"I thought I'd make us some refreshments for the interview..." Ruffnut quickly went back to the kitchen to get them, prompting Heather to say "ooh... talk about special treatment, huh?"
"Hm... well, you're in for a treat... Ruffnut Thorston is the Cleopatra of the kitchen industry..." Hiccup snarked with a hint of spite as Ruffnut came back in and put a soggy, unattractive looking dish in the centre of the table. Hiccup, Heather and Cami were all surprised and disgusted by it, but they tried their hardest to keep straight faces so as to not hurt Ruffnut's feelings or provoke her temper.
"What... I'm sorry, but, um... what is this, exactly?" Cami asked, actively trying to hold her breath to avoid breathing in the strong, hurting smell of it.
"Oh, I'm glad you asked, milady..." Tuffnut said as he passionately pointed to the dish as Hiccup took one to try it. "That would be salt-encrusted sea bass with a salted seaweed gravy mixed in with salt and all finished with a little pinch... of salt on top..."
"Whoa, that is... salty..." Hiccup said, trying his best not to vomit as he was swallowing it. Eventually, he managed to get it down, and had to dab his eyes a bit to keep tears from coming out, while Tuffnut took two thin files out of his briefcase, putting them on the table and opening the front page on the first.
"If you don't mind me asking... what are these?" Heather asked. Tuffnut ignored her and Ruffnut remained silent, prompting Hiccup to say "uh... it's basically a background check... Tuff does it with everybody in these interviews..."
Tuffnut, who it seems really enjoyed and took advantage of the opportunity to play detective, kept his eyes glued to the sheet as he spoke bluntly and hostilely. "Neither if you are from Berk, are you?"
"Uh... yeah, that's right..." Heather said nervously, as Cami added "I'm from the Bog Burglar islands. Moved here two years ago after finishing college..."
"Uh-huh... that checks out..." Tuffnut put down Cami's information and moved on to Heather's as the latter said "my brother and I are from Berserker Island... when I finished culinary school, we moved here because the restaurants were a lot nicer..."
"Okay... okay..." Tuffnut nodded slowly as he continued reading the sheet. "Right... says here you guys both started out working for the Dragon's Eye, but after that went in the toilet you've apparently been coming and going between different restaurants..."
"That's right..." Cami held Heather's hand tenderly, almost lovingly, as she said "Heather wants to run her own business one day and, well, we're just trying to raise the money to make it happen..."
"Aw, that's so sweet..." Ruffnut said in a false, patronising tone. "A little naive, but still sweet..."
Hiccup rolled his eyes without Ruffnut noticing, before looking at the girls and saying "so, what were you guys doing at these restaurants... job-wise...?"
"We were both sous chefs." Heather said. "Sometimes, I stood in for the waitresses when they had colds, bu..."
"Great! Just what we need!" Ruffnut pulled out a small notepad and ticked the section marked Waitress.
"Alright... I'm probably thinking of giving you two a shot... Hiccup, what about you?"
"Yeah, great. I think you guys'll be a good addition to the team..."
"Well, I'm not entirely sure..." Tuffnut said as everyone looked at him. Ruffnut reached around Hiccup's back to shove her brother's shoulder, snapping "Tuff, what the fuck are you doing?!"
He put the first file away and opened the second one. "I already know your previous work experience. Did you two really think I wouldn't find out about your history of violence in those workplaces?"
"What?!" Cami snapped, as an equally confused but somewhat calmer Heather said "history of violence?"
Tuffnut kept his face close to the file to read it word-for-word, saying "Heather, is it true that, just last month in your previous job at the Ugly Thugs, you assaulted a co-worker? Specifically, the assistant manager?"
Ruffnut went wide-eyed at this, but Heather was clearly offended, saying "I assaulted him?! I was acting in se..."
"It says here that you slapped him hard enough to dislocate his jaw and then Cami had him on the ground and repeatedly kicked him in his unmentionable area..."
"The guy was a fucking rapist!" Cami was clearly infuriated by this as she got out of her chair with Heather having to hold her back. "Heather was defending herself!"
"Really? Hm... well, how come that's not mentioned here at all?"
Hiccup was pinching the bridge of his nose as he said "Tuff, for Thor's sake... the case was on the news every night for a week and the guy's gone to prison for it... how could you not find out about that?"
He groaned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, opening the news app and scrolling down to find the story. "Here..." he passed the phone to Tuffnut, who went wide-eyed as he read the headline. "Oh... uh..."
Three Weeks Ago - Ugly Thugs' assistant manager found guilty of attempted sexual assault on sous chef. Owner calls behaviour a "disgraceful betrayal" of restaurant's dignity.
"Well... guess I can just... put this one away, then..." Tuffnut cleared his throat as he put the second file back in the briefcase and kept the first file open on the table. "Guess that means you guys are hired..."
"Uh..." Cami was itching the back of her head awkwardly. "Y'know what, I think that I'm starting to have second thoughts ab..."
"Fantastic! Thank you both so much..." Heather interrupted her as she stood up from her seat and shook Ruffnut's hand and then Tuffnut's. Cami looked at Heather with a face that seemed to silently say are you fucking serious? We can do better than these dickheads!
Heather gave a face in return that silently said come on. Just shake the fucking hand. We can make this work. Please...
Cami scoffed, forcing a grin onto her face as she shook the Thorston's hands at the same time. She clenched her fist in front of Hiccup as her smile became more genuine, prompting him to fist-bump her in return.
"So... we're in, then... I guess..." she put her hands in her pockets as she said this, before Heather said "so... when are we gonna start?"
"Uh... Monday...?" Ruffnut said, her tone of voice clearly hinting that she hadn't thought about this prior to Heather asking. The girls both shrugged, as Heather said "great... so... 8...?"
"Uh-huh... that's right..."
"Good. Guess we'll see you guys then... see ya..." Cami said nonchalantly, turning around dramatically as she headed towards the door. Heather chuckled awkwardly as she looked at the twins and Hiccup, waving silently as she quickly sped out the door after Cami.
"Huh... guess they seemed pretty nice..." Hiccup said, but neither of the twins were as enthusiastic as him. Ruffnut was twiddling her fingers rapidly, speaking through gritted teeth as she said "I think the blonde one has a bit of an attitude... but overall... they were pretty good..."
"I really hope they don't try to beat me up..." Tuffnut said with a slight hint of concern, prompting Hiccup to scoff as he said "well, I really hope you don't try to rape either of them, Tuff..."
As they walked to the centre of the parking lot, Heather punched Cami on the shoulder. "Thanks for nearly costing us that interview!"
"What? Ugh... oh, come on, Heather... the guy was going on a tangent with that history of violence in the workplace bullshit... it's almost like they didn't even want us there..."
"Alright, the twins are an... an acquired taste, but... the accountant seemed pretty nice..."
"Pft... the one saving grace..." Cami snarked. "Alright, we got the job, and we're going through with it... but I swear to Thor, Heather. If this isn't worth it..."
"It will be... I promise..." Heather said in an almost begging tone. "Besides, if you go past your breaking point, Cami, I'll be right there with you..."
She held her hand out to Cami, saying "we stick together..."
"Always…" Cami smiled as she held Heather's hand tightly. She then sighed, saying "so... how long were we in there...?"
"Uh..." Heather glanced at her watch: 9:47am. "Uh... 17 minutes..."
"Ugh... guess we'd better call your bro for that pickup..."