This was a quick update, because I'm trying to do anything to avoid studying for my AP tests.


"Rise and shine!" someone sang. Brick slowly opened his eyes, and sleepily focused them on Boomer, dressed in a frilly apron and holding a plate of eggs and toast.

"AHHH!" Brick screamed when he realized what he was looking at. "What the hell are you wearing? And where the hell did you get that?"

"Do you like it? I actually bought it for you!" Boomer joked and handed Brick the plate of food. "And I made breakfast for you!"

"This is breakfast?" Brick eyed the food warily. The scrambled eggs were undercooked and oddly colored, and the toast was burnt unevenly throughout. "I think I'll just make my own food."

"Oh, make some for me too! I can't eat this," Boomer made a face.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the World Health Organization would love to have you arrested for your cooking. Just leave the cooking to me."

"My plan all along. Oh! Don't forget to wear this." Boomer took off the apron and threw it on Brick. "Aww Brick the housewife!"

"Get this off me!" Brick hollered.

"No! It's preparation for your waiter job. Now serve me food!"

Ugh. His job as a waiter. And he had to go get training too– not that he needed it. How hard could it be to be a waiter?

–––

Later in the afternoon, Brick drove to the café, cursing the idiots that thought working would build character. Boomer, who was whistling merrily next to him, had forced him to wear a crisp white collared shirt and black jeans. He had been allowed to keep his red cap on though.

They arrived at the café, and as Brick walked toward the entrance, he realized Boomer was still with him. "What are you doing?" Brick asked.

"Whaddya mean?" Boomer replied innocently.

"Aren't you gonna go home?"

Boomer laughed, "No way, man! I'm gonna be here to see how you do. Maybe I'll even be your first customer."

Brick sighed and walked into the manager's office, leaving Boomer to find a seat himself. "Hey, Mr. Allen."

"Oh Brick, hello," the manager greeted him. "Right on time. Alright, I'm going to give you this shirt." He held up a white shirt. "And your dress code will be a white shirt on top and black pants or jeans on the bottom, which I see you're already wearing. Very good; keep these clean– if they get stained you need to buy a new one."

"Yes, sir."

"You can just wait outside, and I'll send one of my waiters to walk you through everything."

"Okay, sir."

Brick took his white shirt and walked into the café. He found Boomer sitting at a table with a group of girls, who were obviously enamored with him. "Hey Boomer. Hold onto this for me," Brick handed him the shirt.

"Oh hey! Ladies," Boomer turned to the girls, "this is my brother Brick."

"Hi, Brick," they chimed. A few of them waved and batted their eyelashes at him.

"He's gonna be a waiter here, so tip him well, okay?" The girls giggled in response, nodding their agreement.

"Brick!" The boy turned around to see the manager calling to him.

Brick walked over and asked, "Yes?"

"I want you to meet your trainer," Mr. Allen gestured to a blonde girl with two long pigtails who was taking someone's order. "Hold on. Bubbles! Come here." Bubbles?

"Coming!" she called. She turned around and spotted Brick, but, while Brick could tell she was surprised, Bubbles managed to hide the shock well and walked calmly over.

"Bubbles, I'd like you to meet Brick. He's our new employee. Brick, this is Bubbles. She's our best waitress, so she'll walk you through everything."

"Oh, you flatter me, Mr. Allen," she giggled, then turned to Brick, "Hi Brick."

"Hi…Bubbles."

"Well then, I leave him in your hands Bubbles," the manager said, and retreated to his office. Of all the jobs available, Brick just had to pick the one that had a Powerpuff in their employ? And seriously, as a Powerpuff, she couldn't get a better place to work?

"So, have you paid for your car yet?" she asked quietly.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Brick responded smugly.

"Okay then, lemme show you around." She wasn't gonna keep bothering him about it, or call him a name or something? "Here's the kitchen– it's where they make all the food and pastries–"

"No shit, Sherlock," Brick interrupted.

She gave him a reprimanding look and continued, "But we make the drinks, like the coffee and tea, up front. You'll learn how to do that later." They continued the tour of the café. "Bathrooms are here, and if you wanna take a break, you can go over there. And then the rest of this place is just the tables for the customers. All good?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so this place is a bit different, in that we– the waiters– still take orders, you know? Most cafés are just stand in line to order, but I guess that's why I like it here," her voice trailed off. "Anyways, let's show you how to take an order." She explained to him every little detail about taking an order, from the exact lines to say to what expression he should wear.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Brick said, bored.

"Alright, then, let's give it a try. Why don't we start with that table over there?" she pointed to a table where a girl was signaling them. And wouldn't ya know? It was Boomer's table.

"Let's get this over with," Brick groaned, walking toward them.

"Wait, stand up straight! And look friendly. Smile. And talk sweetly," she ordered.

Big smile, big smile, c'mon. Brick forced himself to look happy. "Hello, how are you all doing today?" he greeted them.

"Brick!" Boomer looked up, surprised. "And Bubbles! Well hello, beautiful, how are you?"

She laughed, but said, "Sorry, working hours. I'm not allowed to socialize."

"Aww, but I didn't get your number the other day. C'mon, please," Boomer begged, completely ignoring the other girls at his table.

"Just order," Brick growled at him.

"Smile," Bubbles whispered to him.

