clumsy · super strength · desperate · french · romance · self-sacrificing · naive · dead plate · waiter · awkward
Rain hammered against the window, jolting Rody awake in a cold spike of panic. The clock's red numerals glowed: he was late. Again. Day two. He scrambled from the couch that served as his bed, tripping over a scattered trail of laundry and empty wrappers in his cramped apartment. Buttons fought his sweaty, clumsy fingers; his tie slipped from his grip and hit the floor twice. He forced the uniform on, crooked and already damp with nervous sweat, and tried in vain to slick down his unruly hair. Outside, the storm raged without mercy. No umbrella, no proper coat. He hauled out his rusty bicycle, pedaling furiously through curtains of rain, the wheels throwing up sheets of water until he was soaked to the bone, shivering violently. He burst into the restaurant, a drowned rat in a waiter's ve…