Huzzah, it has begun! This is the challenge I took on as posted by Ryoko Ishida. She laid out the guidelines and I wrote something based on those. I'm almost finished, so I decided to post the first chapter. I'll start posting more as I iron out the ending and the rest of the chapters.
And a special thanks to Ryoko Ishida for the idea! I hope you like what I've come up with!
Yugi combed the wanted ads of the local paper with a highlighter, marking any summer jobs that looked interesting. He sighed when he realized he hadn't really highlighted anything, and repeated his conversation with Grandpa in his head again.
"Grandpa, I want a summer job." He announced in the doorway of the kitchen as Sugoroku prepared dinner. "Yugi, you always have a job here!" he chuckled in response.
"No, I mean a different job. I love your game shop, but I want to experience working other jobs too. Something more typical."
"Typical? Why would you ever want typical, Yugi? Typical is so… boring."
Yugi fought the frown that threatened his face at the sound of his grandfather's sigh, "I would actually really appreciate boring right now. There's just been so much going on with the Millennium Items and saving the world… I just want to spend one summer as a normal teenager."
Sugoroku looked up from his pan and at his grandson, his face pained, "I'm so sorry, Yugi. That had not occurred to me. You deserve a summer of normalcy, if that's what you want. I wish you the best, and let me know if you want any help."
"Thanks Grandpa!" Yugi rushed in for a hug and snagged the newspaper off the dining table.
Everything here either wants skills I can't possibly have at my age or just isn't something I want…
"Well, what do you want, Aibou?"
Yami appeared beside him, peering over his shoulder at the paper.
"I don't know… Fast food cook? Grocery store bag boy? Busboy? I'm trying to stay away from the register, I get plenty of that working for Grandpa. But I don't see ads for any of those here…"
"Hmm… I'm sorry, I don't see anything either. Perhaps you should take a walk around town tomorrow and ask around?"
"Yeah, you're probably right… I'll ask Grandpa for some tips and try to be impressive tomorrow." He folded up the newspaper when he reached the end and joined his grandfather for dinner.
Yugi got up early, showered, and put on a nice shirt and slacks for his job hunt. His grandpa told him to introduce himself to every manager he could meet directly, and he did so with his usual kindly demeanor. Most of them told him he was really nice, but he either did not have what they were looking for or had already hired their staff for the summer. A few took note of his number and said they would call him for an interview within the next week. Yugi thanked them and left happily each time.
Yugi grabbed a newspaper to read on his way home, hoping that wanted ads more tailored to the neighborhood might turn up more results. Most of these he had stopped by earlier, causing him to sigh.
He soon found himself back on the couch with his grandfather's copy of the help wanted section. This time he was able to highlight two jobs, which he called in right away. The first one was looking for summer help at Winter Wonderland, an ice cream shop Yugi and his friends stopped by every so often when they were in the area. The other was for a waiter at a diner simply called Mama's.
"What about this?" Yugi heard Yami ask after he hung up the phone. He made his way back to the couch where Yami had a pointed phantom finger at an ad asking for a busboy, among other things, at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.
"Good eye, Other Me!" Yugi picked the newspaper back up and dialed the number.
"I'm still shocked you actually wanna work somewhere besides Gramps's shop, Yuug. You love games!"
"I know I love games, Jounouchi, and I'm going to love games the rest of my life. I'll probably even take over the shop. So is it really so bad that I just wanted a normal job for a teenager before I'm not a teenager anymore?"
"Yes. You could be a normal lazy teen like the rest of us," Jou answered before resuming his soda.
"Don't listen to him, Yugi, I think it's great that you want to try new things!"
"Thanks, Anzu. They say that experience builds character, right?"
"Right! That's why Jounouchi will never change!" She giggled.
"Hey! I've changed plenty over the last few months! We saved the world, after all!"
"Yeah, I'll be sure to call you if 'World Savior' ever becomes a paying profession," Anzu rolled her eyes.
"Ugh why couldn't it be? It's so much easier than trying to figure out what I should be doing for the rest of my life… I'm so jealous, Yuug."
"I'll hire you, Jou."
"And that's why we're best friends!" Jounouchi grabbed Yugi in a headlock and ruffled his hair playfully.
