I think I'll do shout-outs first, as is customary…ha…
Rubix: Ha! My boss hates hairnets…and you'll be on backbar, and kitchen, and maybe some frontbar…I dunno, I'll make you versatile… ;)
Stagey: You'll be in it soon enough, I promise! Gosh, I love Lion King…I'm surrounded by idiots… looks around to see no one but her muses Uh-huh…
Air: No!!! Not the lock-down! gasp I'm gasp clausterphobic!! Ahh!! Haha, no, just kidding…
Bookey Elliot: blushes Aww, thanks! Hope you like!
Lil' Italy: Ooh, sorry about the misspelling…and yes, I thrive on difference…muhaha…see, I can't even spell an evil laugh right…
Frenchy: You'll see yourself soon! holds up mirror Haha, I crack myself up! drops mirror …in more ways than one…? shakes head What I mean to say is, Thanks for the review! :D
Flit: Well, we already had plenty of ugly apes and not enough plot development, so I did the next best thing…haha! Thanks for readin and reviewin!
LAST TIME:
As Skittery showed me the ropes, he also added in a few bits of advice that I would need to know if I wanted to survive happily at this store…
And that's where we left off…so that's where we'll begin…wow, I'm nifty… BD (that's a guy with glasses grinning, btw…lol!)
"First of all," Skittery began, "don't tell Fighter anything that you don't want the whole store to know. If you have a crush on someone, she'll probably figure it out, but don't tell her. That's the worst thing you can do. Take it from me. Personal experience talkin here." He seemed to be waiting for me to show some sign of acknowledgement, so I nodded and he continued, scooping a box of fries for the current order. "If you're on backbar and you see a group of Mexicans coming, drop chargrills." What? It sounded a tad racist at first, but he went on to explain, "It's a fact. Mexicans seem to order a lot of Deluxes and Clubs." Both of those sandwiches use chargrilled chicken instead of the normal fried patty. "Let's see, what else…oh, if someone tells you to rotate the ice, don't do it. It's the classic new guy practical joke."
"Rotate the ice?" I repeated curiously, casting a glance around the corner to the large ice machine. There was a big door that swung upwards from which ice was scooped into a bucket for use on frontbar, and there were some sliding plastic windows above this which opened to the top of the machine.
"Rotate, you know, scoop from the bottom, put it back in the top area. They do it to most of the new people for laughs, it's really quite funny to watch."
"Then why'd you warn me about it?" I followed his lead and helped him box up some nuggets and slide them down the chute.
Skittery cast me a narrow glance and chuckled. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to be one the few smart new people, you know? Gotta have one of them once in awhile."
I laughed, then wiped my hands off on my apron, the screens clear of any orders. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"
He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Actually, there is somethin you could do. You know the hot water nozzle on the coffee machine on frontbar?" I nodded and he continued. "Well, once a week, we drain that out. Get one of the big pickle buckets from the mop well and take it up front and do that, okay?"
"Alright!" I agreed, and eagerly set out on my task. It struck me as a tiny bit peculiar, but I didn't question it. I guess it made a little sense…so after I had been at it for about a minute and a half or so, Lida finished with her customer and came up behind me, her head cocked to the side inquisitively.
"What are you doing?"
Shouldn't she know this? "I'm draining out all the hot water, like you guys do every week."
She sighed and shook her head, snickering. "Skittery!"
Then I heard hoots of laughter from backbar. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!"
I stopped 'draining' and put down the bucket. "What?"
Lida lay a hand on my shoulder, trying to stiffle her giggles. "Blink, the hot water's connected to the water line, there's no way to drain it. It was a trick."
I felt my cheeks flush madly. "Kinda like rotating the ice?"
"Yeah, how'd you know about that one? Don't tell me he pulled that one on you, too!"
"No actually, but he warned me about it!"
"Only so you'd be more prone to believe me when I told you to do this! Am I good, or am I good?" Skittery stood at the opening between front and backbar and proudly accepted a high-five from Jack.
"Don't worry Kid, everyone goes through their first-day initiations, right guys? On Lida's first day, we had Snipeshooter hide in a cardboard box in the refrigerator and jump out when she came back to get some salads," Jack explained good-naturedly.
Lida laughed at the memory. "Yeah, and for the next week I refused to run any more errands like that for anybody!"
Eventually I started laughing too and rejoined Skittery on backbar.
