Ondie was twirling back out from behind the bar, highly distracted by the way her skirt flared as she did. Swish, swish. Well, people always told her small minds were amused by small things. She also heard that small minds were attracted to shiny objects. Fortunately, Ondie did not have a small-

Hey, look! Shiny coins!

As Ondie approached the table, she noticed an assortment of paper money along with more shiny coins on the table right with the bill she had left for Kwan. She looked around as if the answer to her question was somewhere in the room. Where was Sam?

She shrugged. It seemed as if she had blown for her office again or somewhere discreet. Ondie picked up the bill and pocketed it in her apron before taking the money. Muggle money was fascinating. Merlin, they even labelled it with its worth and had little faces on them. Paper money was one thing she had yet to fully grasp the idea of. All she could think of was, Well, doesn't it get terribly wet easily?

Counting up the amount Kwan had left, which proved to be easy with the nifty amount labels, Ondie realized he had paid for Sam's coffee, plus left an extra tip for her, which she slipped into her skirt's pocket. What a nice gesture! Although, she would have to get it exchanged for Wizarding money later.

Once her hands were free, Ondie piled up all the plates and swept the used napkins and other trash onto them. Lastly, she grabbed the two coffee mugs by the handles in one hand, picked up the the plates in the other, and set off for the kitchen.

Wow, this would have been a horrible time for her chronic klutziness to kick in.

Thankfully, Ondie made it through the saloon-style doors and into the kitchen without a scratch on her or the dishes. She looked around. Hmm... sink... sink... ahh! Spotting the sink, she brought her load over and set them down inside it. If she had time later and Mel wasn't back yet, she would wash them. Presently, though, she grabbed a clean rag and a couple paper placemats before heading out of the kitchen again.

The buzz of the restaurant had all but died down. Apparently, the late rush was over and now, Ondie really only noticed Mel with the kid and Alyssa over at the one table. She turned back to the work at hand and hurried over to the table she had previously cleared. The rag worked well. For a plain rag. Ondie paused and looked at it front and back. Yeah, it worked well for a plain rag.

Shrugging, Ondie continued until the table sparkled, which didn't take long because its former occupants hadn't been piggies, thank Merlin. Ondie could remember being a child going to a restaurant with her family and, well, her brother had had a blast reintroducing his dinner onto the table. It had been a blast for all of them. Ondie shuddered. Ew. Kids. Vomit. Yuck.

Stuffing the rag into the empty pocket of her apron, Ondie proceeded to put the placemats in their places and readjust the napkin dispenser. Hmm... out of sugar packets? She made a mental note to restock after doing the dishes before she once again danced over to the kitchen.

"Y'ello?" she called. Nope, Mel wasn't present. Oh, wells. She would have done the dishes anyway.

The dishes. They weren't too difficult. Not only was Ondie used to using magic as a helper in cleaning up around the house, she was also unaccustomed to washing the dishes. She often instead visited Diagon Alley come mealtime. But really, how hard could it possibly be? Squeezing a bit of dishwasher soap onto a small sponge, Ondie stopped for a moment of thought, sponge hovering over the first dish. Since Muggles didn't have magic to help them with this kind of work, they invented machines to do it for them.

Of course! The dishwasher!

And conveniently, it was right nearby. Ondie wiped her wet hands on a clean towel and pulled open the door of the dishwasher. Frowny face. How exactly do you work the dishwasher?

Ondie looked around to no avail. Well, the instructions wouldn't be written all over the cupboards and the walls! They would be in the manual! Ondie tapped her foot on the floor. She was often misplacing things and when she did, she never bothered to look for them. They always turned up on their own. However she knew, a manual for the dishwasher wasn't just going to walk up to her, although that'd be cool. And she couldn't use Accio. Dang. It.

Guess she had to skip the whole manual part. Reverting to pure intuition, which is difficult when you've no experience with such things as Muggle contraptions, Ondie took the dishes out of the sink and one by one placed them inside the dishwasher. Then she closed up the door. Done.

Okay... soap. The dishwasher needed soap, right? She grabbed the bottle of dishwasher soap and turned back to the machine. There was a small covered opening that looked promising. She unplugged it and poured in the soap. After twisting the cap back on, she took a step back and watched the dishwasher. As it did. Nothing.

