It was a Tuesday. I had always hated Tuesdays, ever since that horrible accident all those years ago. They never seemed to go well for me after that. But, as I stood there, I found myself hating Tuesday much more than I ever did before. And it was all because of him. He stood in front of me, chatting away, oblivious to the rather distasteful look my eyes had obtained while looking at him. Not able to handle the annoyance that he was causing me for any longer, I shouldered past him and walked out the door, ignoring his protests to my sudden departure. At that moment, I was certain that I would rather die than to continue working with him.
I was sitting on my couch, eating potato chips and watching a random drama that happened to be airing at that time. I was tired from the day, as I had spent the majority of it out looking for a job while Emil was at school. It had been his first day in this district, as well as his first day of high school. Thankfully we had managed to move here before the school year started, so he wouldn't have to suffer through those horrid introductions that are so common in fictional stories. As it was the first day that I wouldn't have to keep an eye on him, I had taken the time to search for a job, as it was necessary to have one in order to pay all of the bills and what-not. I already had one job, but as I was still studying in college I couldn't get a real job. While the job at the grocery store near our apartment managed to pay all of the bills, it didn't do much more than that, and it was difficult to pay for meals. After the day of searching had turned out uneventful, I had wandered back to the apartment and sat down in front of the television, submitting to what my laziness was telling me to do.
Emil was currently sitting down next to me, fast asleep, his head resting on my shoulder. Sighing, I decided to check my email to see if there was anything new there. I gently shoved Emil off of me so that I could stand up and retrieve my laptop. Grumbling slightly, he curled up on his side of the couch, falling back asleep quickly. I grabbed the laptop from the cluttered table that it was resting on then sat back down. As I was waiting for it to turn on, I laid my head on the back of the couch, closing my eyes and sighing. It had all been rather tiring, moving to America. It never would have happened had I not gotten that large scholarship that paid for most of the tuition. With my current financial situation I hadn't had much of a choice if I wanted to go to college. The good news was that both Emil and I had been taught English during grade school, so we didn't have to worry about not knowing the language.
Tired of waiting, I cracked an eye open to see if the laptop was finished booting up. Seeing that it was, I opened up the internet and headed to my email. 12 new messages… It was quite a large amount, considering the fact that I checked my email fairly often. One by one, I opened and read each email. Most of them were from websites attempting to get me to buy their merchandise. Those messages I deleted upon opening them. There was one from a friend of the family, asking if Emil and I had settled in yet. I replied to it quickly, not paying it much mind. Upon opening the last email, I was surprised to see that it was from a restaurant that I had applied to online. My eyes quickly darted to the message, scanning it hastily. After reading it, I sat there, both surprised and elated at the same time. They were considering my application for the job and wanted to have an interview the next day.
I almost whooped in joy, but remembered that Emil was asleep on the couch. With a large, uncommon grin plastered to my face, I quickly replied, saying that I would be there for the interview, and then turned off the laptop, setting it on the table. I then stood up and leaned over Emil, shaking his shoulder gently to wake him up. "Come on, Emil… You've got to go to bed…" I uttered softly. He groaned, curling up tighter. "Come on. You need to sleep for school tomorrow." When he still refused to get up, I lifted him up off the couch and slung him over my shoulder, ignoring his protests. I carried him into his small bedroom and dumped him onto his bed. I pulled the blankets over him and walked out of the room, turning off the lights on my way out. On my way through the living area, I turned off all of the lights before heading into my own room. I quickly got ready for bed, setting my alarm so that I could get Emil up before I got ready myself. After this was done, I turned off the lamp that sat on the small side table next to my bed. I climbed into my bed and laid down, closing my eyes. After several minutes of lying there, I drifted off into sleep, happier than I had been for quite a while.
The next day, I walked into the restaurant, my good mood from the previous night long gone. Hiding behind my calm façade I was quite nervous. I couldn't afford to mess up this interview. I looked around the room. There were tables sprinkled across, seating a fair amount of people. A few waiters wandered in between the tables, carrying the meals to the customers. At the front of the room, where I was standing, was a small podium where a fairly attractive woman was standing. Smiling at me, she asked, "Are you meeting anyone here?" It took me a second to register what she was asking. After I realized what she was asking, I replied, "No. I am here for an interview for Lukas Bondevik." An understanding look crossed her face, and she nodded. "Right this way, Mr. Bondevik."
She began to walk through the mess of tables, me following. A few of the people that we passed by looked up, but they must have decided that we were no concern of theirs, as they all looked back down eventually. She led me to a door and through the kitchen. At the back of the kitchen was another door, which she motioned for me to open. I gave her a small smile and a nod, and then opened the door, stepping inside. Sitting at the desk was a small oriental man who gave me a friendly smile. "Come, sit down," he offered. Nodding my thanks, I sat down in the small padded chair that was positioned in front of the desk. I noticed the small plaque that was set at the front of the desk. It read in large letters 'Wang'. I guess that's his name… "So, I have taken a look at your application…" he began. I looked up at him. He continued, "And I felt that you would be good candidate as a worker here." Still nervous, I croaked out, "Thank you, sir." He looked slightly amused by this. "Please, there is no reason to be so formal! It would be fine if you were to call me by my given name, Yao." Slightly surprised, I nodded. "Okay… Yao." He nodded, then looked down at a small stack of papers he held in his hands. "So, Lukas Bondevik is your name, correct?" He looked up at me. I nodded, replying, "Yes."
He tutted, then continued. "I have never been one for long interviews, so I will keep this to a few questions. First of all, do you have any opposition to treating customers or co-workers in friendly manner?" I raised an eyebrow, surprised he would ask me this. "Of course I am willing to be friendly." He nodded and asked, "Do you have any previous experience working in a restaurant?" I shook my head. "No. This would be my first." He smiled and checked something on the paper with the thin black pen he was holding in his left hand. He looked up at me and announced, "As long as you are still willing to work here, you are hired!" Surprised and somewhat disbelieving, I exclaimed, "It can't be that easy!" Yao chuckled. "Here at the World Café we are rather laid back. As long as you prove to me through your work that you weren't a bad choice, I have no problem in hiring you." Slowly a smile made its way onto my face. "T-thank you, sir." He waved his hand in the air. "No, no, it is fine. And, please, do not be so formal. But, because of your inexperience in the serving business, I have appointed a mentor of sorts to get you started. Come on in, Matthias."
I looked up, slightly taken aback that he had already planned that far. The door opened and I was met with the site of a relatively tall and handsome man with a large grin spread across his face. He held out his hand to me and introduced himself. "Hello! My name's Matthias Køhler! What's yours?"
Hello! This is actually my first published fanfiction, so I apologize if it is bad at all… Also, I apologize if there are any mistakes. I tried to look it all over, but if you notice anything, please tell me! Also, to avoid confusion, the first part is not in the actual plotline of the story… Yet. It's a kind of.. preview, I guess? But, I hope you like it! Please review!