"I think that's the best piece of advice I can give you: learn to laugh at yourself. It'll make your job so much easier."
I nodded, chuckling. "So what else do you have to teach me, master?"
He smirked. "I think you can learn the rest on your own."
A daunting task, I must say. I stayed on backbar for awhile and Skittery and I got to know each other a little better. Turns out we had a lot in common, including the fact that both of us had had paper routes when we were younger. As I would come to find out, that was true for a lot of the guys. Seemed to be some kind of eerie common bond most of us shared…
Before I knew it, my three hour shift was over. Skittery assured me that I would start working longer hours and be closing soon, but they just liked to start new people out on short shifts. I waved goodbye and turned around to walk out--
THUMP!
That was the sound of my rear end connecting with the greasy, slippery floor. I quickly scuttled to my feet, if that was even a word, much less an action, and started laughing along with Skittery.
"A-Are the floors always this slippery?" I chuckled, rubbing my bum and trying not to blush as I heard Jack and another girl laughing behind me.
"Usually worse," came Jack's answer along with a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," the girl giggled gently, extending a hand. "I'm Allison, but around here I'm Rubix. You must be Blink."
I nodded, shaking her hand. "Yep. Well, it was nice meeting you, but my shift's over, I better get goin!"
Jack shrugged, hoisting himself up on the counter and popping a nugget in his mouth. "You can hang around it you want to. Clock out first, but you can stay for awhile and hang out or whatever. God knows everyone else does."
As if on cue, the swinging door opened and in walked a tall, beautiful girl sans uniform.
"Hey you," Jack greeted with a slightly goofy grin. "What are you up to tonight?"
"Hey Stagey," Rubix piped up, waving and heading up front to take care of the growing line.
The girl, Stagey apparently, ran a hand through her long brown hair and shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothin. Why do you think I'm here?" She grinned and turned her attention to me. "Oh hi! I don't think I know you. I'm Belle Malone, but everyone calls me Stagey. You must be the new guy Jack was talking about."
I shook her hand and nodded, casting an inquiring glance at Jack. "Yeah, I'm Trey, but I guess here I'm Kid Blink…" This was all still a little new to me…I wasn't too sure about the whole nickname thing, but I figured I'd catch on. "Why, what'd Jack have to say about me?"
She giggled and blushed a little when Jack winked at her. "Oh, all good stuff, of course! He just mentioned we had a new employee."
Jack grinned and hopped down from the counter, heading back to the kitchen, Stagey following close behind. I quickly went up front and clocked out, then headed to the back to talk to Skittery.
"So what's up with them, they dating or something?"
His normal sardonic laugh. "They may as well be. Everyone knows they like each other, but for some reason they're just not dating. They're 'best friends.'"
I laughed along with him. "Ahh, I see. Any other couples I should know about?"
"Around here, you never know. I swear, this store's a soap opera. I think Rant and Specs are seeing each other, and just about every guy in the store has seen Fighter, if ya know what I mean."
I laughed along with him and leaned up against the large metal refrigerator.
"So Kid, you got a girl?"
"Nah."
"Why not?"
I must say I was impressed at his ability to carry on a conversation and work at the same time. Those screens were pretty stinkin confusing… "Eh, I dunno…too expensive, for one thing!"
Skittery nodded with his trademark cynical chuckle. "Yeah, I've pretty much given up on girls. They're only good for one thing, you know?" He wiggled his eyebrows, as if I wouldn't realize what he meant anyway.
"Yeah," I agreed half-heartedly. I had my own feelings on girls, but I didn't think either of us was in the mood for me to explain them. I looked at the clock on the wall. "Hey, I'd better be getting home. I'm not supposed to drive after eight."
"Alright, well it was nice talkin to you, man. See ya around."
"See ya." I waved goodbye to Lida and Rubix on my way out and headed home.
An odd thing was happening. I was actually looking forward to my next shift. That was something completely unexpected. I had never imagined actually liking a job. The normal emotion connected to work was one of dread and loathing, perhaps even hatred or angst. Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic, but that's the impression I always got from my parents.
That's that for that chapter!
LOKI: Now she's off to play 'How many times can I use THAT in a sentence'…
Oh, now you show up!
LOKI: shrugs
Ahh, poo on you--
LOKI: Such words of wisdom…
ANYWAY, I'll update asap, but in the mean time, review pretty please!
