Mr. Kepton met and spoke with Thea for a while. He asked her some questions and answered hers. He had her perform a few tasks to demonstrate her competence and problem-solving. Eventually, Kepton decided to hire Thea. After calming her down from an outburst of excitement and 'thank yous', Jason gave Thea her a new waitress uniform: a smart looking white shirt, black bow-tie, and a short black dress.
Both Thea and Jason changed into their work clothes and Jason brought Thea to the kitchen to meet the other employees currently working the morning shift. The kitchen was large and noisy. Steam came from the grills, sounds of chopping and mixing, people walking about and working at their stations.
"You've already met Arthur. He's one of our waiters" Jason said bringing Thea over to where Arthur stood.
"Welcome to the service team, Thea." Arthur shook Thea's hand with a big grin on his face. "I've taken the liberty of notifying everyone of your recent addition to the staff."
"Thank you." Thea replied with excitement.
"There's also Natalie, but she's off today. Other than that there's me and now, you." Jason laughed.
"Valerie over there does raw ingredient prep." Arthur said pointing to the Inkling girl with the pigtail hairstyle, chopping up a pumpkin with a large knife. "Fruits, veggies, meat. You name it, she slices it."
Valerie shot a cheeky glare at Arthur. "And I'll chop that silly fohawk tentacle right off if I find you messing with my apples again!" she yelled with a smirk, emphasizing her point by stabbing her knife into the pumpkin. Thea was briefly reminded of the assault two days ago but shook her head to clear her mind.
"Valerie has a 'unique' relationship with her ingredients." Jason said quietly. "She's quite passionate about her food."
"You're darn right I do!" Valerie yelled again over the noise. "Not just anyone gets to touch my melons!"
Jason sighed while Arthur laughed his lungs out. Thea was oblivious to the innuendo.
"Moving on, Harry here," Jason pointed to a taller inkling by the stoves and grills. "He does meat and frying and grilling."
"He likes to flip his patties up close to the ceiling." Arthur added.
"Yeah, and he has these cool, special meat knives he gets from overseas." Jason commented. Harry looked behind him and smiled at Thea, his face a little red. Thea smiled back. Jason noticed Harry's face, but not the redness.
"Hey, Harry? What's with the black eye?" Jason called over to him.
Harry frowned and turned back to his work. "Crazy party. Stupid accident." He half-yelled-half-grumbled.
"Ok. Hope it gets better soon." Jason said.
Jason and Thea went to the other side of the kitchen to meet the other workers.
"This is Kyle. He's our baker and cook." Jason introduced Thea to a slightly overweight and short Inkling. "He works with all the pastry, pasta, and soup."
"Pleasure to meet you, Thea." Kyle shook Thea's hand. "It is my custom to gift all new employees a little something I've whipped up." Kyle said handing Thea a small package.
Thea was surprised by the kind gesture and opened it immediately. Inside was a jar of cookies with a label. Thea couldn't read it and looked to Jason.
"It says 'Welcome to the crew!'." Jason nodded.
Thea smiled. "Thanks so much, Kyle!"
"Pleasure!"
"And this," Jason said turning Thea's attention to another Inkling girl. "is Emily. She does all the dirty work."
Emily turned from cleaning dishes in the sink to face Thea. Emily was a bit bulkier and looked well built. "I clean deh dishes, cutlery, tables, deh floor, and I take out deh trash and unload deh delivery truck. I ain't afraid ta get ma hands dirdy and I'm able to do all deh eavy liftin'." she said in her strange accent with a smile.
"Yeah, she carries like two large crates at a time! She's like Arnold Squidinator!" Jason joked, earning a laugh from both girls and a light punch from Emily.
"It's nice ta meetcha, Teah. I look forward ta working with cha." Emily smiled and extended her large hand to Thea.
Thea took Emily's hand and shook it, returning the smile. "It's good to meet all you guys. I look forward to working and learning and having fun with you all."
