Author's Note: Hey readers, just wanted to give you a small update on my life. I probably won't be updating as often for now because I am a dance instructor and the holiday season is coming up. I've been preparing for recitals and as fun as they are, they can be taxing as well. I've performed in them as a kid for years and it's so surreal that decades later, I'm on the other side. Overall, it's a fun experience and one that I put a lot of energy in, so I probably won't be updating as often. As always, I appreciate all of you readers and subscribers, with a special shoutout to Vigatus and James Birdsong (love getting reviews). I hope all of you have a nice holiday season coming up! Lots of love and candy,
Lily
That's Not My Name
"Well in a half-hour, they're gonna shut down the smoothie stand. It was a good run while it lasted," Mimi solemnly patted her hand on the counter.
"I'm impressed that you were able to keep this job for as long as you did," Tai scoffed.
"What can I say? I'm trying to turn over a new leaf," Mimi put her hand over her chest.
"We see that you're trying and we're all proud of you," Sora smiled.
"Excuse me, hi. TK, is that you?" a stocky, angry-looking man walked up to Mimi.
"Uh…yes! How are you doing, chief?" Mimi forced a smile.
"So so. I thought I might as well hand-deliver your last paycheck since I was in the area. Such a shame that these large corporations can push the little man out, right?" the man grunted.
"Yeah, it's terrible," Mimi nodded.
"So, I'm gonna write you your last check. How do you spell your last name again?" the man pulled out a checkbook.
"T-a-c-"
"You know what, why don't you write it to Cash instead? It'll be easier for everyone," Matt cleared his throat. "I'm TK's brother."
"Oh, nice to meet you. You guys don't look related," the man said.
"He's the adopted one," Mimi said.
"Ahh, I see. You're the spoiled little sister. Speaking of, I could have sworn, the last time we spoke…you were taller, and blonde? And a guy?" the man raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, you were probably thinking about Matt. People say we look alike. Maybe we did that day!" Mimi nervously laughed.
"I do take a lot of medications that make me dizzy. So, although the smoothie shop is no more, I do have another business proposition for you. Would you like to work under me again? I have another food spot slated to come in this same kiosk in a couple of days and I haven't looked for anyone yet because I wanted to ask you first," the man smiled.
"She'll gladly do it!" Sora interjected.
"Yeah! I was so worried about not having a job and now I do, so thank you sir!" Mimi exclaimed.
"Great, you're hired then! You'll get a dollar raise per hour. Someone will be here in a day or so to help set up the new restaurant," the man smiled.
"Yeah, awesome!" Mimi giggled.
"I'm so glad to work with you again, TK. This kiosk will be in good hands. You have a good night," the man nodded and walked away.
"Bye…," Mimi bit her lip.
"Okay, excuse me back there, but what was that?" Tai cleared his throat.
"What?" Mimi squealed.
"You literally just pretended to be TK right there," Matt yelled.
"I know, I panicked! I didn't want to get anyone in trouble and he looked scary! I'm trying to do better! I don't want to screw anything up!" Mimi wiped her hands on her apron.
"It's okay, relax! You'll be fine! The owner doesn't even get too hands-on with the kiosk, this will be only temporary," Sora said.
"I hope you mean it…I don't want to get fired," Mimi sighed.
"I mean, you're pretending to be TK, so I think you're already on to a good start. TK doesn't seem like the kind of guy to get fired," Matt smirked.
"Kari, what the hell? I thought you said he was good," Zoe hissed in Kari's ear.
"He is! He ran a smoothie shop by himself," Kari protested.
"Oh, that dinky kiosk no one goes to? Unbelievable…," Zoe tossed a coffee cup to the ground and stomped away.
"Mary-Jo?" TK scribbled on a coffee cup.
"That's not my name," a girl with long curly hair frowned.
"It's Mary-Anne. Can you even hear?" another girl with straight brown hair snapped her fingers in TK's face.
