Chapter 3: I Would Hate to Be a Waitress
"Damn, I'm beat." Miroku answered, lying on his new bed inside the dorm he shared with Inuyasha. "That tour was so long!"
"I'm actually kind of hungry. We should go get something to eat." Inuyasha suggested. He could hear the faint grumbling inside his stomach.
"Sounds good. I'll get Sango to come with us." His friend replied. Both went out before heading off in different directions. Miroku went up the stairs to Sango's floor while Inuyasha went down to the parking lot to Miroku's car.
About ten minutes later, both Miroku and Sango showed up. The girl was looking more cheerful than she had been earlier that day. "Where should we go to eat?" Sango asked while yawning.
"How about we try that diner that your cousin at before?" Inuyasha implied.
"Good idea."
Meanwhile…
Kagome was extremely busy as usual. Her feet felt numb and her body was tired. Yet, did she complain? No. Not even her customers had any complaints to make. Kagome slapped down two more orders onto the counter for her mom to create. As she was writing down more orders, a slim woman, who looked almost like Kagome but more sophisticated entered the diner.
Without even looking, Kagome called over to the newest customer. "I'll be right with you. You can take a seat over there, by the window." She said quickly, taking the order to her mother. Instead, the woman went behind the bar and picked out and apron and put it on.
"How about I help you instead?" she asked. Kagome looked up with surprise only to find her older sister Kikyo.
"Kikyo! What are you…?"
"Hey there little sister. I'll explain after the place closes." She replied smiling. She picked up a notepad and began to help around the place.
About an hour later, the place was about to close in 20 minutes. No one else was left and all tables were cleaned. Kagome and Kikyo sat at the bar, talking.
"So why are you back here?" Kagome asked.
"Well, Naraku has a business meeting here. And this is where my dear family is so I might as well come too for a visit. I got back in three days." Kikyo answered.
Kagome hugged her beloved sister. "It's so great seeing you back here!"
"Now that isn't the only reason why I came back. I just wanted to make sure that you really, absolutely, positively sure that you want to spend your life serving people for a living." Kikyo said out of the blue.
"Yes. I'll do it as long as I live. This diner is where we grew up and it will remain open until we can't possibly keep it open any longer." Kagome responded calmly.
"Alright. If that is what you want then I respect your decision." The older sister said. "But when this place does close down, what are you going to do then?"
"I'm going to start my own catering business. I have the skills. I've known how to cook all sorts of recipes since I was five. I obviously know how to clean and serve others. And I'll have plenty of money from here that it is only fitting." The young waitress retorted happily. "Kikyo, please stop worrying about me. I'll make it through life just being a waitress. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Her older sister sighed. "I guess not. But you should really get out and get more sun. You're always cooped up in here and not enjoying the nice weather outside. Promise me you'll try to get out more often."
Kagome's smile widened as she nodded. "All right. I'll try. I'll help mom with the laundry on the diner's day off." She replied.
The door opened with a jingle, alerting the pair of new customers. Kagome immediately jumped up to greet them. "Hello! Welcome to the Shikon no Tama Diner! I'm Kagome and I'll be your waitress for today!" Kagome said enthusiastically.
She showed them to a table inside. There were only three of them. There were two humans, a boy and girl, and a demon boy. As the girl and the demon boy sat down, the human boy did not sit down with them right away. He wandered off to Kikyo, who was still sitting on the bar.
"So…how about I buy you a drink?" Miroku asked slyly.
Kikyo turned to look at the boy and held up her left hand, showing him the gold band on her ring finger. "I'm married." She implied icily.
"Okay then!" he exclaimed, immediately backing off. Miroku learned one thing, and that was to hit on any pretty girl. But another thing he learned was never to go after a girl who was already hitched or with another person.
"You pig!" Sango hissed at Miroku. "Maybe you should check the ring finger for a ring before going after them!"
"Sorry…sorry." He answered.
"Your flirtatious manner is starting to give me a headache." Inuyasha muttered.
"Hmph. It's given me a headache since Miroku hit puberty," Sango answered viciously as Inuyasha snorted with laughter. "Maybe it will finally go away if he stops."