"There are several more staff that aren't here right now. They'll come and take over for us for the afternoon/evening." Jason lead Thea back into the dinner. "For now though, let's get you started!"
For the rest of the morning till early afternoon, Thea and Jason waited on tables, delivered food to customers and worked the register. Jason was surprised by how quickly Thea picked up on the job. Pretty quickly she was carrying multiple platters at a time and moving swiftly around the restaurant to take orders and take plates to and from the kitchen. She was able to figure out the cash register, despite not being able to understand the numbers and was able to memorize customer's orders so she didn't have to write them down. She was well mannered and kind to the customers and especially good with the kids. All the while, she had a huge, toothy grin on her face.
Later on, after the lunch hour rush, Thea took a break to lean against the wall and ate a sandwich. As she ate she watched the customers enjoying themselves. Her gaze wandered for a bit before landing on a couple sitting at one of the candle-lit tables. They sat holding hands as the male Inkling put a ring on the female Inkling's finger. They both leaned in and kissed. Thea lowered the sandwich from her mouth and watched the couple for a bit, with a curious smile.
Jason looked up from clearing a table on the other side of the dinner and saw Thea taking her break. He followed her gaze to the couple on a date. He looked back to Thea, then back to the couple, then back to Thea. Jason's mind went into overdrive.
Jason gulped at the thought of being closer to Thea. While he had thought of the possibility, he had never taken it seriously. Having a girl living in his small apartment was already awkward and made him uncomfortable. Living with a girlfriend could be a disaster. What if he woke up with her in his bed one morning?! Jason cringed at the picture. He certainly didn't want that. They were too young. His parents would never approve. If something went wrong, it could destroy their friendship. Did they even have a friendship? Did she want to be more than friends? Was she not interested in him at all?
Jason's train of thought became more and more non-sensical. He started to envision less 'family-friendly' things. He was really glad no one could read his thoughts right then.
"Jason? Are you ok?"
Jason jumped three feet in the air in surprise. "AHHH! Arthur!" Jason gasped for air, gripping his pounding heart.
"Sorry, didn't know you were 'that' zoned out." Arthur smirked and started setting up the table Jason had just cleaned. "Are you ok? You don't look so good." he asked, referring to Jason's slightly green face.
Jason looked to see Thea get off the wall to get back to work. He cleared his throat and calmed his breathing "Yeah, I'll be ok." Me and Thea's shift ends soon.
"What are you going to do for the rest of the day?"
"I'm going to take Thea to an Inkling reading and writing class. She needs to learn to read and write if she's going to be a waitress." Jason said trying to focus.
"Sounds good! She's been doing a great job today. She'll do even better if she can write down orders and read the numbers for the tables." Arthur continued to set the table up for the next customer.
"Hmm..." Jason sighed in thought.
"Umm, Jason?"
"Yeah?
"I just wanted to let you know, I think what your doing for Thea is really great. I only got started in Inkopolis because someone took the time to care about me and to see you do the same for one of my people, it's really neat of you." Arthur looked to Jason with a smile. "If there's anything you need, I'm happy to help you two."
Jason smiled back. "Thanks, Arthur. Means a lot." Jason paused in thought for a second. "Actually, I don't know you very well. Would you like to come to my birthday dinner by any chance?"
Arthur's eyes widened. "Of course! If I had known sooner I would've gotten you a gift! Would you like me to bring anything?"
"I don't really want presents, but if you could bring something for dessert, that'd be great." Jason laughed.
"I will make my world famous fudge pudding!" Arthur said with a cheeky smile.
"Woah, whoa, whoa! Suddenly your kitchen is the world?!" Jason joked and the two of them laughed.
Jason and Thea finished work late-afternoon. They decided to walk to Thea's Inkling class, which was only a few blocks away, instead of taking the bus.
"Ahh, the air is much fresher out here." Thea sighed as they made their way along the sidewalk.