Ugh. Ondie cocked her head at the assortment of buttons on the machine next. Now, there was a Start button. That looked about right. She pressed it and jumped back when the dishwasher started making noises. Eep!

After a few moments, she decided that it was supposed to make that sound and breathed a sigh of relief. Woot! She had worked a dishwasher!

Mel probably knew how to handle things from there. And she would be back to help too. For now, Ondie looked through all the cupboards. One of them had to be a storage place for the packets of sugar and napkins and such that were supplied on each table...

Jackpot! Ondie smiled as she grabbed a handful of pink sugar packets, hopped off the footstool she was using to reach them, and walked back out of the kitchen. Sugar, restocked! Mission accomplished. Feeling like a woman who worked in Magical Transportation who had just been told that she didn't have to finish the mountainload of paperwork piled up on her desk, Ondie skipped back behind the bar.

Sam beamed! She had a date!!!!! Nothing could have gone better for her investigation. But the more Sam thought about as the strolled along back to the inn, the more she realized that she wasn't just going on a date with him to interview him. She was going on a date with him because she liked him! "Thanks for inviting me the concert Kwan! It will be a blast!" Sam couldn't wait to get back to the inn, she was going to shower and put on a better dress and then they were going to have a date. Before Sam was aware they were standing just on the outside of the inn. "So..I think I'll just go clean up a bit and then I'll meet you back down here for dinner? Is there a more private sitting area here at the inn?" Sam wanted to let Kwan in a secret, but she couldn't very well tell everyone at the inn could she.

The walk back to the Inn wasn't as long as the walk to the Arena, which was good cause Kwan was ready to take a shower. Once they reached the Inn doors he placed his hand on them but didn't open, instead turning to Sam with a smile."I have to shower as well, and there is a private seating area. I'll just ask Ondie to reserve it for us."Pulling the door open he let her through before going throug himself."See ya in a few Sam..."He watched her go before heading to the bar.

Looking for someone to help him, preferiably one of the ladies he rang the bell several times. "Hello, anyone still working?"

After Kwan and herself returned to the inn Sam dashed up stairs as quickly as she could. She didn't want the other people staying at the inn to stare at her. She made it to her room safe and sound and turned the lock, that gave a satisfying 'click'. Sam wanted to make sure her wand hadn't been disturbed, it would not go well with the Ministry of Magic for a muggle to find her wand on the little adventure. Sam quickly showed and dress her self in a black cock tail dress. It was every woman's dream to have the perfect 'little black dress' and Sam and managed to find hers. The only problem with this dress is there was no where to store her wand, and for some reason Sam didn't feel comfortable leaving her wand up here again. She brought along a small black handbag just for something like this. She placed her wand in the bag and made her way back down the stairs. If Kwan wasn't ready yet, she would just talk to some one else at the bar while she waiting.

Ondie looked up when she heard someone enter. She was leaning over to bar again, and that was why she was a bit puzzled when she noticed it was Kwan. Well, no, that wasn't what puzzled her. What puzzled her was that he rang the bell when she was clearly right there. Knitting her brows together in her apparent confusion, she walked a whole two steps to arrived in front of his view.

"Uhm, hi?" she said. "Can I help you?"

Kwan, who had been looking at the kitchen door, jumped slightly when he heard a voice. Turning his head about five degrees he saw it was just Ondie, looking around he gave her a smile while looking around wondering where she had come from."Sorry Ondie, didn't see you there."He leaned on the bar so that he was a little closer to the woman. "Can you fix up the private room in the back? Me and Sam are gonna use it in a few before my concert." He looked at her with patient eyes. True, he was still attracted to her but decided to let that ship stay docked while he moved on with Sam, one thing Kwan didn't do was try to date two women at once, definatly not his style.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grangerfan8

Kwan, who had been looking at the kitchen door, jumped slightly when he heard a voice. Turning his head about five degrees he saw it was just Ondie, looking around he gave her a smile while looking around wondering where she had come from."Sorry Ondie, didn't see you there."He leaned on the bar so that he was a little closer to the woman. "Can you fix up the private room in the back? Me and Sam are gonna use it in a few before my concert." He looked at her with patient eyes. True, he was still attracted to her but decided to let that ship stay docked while he moved on with Sam, one thing Kwan didn't do was try to date two women at once, definatly not his style.

