Chapter 2: Burger of the Day

Louise stood at the chalkboard, an ornately drawn text reading "Burger of the Day" was written high on the chalkboard, with nothing but blankness below, she gently tapped the chalk to her chin, letting out a low humming sound, she gently pressed the chalk to the board as a loud ring could be heard behind her, signaling the door being opened as the rotund form of Teddy walked into the restaurant, a smile wide on his wrinkling face.

"Mornin' Louise! Wow, that is going to get hard to say. You sure you aren't fine going by 'Bobby'?" He chuckled softly. "I'm sure you'll get used to it, Teddy. You've only known me since I was born." Teddy had always been Bob's most loyal customer, and was basically a third parent for the Belcher kids, helping them out with schemes and keeping the business afloat with whatever repairs needed to be made, definitely not at the usual rate of a handyman, but if Teddy liked the food enough to work for cheap, who were they to complain? "Get you a coffee to start, Teddy?" "Sure thing Louise." She poured him a large cup of coffee.

"So, first day running the restaurant, huh?" Teddy questioned in-between sips of coffee. "Mmmhmm" Louise replied, dryly rubbing off a coffee stain she had made on the countertop. "Lotta nerves, huh?" "Mmmhmm". Bob and Linda had taught her that sometimes, the best response one could give Teddy is simply to let him talk and don't add too much. "I mean, if I was you, I don't know how I would be getting out of bed today" "Mmmhmm…" Louise's noises of agreements were getting longer and shakier, her own nerves setting in slightly. "I mean, wow, you're not even 25 and already managing your own restaurant, 30-under-30, am I right?" "TEDDY!" Louise shouted a bit too loud, before clearing her throat, slightly embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I mean… Yeah… I'm nervous about this. But I don't want Mom and Dad to know. You know they'd be all 'It's okay Louise, you're doing amazing no matter what!' or 'Don't worry about us, we'll be fine, Louise.'" She vented, imitating her mother and father's voices, causing Teddy to chuckle. "It's serious! I can't even think of a stupid 'Burger of the Day' Name…"

"I mean, you don't have to do the Burger of the Day, Louise" Teddy chimed in, trying his best to sympathize with Louise. "Aww, come on Teddy, if you didn't have the Burger of the Day, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't eat anything" She chuckled softly, giving him a light punch on the arm. "Besides, I've got the ingredients figured out, I just can't come up with a good name". Tina was always better at making it sound like Dad's style anyway… She sighed, turning from the board back towards Teddy. "How's about I make you one, and I'll come up with a name while I work?"

She moved back into the kitchen, placing the back of her hand over the flat top grill. Yeah, that's good… She grabbed a patty from the tub marked "Burger of the Day", kneading it into a loose ball and pressing her thumb in the center before dropping it on the grill, the sizzle making a loud Hiss! as the patty began to cook.

She had stayed up late the night before, waiting for the floor to be finished waxing and grinding up pounds of beef for the opening, mixing half to be her Burger of the Day patties, while leaving the rest with a basic seasoning mix. The mix she had concocted was a regular beef patty mixed with a fine dust of a sugary cereal, creating a sweet and savory burger that she had to admit was impressive. The only problem being… She was lost for a name. Her dad was never perfect with his names, but every day he had a well-written name for a custom burger. Rain or shine, sick or healthy, even while bound behind the counter for a month while Louise cooked, he came up with the recipe and name. It was like a superpower to Louise, his ability to make the dumbest sounding name and the weirdest possible ingredients just… work. As she flipped the burger, creating another satisfying hiss on the grill, she worked through more names in her head, each one more of a stretch than the last. Gene would have figured this out before breakfast, and also one which loosely translated to a joke about his testicles… Okay, probably just the testicles one, but still. He wouldn't be having this kind of roadblock…

She pushed away the negative thoughts as the burger finished cooking, dressing it with tomato, lettuce, some onions she cooked alongside the patty, and a spurt of a seasoned mayonnaise she and her dad created called "Sauce". The names can't all be winners… As she topped the burger with a fresh sesame seed bun and poured out a fresh batch of fries, she smiled at the plate for a second. She made her way to the Kitchen door, kicking it open with a loud slam "Order Number 1: ORDER UP!" It was still early, so yelling at the top of her lungs was acceptable for the moment. She set the plate down on Teddy's spot, leaning against the counter and watching him eat intently.

He took a large bite of the burger, chewing slowly, almost inspecting the burger. As he swallowed, Louise's anxieties started flaring up, sweat began to form on her forehead. For some reason, all of her emotions felt poured into this single burger and Teddy's opinion on it. She couldn't believe it. Oh God, I really am becoming Dad… Keep it together Louise. It's fine. It's Teddy, he'll eat anything. I'm pretty sure Dad once fed him a sponge and he didn't stop at one bite… Oh no, what if he hates this though? He does, he hates it and I'm gonna fail and then…

"Burger's good." Teddy spoke with a full mouth from his second bite. He almost ignored Louise's internal meltdown as he chowed down. "What's it got in it?" "Ummm… Usual toppings, caramelized onions, Sauce, and… I-i rolled the beef in some powdered cereal. Kind of a sweet and salty burger. I just… can't seem to get a name down. I need something that sounds like Dad wrote it. Just the right level of terrible…" Teddy grumbled slightly, confused, "Why are you trying to make it sound like Bobby? It's your place now, make it sound like you." he said, taking another large bite of burger.

Louise thought back to when she was a little kid, often changing the names of Bob's Burger of the Day to something a bit more crass and inappropriate. She smiled at herself, grabbing the chalk and scribbling something on the board as another loud ring could be heard, a taller, balding man in a fancy suit walked in, ready to order his lunch before the big rush. "Morning Bo-Louise. Sorry, still getting used to it." "Morning, Mort! I'll be with you in a sec!" Louise yelled back, still hard at work on her first board. "Burger of the Day sound good to you, Mort?"

Mort took his usual spot next to Teddy. "Yeah, what have you got for the first one?" Another ring filled the restaurant as Bob and Linda made their way down to see how Louise was doing, Bob looking at the board, placing his fingers to the bridge of his nose "Oh my god", trying to keep himself from laughing.

Burger of the Day:

The Cereal Killer Burger

(Comes with a Sweet & Salty Patty)

$6.95