"I'm sorry, I apologize! I'm just new…," TK stammered.
"We don't care! We only get a 15-minute break, and your incompetence is taking up a lot of it," the second girl put her hands on her hips.
"Ladies, we apologize for this inconvenience, but we would appreciate your patience and kindness as we mentor our newest crew member," Catherine stepped in.
"If I'm going to pay $6 for a coffee, it better taste like a $6 cup of coffee! You better get a hold of this or I'm gonna reach out to corporate next time," the girl growled.
"Have a nice day," Catherine forced a smile.
"I'm sorry…," TK turned red.
"It's okay. I understand it's a lot for you to absorb in such a short time, we're all learning as we go," Catherine put her hands on his shoulders.
"Thanks, I'm sorry…," TK sighed.
"Wow, you're lucky. I would have been chewed out for that. I guess you just have to have that clueless puppy look," Kari pouted.
"I don't look like a clueless puppy, do I?" TK looked at his reflection through a toaster.
"Honey, the mobile orders are here. Look, there's an Enorme black coffee. That should be easy for you, right?" Zoe motioned TK to the monitor.
"Ugh," Kari groaned.
"Holding back, everyday the same, don't wanna be a loner. Listen to me, oh no, I never say anything at all, but with nothing to consider they forget my na-"
"Matt? What are you doing here?" Sora gasped.
"Oh, hey…," Matt put his guitar down. "I'm just doing a little jam session."
"Nice guitar. Looks expensive," Sora said.
"Thanks. Marcus owed me big time," Matt said.
"Right…speaking of, why aren't you at work right now?" Sora asked.
"I got laid off, okay? Don't tell anyone," Matt huffed.
"They're going find out eventually. What are you gonna do?" Sora asked.
"I'll just become a professional busker in the meantime. Check it. This is more than I've made in a regular shift," Matt popped open his guitar case.
"Wow, that's impressive," Sora whistled.
"Thanks. I'll see how this works out. I might just do this," Matt said.
"Well, good luck. Here," Sora pulled a pen out of her bra and she grabbed a dollar bill from her purse. "Now you have an extra lucky dollar."
"Thanks. I'll keep this one extra safe," Matt put the dollar in his wallet.
"I mean it. Good luck," Sora smiled and walked off.
"Okay, I read that going on a juice cleanse is a great idea to shed some pounds. Don't we have a juice bar here?" Megumi squished her belly.
"We had the smoothie bar, but it's closed down now," Tai sipped at his tea.
"Why? I need juice!" Megumi sighed.
"Maybe because everyone keeps going to this shitty coffee place instead," Miki flicked Tai's cup.
"Oh," Megumi's face fell.
"Jesus, Miki! Why are you so mad? It's not like you go there anymore," Tai frowned.
"The popularity honestly killed the appeal for me. I tried to put in a mobile order and this is what they told me. A 30-minute wait for a black coffee? I cancelled that order cause I don't need a coffee that bad," Miki cracked open a can of sugar-free Red Bull.
"An energy drink? Aren't those bad for your health?" Megumi asked.
"Pfft…I already feel dead inside. It would be nice to feel alive for once," Miki slowly drank from her can.
"Nice," Tai scoffed.
"Tai, I think we should totally go on an exercise regimen somehow! We need to drop some L-Bs if we want our figures back," Megumi said.
"Yeah. My extracurricular sports aren't cutting it alone," Tai poked his stomach.
"Maybe we should make it interesting. You guys should avoid that Cafe Europa until you lose your target weight. First person to cave owes both me and the other person $50," Miki smirked.
"Wait, so we would be out $100 total if we cave in?" Tai gulped.
"Yeah. You scared?" Miki raised an eyebrow.
"No, not at all!" Tai crossed his arms.
"Okay. I'll just take this just to be on the safe side," Miki grabbed Tai's tumbler. "You can have it back when you're done."
"Aww…," Tai quietly whined to himself.
