John hitched his rucksack higher onto his shoulder and checked his watch. It was four o'clock, the restaurant would start dinner service at five. John knocked on the window catching the attention of a dark haired, olive skinned man cleaning the bar. The man walked across the restaurant and pulled open the door.

He looked down at John and tilted his head to the side. "Are you the new waiter?" .

"Yes, I was told to come at four." John fiddled with the toggle on his jacket.

"Well at least you're prompt. You'd better come inside." The man stood aside and held the door open for John.

"I'll l give you your uniform in a moment."

John was nervous he didn't want to work here but he needed the money. Silently, he followed the man past the bar into a small office.

"Take a seat." John sat down across from the man whose Italian accent was beginning to become apparent.

"I'm the manager here. You can call me Mr. Carra. If you do what I ask then you will have a nice little job and if you don't there are many more boys like you, Mr. Watson. Your hours are from half past four until eleven. You can have your break when it gets quiet. Any questions?" John shook his head unsure of whether to feel insulted at the man's directness. The manager rose from his chair and walked to an old cupboard in the corner.

Mr. Carra produced a pile of clothes from the cupboard and handed them to John. "There's a locker room by the kitchen you can change in there. Your locker is number twenty by the way, here's your key."

John took the key from his boss's hand and walked down a hallway past a large kitchen with a few chefs milling around and into a room lined with few lockers and changing rooms. John found his locker, put his bag inside and went to change.

He emerged five minutes later wearing the black trousers, white shirt and black waist coat that Mr. Carra had given him. He locked up his locker and still whilst tying his apron around his waist, walked into the main restaurant.

Five other waiters dressed identically rushed around setting tables. John stood helpless; he didn't know where to start. Thankfully Mr. Carra was standing at the bar again and he beckoned John over.

The manager looked John up and down. "I'm glad the uniform fits."

"What should I umm... do?" John glanced around at the other boys who had barely taken any notice of him, much to his relief.

"Hmm... You see the boy over there with the straight gingery hair?" John nodded as he watched the boy fold napkins at an alarming speed. "He will be your mentor. He's called Robert. Go and introduce yourself."