Chapter 10: Preparation Day
When Crow got out of the washroom, in a record time of six minutes, Tobias rushed in and slipped on a bar of soap that had somehow gotten on the floor. The end result was of him landing in a half-drained tub of water and soaking his Care Bear Cousins pajamas.
"This isn't a swimming area! Clean your mess next time you moron!" Crow heard him shout as he shut the door. "Ah man! Playful Heart Monkey and Lots-a-Heart Elephant got all wet!"
Leaning against the wall next to the door Crow burst out laughing, and presently slid down onto the floor in his fit of hysterics.
Through blurry eyes he could tell that the other employees left but Kyona was the only one there, still seating in her chair. She motioned for him to take his seat next to her again, and so he did, gripping his sides and his nightwear the entire time.
After a good five minutes Kyona asked, "You done?"
"Ye-yeah," he said through gleaming eyes. "Is he for-real?"
"Unfortunatly," Kyona nodded. "But he tries his hardest and I want to give him the benefit of a doubt. Besides, while we're busy with the reception plans, Marisol will need all the help she can get. Tobias may act like a spaz, but he knows the workings of this place like he knows those footies."
"It's a wonder this place hasn't caught on fire yet," Crow thought.
"Speaking of which... If you want to know how everything goes around here we better get started," she grinned while grabbing his hand and dragging him to the door.
"Hold on K! I can't I go to my room and put my things there?" he protested as the woman pulled him toward the kitchen area.
She grabbed his bundle and flung it at a passing woman in a white uniform-dress.
"Can you drop those into Mr. Hogan's room on your way to clean the rooms, Gina?" Kyona shouted.
"No probs Boss!" the other woman shouted back, catching the bundle and adding them on top of the cleaning cart on her way to the rooms.
"There's an elevator hidden in the wall beside the staircase," Kyona answered as Crow wondered how the cart was supposed to get up those stairs.
Opening the door to the kitchen Kyona let go of Crow's hand and let him look at everything around him.
Besides being completely steril the kitchen was humongous!
Clear, locker-sized glass cabinets covered one part of a wall from ceiling to floor, while the other part was filled with drawers that marked the place of the utensils. Gleaming platinum tables with divisions were in the middle of the room, each with a label on the top to tell which station prepared what, from "meats" to "vegitables" with subdivisions inbetween. Three refrigerators covered the wall opposite of the cabinets while a row of ovens and stoves covered the third wall. The final wall, where the food was checked and taken, had two glass doors on either side.
Even with so much stuff in the room there was still enough walking space for three people to pass without bumping into each other.
"Not bad, huh?" Kyona asked fondly while cupping Crow's mouth and closing it. "This might sound hard to believe but this area was originally used as a liquor room. Half of the tables and cabinets were hidden under old bottles while the rest needed some serious cleaning. But it's amazing what a little time and a lot of cleaning products can do."
Grinning Crow looked at the chef and said, "I wouldn't doubt it."
Upon seeing her smile warmingly at him Crow almost became intranced and quickly asked, "So, what's in the cabinets and stuff?"
Pulling his hand gently Kyona showed Crow where all of the ingrediants and utensils were stored while the kitchen staff went around the areas with clipboards in their hands.
One opened the top left cabinet to check on the spices that were stored in clear jars, and made little check marks or notes after opening each one that looked either half-full or nearly wiped out. Another opened one of the refrigerators and looked at all that was stored in there while quickly checking off her list, then reclosing the door. A third went to a door next to the one Crow and Kyona went through, and opened it to reveal a storage room full of paper plates, cups, to-go trays and other recyclable items for the customers on the go, also checking his clipboard.
"As you can see we try to keep the place well-stocked with everything that the customer could want," Kyona said, continuing the tour out of the kitchen and back into the hallway.
Beside the staff room there was another room marked "Washing Rooms". There two rooms were occupied with different machines. The first one they entered had dishwashers, sinks and drying cloths lining the walls while the second one was styled like a laudromat, with washers, stacked dryers, and folding/hanging areas. This one was much larger, and the washers and corresponding dryers had dry-erase boards on them that had the words "Room #" written in the same cursive writing that Crow's letter was in.