"Come on, workout pal! Let's take a lap around the mall. I heard that if we walk around the perimeter of both floors twice, that's supposed to be the equivalent of one mile," Megumi said.
"Just so you know, this will count as your break. Have fun," Miki smirked.
"Hi, are you TK?" a burly man walked up to Mimi with a bunch of crates.
"Uh yes…but you can call me Mimi for short," Mimi nodded.
"How do you get the name Mimi from TK?" the man gave her a quizzical look.
"How do you get Dick from Richard? Or Peggy from Margaret?" Mimi rambled.
"Fair enough. Anyways, I'm here to set up the new kiosk. I don't know if the franchise owner told you anything about it, but this is going to be the future location of Mini-Mees. Everything is bite-sized, from the pretzels, to the pigs in a blanket. It's all easy to prepare, an idiot could do it," the man said.
"Interesting," Mimi nodded.
"Here, this will be the uniforms you'll be wearing," the man pulled out bulky polos and a hat with a large pretzel attached onto a spring.
"Ew, do I seriously have to wear this?" Mimi flicked the spring.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. We do have T-shirts too. You can have both," the man handed her a couple of shirts.
"Cool…," Mimi droned.
"I figured. Kids love T-shirts," the man grinned.
"Yeah, totally," Mimi looked at her pile of uniforms in disgust.
"Now, this menu is completely easy to manage. We basically use the same ingredients to make five different foods. All of the ingredients are already pre-proportioned and premixed, and we also have timed ovens, so there's literally no chance of you burning anything, it's splendid. Again, you would have to a total idiot to fail at this job. We made it so that this job was basically dummyproof," the man said.
"Wow, that's amazing," Mimi forced a smile.
"Seriously, you would intentionally have to try your hardest to fail at this job, and even then, it would be impossible- unless you just didn't show up. I really like this business model. It took us a lot of trial and error to develop, but I'm glad to see that it's finally taken off," the man said.
"That's great," Mimi nervously laughed.
"If you want, you can take a sneak peek at the operational manual while we finish up the repairs here," the man handed Mimi a binder.
"Awesome…cool," Mimi forced a smile.
"Hey Davis, how are you feeling? You don't seem like yourself lately," Barbie Q petted him on the back.
"I think you girls were right. I am too immature," Davis sighed.
"What?" Barbie Q stood back.
"Yeah. I'm too immature for a girlfriend. I decided to follow your advice, and look…with the very limited free time I have left-"
"You're too busy spending it with your boyfriend?" Suzie Q hummed.
"What? Boyfriend?" Davis made a face.
"She's just teasing, but it is kinda funny how you do have your free time filled up with TK," Barbie Q smirked.
"He's my best friend," Davis said.
"Your best friend, or something more?" Suzie Q winked.
"No! Go ahead and ask him! I used to have the huuuugest crush on Kari, until Rina came along. I would say you could ask Kari, but I feel like she only tolerates me," Davis rambled.
"Sure, you can like 'Kari', but that doesn't mean you can't like TK either. It's not all pick one or the other," Barbie Q said.
"We got a new transfer kid in my class. He's from New York, but he's a bit of a weirdo. He talks about being in a throuple, so that's a thing too," Suzie Q nodded.
"What's a throuple?" Davis winced.
"It's like a couple, except it's three people," Barbie Q shrugged.
"How does that even work?" Davis made a face.
"I dunno! I'm from Nebraska. I grew up in a place where married people slept in separate beds," Suzie Q shrugged.
"I'm from Texas. I thought you had to be married first before you're allowed to have babies," Suzie Q shrugged.
"Wow, what the hell," Davis gasped.
"From babies to throuples…if you want him to answer those questions, maybe we can see if he'd be willing to come over. He seems like an interesting person," Suzie Q tapped her chin.
"You say interesting, I say creepy," Barbie Q crossed her arms.
"Come on, you're so close-minded!" Suzie Q huffed.
"Absolutely not!"