"Yeah, the candles in the restaurant give the place a sweet aroma, but it gets a bit heavy after a while." Jason shrugged.
"Mhm, and it's so much brighter out here. The sun makes me feel so free." Thea put a hand up to shield her eyes from the bright ball of burning gas in the sky. She smiled at the sight of the little, puffy, white clouds, dotted about the deep, blue sky. Jason couldn't help but smile too.
Thea had such an innocence around her. She was curious about the world, having lived beneath it all her life. She found even the most trivial things genuinely interesting. She wanted to learn more about Inkling society, discover more about the sun-lit lands she now lived in.
"I guess they do keep it a little dark in there, but that's just to set the mood." Jason commented as they continued walking. "Hey, you did a great job today. You catch on well."
Thea blushed a bit. "Thanks. I tried my best. Was there anything I could've done better?" She turned to Jason.
"Not really. You'll learn to do things more efficiently and where everything goes and what to do in downtime as you go on." Jason reassured. He instinctively reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but hesitated.
"This doesn't feel right. I can't just touch her. She might not think of us as friends. But then again, she did hug me yesterday..." Jason made up his mind and put his hand on Thea's shoulder. Thea jumped a little bit in surprise but continued walking. They had started walking past some stores and businesses.
"A-And once you can read and write, you can really start earning a lot more. Until then, just continue being nice to the customers and asking questions." Jason smiled.
Thea blushed deeper. Ok. I was worried that I was asking too many questions." she sighed in relief.
"Asking questions is how we learn. If you don't know something, you won't learn by not doing anything about it. If others can't be patient enough to help educate you, then they're just being A-holes." Jason smirked.
Thea laughed. Her walking slowed and she fell behind Jason. Jason didn't think anything of it for a few more steps, but when he realized that Thea was no longer walking with him, he turned back.
Thea had stopped in front of an antique shop and was looking through the window with a distant expression. Jason walked up beside her and tried to follow her gaze. Thea stepped forward, her nose just an inch away from the glass.
"It looks just like it." she muttered quietly.
"Sorry?" Jason asked, puzzled.
Thea pointed to an ornament on display. "I used to have one."
The ornament was a small, golden ball with a swirly pattern and a golden needle sticking through it. It sat on a little purple cushion with golden talons.
"You had one?" Jason asked again.
"It was a gift from my Mom. For one of my birthdays, I forget which. It was the most valuable thing in the world to me." Thea explained softly, still staring at the golden trinket.
"It's a symbol of courage, diligence, of overcoming great obstacles. I have seen a few other people wearing one."
"What happened to your's?" Jason asked, very curious.
"It was lost while I was in the army. I was upset for days. Seeing one here just surprised me for a minute. Brought back some old memories."
Jason decided not to press Thea for more. He could tell it was a sensitive subject for her. She seemed to really hate remembering her days underground.
Thea pulled back from the window, blinking back invisible tears. "I'm ok. Let's go." She started walking again in the direction of the school. Jason hung back for a few seconds to look once more at the golden ornament. He then caught up with Thea and continued their walk to Thea's Inkling class, the gears in his head turning.
Jason washed the evening's dishes while Thea slaved over her Inkling homework at the bench. The two had gone to Thea's reading/writing class and then went home to eat another delicious dinner cooked up by Jason.
The first class focused on the Inkling alphabet and sounds each character made. They also went over some simple 3-4 letter words and other reading/writing basics.
Thea and Jason were sent home with some study guides and textbooks. The instructions were available in both Inkling and Octarian so Jason didn't have to read everything for Thea.
Thea had done well in the class. She grasped all the concepts and was feeling good about herself. The homework however...
"B-ba, no. Bog? Bog, is that right?" Thea tried pronouncing the Inkling words written on the page with difficulty. "Is that right?" Thea held up the paper for Jason to read. They had spent most of the evening going over basic reading and learning about how all the characters worked. Thea was beginning to get more and more frustrated with the tricky second language.
