=Astrid's POV=

{Saturday, December 18, 2021-8:30 am}

(Archia Burger)

I arrived as instructed by Hiccup at 8:20 am, but it didn't appear anyone else had come just yet. I suppose I was ten minutes early. I was still shocked that Hiccup chose to hire me when he said that the other manager hadn't planned on after realizing who I was; one of the people who had given Hiccup trouble in the past. However, Hiccup was hiring me. I didn't know his motive behind doing so, but right now; I'm not about to question the man who has given me a job, and gave me money to turn my phone on, and get the required shoes I needed to work at Archia Burger. Right now, I'm just sitting at the table out front wearing the black pants, shoes and one of my coats to block some of the cold December morning air. I made sure to have my license, social, and birth certificate with me, and I carried all that in my small purse. I was nervous; I've never worked a day in my life, not even chores. I was praying to the Gods that I didn't mess this up.

As the minutes ticked by, I saw two more cars pull in and park along the side, but no one got out yet. Finally, I watched Hiccup's Jeep pull into a spot, then shut off. Hiccup's driver side door opened as he got out, then closed it while moving across the lot. I saw three other employees begin walking forward and following Hiccup. I got off the bench to the table, then walked along the sidewalk to meet him by the left door.

"You know; I would have picked you up, so you didn't have to walk, Astrid," Hiccup stated as he got the key to the door, placing it inside and turning it to unlocked the door and we could go inside.

"It's okay. The place I'm staying is only a ten-minute walk," I replied as the others got inside, then me as Hiccup locked the door behind him. Hiccup moved to the back quickly to turn off the alarm before it sounded, then he flipped on the lights.

"So, you're the new girl?" asked one of the males with a shaved head of brown hair and hazel eyes. I nodded a bit shyly. Hiccup returned seconds later, standing next to me.

"I hired her yesterday afternoon; her name is Astrid," Hiccup said calmly. "Astrid, this is Ander Kongur, Brenna Grayson, and Natalie Heift,"

"Nice to meet you," Astrid lifted her hand a little to wave.

"Where do you want us?" Brenna, a girl with platinum blonde hair and purple eyes, asked with a smile.

"Ander, grill. Brenna, lettuce, and salad. Nat, sandwich line. We got Frode coming in at 9:30 am, and he can handle onions, pickles, tomatoes, and sauce bottles. Natalie, if you finish sandwich line early, you can help Brenna out," Hiccup said.

"Got it," the three replied, then split off to get started.

"What should I do?" I asked.

"You're coming with me to the office to get your paperwork handled," Hiccup informed. I nodded, following him to the back office, which was really small. Once inside, Hiccup went into one of the cupboards and began rummaging around for a couple things. "You turned your phone on, right?"

"Yes, a-and the shoes too. These are the right ones, right? I just asked the cashier if they were non-slip…" I inquired. Hiccup glanced, then nodded his head approvingly. "I never did thank you, for giving me the money…I promise I'll pay you back,"

"Don't worry about it; you act like I gave you a lot," Hiccup shrugged a bit.

"$100 is a lot for someone in my position right now…" I sighed.

"It'll work out, Astrid," Hiccup assured. "Trust in that. Good things come to those who wait," he added while pulling out two short-sleeved shirts; both were a darker olive green with the yellow words; Archia Burger printed on the sides of the sleeves. Hiccup also pulled out a gray apron with the logo for the establishment in the middle. Lastly, Hiccup brought out a hat and visor. "Take your pick," he held both up.

"Visor, please?" I said. Hiccup handed it to me, then put the hat back.

"Alright; you get two shirts, two aprons, and one visor. I'll make your name tag while you throw on the shirt, and tuck it in too," Hiccup instructed. I nodded, slipped the shirt over my head and doing as he said to with it. "If we're not in business hours, like now which is between 8:30 and 10:30 am; you don't have to have the hat, or apron on for the opening. Same goes for at night; 10:30 pm; it can come off for closing. You won't have to worry about closing; you won't work that late until after graduation. Well, if you want to,"

"Got it," I nodded.