"But come on…look, can't you see the problem?" Mimi whined.
"Yes, I do. And it's not the hat," Izzy crossed his arms. "Whoever developed this manual designed it in such a foolproof way, that it is nearly impossible for you to screw it up. There's no way you can overcook or undercook the food, everything is pre-measured and premade, and it looks like they have a contingency plan to any shortages that could happen along the way, along with a contingency plan for the contingency plan. It's just so much easier to do the job as dictated. Why are you resisting? You'd have a harder time trying to mess this up," Izzy looked at Mimi incredulously.
"Look at these uniforms!" Mimi held up her work shirts.
"Not necessarily the nicest, but would you rather ruin your nice clothes?" Izzy crossed his arms.
"I guess you're right…but look," Mimi held up a baseball cap with a pretzel on top of it.
"Again, not necessarily the nicest but…it's a job. Come on, Mimi. You can't quit or get fired. Especially when you're trying to make amends with everyone in the group. Just try the job out. I know it doesn't sound 'fun', but seriously…you'd have to be a complete moron to fail at this job. It's so easy. You'll be fine. Just do it enough until you pay off your credit card, make that a goal," Izzy groaned.
"Okay…I think I can do that. I still have a nice chunk to pay off. You're right. Who knows, maybe I'll like it," Mimi sighed.
"You never know. Just promise me you'll actually give it a shot. Everyone's counting on you, and I would hate to be your only friend in town if things go wrong. I may not look like it, but I do have a personal life," Izzy leaned over the counter.
"You'd still be my friend?" Mimi looked at him with wide eyes.
"Yes," Izzy sighed.
"Well friend, since you got to hear me whine for a while, I think you deserve an Enorme black coffee. I'll order it in the app, and you can pick it up. It's under my name though," Mimi smiled.
"Thanks friend," Izzy smirked.
"Kari, can you check the mobile orders? It's getting kinda hectic up front," Catherine forced a smile.
"Sure," Kari walked over to the monitor in the back. "Mimi, Enorme black coffee…"
"Oh, that. FYI, a redheaded guy comes to pick that one up so don't be alarmed. That's a regular order that comes up a lot," Zoe nonchalantaly tapped the screen and poured coffee into a cup.
"Oh. It comes up often you say?" Kari meekly asked.
"Yeah. You can check customer profiles here to see what they last ordered- it goes up to the last 30 days, but as you see, this profile orders a lot of black coffee," Zoe closed the lid of the coffee and placed it in a drop-off area.
"Interesting," Kari stared at the screen.
"Excuse me. Catherine just wanted to see where we were with the mobile orders," TK hit the Home Screen and tapped away at the monitor. "Okay, I can bang these out in no time!"
"Kari, I just wanted to say, I was so wrong about TK and I'm so sorry. He's improved quite a bit. Actually, he's doing better than you are right now. Are you okay?" Zoe asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just tired," Kari sighed.
"It's okay, we all have those days. Just remember, one step at a time," Catherine squeezed Kari on her shoulder.
"Hey, I'm here to pick up for Mimi," Izzy walked to the pick-up area.
"Here you go," TK handed him his coffee.
"So she's buying you your drinks now?" Kari walked up to Izzy.
"Who?" Izzy dumbly asked.
"Mimi, you idiot!" Kari crossed her arms.
"I just did her a favor, she owed me," Izzy said.
"She buys you coffee every day," Kari bit her lip.
"Kari, are you okay?" TK paused.
"Do you like her?" Kari clenched her fists.
"Yeah, I think she overall means well. She's really trying," Izzy sighed.
"You're an idiot. You can't see it, can you?" Kari bit her lip.
"Kari, is there a problem?" Izzy scrunched his eyebrows.
"Do you not know how to pick up on social cues? Are you like autistic or something?!" Kari scoffed.
"If we're going to throw around high-dollar A-words like that, well…I would have never taken you for an asshole. Take care," Izzy curtly said and stormed off.