Ondie tapped her chin with the eraser side of her pencil as she listened to Kwan's request. "Sure thing, hun," she said. So, him and Sam? Wasn't she the secretary here at the Inn? Surely she had obligations to her work, but perhaps being a secretary at an Inn was very different from being a secretary at the Ministry. Ondie had been a secretary for a short while there herself.

Walking out from behind the bar, Ondie flicked her pencil at Kwan, indicating for him to follow her, while grabbing a couple menus. She led him to the private room and opened the wooden doors that matched the rest of the restaurant quite well. "There you go," she said, holding the door open for him.

Sam decided to get a little work done before she had her date with Kwan. He was still getting ready and it would give Sam enough time to login into the inn's computer and get some filling and other things taken care of. Sam walked into the office and sat down at her desk. It felt good to be working at the inn. It had taken Sam a little while to figure out what the heck was going on in the muggle world, but she had mangaged it in the end. She was going on a date with a man that may or may not be the one of her dreams and everything was good. Sam started typing away on the computer, filing the proper files and well and typing up some of her notes on muggles. Sam was easily visible to all those in the inn, so she wasn't worried about whether or not Kwan was going to be able to find her when he came down the stairs.

"Thanks Ondie, I'll be back in a few to order." Winking at her he ran up the stairs to his room to get ready. It didn't take him long since he already had a outfit lad out for the concert, all he really had to do was shave and shower. Once done he came down in his outfit with drumsticks in hand and looked around for Sam.

Looking around the inn his eyes finally landed on Samantha. He stared at her with a goofy grin as he slowly walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder."You look great." It was true, she looked amazing and though it was a little to formal for his concert he didn'e care one bit. "Shall we eat?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by grangerfan8

"Thanks Ondie, I'll be back in a few to order." Winking at her he ran up the stairs to his room to get ready. It didn't take him long since he already had a outfit lad out for the concert, all he really had to do was shave and shower. Once done he came down in his outfit with drumsticks in hand and looked around for Sam.

Ondie blinked as Kwan ran off. Uhm, that was a bit strange. Oh well. She'd just wait for him to come back. She tucked the menus under her arm and held the door open with her foot.

Sam jumped a little when Kwan had placed his hand on her shoulder. "You scared me a little there love!" Sam smiled and shut down her computer and turned toward Kwan. "You look great as well" and she blushed again, she had a way with that, always blushing around Kwan. "Yes lets go eat, I'm starving! If I wait any longer my stomach will be talking to both of us!" Sam smiled at him she was looking forward to spend the whole night with him. "Thanks for not thinking I'm weird....or at least too weird." Sam got up from her chair and took Kwan's hand in her own.

He was a little taken back by being called love, but passed it off figuring it was something she called all her guy friends."Thanks" He said, loving the sight of her blushing, it was cute. Taking her hand, he laughed at her joke as he lead them back to Ondie. "I wouldn't say your weird just....diffrent." It was true, at first she seemed wierd but the more they talked he realized she was just diffrent. Definantly not wierd.

Walking up to Ondie he smiled."We are ready to be seated Ondie." He had let go of her hand before they reached the waiter cause it still was a little wierd for him to be around the two together.

Sam walked with Kwan untill they reached the counter...Sam was a little too nervous to wait for Ondie? is that what Kwan had called her. Sam moved over to a table and sat down, hoping that this was okay, she was worried she was going to pass out if she stood up for much longer. This was after all her frist date and didn't really know what to do. "Sorry I didn't mean to rush over to this table, I was just a little light headed there for a second. Thought it was best to sit down." Sam needed a tissue and opened up her hand bag to look for one. She pulled out several things, her cell phone (which she accquired when she joined the muggle world), a wallet, an inhaler, and her wand....... Sam didn't even realized she had pulled it out she touch the tissue to her eyes to dry them. And when to go put everything back into her purse but was horrified when her wand rolled off the table onto the floor right next to Kwan's foot.