"Alright, basics of this job are straightforward. Males have to be clean-shaven, and girls have to keep their hair tied back. So that thing you do where you leave the side pieces down when your hair is braided…Don't do that. Clip them back, or pull it with the rest. You know…Good personal hygiene," Hiccup informed.

"Understood," I replied.

"No call/No shows; you get three, and then you're terminated. Call Outs; try not to do a lot of those. The official reasons are due to being sick or an emergency, and though it sucks; your reasoning is excused if you bring proof. If you do call out, do it at least two hours before your shift that way we have time to find cover," Hiccup explained. "Sexual Harassment is not tolerated, and if you are a victim; you bring it to a manager's attention right away. You will not get in trouble for filing a complaint. And I told you yesterday that if you're gonna be an employee here; you do the work. We don't take shortcuts here, and we pay you to work, not be lazy and mess around,"

"But we do have a lot of fun!" Natalie giggled, I noticed she had black hair and purple eyes as she walked by with a few pans in her arms.

"Yes, we do, as long as we're still working," Hiccup enlightened. "Now, let's get the paperwork squared away," he stated.

. . .

{9:00 am}

It took a little time, but Hiccup and I got all my paperwork finished. I was still nervous though, I didn't know what came next.

"What now?" I wondered.

"Well, I'm gonna pencil you into the schedule for next week. As I'm the one training you; you'll be here on my shifts, at least part of them. I work 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm, so you'll likely be here from like 4 pm to 8 or 9 pm, for now. We don't like to overwhelm the new employees with work, and we have a pretty full crew, so I can't give you a ton of hours," Hiccup informed.

"I'll take anything," I told him.

"Good attitude to have," Hiccup replied. "You'll work today and Sunday, that finishes off this week. Next week; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. All 4 pm to 8 pm, okay?"

"I'm not about to complain," Astrid stated.

"Perfect. Schedules go up on Fridays, so if you're not working to be able to check it; just call by Sunday night and ask whichever manager you speak with to tell you what you're working. Fridays are also paydays. Now, as you're just starting, you will get your first check the Friday after next. So on the 31st,"

"Why so long?" I questioned.

"Eh; it's a thing that a lot of places do. They hold back the first week's check," Hiccup said. "Now, come on; I'll show you around to get you familiar with the layout and where things are. Oh, and we have to get you clocked in. I will edit your time to say you've been here since 8:30 am, though,"

"Thanks," I nodded as Hiccup led me out to the front counter.

"Alright, this whole area is the dining room past the counter. You've got the condiment stand, tables, drink machine, and bathrooms around the corner there along with a storage closet with the vacuum, spare gloves, rock salt for outside, napkins…You get it," I nodded to him. "Right here is the two front registers, sink on the left, and to your right is Drive-Thru. Behind you is lemonade, and chili. This small counter space is cheese and diced onions for the chili. There's also a mini fridge down here for salad dressings, sour cream, and butter. Under the counter is your lids, cups, and extras like ketchup, mayo, crackers, and dipping sauces," Hiccup motioned to each thing as he explained it.

"And this is all…Front Counter?" I asked.

"You got it, and whoever is on the front is in charge of making sure out there stays clean," Hiccup said. "Alright down this section on the left is second side sandwiches and salad station. In the Summer, we open the second side to make sandwiches JUST for front counter. This is also where the extra salad-making things go. On the left wall is the ice machine, and the vanilla and strawberry milkshake machines," Hiccup showed me.

"Isn't there a chocolate one too?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it's on the Drive-Thru side. Don't ask why it's not with these two because I have no idea," Hiccup shrugged. "If you keep down this way," he guided me and motioned left again. "You find yourself at the prep station. It's also the dishwashing one, and a little storage for the salad bowls and lids, the pans, covers, etc." Hiccup continued. "This side of the rack on the right is cups, lids, coffee cups, fry cartons, forks, spoons, knives,"

"So all paper products?" I looked at him.

