Jason woke up to his early morning alarm. After getting up and dressing, he left his room, pillow in hand. He walked slowly towards Thea, who was still sleeping on the couch. He held the pillow out in front of him with shaky hands and attempted to tip-toe his way past.
Thea's hand snapped out, grabbed the pillow and pulled it back to her body faster than Jason could blink. Jason jumped in surprise and fell over the coffee table, knocking over the plates and cups that were on it, making a loud crash. The crash made Thea jolt awake.
"W-where's the fire?!" Thea yelled, with her eyes still closed.
"Oww..." Jason groaned on the floor.
"Ah! Jason are you ok?!" Thea panicked when she saw Jason on the floor, gripping his knee in pain.
"Never better!" Jason grunted, though his face said the opposite.
"Do you want help?" Thea got up out of bed.
"No no, I'm fine. Could you please get ready to go out." Jason slowly got up.
"Where are we going?" Thea looked through the window at the sunrise. "And why so early?"
"We'll get something to eat, and then I've got work." Jason said rubbing his back. "I'm also going to see if we can find you a job."
"Ok!" Thea brightened up at the idea of earning her own money. She walked quickly to the bathroom.
Jason recovered from his injury and started to clean up the mess. "What am I going to do with her?" he chuckled nervously in his head.
An hour later, Jason and Thea entered the Nautical Dinner. It was a 5-star restaurant with beautiful decorations, fancy tables and chairs, and a cozy fireplace. The candles lit on the tables gave the room a lovely smell and the soft lighting and piano music made more a relaxing mood.
"Wow!" Thea marveled as she looked around. "This is where you work?"
"Yup. I take the morning till early afternoon shift. I work as a waiter and a cook." Jason explained.
"Where is everybody?" Thea asked. The restaurant was empty, save for a few employees cleaning and setting things up for the day.
"The dinner isn't open just yet. We're the first here, so we can eat something before I have to get to work."
"This place looks expensive!"
Yeah, it is. It's an upper-class restaurant. It'll cost you a pretty penny to eat here often."
"You don't?" Thea asked.
"I get paid pretty well here, but I'm not rich. The employees do get a set amount of free meals here though. I don't eat here very often so I have a few free meals saved up. So I won't have to pay for your food." Jason explained.
"Awsome!"
Jason and Thea sat down at a table near the kitchen. An Octoling waiter with a fancy white shirt and black vest came and gave them their menus. He had tan skin and sunny, golden eyes. "Good morning, Jason." he said cheerfully.
"Morning, Arthur." Jason greeted him back.
"Who's this fine lady?" Arthur asked, smiling at Thea.
Jason chuckled. "This is Thea. She's staying with me till we find her a job and she can afford rent."
"Nice to meet you, Thea." Arthur said as he poured water into their glasses.
"Same to you." said Thea.
Thea looked down at the menu, and her face fell. "Um, I actually can't read this." She said pointing to the menu, which was in Inkling. "Do you have one in Octarian?"
"Actually, we do!" Arthur smiled. "I'll go get it." Arthur walked off to the kitchen.
Thea turned to Jason. "Nice fellow."
"Yeah, Arthur is really friendly. I don't know him very well, but he's nice to work with." Jason said.
Arthur retuned with the Octarian menu and Jason and Thea placed their orders. While they waited for their breakfast, Thea decided to ask about Jason's job.
"How did you get a job here, Jason?"
"My friend, Sam, used to work here and recommended me. His family his really rich so he was able to get a job in an upper-class dinner. He left the job after about a year to pursue a career in cartography. I was already good friends with him and when he found out I needed a job, he encouraged me to work here. I already was a cook, and I learned service on the job." Jason explained.
"It's hard work, but it pays well. Most of my income goes into a savings account. I'm saving to buy a house so I can rent it out. I also send a large portion of my earnings back home to support my parents. They still have five of my siblings living with them, and they don't earn enough stay comfortable. So me and my sister, who lives on the other side of Inkopolis, send them some cash to keep everyone warm." Jason realized he'd been rambling.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to share my life story," he awkwardly laughed.
"No, no it's alright!" Thea smiled. "I find it really interesting, your story. I think it's really awesome of you to send money home to support your family."
"Yeah, I do love and miss my family." Jason said. "Being able to help them is a great privilege for me. I don't need to live a fancy lifestyle. I get by just fine. I'll be able to live a cushy life when I can rent out a few houses." Jason shook his head. "But enough about me, what's your story?"
Thea's face grew sad. She rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to-." Jason stuttered.
"No, it's ok." Thea sighed and stared into the distance. "My father left my me and my mother when I was little for another woman. We became very poor, only just getting by each day. My mother often went hungry just to pay for my education, and even then, I didn't do so well in school. My mother died to an illness and the army took me into their infantry. It doesn't take a lot of brains to be a walking target." Thea smiled a sad smile.
"I never wanted to kill. I never went on a mission because I only ever did the bare minimum. I was punished a lot because I refused to conform to their twisted ethics. Yet, for some reason, they wouldn't let me go. They wouldn't let me be an innocent civilian and live my own life. I had become a prisoner to my own people."
Thea now had Jason's full attention. He leaned in a bit closer to Thea to listen.
"I tried multiple times to get out, but they kept bringing me back in. Even when the war ended, the part of the army that I was assigned to refused to surrender to the Inklings. While hundreds of my people moved to the surface, I was left behind, trapped underground. Me and many more soldiers were kept away from the outside world."