"Oh my god, TK…please don't tell me I-" Kari clutched her chest.
"You did," TK nodded disapprovingly.
"I think I need to sit," Kari gasped.
"Yeah, you probably should. I never seen you get so ugly," Zoe made a face.
"I know, I'm so ashamed. I can't believe I did that," Kari wiped her face with her apron.
"Did that make you feel any better?" TK leaned against the wall.
"No. I feel worse now," Kari sheepishly looked down at her lap.
"Hey, isn't that your friend over there?" Megumi jogged in place and peeked behind a corner. Matt was playing his guitar by one of the center water fountains in the mall.
"Yeah. Why isn't he at work?" Tai raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know, why don't we ask?" Megumi smirked and walked over to him.
"Ugh, wait for me…," Tai huffed.
"Hey love, whatcha doing? I didn't know you played guitar," Megumi winked at Matt.
"Yeah, I'm playing a bit. Wanna help a struggling artist out?" Matt winked back.
"Doesn't look like you're struggling too much," Tai eyed the cash in Matt's guitar case. "So, are you on break?"
"You could say…I've made more money doing this than a whole shift at work though. I think I'm gonna make this my full-time job. Check this," Matt cleared out his guitar case, save a couple of dollar bills.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Tai frowned.
"I get to control the music, people like it, and again, I'm making more this way than at work," Matt shrugged.
"Doesn't sound crazy to me. I'd totally quit too," Megumi shrugged.
"Thank you. At least I have some support," Matt said.
"You do you. Have fun," Tai frowned.
"You too. You have a lot of walking to do, tubby," Matt grabbed the skin under Tai's chin and gently patted him on the cheek.
"Let's go, Megumi," Tai grimaced.
"I'm already twenty steps ahead of you!" Megumi hollered.
"Good luck, I guess…," Tai made a face and walked off.
"Feeling the good vibes," Matt smirked and went back to strumming his guitar.
"I think you broke the poor boy," Barbie Q sighed.
"Hey, you joined in too," Suzie Q crossed her arms.
"Davis, are you okay?" Barbie Q frowned.
"I don't know how to tell if I'm possibly gay or not. Like even these quizzes don't make sense, it's like they're developed by immature 13-year-olds or homophobic people in foreign countries. Ugh…," Davis ran his fingers through his hair.
"Honey, it shouldn't be that hard. I would think you'd know if you are or aren't. Shouldn't it be that simple?" Barbie Q pouted.
"But why do I want to spend so much time with TK? I have to meet him at the movies soon. That's it, I'll make my move tonight. Then I'll know. I'll talk to you guys later," Davis hopped over the counter.
"Just don't do anything too rash…," Suzie Q winced.
"Seriously, don't do anything we wouldn't do," Barbie Q bit her lip.
"Don't stress it too much. Just have fun, we're sorry if we messed with your head…and he's gone," Suzie Q whistled.
"I have to get flowers or something," Davis ranted as he scanned through the storefront windows. He ended up buying a flower pen from a dollar store and proceeded on his way to the cinema.
"Hey Davis! I was getting worried that you'd be late," TK smiled.
"I got you a flower," Davis shoved the flower pen into TK's chest.
"Aww, thanks. That's very thoughtful of you…," TK took the pen and twirled it in between his fingers. "Are you sure everything's okay, bud? You look kinda nervous."
"TK, I have something to tell you," Davis reached out for TK's hands and pulled him closer. "I think I love you."
"Aww, that's so nice. I love you too, bestie," TK smiled.
"Yeah, bestie," Davis blushed.
"Come on, bestie! The movie's gonna start soon, we should probably get some snacks now if we want to watch the previews," TK grinned.
"Yeah, totally," Davis nervously laughed.
"Izzy, hey…," Kari sheepishly waved at Izzy. He quickly glanced at her and immediately strode into the stockroom.
"Wow, what did you do to piss him off?" Yolei smirked.