"Yes! Very good," Hiccup nodded. "Through this narrow path, you'll see the big and little buns for sandwiches; these are the frozen ones, and they get pulled in the morning to thaw for the night, and partial use in the morning. It's always in a rotation to make sure we don't run out," he added. "At the back here, we have the walk-in fridge, and inside that, another door to the freezer," Hiccup led me there, and showed me inside. It took about five minutes, but I was able to see how it was set up and the general gist of where everything was in both walk-ins. "This little corner back here is the employee break area. Coats, hats, purses, bags, all back here. And coming around again, you find all the dipping sauces, ketchup, sugar, ice coffee flavor bottles, sandwich wrappers, the thawed buns and wraps, croutons…Side items," he finished.

"I think I got it so far," I told him.

"It's effortless once you start walking through it back and forth to get things. So, straight up this way is Grill. All the chicken and fry bags are stored in this fridge, and then you've got the oven, flat-top stove, big fryolator, smaller ones too. That's all right side. Left is the meat flat-top, and spaces to keep it for the sandwich maker. This small area holds the meat on top for easy access, and then there's a fridge down here for extra sleeves of the singles and juniors," Hiccup explained.

"What's that area back there?" I pointed to another spot past the chicken fridge.

"Back Cash; we use that more in the Summer. It's another register for someone to take the cash for orders in Drive-Thru, then when the car pulls up to that second window," Hiccup pointed to the area he named Drive-Thru earlier. "It's just handing out drinks and the bag of food. It makes things a bit easier on the order taker,"

"Oh, okay," I nodded understanding. Hiccup showed me sandwich station, then the Drive-Thru section.

"Alright, so this is Fries, Corner, and Order Taker. Fries covers dropping the fries and calling to Grill when nuggets and tenders are needed. The corner is an in-between position; it's up to whoever does this spot to grab nuggets, fries, or tenders from the waiting rack, bag it up with the sandwiches. Basically, it prepares things to go out the window. Order taker will do precisely as the title says, and get the drinks. They will also cash out orders if Back Cash isn't open. All these bins hold extra items, you have your black and green teas here, both labeled. Over there is the ice and hot coffee with flavors, cups, lids, sugar, and cream, or milk. Both are in the fridge below the counter. Salads will also be in there, this fridge is juice boxes, white and chocolate milk, water bottles, more dressing," Hiccup stated.

"And we're right back where we started; I gotta say it seems easy enough to navigate," I admitted. "What next?" I looked at him.

. . .

{11:45 am}

The rest of opening was easy; I helped Hiccup with a few things and watched how the others did their jobs. I knew at some point that I'd likely get to do the same positions, so I might as well see how it's done. At 10:30 am, Hiccup unlocked to doors to the public. Frode Knight; dyed white hair and blue eyes came in at 9:30 am. I had watched as Hiccup positioned everyone where they needed to be, and I was more or less staying at Hiccup's side, doing whatever he asked. From 10:30 am to about 11:15 am; it was relatively slow, just a few customers at the front counter and in the drive-thru. However, then it started picking up, and I began to panic if I could do this job or not. Right now there is a line of six up front, and the drive-thru has four cars in. And people just kept arriving.

"Alright, team; we've hit lunch rush! Keep your cool, ask for help if you need it, and stick together!" Hiccup called to the employees. I watched Brenna on the front counter, and Frode on drive-thru just nod but stay focused on their tasks. Ander was on Grill, and Natalie took sandwiches, which she had to make for both front and drive-thru. Hiccup was on the corner, and I guess I was next to Hiccup, but more in front of fries. Hiccup had shown me a little on how it worked, what went in where, then where I should put it.

"Hiccup, I need help running," Brenna called when three more people came in.

"Astrid, can you help Brenna out by running food for her?" Hiccup inquired.

"I-I don't know what to do," I said, panicked.

"It's very straightforward," Hiccup informed, leading me to the front counter. "This screen tells you everything you need to know, okay? This order is first; it says the name, then what the customer ordered. Right behind you is where sandwiches come out, and Nikki will keep them in order. Fries, chicken nuggets, or tenders; you grab from fry station and set it either on a tray if they are eating here, or in a bag for take out. The screen tells you Dine In or Take Out. If they want any dipping sauces, that comes up as well. I'll show you once," Hiccup stated. "First order is for Henrik, and it's dine in," Hiccup showed the name and what the meal would be for. "He ordered a number two, the Viking Double with medium fries and drink. Brenna took care of giving him the cup, so all you have to do is grab this first sandwich, and set it on the try like this. Then, come over here to fries, get the medium," he demonstrated by doing it, then returned to the tray. "And set it down here. Once you check that the bag or tray has everything for the order, call it out. Henrik!" A man with caramel brown hair and honey brown eyes walked up to the counter. "All set, sir. Enjoy, and have a good day," Hiccup said with a genuine smile and cheerfulness in his voice. The man smiles back, taking the tray.