Jason finished up with the dishes and dried his hands. "Dog." he corrected. "The 'b' and 'd' look similar.
Thea let out a groan. "Uuuugh, this is way harder than I thought it would be! There are so many things that make no sense! Why does 'c' and 'k' make the same sound, but only sometimes?! Why does the 'e' make the 'wowels' change?!" she whined into her hands.
"Vowels." Jason corrected again.
"Whatever!" Thea groaned again.
Jason chuckled and walked over to sit next to her. He reached over hand put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. It's part of the learning process. You are gonna have some difficulty. Coming to a new city and learning a whole new language is quite an undertaking."
Thea looked at Jason, her hands and face soaked with tears. She looked like she was going to break down. Jason bit his lip. He had not expected her to be so upset about failing.
"B-but you know what? Everyone struggles to learn something as complex as language. Surely you remember learning Octarian? It's not easy learing one language, let alone two! Even I had difficulty writing! I couldn't hold the pencil straight!" Jason chuckled.
Jason took a pencil and quickly wrote somthing out in beautiful linking calligraphy. Thea couldn't read it but could tell it was two sentences and was written with amazing handwriting.
"If all the other Octolings living in Inkopolis could learn Inkling, so can you!" Jason rubbed Thea's shoulder.
Thea took a moment to consider what Jason said. She looked at the words Jason had written. They seemed like unintelligible squiggles on the page. She wanted so badly to understand them. She wanted to find her place in Inkopolis and fit in with society. And she would never if she gave up now, on the first night, just because she was getting frustrated.
"Ok." Thea said quietly. "I'm going to try." She sniffed and wiped away her tears.
Jason nodded "You've done plenty for the day. We should get some sleep. We have another big day tomorrow." Jason got up and started cleaning the bench.
"Jason?"
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking." Thea looked up at him with those beautiful sapphire eyes. "Would you consider us...friends?"
Jason paused for a moment. "Is it something you'd like to be?"
"Um... Yeah." Thea nodded sheepishly. "I was just thinking that after all that's happened, all we've done, all that we've talked about... I think I would like to be friends."
Jason's heart flipped upside down. Never had a girl outright asked him to be their friend.
"Thea, I'd love to be your friend." Jason smiled warmly.
"Ok, thanks." Thea sighed. "I'm just gonna use the bathroom real quick." she got up and walked to the bathroom.
"Sure. You go do that"
When Thea closed the bathroom door Jason bolted for his room to have a 'freak out' session. Unbeknownst to him, however, Thea was having one, herself, in the bathroom.
Ok, so I'm sorry for disappearing for so long. I'm not going to give an explanation for why I took a break, but honestly, you probably don't really care. (Stuff got in the way, lack of motivation, laziness.) I'm sorry.
I really didn't know what I was doing until Chigger came along and was like "Yup, it's good, here's what you could do to make it better." And I was like "Wow! Thanks, Chigger! I should probably get back to that." (Do check out Chigger's series. It's seriously the best. He was my main inspiration for getting into writing fanfiction)
Really my main motivation was that I wanted to release the birthday scene on my actual birthday, which begins in like 2 minutes. Would've been cool like "Oh! Dash is 17 and Jason is 17! Wow! So clever!" But now that's gone, because of me. (Duh!)
Oh well. Lesson learned. I do hope this super long chapter makes up for the super long wait. My longest chapter yet at over 3000 words! No? Ok.
But I'm still determined to finish this. Thea and Jason are too important to me! I want to see this through! There's still so many surprises and cool stuff to show you!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! It really does help to keep me motivated since I'm not that great at self-motivation. You can review to let me know what you thought of the chapter(s) (or wish me happy birthday) and follow me or the story for updates and alerts for new chapters.
Ok, I'm done self-promoting and whining about disappearing.
Until next time,
Dashanerocket