Rubix: Ha! My boss hates hairnets…and you'll be on backbar, and kitchen, and maybe some frontbar…I dunno, I'll make you versatile… ;)
Stagey: You'll be in it soon enough, I promise! Gosh, I love Lion King…I'm surrounded by idiots… looks around to see no one but her muses Uh-huh…
Air: No!!! Not the lock-down! gasp I'm gasp clausterphobic!! Ahh!! Haha, no, just kidding…
Bookey Elliot: blushes Aww, thanks! Hope you like!
Lil' Italy: Ooh, sorry about the misspelling…and yes, I thrive on difference…muhaha…see, I can't even spell an evil laugh right…
Frenchy: You'll see yourself soon! holds up mirror Haha, I crack myself up! drops mirror …in more ways than one…? shakes head What I mean to say is, Thanks for the review! :D
Flit: Well, we already had plenty of ugly apes and not enough plot development, so I did the next best thing…haha! Thanks for readin and reviewin!
LAST TIME:
As Skittery showed me the ropes, he also added in a few bits of advice that I would need to know if I wanted to survive happily at this store…
And that's where we left off…so that's where we'll begin…wow, I'm nifty… BD (that's a guy with glasses grinning, btw…lol!)
"First of all," Skittery began, "don't tell Fighter anything that you don't want the whole store to know. If you have a crush on someone, she'll probably figure it out, but don't tell her. That's the worst thing you can do. Take it from me. Personal experience talkin here." He seemed to be waiting for me to show some sign of acknowledgement, so I nodded and he continued, scooping a box of fries for the current order. "If you're on backbar and you see a group of Mexicans coming, drop chargrills." What? It sounded a tad racist at first, but he went on to explain, "It's a fact. Mexicans seem to order a lot of Deluxes and Clubs." Both of those sandwiches use chargrilled chicken instead of the normal fried patty. "Let's see, what else…oh, if someone tells you to rotate the ice, don't do it. It's the classic new guy practical joke."
"Rotate the ice?" I repeated curiously, casting a glance around the corner to the large ice machine. There was a big door that swung upwards from which ice was scooped into a bucket for use on frontbar, and there were some sliding plastic windows above this which opened to the top of the machine.
"Rotate, you know, scoop from the bottom, put it back in the top area. They do it to most of the new people for laughs, it's really quite funny to watch."
"Then why'd you warn me about it?" I followed his lead and helped him box up some nuggets and slide them down the chute.
Skittery cast me a narrow glance and chuckled. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to be one the few smart new people, you know? Gotta have one of them once in awhile."
I laughed, then wiped my hands off on my apron, the screens clear of any orders. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"
He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Actually, there is somethin you could do. You know the hot water nozzle on the coffee machine on frontbar?" I nodded and he continued. "Well, once a week, we drain that out. Get one of the big pickle buckets from the mop well and take it up front and do that, okay?"
"Alright!" I agreed, and eagerly set out on my task. It struck me as a tiny bit peculiar, but I didn't question it. I guess it made a little sense…so after I had been at it for about a minute and a half or so, Lida finished with her customer and came up behind me, her head cocked to the side inquisitively.
"What are you doing?"
Shouldn't she know this? "I'm draining out all the hot water, like you guys do every week."
She sighed and shook her head, snickering. "Skittery!"
Then I heard hoots of laughter from backbar. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!"
I stopped 'draining' and put down the bucket. "What?"
Lida lay a hand on my shoulder, trying to stiffle her giggles. "Blink, the hot water's connected to the water line, there's no way to drain it. It was a trick."
I felt my cheeks flush madly. "Kinda like rotating the ice?"
"Yeah, how'd you know about that one? Don't tell me he pulled that one on you, too!"
"No actually, but he warned me about it!"
"Only so you'd be more prone to believe me when I told you to do this! Am I good, or am I good?" Skittery stood at the opening between front and backbar and proudly accepted a high-five from Jack.
"Don't worry Kid, everyone goes through their first-day initiations, right guys? On Lida's first day, we had Snipeshooter hide in a cardboard box in the refrigerator and jump out when she came back to get some salads," Jack explained good-naturedly.
Lida laughed at the memory. "Yeah, and for the next week I refused to run any more errands like that for anybody!"
Eventually I started laughing too and rejoined Skittery on backbar.