"Um, I'd like a slice of New York Cheesecake," one girl said.

"Oooh, Julie, I want some too!"

"I want Chocolate Mouse Cheesecake!"

"Can I also get a latte? Wait, no actually, hot tea."

"Actually, can I change my order to Fresh Strawberry Shortcake?"

"Nevermind, I want a latte."

"Wait, I'm actually hungry. Can I also get Fresh Roasted Turkey Club?"

"Wait, no, Danielle, let's share a Club Panini on Sourdough."

"Sarah, do you wanna split a French Onion Soup and Harvest Salad with me?"

"Yeah! Let's also get the Tiramisu cake!"

"You guys can share cake with us!"

"Really thanks! No Tiramisu then."

"Wait, no order the Tiramisu. I want some."

Brick stared at them, completely lost. Why couldn't people arrange their orders before hand? And why did girls talk so fast?

Bubbles, however, quickly took over, "So that'll be a New York Cheesecake, Fresh Strawberry Shortcake, a latte, Club Panini on Sourdough, French Onion Soup and Harvest Salad, and a Tiramisu?" The girls nodded their heads in unison. "Any other drinks for you ladies? Anything for you Boomer? No? Okay, then." She wrote everything down, and turned to leave.

"You could learn a thing or two from her, Brick," Boomer teased him.

"Shut up," Brick scowled at him. But it was true– she was damn good at her job.

"Sorry," Bubbles apologized after she submitted the order. "That probably wasn't the best table to start out with. But there will be tables like that, so you've gotta learn to follow what they say. It'll get easier, don't worry."

"Yeah," Brick mumbled. He spent the next few hours taking orders, serving food, and cleaning up tables, all the while learning to become a more presentable waiter. Brick had frozen his face in a smile and softened to voice, and now he was becoming quite popular.

To Brick's surprise, Bubbles was amazing at her job– she could memorize orders and serve them perfectly without a single mistake, she could balance up to eight orders on her arms, and never once did she drop anything. Brick had once tried to memorize an order, but unfortunately he had chosen a large table and he jumbled a few orders up; fortunately, Bubbles had memorized the order perfectly and had corrected him. She was also, Brick found, an expert at dealing with angry customers. Her sweet voice, polite speech, and ever-present smile soothed upset clientele, and they all left happy and satisfied. And everything she did, she looked hot doing it. The way she slightly swished her hips when she walked, the way she cocked her head a bit when taking orders, how her clothes emphasized her slight curves and slender figure, how her laugh sounded like tinkling bells– Brick couldn't help but notice it all. And he wasn't the only one. Many of the customers were males, and it wasn't hard to realize the reason they ate at Coffee & Sweets was her. But she stuck to the rules– work hours meant no socializing.

"Okay, I think we're all done here," Bubbles finally said several hours later. "Good job today."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Mr. Allen always lets us grab something to eat when our shift's over. C'mon, you want anything?" she offered.

"Uh, sure," Brick shrugged. Free food was always good.

"I think I'll just get a cookie today," Bubbles thought to herself.

"Can you get me a brownie?" Brick asked.

"No problema." She handed him a warm brownie. "So, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Uh, thanks, Bubbles."

"You're welcome. Bye," she waved and left. Brick's gaze lingered a bit on her as she flew away, but he snapped out of his daze and looked around for Boomer.

"Wake up, man," Brick punched Boomer, who'd fallen asleep at his table.

"Ladies, ladies, no pushing," Boomer mumbled in his sleep. Brick sighed, took his white shirt from the seat next to Boomer, grabbed a glass of cold water, and dumped it on his brother.

"AHH!" Boomer screamed, jolting up. His blue eyes glowed and shot the glass in Brick's hand.

"Ouch!" Brick mumbled, shaking his slightly burnt hand. "I'm gonna have to pay for that man."

"I'll make you pay for more than jus that," Boomer scowled.

"You're in a bad mood," Brick laughed.

"I was having a good dream. And I got just water dumped on me. And you're in a good mood," Boomer observed.

"I am? Yeah, I guess. It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

"I bet! You got to work with a hottie the whole time! I saw the way you looked at her." Boomer was grinning from ear to ear.

"Brick!" Mr. Allen called, saving Brick from having to reply. "You did a great job today, boy! I hope you made friends with Bubbles– you'll be working the same shift as her. 3:30 to 7:00 Mondays to Thursdays, and 2:00 to 8:00 on weekends, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now go home and rest up."

"Thank you, sir." Brick turned and walked out, and Boomer jogged after him.

"You'll be working the same shift as her, Brick," Boomer teased in a sing-songy voice.

"Shut up!" Brick punched the annoying fool next to him. "I wasn't looking at her in any way. I was trying to learn to be a better waiter."

"Ha! More like trying to learn how to get into her pants AH–" Boomer screamed as Brick eyebeamed him.

"You asked for it," Brick smirked.

"Hmph, whatever. Hey, I'm going home, 'kay? See ya when I see ya," Boomer waved and took off.

"Yeah, it was fun, man. Don't crash into anything," Brick called after him. He sighed, took off his cap, and ran his hand through his hair. It'd been a long day.


OMG! Romantic development! It only took 7 chapters to finally get here D:

I turned Boomer into a total player. Who should he get together with in the end? :/

Stay tuned, darlings!