Miroku looked at Sango for a minute before grabbing her hands. "I have an idea…why don't you go out with me and I'll stop looking at other women." He proposed. "And besides, I've always been attracted to you since I met you."
Sango quickly tore her hands away. "I think I'll pass on that offer." She said. "Miss Kagome! We're ready to take our order!"
Kagome quickly hurried over with her notepad out and ready. "Yes, what would you like?"
"I'll take the Chili Cheeseburger with no onions and not pickles." Inuyasha replied.
"Any drink to go with that?"
The dog demon shrugged. "I don't know. Just give me Coke."
Kagome nodded and jotted the orders down. "For you miss?"
"Ah, yes. I'll just have the salad with Italian dressing, the cheeseburger with fries, and a Diet Dr. Pepper." Sango ordered, handing her menu to Kagome.
"Very good choice, ma'am. And you, sir?"
"Ah…I don't know. I'll have the same as my friend Inuyasha." Miroku answered, gesturing to his friend.
"All right then. I'll be back as soon as possible with your food." Kagome answered, quickly going behind to the kitchen and starting to cook the orders.
Sango stared after her waitress and shuddered. "Ugh. I would hate to be a waitress." She said disgustedly.
"What's so bad with being a waitress?" Inuyasha asked. "It is considered a way to making money."
"I just don't like the work. Serving customers who don't even appreciate the work you just worked your ass off for does not seem like the way of life I would want." Sango replied earnestly.
"Ok, hypothetically, if you were in a city and you needed to make a living, what job would you take? Being a prostitute or a waitress?" Miroku questioned.
Kikyo, still seated at the bar, tried hard not to laugh.
"Neither." She said intelligently. "Instead of being a whore and a person who barely makes any money, I'll borrow money from my parents until I can get a good job and pay them back."
Inuyasha snickered. "You'll be in serious debt if you do that, Sango. I'd rather be a waiter to earn myself some money." He retorted.
"Oh, whatever Inuyasha. You never have to get a job because your father pays for all your expenses. Then when you're done with college, you'll be in the same business as him to earn the same amount of cash." The girl countered with repulsion.
Inuyasha glowered at her. "You better leave my father and his money out of this conversation, wench. I'm paying for college out of my own pocket, you just better realize that."
Thankfully, Kagome came out of the kitchen with a tray filled with food and drinks. She quickly gave the food to the rightful people before starting to clean up the counter. "Would you like anything Kikyo?" she asked her sister.
"No. That's all right. I think I'll just go upstairs to see Mom, Grandpa, and Sota." She said. Kikyo went inside the kitchen and into the backroom where the living room and stairs to the upstairs apartment were.
Kagome waited as Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku ate their food. "Wow…this stuff is really good!" Miroku said, completely awed by the food he was eating.
"This is delicious…and that waitress was the one who made this?" Sango asked.
"Yes, she did. An you're actually congratulating her for doing a good job?" Inuyasha said.
"Shut up." Was all Sango said.
"Check please." Miroku called. Kagome walked over to them and handed them the check. She picked up all the dirty plates before depositing them in the sink inside the kitchen. "So how much should we tip her?"
"Fifteen percent." Sango chipped in.
"I say twenty percent." Inuyasha cut in.
"Twenty-five. She was quick, fast, and she made really good food for us. No mistakes." Miroku pointed out. "Twenty-five or twenty. Either one."
Inuyasha took out his wallet. "Twenty-five. Sango?"
She sighed. "I guess I don't really have a choice, do I? I'm out voted." She slapped down her half of the bill and her two other friends did the same. The gathered it all and put it inside the small check folder.
They got up and set it in front of Kagome before heading out the door. "Thank you very much! Have a nice day!" She bid as they went out the door. When they drove off, Kagome took the money for the check and put it into the cash register and locked it. Next, she locked the diner door and flipped the sign to make it read, "Closed."
She took the remaining money and put it into her pocket before starting the dishes. "Another day, another customer. Today was certainly busy as usual." She said to herself and began to hum.
Nothing was going to hold her down. Her positive attitude throughout everything made everything look so much brighter. Though people thought waitressing was not a life, it was to Kagome. She had been doing it for so long that she didn't care what people thought of her way of life.
She was a waitress. And she was proud of what she did.