Thea looked down at the bandage on her hand." When I finally did escape there wasn't anything for me back home, so I fled to your city. Because I wasn't an official immigrant, I was turned down at the border. I couldn't get a residency, so I snuck in. I resigned myself to roaming the city, looking for a job. For several days I went hungry and cold. I was even almost killed by a monster. Nobody would've known me. No would've cared. And then you showed up." Thea finally looked up at Jason and smiled.
Jason sat, listening to Thea's story. He realized how little he knew about what this Octoling had been through. He longed to just reach out and give her a hug. But something held him back, something that told him that he couldn't invade her privacy like that. So he just sat there, with a concerned expression on his face.
"I'm sorry." Thea said wiping away the small tears that had been forming in her eyes. "For getting all emotional. I've moved on now, and I'm putting the past behind me." She said with determination.
Jason nodded and smiled. "Good."
A bit later, Arthur brought them their breakfast. Thea was especially excited about the fancy and expensive looking food served in beautifully designed dishes. The two ate in silence, neither one of them wanting to ruin the mood.
When they finished Thea was the first to speak up. "That has got to be the best meal I've ever had." she laughed.
"Better than mine?" Jason asked cheekily.
"W-well, I mean..." Thea stuttered.
"I'm just kidding!" Jason chuckled. "I know I'm the best chef in the world!"
"Very funny." Thea rolled her eyes.
"Right, well. I have work in a few, but let me speak to my boss first." Jason said getting up and taking their dishes. "I'll be back soon."
"Ok." Thea nodded.
As Jason walked to the kitchen he thought about what Thea had said. "I have to help her start over. To live a new life, a life that she wants."
Jason walked through the busy kitchen, greeting his workmates. "Hey, Jason congrats on the girlfriend!" the Inkling girl, Valerie, called out from the vegetable prep area. The comment was followed with giggling from the other girls in the kitchen and a few chuckles from the boys.
"Dang it, Arthur! Why does everyone keep making fun of me?" Jason thought.
"She's not my girlfriend, Valerie!" Jason shouted back without looking behind him. The giggling and laughing continued.
He knocked on the door of the manager's office. "Come in!" came a voice from inside. Jason opened the door to a small, cluttered office with an older, well dressed, Inkling sitting at the desk sipping coffee and doing paperwork.
"Good morning, Jason!" the manager greeted Jason.
"Morning, Mr. Kepton. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time. I have a serious matter to discuss with you."Jason said, his speech becoming more proper and classy. An effect of speaking to a fancy dinner owner.
"Ok, shoot." Kepton said putting down his coffee to give Jason his attention.
"I've taken a homeless Octoling under my proverbial wing, and I'm trying to help her find a job so she can support herself. The city isn't going to help her and I thought you might be able to." Jason explained.
"Is she not an official immigrant?" Kepton asked.
"No. She escaped from the military and has been roaming our streets."
Jason proceeded to relate the story of the past two days with Thea and part of what she had told him about her life underground. He did use discretion for Thea's privacy. Jason doubted she talked about her horrible experiences to just anyone.
When Jason finished relaying his story, Kepton leaned back in his seat and scratched his neck. "Well, that's quite the tale. So you'd like me to give her a job? He asked.
Jason nodded "I was wondering if you could give Thea a part-time job, so she can get some work experience and ease some of my expenses. She can't cook, but I reckon she could do waitressing. It's not a very hard job, and she seems bright and friendly enough to work with people. You wouldn't have to pay her full wage just yet, since she isn't a citizen. She could work alongside me when I have the waiter shift so I could help. She could even do cleaning and work the register." Jason said happily. "The only problem is that even though she can speak our language fluently, she can't read in Inkling."
"Hmm, can't read Inkling..." Kepton raised an eyebrow.
"I have already enrolled her for an Inkling reading/writing class. We'll go to the first one this afternoon." Jason added.
Kepton sat in thought for a minute, leaning in his chair and staring past his desk. Finally, he looked Jason in the eye.
"Jason, this is a high-class restaurant. I only hire the best chefs and waiters I can afford. We are already slightly overstaffed, and I was going to announce some budget cuts." Klepton said in an apologetic manner. Jason looked defeated.
"However, you've always been a model employee and a great asset to my restaurant. I'm going to help you, and Thea." Mr. Klepton said with a smile. "You were due for a pay-raise next week. If you're willing to give up that raise, and she can prove to me that she can be a high-class and dependable waitress, I will hire Thea."
Jason smiled a great big grin and shook Klepton's hand. "Thank you, Mr. Kepton!"
"You're welcome. When can I meet Thea?" Kepton asked, getting up from his seat.
"She's right outside." Jason held the door open for him.
Yeesh, this one was especially hard to write. I'm not good with conveying emotional stuff and backstory. Oh well! That's why I'm writing this. To learn. And for your enjoyment. (I hope)
I'm sorry this chapter was a bit bland. We'll get into the more ''mushy stuff in the following chapters. Wonder what else is in store for Jason and Thea. ;)
You know the drill. Reviews and follows and all that. I really do appreciate all the support from you guys, it keeps me motivated!
In other news, I've decided I like the name, The Little Differences. It's kinda grown on me. Although I'm still open to new title ideas since it doesn't really represent the theme of the story. Ok, I'll shut up.
Until next time,
Dashanerocket