"I think that's the best piece of advice I can give you: learn to laugh at yourself. It'll make your job so much easier."
I nodded, chuckling. "So what else do you have to teach me, master?"
He smirked. "I think you can learn the rest on your own."
A daunting task, I must say. I stayed on backbar for awhile and Skittery and I got to know each other a little better. Turns out we had a lot in common, including the fact that both of us had had paper routes when we were younger. As I would come to find out, that was true for a lot of the guys. Seemed to be some kind of eerie common bond most of us shared…
Before I knew it, my three hour shift was over. Skittery assured me that I would start working longer hours and be closing soon, but they just liked to start new people out on short shifts. I waved goodbye and turned around to walk out--
THUMP!
That was the sound of my rear end connecting with the greasy, slippery floor. I quickly scuttled to my feet, if that was even a word, much less an action, and started laughing along with Skittery.
"A-Are the floors always this slippery?" I chuckled, rubbing my bum and trying not to blush as I heard Jack and another girl laughing behind me.
"Usually worse," came Jack's answer along with a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," the girl giggled gently, extending a hand. "I'm Allison, but around here I'm Rubix. You must be Blink."
I nodded, shaking her hand. "Yep. Well, it was nice meeting you, but my shift's over, I better get goin!"
Jack shrugged, hoisting himself up on the counter and popping a nugget in his mouth. "You can hang around it you want to. Clock out first, but you can stay for awhile and hang out or whatever. God knows everyone else does."
As if on cue, the swinging door opened and in walked a tall, beautiful girl sans uniform.
"Hey you," Jack greeted with a slightly goofy grin. "What are you up to tonight?"
"Hey Stagey," Rubix piped up, waving and heading up front to take care of the growing line.
The girl, Stagey apparently, ran a hand through her long brown hair and shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothin. Why do you think I'm here?" She grinned and turned her attention to me. "Oh hi! I don't think I know you. I'm Belle Malone, but everyone calls me Stagey. You must be the new guy Jack was talking about."
I shook her hand and nodded, casting an inquiring glance at Jack. "Yeah, I'm Trey, but I guess here I'm Kid Blink…" This was all still a little new to me…I wasn't too sure about the whole nickname thing, but I figured I'd catch on. "Why, what'd Jack have to say about me?"
She giggled and blushed a little when Jack winked at her. "Oh, all good stuff, of course! He just mentioned we had a new employee."
Jack grinned and hopped down from the counter, heading back to the kitchen, Stagey following close behind. I quickly went up front and clocked out, then headed to the back to talk to Skittery.
"So what's up with them, they dating or something?"
His normal sardonic laugh. "They may as well be. Everyone knows they like each other, but for some reason they're just not dating. They're 'best friends.'"
I laughed along with him. "Ahh, I see. Any other couples I should know about?"
"Around here, you never know. I swear, this store's a soap opera. I think Rant and Specs are seeing each other, and just about every guy in the store has seen Fighter, if ya know what I mean."
I laughed along with him and leaned up against the large metal refrigerator.
"So Kid, you got a girl?"
"Nah."
"Why not?"
I must say I was impressed at his ability to carry on a conversation and work at the same time. Those screens were pretty stinkin confusing… "Eh, I dunno…too expensive, for one thing!"
Skittery nodded with his trademark cynical chuckle. "Yeah, I've pretty much given up on girls. They're only good for one thing, you know?" He wiggled his eyebrows, as if I wouldn't realize what he meant anyway.
"Yeah," I agreed half-heartedly. I had my own feelings on girls, but I didn't think either of us was in the mood for me to explain them. I looked at the clock on the wall. "Hey, I'd better be getting home. I'm not supposed to drive after eight."
"Alright, well it was nice talkin to you, man. See ya around."
"See ya." I waved goodbye to Lida and Rubix on my way out and headed home.
An odd thing was happening. I was actually looking forward to my next shift. That was something completely unexpected. I had never imagined actually liking a job. The normal emotion connected to work was one of dread and loathing, perhaps even hatred or angst. Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic, but that's the impression I always got from my parents.
That's that for that chapter!
LOKI: Now she's off to play 'How many times can I use THAT in a sentence'…
Oh, now you show up!
LOKI: shrugs
Ahh, poo on you--
LOKI: Such words of wisdom…
ANYWAY, I'll update asap, but in the mean time, review pretty please!