it on Lizzie's table. "One of our waiters, Wade, will arrive shortly and take your order."
"Glad to know."
Hank smiled before walking off and going behind the counter. While he paid his attention to Amber, a waiter came out of the kitchen and approached Lizzie.
"Whoa!" the waiter shouted. "Hank, you may have told me she was a friend but you didn't tell me she was a fine friend!"
Hank motioned the 'Cut It' sign in front of his neck while staring at the waiter.
The waiter cleared his throat. "Sorry about that," he said to Lizzie. "My name is Wade and I will be serving you. Are you ready to order?"
Lizzie looked at her menu. "Yeah, I would like a Cajun Style cheeseburger with spicy French fries, please."
"Burger and fries? Aren't you afraid that you will... bust out of your top?"
"Uh... yeah. But I saw this commercial and apparently, eating burgers is sexy. So make sure that there is extra grease on that Cajun Style."
"Wow, you are weird. I can dig that. Your food will ready in thirty minutes."
"I will wait patiently."
Wade walked off into the kitchen. As Lizzie waited, she looked at Hank talking to Amber. She tried to eavesdrop on their conversation by reading their lips but frankly, she could not do that. However, while she looked at them, Hank moved his eyes at Lizzie as well.
Amber started to notice that and squeezed his chin to make him look at her. "What are you doing?" she questioned. "Are you looking at that popsicle?"
"You mean Lizzie?" he inquired. "No, of course not."
"Your mouth is saying 'No' but your eyes are saying 'Yeppity-Do-Da'. What do you see in that trash bag?"
"Excuse me, she is not a trash bag. She's way more sweeter than that."
"Puh-lease. Girls who look like that are not sweet, not even if they dress like a promiscuous lollipop."
"I thought you said she looked like a popsicle."
"Whatever. Go get me my veggie shake like I asked."
"You know, you lose your weight by drinking while Lizzie loses her weight by eating. Which one do you think sounds more terrifying?"
"Are you comparing me to Lizzie?"
"No." Hank immediately walked away and entered the kitchen with an empty glass parfait cup.
Amber turned around and glared at Lizzie from afar, who was minding her business and reading little sugar packets. Infuriated, Amber hopped off her seat and marched towards Lizzie.
"Hey!" Amber caught her attention. "I know what you're doing."
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Lizzie. "I'm reading the nutrition facts off of this substitute sugar. I want to know how many calories of sugar are in a substitute sugar."
"Quiet, you! You used to date Hank and Hank did not tell me for me to know that. I can smell you."
"Oh, well, Hank used to wear this blueberry cologne when we were in middle school. It was so strong that I swear and swore that I can still smell it."
"Stop talking to me like I'm your friend! I'm not your friend. I don't want to be your friend. You're just a piece of garbage that Hank threw away in his past. But I am a special item that he will forever keep. And Hank will never date you unless you turn into me."
Amber walked away with Lizzie feeling depressed yet puzzled. Amber returned to her seat with Hank walking inside the counter and handing her the glass of a green, thick drink. Lizzie looked at them and felt a change in mood. She rapidly get out of her seat and charged towards the couple.
"Hi, again," she smiled.
Amber glared at her.
"What are you drinking?" Lizzie asked. "I want to drink what you drink. I want to do what Amber does. Is that lime? Kiwi? Apples are sometimes green. Can I pound some?"
Lizzie took the glass and chugged it, making Amber much angrier. Lizzie belched a bit and made a disgusted face.
"Well, that is special," she commented. "It tastes like... what green tastes like."
"It's a veggie shake," said Hank. "It's nothing but vegetables."
"Oh, that makes sense. It tasted like manure. And vegetables grow from manure. A smart fact just like what Amber shares. And Amber is smart and pretty and--"
"Shut up!" Amber snapped.
"Amber, what's wrong?" Hank asked.
"Her! That's what's wrong. She's driving me nuts."
"Amber, she's not hurting you."
"I know. But she's killing me. She still likes you, don't you get it? But she needs to know that what's mine is mine."
"But Amber, we never really talked about our... status."
"We don't need to. I get what I want and what I want is you. And this hoochie is not going to take you away from me."
Lizzie relaxed her shoulders. "You know what, Amber? I may dress like a hoochie but I am not a hoochie. I'm a really nice girl with feelings and sometimes, I can't help my feelings. I'm just a teenager so I don't know what I'm doing. I just want to be happy." She stood on an empty stool, then on top of counter. She caught attention from all of the customers in the diner. "I like love. I believe in romance. I'm waiting for the one but maybe, the one is waiting for me. I don't want to get hurt but right now, I'm following my heart and figuring out what I want to do."
"So what you want to do is stand on tables in high heels so people can see your underwear?"
"People can see my--? I thought this skirt was long enough."
"Nope, it's small. Just like your brain."
Lizzie walked slowly along the counter. "Look, Amber, I know you may not like me but I am just being--" Not noticing, Lizzie walked into the glass of the veggie shake and knocked it over, spilling most of the shake into Amber's lap. She gasped and held up her hands. Lizzie gaped. "I am so sorry! I-I didn't even see that."
"You liar! You did that on purpose!"
"No, I did it by accident. Two different things."
Amber picked up the glass and flicked it hard towards Lizzie so what was left of the drink could splatter on her.
"I swear cows would like to drink this," said Lizzie after a few seconds of silence.
"I'll show you who's the real cow."
Amber climbed on top of the counter and immediately wrestled her down. Hank walked around the counter and tried to pull the girls off of each other. But Amber was too strong and was no match for Hank or the other waiters who rushed out. Some of the customers tried to film the fight on their phones. Lizzie screamed as Amber grabbed her arms and wiggled and wriggled her around, throwing punches that were luckily missed. Finally, Lizzie threw Amber off of herself, making her fall off the counter-top onto the hard floor. Lizzie's struggle to get Amber off of her made her fall off as well.
"Lizzie, are you okay?" asked Hank.
"Um, I fell, too!" Amber sat up.
Hank crouched before Amber. "Amber, I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"What? Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'? You obviously have a problem with Lizzie and I can't be with someone who doesn't give people a chance. Lizzie is sweet and thoughtful and generous. And you are the opposite of those things. I'm sorry, Amber, but we can't date anymore."
"Fine by me. I've been seeing Wade anyway."
She got up and walked away, out of the door. Hank looked up, seeing Wade standing from afar.
"Sorry, dude," Wade said. "I thought you two weren't in a relationship."
"That's okay, man," Hank responded. He walked over to Lizzie, who started to sit up, and crouched down. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she answered, wiping the veggie shake off her cheek. "No. Hank, I miss you. And I acted like a brat about it. I'm really sorry but I still have feelings for you. The reason I broke up with you in the first place is because I was foolish. I thought I could do better but I didn't. I really liked you. Maybe love. But you probably don't want to go out with me again since I made a complete fool of myself. So I'm gonna go."
Lizzie turned but Hank grabbed her arm to stop her from moving any further.
"I love you, too," he smiled.
"You do?"
"Yeah. I never really stopped thinking about you. Plus, you're still the same which is why my feelings for you are stronger than ever. I love you, Lizzie."
Lizzie smiled. Hank pecked her on the lips, making him smile as well.
"I still taste like veggie shake," Lizzie said.
"I know." Hank chuckled.
"That was like eating grass. No drug reference."
"I wasn't even thinking about it."
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