"I'm so happy for you, Yugi! Getting a different job, having a new experience! Even if it's boring or annoying you'll be better for it!" Ryou smiled.
"I dunno, I'm kinda with Jounouchi on this one, but if it makes ya happy then do your best, Yugi!" Honda gave him a thumbs-up.
"Thanks, guys! I'll call you as soon as I hear something!"
Each of Yugi's three interviews seemed to go better than the last. He asked Yami to let him focus on doing this alone, and so Yami stayed quiet. Yugi completely flubbed the one for Mama's, and applied what he had learned from it to the interview at Winter Wonderland. Finally the week concluded with his interview at Freddy Fazbear's, which couldn't have gone better than it had. Granted, the manager asked him if he could hold a dish bucket, had a short conversation to see how polite Yugi could be, and hired him on the spot based on only that. But Yugi wasn't going to complain, it was a simple, normal job he could do to meet new people and unwind from all the crazy.
He met up with his friends again the next day to celebrate.
"Good job, Yugi! My little cousin had a birthday party there once, they have a cool arcade," Honda responded to the news. "And being a busboy isn't so bad, you're not dealing with customers constantly!" Anzu added. Yugi replied, "Is that a good thing? The customers at the game shop are always so nice…"
"Yeah, but those are game shop customers. They respect you and your grandfather as shop owners. Restaurant customers are their own brand of evil."
"Ah… evil? After Pegasus taking my grandfather's soul, and Marik trying to take my puzzle and sealing people in the Shadow Realm, you're going to tell me that customers are evil?"
"I said their own brand, I didn't say they were more evil. Just be careful, they're not always friendly."
"I think I can handle myself, Anzu. But thanks for the concern."
"Just remember not to let them walk all over you and be as nice as you always are, you'll be fine," Honda put his two cents in.
"I don't know how to do both of those things at the same time, Honda. I mean, I'm starting to figure it out, because of the other me, but he's always so mean about it. No offense, Other Me…"
"None taken," He replied, knowing that only Yugi could hear him. "You only see it as mean because I'm clearly upsetting the other person. But they upset us first, I don't see why we should lie down and take that."
"I just hate upsetting people… even if they 'deserve' it, I'd rather just get out and let them think they won…"
"They did win."
"What? No way!"
"It depends on the situation, but most of the time they wanted you to leave. So they won."
"Well, that won't happen at work!"
"Of course not. And I'll be here if you need me, as usual."
"Thanks, Other Me!"
"Have you thought about what you'll do with your first paycheck?" Ryou ventured when he noticed Yugi snapping out of his internal conversation.
"Well I've gotten paid before, so I hadn't really thought of it as anything special…" Yugi replied.
"Well that was money from your grandfather, like an allowance for doing chores. Your family has to give you money if they want you to have any fun. But how much you earn and if they keep you around is completely dependent on you now! Isn't that exciting?"
"Huh, I hadn't thought of it that way… I'll probably just save it, though. Gramps practically pays me in Dual Monsters packs, so unless we decide to go somewhere that needs money I'll just stick it in my bank at home."
"C'mon, Yuug, reward yourself! Even if you just buy yourself a nice dinner or somethin'!" Jou laughed.
"Well, I guess if anyone's interested we could go to the amusement park…? That's always fun."
"I like it! At the end of the week we'll cash your first check and go! …Aw man, now I gotta come up with some money so I can afford to do more than just follow you guys around!" Jounouchi lamented.
"It's fine, Jou, we could do something el-"
"No no! That's what you wanna do, then we're gonna do it! I just gotta do enough odd jobs by the end of the week!"
"You want any help?" Honda offered.
"If I find any two-man jobs, you'll be the first to know!"
"Why don't you find your own job, Jounouchi?" Anzu asked, brow raised.
"I think you know exactly why, Anzu. I work on my own schedule, and that means sleepin' in 'til twelve because it's summer and helpin' strangers move in and out of their houses!" he laughed, and everyone laughed with him.
Hope you don't mind a slow start! All good scary things start off slow though. At least, I'm hoping it comes out scary... suspenseful at the very least. And thus, I bid you good night!