"Very nice," the red head commented as he and his guide went out the door.
"Thanks. I try to make sure everything here gets cleaned and ready," Kyona answered as she kept his hand in hers and continued showing the trainee around the premises.
Coming to the staff quarters Kyona said, "I want to show you something I've never shown anybody before they work here."
"I thought you didn't play favories," he grinned.
"I don't, but since you don't technically work here- no matter what Dingo says- I thought you might like to see this," she smirked as she opened the door to a suit similiar to his and pulled him in. "This is my office, private entrance into the garden, and sleeping area."
Crow could tell this room was exactly how Kyona described it. The sitting area had a mahogany desk in front of two windowed doors that opened into the lush garden he saw yesterday, and there were the plush chairs on either side of the desk. At the right side of it was the entrance to Kyona's bedroom, and at opposite sides of the door frame were tall, white bookshelves that held pictures, framed documents, and an assortment of books.
Kyona let go of his hand for the first time that day (much to his dismay) and excused herself to the bathroom. So Crow made his way over to one of the bookshelves to look at the pictures that were framed. Once he got there he could not help but smile.
In a dark-blue frame was a picture of a group of eight year olds at a birthday party in an old dining room. Yusei, who was the lucky birthday boy, was sitting in the middle of the table, an embarrassed look on his face as he smiled for the picture and a lopsided hat on his spikey head. Jack was behind him, gripping his shoulder at an angle and smiling at the camera. (Five minutes after the picture was taken Jack successfully pushed Yusei out of the chair and sat in it himself.)
On opposite sides of the birthday boy and his rival were Crow and Kyona. Crow was smiling and winking in the picture, holding a cup of orange juice in his hand. Kyona was on the other side, also smiling but with a noise maker and it was aimed at Jack, who kept his eyes on the camera. (After Jack's stunt Kyona placed a whoopi cushion on the chair before the blonde sat down. When Jack jumped up from embarrassment Kyona loudly blew her noise maker and he toppled over.)
In another frame, painted violet, was a scene from Jack and Yusei's first table duel. In it both of the tweleve year old duelists had their ace Monster Cards (Red Dragon Archfiend and Stardust Dragon) facing each other and there were two face-down cards on Yusei's side of the field. A calculator on Jack's side had 2700 and another on Yusei's side had 1600. The tricksters were gathered on Yusei's side while a small group of girls were on Jack's side.
A third picture, surrounded by a light brown frame, had a picture of a middle-aged, Hispanic woman. She was dressed in a burgandy dress with a white shawl and wore a tear-drop turquoise necklace. Her face, which was starting to wrinkle, was smiling and surrounded by tight, black curls.
"Martha," a small voice said from behind Crow, "but you already know that."
Turning Crow saw a full grown Kyona with a sad smile on her face, her golden eyes sparkled with unshed tears, as she moved next to him to look at the picture.
"You think she would've liked what I did with this place? Naming it after her and everything?" she asked in a voice that threatened to crack.
Putting a comforting arm around her shoulders Crow said, in a steadier voice, "I think she would've loved the fact that you accomplished your dream, and I think she would've been really happy about how well you cleaned this place up."
Gripping his hand Kyona replied, "Thanks Crow", and leaned her head against his chest, closing her eyes as a small tear ran down her otherwise happy face.
The two stayed like that for a minutes as they remembered the good times they had under Martha's care, and how much they really missed her.
For Crow and the others, even if it had been eight years since her death, it was still hard to let her go knowing that it was not like the time with the Dark Signers and that, no matter how many duels they won, they could never bring her back.
After another minute Crow broke the silence and said, in a much stronger voice, "But I don't think Martha'll be very proud of either of us if we keep dwelling on the past like this. She'd want us to quit being sad and for you to continue your tour. I still have a lot to know and I haven't seen the garden yet!"
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kyona asked in a more cheerful voice.
With that she spun out of his single armed hug and hauled him to the double doors, a smile on both of their faces as they went out into the lushest part of the dusty plains.
A.N. Sorry about the long wait, but I had a lot going on. I hope you all like this and don't forget to give me your input!