As I walked into the bar, I immediately blushed as everyone turned and looked at me. I was the new girl, the outcast for now. A tall blonde rushed up to me, spouting her name and asking for mine. She looked sincere, so I mumbled a low "Angela" and continued into the inn towards the bar. A tall, heavyset man wearing a red plaid shirt was tending the counter, and behind him, a boy about my age was cooking something on the stove that looked and smelled delicious. I tried to strike up a conversation with the bartender, but it failed miserably. I could hear the chuckles of a waitress right behind me. I sighed.
"Do you need any help?"
The bartender, apparently named Hayden, finally looked up at me.
"We always need help."
Okay…
"You can go over by Chase and wash the dishes. When you're done with that, ask him what to do. He probably needs more help than I do"
He mumbled under his breath, and I took that as a dismissal.
I quickly made by way to the sink next to "Chase" and started on the large stack of plates.
Thankfully, he started the conversation, first by asking my name, then where I lived, what I did, that sort of thing. When he found out that I grew crops, he smiled and asked if he could buy the top-quality ones for his cooking. I didn't see any reason not to and so I agreed.
The waitress who laughed at me skipped over to us. Chase immediately frowned when she gave him a hug and started chatting with him about a kitten she saw near the pond. She could talk enough, even for a one-sided conversation, so I finished the rest of the dishes in silence. By the time I was done, thankfully, she had already gotten bored and went upstairs in a huff.
"What else do I need to do?"
Chase looked up at me.
"Well, can you cook?"
I assured him that I wouldn't burn anything.
"Good. You can help me chop up the ingredients for the vegetable stew."
So the rest of the evening went by in a blur, with me chopping and stirring and tasting, and the waitress getting angrier and angrier and angrier as she watched us after coming back downstairs. I even made friends with the bartender, who was actually really nice. And his daughter, the blonde, promised to teach me how to ride a horse. Overall, the night passed by pretty well and I promised to work again the next night. I received my pay, though not very much, and walked out the door with Chase.
"So who was that girl in the pink dress" I asked, talking about the waitress.
"Oh, that's Maya." Even saying her name, he scowled.
"She seems to have a thing for you." I giggled as I watched his expression turn from a scowl to utter disgust.
"She steals my food and makes me try hers. It's always burnt or gone bad. Every time I tell her how bad it is, she runs away crying. It's not my fault that her cooking is so horrible!"
I laughed, and we went our separate ways at the fork, me going towards Caramel Falls, and he going toward Maple Lake.
I got home, picked the stray weeds on my land, and checked on my crops. It was spring, so I had cabbage, turnips, a row of potatoes, breadfruit, and a bunch of strawberries. There would definitely be plenty of top quality vegetables that Chase would be happy with. I went to bed with a satisfied feeling, and looking forward to working at the bar again the next day.