Job Interview

"Mutou Yuugi-kun, please!"

Yuugi jerked to his feet, straightening his tie nervously at the interviewer's call. It was his first job interview – nothing too exciting, perhaps, just a job working as a waiter in the sit-down restaurant nearby his college campus – but Yuugi was admittedly nervous. He wanted very much to make a good impression; he had attempted to slick back his wild hair and had dressed rather formally to show his respect.

A less common preparation had been to ask his other self to please, please be quiet while he was interviewing. Yami no Yuugi had agreed readily enough, despite general skepticism towards the job itself. You will be paid to attend to people's drinks and food? He had asked, slightly incredulous.

It's a great part-time job, Yuugi had explained, because the hours can be as short or as long as you want, and they're somewhat irregular so you can work around your class schedule.

His other self had raised a mental eyebrow. It seems a little … demeaning. What about participating in some local tournaments for money? Yuugi – or at least in partnership with his other self – was still a bit active on the Duel Monsters circuit.

It's not regular enough, Yuugi explained patiently. His other self may have once been a wise Pharaoh of Egypt, but the intricacies of the modern world were still something of a mystery to him. Yuugi's other self had let the subject go at that point, fortunately, and the subject was dropped.

"Here," Yuugi called, following the manager to an empty table in the restaurant. They settled into their seats and Yuugi tried not to look nervous.

The manager, wearing a nametag that proclaimed him as 'Setsuna', flipped briefly through Yuugi's application (turned in earlier in the week) before looking over his spectacles at Yuugi himself. "So, young man," he said, offering a small smile that made Yuugi relax a bit, "are you serious about wanting this job?"

"Oh, absolutely, sir," Yuugi answered. "I don't have much experience with customer service except at my grandpa's game shop, but I think that I would be a good server."

"You seem very polite," Setsuna said amicably. "You're a student at the university, I take it?"

"Yes," Yuugi nodded again. "I'm taking a full load of classes, but I need some money to help me buy the books, and I would like a bit of spending money as well."

"Honestly, we get a lot of students applying for this sort of job," Setsuna said, setting down the application for the moment. "But most haven't had any customer service experience, so you are a refreshing change. I have some questions I would like to ask you, to start out. But first, the reason why I asked if you were serious about the job was because of this." He turned the application so it was facing Yuugi, then pushed it closer, tapping a particular phrase with his pen indicatively.

Under 'previous employment' was a phrase that made Yuugi's eyes widen and his cheeks flush.

Mou hitori no boku! Yuugi snapped.

Yes, Aibou? Yuugi's other self sounded entirely too innocent.

What did you do!? Why does my application say that I was formerly employed as the Pharaoh of Egypt

Well, you wereYami no Yuugi protested. In a way.

… We are going to have words about this later, Yuugi threatened. Out loud he stammered, "Oh, m-my friends and I … it's a running joke. Jonouchi-kun thought it would be a little funny … I'm really sorry," he apologized.

In the back of Yuugi's head, Yami no Yuugi snickered a little. Yuugi rolled his eyes at him.

"No, it's all right," Setsuna said, his mouth quirking a little. "It's good that you have a sense of humor. You'll certainly need one in this business. Anyway, let me ask you a little about what you did at your grandfather's game shop …"

&

Surprisingly enough, Yuugi got the job.

Yami no Yuugi, however, found Yuugi leaving the Puzzle in his closet the next day far less entertaining.

fin