The waitress crossed her arms. “It’s standard to tip twenty percent these days, cheapskate. Don’t you know how to do math?”
The words hit like a slap. Amelia felt her face flush — a mix of disbelief and rising heat. “I think ten dollars on an eighty-five-dollar meal is perfectly reasonable,” she replied, her tone clipped.
The Boil Beneath the Calm
Amelia sat stunned. She’d worked in customer service before — long hours, aching feet, difficult customers. But this? This wasn’t just unprofessional. It was personal.
“That was out of line,” Ryan muttered, trying to ease the tension.
Amelia nodded, but her mind was already racing. Ten dollars wasn’t nothing. Sure, it wasn’t twenty percent, but tipping had become a murky space — a tug-of-war between social pressure and personal discretion. She had tipped for decent service. And now she was being publicly shamed, painted as stingy in front of a room full of strangers.Continue reading…