Hmm. This was nice. Ondie glanced around the restaurant in the moments that passed since Kwan left her standing by herself holding the door to the private room open. Could've even whistled a nice little tune. Do the hippogriff, do the hippogriff...

But, it seemed just that; not even a moment passed until she could see Kwan and Sam making their way back over to her. Ondie silenced her tapping foot. Mustn't look bored or impatient for the guests. She put a friendly smile back on her face as the couple reached her and Kwan asked to be seated again.

"Sure thing, hun," she repeated. Wow, waitressing was really repetitive. She looked over at Sam briefly, admiring her dress. Ooh, she looked pretty!



Just as Ondie was about to allow the couple into the private room, she found herself too occupied with moving out of the way while Sam pretty much trucked past her. Eyes wide in surprise, Ondie clutched the menus in her hands and struggled to balance herself, teetering on her feet.

"No worries," she managed to say. But then, of course, before she knew it, Ondie was staring at an object that was rolling across the floor. A wand!?!?

Ondie made a dive to cover it, suppressing the urge to yell, "OMIGOSH A WAND!" She would have rather risked looking extremely stupid than exposing their magic to a Muggle! But it was too late. Ondie watched sadly as the wand rolled over to Kwan.

Kwan watched as Sam took her seat before turning to Ondie to take the menu's."I will take these and order for the both of us Ondie." HOlding out his hand he looked out the window when a man on a harley drove by, oblivious to everything the girls were doing until he felt something hit his foot. Bending down he picked up the smooth stick qith a puzzled expression and studied the stick, running his fingers across it and then giving it a twirl.

"Hmm, this is a wierd looking drumstick. Still, nice....wonder where its twin is." Yes he assumed it to be a drumstick, what else was he to think it was. It was too clean and smooth to be a regular stick from outside. Giving it one more twirl he placed the stick in the inside pocket of his jacket before sitting down across from Sam. Hoping to find the matching one once they had returned from the concert, for now though it would be in his safe keeping knowing how important drumsticks were to a drummer. As he looked at the girls he wondered why they both seemed panicked. "Are you two alright?"

Ondie bit her lower lip as she watched Kwan put Sam's wand inside his jacket where she supposed he had a hidden inside pocket. She glanced over at Sam nervously when he asked if they were alright and then turned back to Kwan. Although she was unsure if Sam had a back-up plan if something like this happened, the cogs in Ondie's mind were spinning a cover-up story already. But still, in all of Ondie's clumsiness, she had never once in her life dropped her wand in the presence of a Muggle. Merlin forbid!

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, swiftly regaining her posture and standing leisurely at her post by the door. And well, it wasn't a big deal, but Ondie also noticed that no one made an effort to help her fix her balance. She put on a smile again and shook out her pigtails. Ugh, they were getting a little irksome. Ondie tugged on the hair ties that held them up and combed through the bright orangeness with her fingers. Ahh, better.

Then, she looked knowingly at his jacket and furrowed her brow a bit. "I think you just found one of my drumsticks," she said, pointing at his jacket. "The other is in my room, if you were wondering. I've been missing just the one." Well, it was kind of true. Her own wand was locked away in the dresser so she wouldn't be tempted to do any magic.

Hm, she hadn't told him before that she played the drums. She had only told him that she used to sing a bit. So in case he picked up on that...

"The drumsticks belong to my boyfriend. We were in a band together for a little while," Ondie said quickly. Okay, so that was half true. He was her ex-boyfriend now. But seeing as no one really knew her that well around here, a little white lie wouldn't hurt. She held out a hand coyly and watched Kwan expectantly to give over the wand. Er, drumstick.