"Thank you!" Henrik replied, then turned and walked away to get a table to eat his food.

"See, that's all it is. And once you send the order out; just press the number one on this pad to clear it off and move to the next one," Hiccup showed me what he meant. I was still nervous. "You can do this, Astrid. I wouldn't have hired you if I didn't think you could. I know it's not something you're used to doing, but the more you do this; the easier it becomes for you. Do your best, and if you run into trouble; I'm like two steps away," Hiccup said.

"Okay," I nodded. Hiccup put his hand on my shoulder with a smile, then he went back to help Frode on Drive-Thru. I took a deep breath and then looked at the screen to find the next order, and start filling it.

. . .

{12:20 pm}

I was beginning to get the hang of it; I wasn't fast, but I understood how it worked and I hadn't really encountered any significant problems. It was new for me to be working a job, but it wasn't awful like my former friends and ex-boyfriend had made it out to be. Hiccup had been working here since he was like fifteen, and he loved it. Also, Hiccup did a great job managing the other employees; he never let them get stressed out, rushed over within a minute if called for something, and if he was needed on another position; he went to it to help out. It was still incredibly busy, worse now than before.

"Excuse me," I heard a voice say as I looked over from the screen. I saw a woman that I'd served before standing there with her sandwich in hand.

"Yes, ma'am?" I replied.

"This was supposed to be a grilled chicken, and I got a burger…" the female informed. Another man came over, holding his sandwich as well.

"I got a grilled chicken when I was supposed to get a burger with no lettuce or pickle," the male stated.

I didn't know what to do. "I, uh…I'm sorry about that," I said quickly.

"Well, can you fix it?" the man asked in a tone that made me think he was upset. I just kind of stood there, not sure what I was supposed to do. I looked to my right and didn't see Hiccup on the corner.

"What can I do for you two?" Hiccup's voice drew me to look to my left as he was standing there.

"I was supposed to get grilled chicken," the woman said.

"And me a burger with no lettuce or pickle," the man said afterward, both of them showing their wrong sandwiches to him.

"I'm sorry about that, and not a problem; I'll have two new sandwiches made for you," Hiccup smiled, taking the wrong ones from the customers, tossing them in a bin, then moving to where Natalie was on sandwiches. "Can I get a grilled chicken, and a Viking Single with no lettuce or pickle, please?"

"Sure thing, Hiccup!" Natalie replied. Hiccup looked at me now.

"Hey, it's okay, Astrid. It happens when it's this busy; sometimes you just grab the wrong one. Any time it happens, just apologize, take the old ones, toss them away, then tell whoever is on sandwiches what you need to be remade," Hiccup explained. I nodded to him. When the sandwiches came up, Hiccup handed them off to their rightful customer. Both guests walked away smiling. "You'll get the hang of it with more practice, so don't beat yourself up over one little thing, okay? Always remember, that even if it wasn't you; the customer is always right, so just take the necessary steps to correct the problem. If you aren't sure, or they still aren't satisfied, call for a manager to deal with it,"

"I will," I responded.

"Perfect. You're doing a great job for the first day," Hiccup said, and somehow that made me feel a little better. "Alright, now let's get back to getting these customers their food. And you can clock out at 2 pm to leave for the day. I'll have two more coming in, and I can't have us being overstaffed," he stated. "Uh, come in again tomorrow at 10:30 am, okay?"

"Can do," I said, then went back to filling orders, but making sure that I grabbed the right sandwiches. Alright, so my first day of job training hasn't been awful. Hiccup seemed to believe I could do it, and strangely; I feel that I can. It would just take a little more time to get used to things in working a real job and taking care of myself.