"Nothing. Just tell him I'm sorry. I came with a peace offering," Kari placed a large coffee and a cookie on the register counter.
"I'll relay the message, but can't guarantee the peace offering will still be there," Yolei winked.
"Oh well, I tried," Kari sighed and walked out of the store.
"Blech…who the hell drinks black coffee?!" Yolei gagged.
"That's what she gets for eating things that don't belong to her," Kari muttered under her breath as she made her way back to her job.
"You," Catherine approached Kari and grabbed her by the arms.
"Whoa! What the heck? You scared me!" Kari gasped.
"What's with your brother?" Catherine squinted her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Kari asked.
"Don't play dumb. He hasn't stopped by the cafe in a while, and I've noticed him walking around the mall with some other girl…so what did he say about me?" Catherine frowned.
"What? That doesn't sound like Tai…," Kari raised an eyebrow.
"But it is. I've seen him. He's been avoiding me," Catherine crossed her arms.
"I know the feeling. I have someone avoiding me too," Kari sighed.
"If you're talking about that customer, I don't particularly blame him. That wasn't very nice. He was one of our best ones, such an easy order, and now he's gone," Catherine shook her head.
"Thank you. I already feel bad," Kari huffed.
"If you want to feel good again, maybe you should talk to Tai and see what the heck is going on with that girl? Balance out that bad karma?" Catherine clasped her hands together.
"Fine. I'll fill you in," Kari sighed.
"You're the best! Queen Kari," Catherine winked and skipped off.
"Yeah, queen of crap," Kari scoffed.
"Wow, I can't believe you're up and running. How do you like this job so far?" Sora asked.
"Oh my god, I thought I was gonna hate this job but it's literally the easiest job ever. I love it, even if the uniform is atrocious and I smell like crappy beer at the end of my shifts," Mimi gushed.
"Actually, I have been meaning to ask…why do you end up smelling like beer?" Davis asked.
"It's this pretzel batter mixed with the mini hotdog grease, I guess. It smells gross but they're soooo delicious!" Mimi popped a mini pretzel dog in her mouth.
"Hi TK, I just wanted to see how everything was going," the franchise owner happily strode over to the kiosk.
"I'm TK," TK raised his hand.
"What?" the franchise owner raised an eyebrow.
"No, I'm TK," Mimi cleared her throat loudly.
"Um…what the heck is going on?" Davis raised an eyebrow.
"That's what I want to know," the franchise owner frowned.
"I'm sorry, I pretended to be TK because I needed a job and I wanted to work and help out! I love working with tiny food, please let me stay!" Mimi pleaded.
"Are you kidding? You lied from the start, how can I trust you to work alone? What if you steal from me next?" the franchise owner gasped.
"Nononono, I promise! Please let me keep this job!" Mimi whined.
"She's done pretty well. Everything's come out good," Sora defended her.
"I would hope so. Everything's been designed so that even a kid could do this job. I'm sorry, I have to let you go. I think I'll have my nephew work here instead. You're fired, imposter. I'll close up, just leave," the franchise owner shooed Mimi out of the kiosk.
"Noooo, it's not fair," Mimi trembled.
"And I'll need the hat back," the franchise owner said.
"Dang, it was kinda growing on me," Mimi begrudgingly handed her pretzel hat back.
"Come on Mimi, why don't I get you a unicorn frapp," TK leaned his hand on her shoulder.
"Okay," Mimi nodded.
"By the way, original TK, you're fired too- in case that wasn't clear," the franchise owner said.
"Yeah. I thought I already was a couple weeks ago, so no hard feelings. See ya," TK shrugged.
"I'm sorry. I tried to keep the kiosk," Mimi sighed.
"You did your best, and we're proud of you," Sora nodded.
"Sucks you got fired, you actually were good this time," Davis said.
"Wahhhh, I'm so sad," Mimi cried.
"Way to go, Davis…," Sora angrily whispered.