Sam was paniced! Things were going oh so wrong her faced drained of the little color that she had left, her hands began to sweat, and her stomach twisted in all kinds of knots. She never expected Kwan to pick up her wand, and she had never before dropped her wand in public! Oh boy, that cat was going to be out of the bag down. And there went Kwan putting the what did he call it 'drumstick' in his pocket. "Oh no don't...." Sam blurted out reaching for her wand, but then quickly with drew her hand. Sam was out of luck, she had nothing left, he had taken her wand, and now Ondie was trying to get it from him....but wait. Sam turned to Ondie and studied her for just a second. Ondie was a witch, and knew what the 'drum stick' really was. Sam immedialty began to play along with her. "Well you'll have to give it back then won't you Kwan, can't play the drums with out a matching set." Sam hoped if she brought enough attention to it that Kwan, being the drummer that he was, would be more than willing to give the wand back to Ondie.

His hands clasped on the table, he fiddled with his thumbs as he studied Ondie. He wondered why she didn't mention the missing stick until now, or that she played drums only that she sung."You never said you played. How...did it get down here?" He listened as she told the reason for owning a pair of drumsticks but made no motion to return the stick to her, something told him she was lying."I didn't know you were in a relationship, does he live around here? We could probably have a double date." His face was expressionless as he spoke, waiting to see how she would reply to that.

He turned to Sam and spoke softly, his face still emotionless. "That's true if you actually play the drums, which Ondie does not. She has stated they were her boyfriends, why she would be so careless with a gift from someone she loves is beyond me." Picking up a menu he read though it before ordering, atempting to change the subject. "We would like to plates of baked lasagna and two glasses of apple cider please."He looked up to Ondi with sencerity but mently he was wondering why they both seemed to want the stick and who it really belonged to. Once they got back from the concert he would study the situation more.

Sam didn't know how bes to handle the situation, she needed her wand back and she couldn't let Kwan find out what the real deal was. "Kwan, Ondie needs to have her drum stick back. You wouldn't want some one to take yours." Sam wasn't trying to be mean, but she needed her wand for merlin's beard. She gave him a look. Lasagna sounds great! I'm really hungry" Sam changed the stubject in order to defuse the siutation, but she really hoped Kwan would give Ondie her wand. Or mabye Ondie would run up stairs and perform a memory charm to make Kwan forget he found it. Sam said a quick prayer hoping that she would get it back.

Ondie let her posture slightly droop at Kwan's words. She let an expression cross her face that communicated that she was thinking something along the lines of: "Oh, man, Rob is not going to like it when he finds out about this." She made an attempt to fakely hide the fake crestfallen look on her face. If there was anything Ondie wasn't clumsy at, it was performing. And doing her hair up.

"Oh, Merlin," she muttered, too soft for anyone to hear. She looked back at Kwan and spoke in a louder voice this time. "I'm such a klutz. It probably fell out of my pocket just recently," she said, indicating her skirt's shallow pocket. "I didn't even notice it roll away until you picked it up. They were a present for me before I left home. Rob doesn't live around here. He lives back in Florence. The jerk gave me his worst pair of drumsticks," Ondie laughed, eyes twinkling. "So I gave him a box of paperclips."

Then, Ondie heard Kwan mention the word "love," and she froze up. That was just awkward. Not because she was uncomfortable with Kwan or Sam. No, it was because she didn't believe she had ever really loved anyone. "Oh, me? Love Rob? I don't..." Ondie stopped short. Unprofessional much? Forget that. Instead, she directed herself to pay attention again.

Kwan was ordering food again. Ondie absently took down the order and the instant he was finished, she piped up again. "Look, I didn't take you to be the nicest guy in the world when I first met you," she said in a serious but unangry voice, "but I didn't take you to be a jerk either. And I'm still convinced you're a good guy. I'd really like the drumstick back. It would mean a lot to me. They might be Rob's worst pair, but they're the best pair to me because they're from him." She picked up the menus, tucked them under her arm, and held out her hand again. "So if you don't mind, I'd like it back."

She raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting. Whoa, Sam owed her big time. But seeing as Ondie didn't really know her, and she was a fellow witch, this would have to be a "don't-mention-it" situation.

Kwan considered the words of the two with a blank expression as he looked at her waiting hand, still making no movement to retrieve the stick. She seemed sincere in the fact that it was her boyfriends missing drumstick, though he wasn't to sure. Still, he would hate to be wrong about the situation and not give her back what is rightfully hers. "I am a good guy...and I'd hate for not to have both drumsticks so her you are." A small smile broke out on his face as he reached in his pocket and handed over the wand."Rob is a lucky man. Even if all you gave him was a box of paperclips." He had caught the bit she said about not loving her boyfriend but let it pass, that was a conversation for another time.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief....Kwan gave it back!! Thanks goodness, she was worried she'd have to muggle duel him for it and then perfrom the memory charm. Sam looked at Ondie's face hoping for a smile. She couldn't tell if the woman was angry about the situation or just concerned for the general well being of the wizard population. "Well, I'm starving, the lasgna will be great!. If you'll just excuse me for a second I'm going to hit the little ladies room." Sam made a motion with her eyes for Ondie to meet her there, hoping that Kwan didn't notice too much. Sam quickly bee lined it for the bathroom waiting to get her wand back safely in her hands.

Success!

Ondie didn't act too eager. She let her eyebrows arch into a look of infinite gratitude as she grasped the wand in her hand. "Thank you, Kwan. I agree, you are a good guy," she said, a small smile playing on her lips. Sweet Merlin, she so should have gotten that lead part in the musical during her seventh year!

Ondie turned to Sam when she spoke and nodded. "Lasagna it is. I'll take your order over to the chef and be back in a jiff with your drinks," she said. She looked down at the wand still grasped in her hand. "Maybe I'll pop upstairs to put this away first. I've learned my lesson; never carry a drumstick around unless you're sure it'll be useful." She sighed and put the wand in the deeper pocket of her apron.

Ondie caught Sam's subtle message to meet her in the bathroom out of the corner of her eye and did nothing to acknowledge it. She excused herself out after Sam and walked over to the bar. "Two orders of lasagna!" she called, placing the slip of paper on the counter.

Then, she made her way to the ladies' room. Pushing through the door, Ondie saw Sam inside waiting. She quickly shut the door, placed her notebook on the sink counter, and put her hands on her hips. She sighed and pulled out Sam's wand.

"Why is this-" Ondie waved the wand around. "- in your purse? It should be put away somewhere. We're not supposed to be using magic at all, so what use is it?" Ondie understood the safety she felt when she had her wand, but she had to get over it and hide it in her room.

Ondie handed the wand back over to Sam. "Please be more careful," she said, not in a reprimanding voice, but rather in a pleading one. She didn't want this operation to be blown. "I'll need to make a duplicate of it later, in case Kwan ever asks about it. And I'll need a twin for it, because drumsticks always come in pairs."

Sam felt like a child being lecutred. "Well I certainly didn't drop it on propose!" she felt the need to defend her self against the woman. "I was afraid the maid was going to see it, becuase I had asked her to clean up in my room before. Forgive me." Sam wasn't sure why she was so angry, the girl after all had gotten her wand back for her. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound so mean, and Thank you ever so much for getting my wand back, I will put away in my purse for now and put it back up stairs after dinner." Sam smiled at the Ondie, and then blotted her face with some powered and opened the door for the both of them.

Well, Ondie hadn't accused Sam of dropping it on purpose, but she was glad she agreed to put the wand away at first chance. She smiled and nodded in thanks when the woman opened the door for her and walked out. She thought briefly about writing to Rob to see if maybe he could apparate over to "surprise" her, to make the charade more convincing to Kwan. Being pureblood, Ondie was more prideful about her blood line than she liked to admit, and it was infinitely important to her that the secret of the Wizarding world stay hidden to Muggles.

Ondie went over to the drinks behind the bar and found apple cider in a refrigerator machine thing. Taking out two tallish glasses, she poured the sweet drink into them and then walked them over to the private room. She set them down in their places in front of Kwan's and Sam's seatings. "Your food should be out soon," she said.

Then, Ondie walked back out and headed to the kitchen. She had to see to those dishes she had put in the dishwasher a little while ago. Mel needed fresh, clean plates if they were to serve lasagna to the couple in the private room. The dishwasher was quiet now, and Ondie opened up the door. Clean, dry dishes and silverware gleamed back. Ondie beamed. She had worked a dishwasher! Now, she would wait for Mel to finish cooking. In the meantime, Ondie went out to man the bar.