=Normal POV=

(Thursday, January 27, 2022-5:30 pm}

(Archia Burger)

Hiccup and his friends watched two weeks ago as Astrid was thoroughly embarrassed by her former friends and ex-boyfriend in the cafeteria. Poor Astrid had begun bleeding heavily, assuming in starting her monthly cycle, and the popular seven of the Senior Class decided to make it known to just about everyone that Astrid was so broke she couldn't afford the things she needed. As Astrid ran out, everyone saw the blood on the back of her skirt, and people laughed. Not Hiccup and his group, though; they knew it wasn't right to laugh at someone else's misfortune. For Hiccup, though; he didn't understand why Astrid wouldn't buy the things she needed with the money she was earning from her job at Archia Burger. Astrid had gotten at least two paychecks since starting in December 2021, so why not be prepared for something you knew would come? Hiccup felt like there was more going on. Unfortunately; it wasn't his place to butt into Astrid's personal business. What also stuck him as shocking was that Astrid wasn't seen for the rest of her classes until the end of the day when the final bell rang, and she was seen walking off the campus.

In Dragon Training, the students began working on bonding. Astrid had Stormfly, of course. And strangely, Eret, Ragna, Camicazi, Thuggory, and Nadia managed to bond within the first week of the second semester; this began the week after Midterms finished. Eret has a male Thunderdrum named Thornado. Ragna got a female Singetail she calls Scarlet. Camicazi has a male Changewing named Camo. Thuggory has a male Monstrous Nightmare called Killer. And finally, Nadia has a male Razorwhip named Mercury. With Bonding out of the way; the class has moved into training the dragons to respond to a roar from their owner, hand signals, the proper place to sit while riding, grooming, care, etc. The last thing to learn will be flying, and Hiccup said learning that would depend solely on how everything else went in training. It's been about two weeks since practice began, and Hiccup somehow felt like it would take a while to get to flying. At least there were still about four months until Finals; they would be taken at the end of May, and then everything else from the day you got your passing score for the year would be graduation preparations for the June 17th, 2022 ceremony.

For Astrid; she was living on the streets. Astrid tried going to other shelters, but there were none close to her school and job. Also, the first one she had been at sent word to the others that she wasn't entirely helpless, the word used was. So, for the past two weeks, since everything happened, Astrid has been living on the streets in alleyways. It wasn't always one spot; she did have to move around. Astrid had to condense a lot of her belongings into a backpack over using the suitcase. Astrid kept two school and work uniforms, two civilian sets of clothes for Saturday and Sunday if she didn't have work, which she typically didn't due to being on Hiccup's shifts Monday through Friday, just not all five days. Astrid kept pictures, but not in their frames, she had her baby blanket still. A brush, toothbrush and paste, deodorant, about five pairs of underwear, socks, and bras. Even though Astrid was making money from her job; she couldn't afford to be on her own, and a lot of the cheap motels she could stay in were on the other side of the city. Astrid didn't waste money on a bus pass; she still walked to school or work. The miscarriage was over; it hadn't been a fun experience, but at least everything had passed, and now she was waiting for her period to return in another few weeks.

Right now, Astrid and Hiccup are both at work. Hiccup had a five-person crew, which wasn't ideal, but three others who were supposed to come in ended up calling out. Two due to being sick, and one for a family emergency. Hiccup had Henrik on Grill, Syver on Sandwiches. Felicity on Drive-Thru, and Astrid on Fries/Corner/Runner. Hiccup was just helping out where needed, but he did need Front Register covered, and thought that it might be a good time to teach Astrid before dinner rush started.

"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup said to get her attention.

Astrid looked over, smiling. "Yeah?"

"Come on, I'm gonna teach you register tonight," Hiccup informed as he got his keys and unlocked the drawer, pulling it out and motioning for her to follow him. In the office, Hiccup set the drawer down and began counting it. Afterward, he handed it to Astrid, and they moved back to where the register was. "Alright, go ahead and set it inside," Astrid did so quietly, then Hiccup pushed it back in. Hiccup assigned the drawer to Astrid, and then looked at her.

"So, how do I do this?" Astrid asked.

"Everything is touch screen and labeled. This here is your main screen, and on this top bar shows Dine In or Take Out. When a customer approaches the register, you're going to smile and say Welcome to Archia Burger, will you be dining in this evening? Depending on their answer determines the button you press. Everything down this section is for the actual order taking," Hiccup explained.

"I think I'm following," Astrid replied.

"It's easy once you do it a few times. All this going down is the Combos. Then there is just chicken, burgers, fries, sides, desserts, and drinks. When you do the combos…" Hiccup paused. "Don't make this for the front!" he called to Syver.

"Got it!" Syver replied. Astrid learned that Syver is Natalie's little brother.

"Okay, so as I was saying. When you go into combos; you'll see each one. Say someone orders a number four; you'll hit this one, and the screen will show you what comes on it. If they want to leave the sandwich alone with no modifications, the next thing you ask is Small, Medium, or Large," Hiccup continued.

"And then I'd press which size combo they want down here right?" Astrid asked, pointing to the three buttons on the bottom.

"Right," Hiccup nodded. Next, it will show you the sandwich, then what size fry, and drink ordered. For drinks, if it's just soda, you can press Coke, because customers get the drink themselves. If it's coffee, tea, lemonade…Press one of those. If they don't want fries, press this side button between drink and sandwich ones, then select whatever it is they wanted," Hiccup went on.

"Seems easy enough," Astrid shrugged as Hiccup cleared the order out from the screen.

"So if these are all combos, then why the chicken and burger buttons?" Astrid wondered.

"Those are the same sandwiches as in the combos, just by themselves. Some people don't want the fry and drink. Also, it has the value sandwiches," Hiccup told her.

"Oh. I was wondering where those were," Astrid replied.

"Yep, very straightforward setup. And for paying, just hit press Pay. If it's a card, swipe it through, and when it asks you to check to make sure the total matches for charge to the card, hit ok. If it's cash as a five, ten, or twenty, press one of those three choices. If it's another amount or has change, just hit cash and put in the amount given, then hit ok. The computer will tell you what you need to give back. So this will be your position tonight, and I'll be right up here if you need me," Hiccup smiled. "Just stand here and get yourself familiar with the buttons. You can press any one of those side ones, and it won't come up on the screen; they'll just show you what's available in each section,"

"Okay," Astrid responded as Hiccup headed over to drive-thru to help Felicity out.

. . .

{5:50 pm}

Just twenty minutes later; it was getting busy for the dinner rush. At the moment, it was just drive-thru, so Astrid was trying to help out since she didn't have any customers. However, a few people began to come in and line up. Just as Hiccup taught her, Astrid took the orders. The first few were easy, and she managed to run them herself since Hiccup was busy.

"You doing alright, Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep!" Astrid smiled, turning back to face the customers that just came in. Only she noticed who they were; her ex-boyfriend and former friends.

"So it is true; you do work here," Thuggory mentioned first. Astrid didn't say anything in response, seeing them grin or smirk.

"Heard rumor from some of the other students," Eret chuckled.

"Hiccup feels bad, so he gave you a job?" Ragna remarked. Hiccup glanced to check on Astrid and saw who she was dealing with.

"Hey, if you're here to eat, fine. If not, beat it, guys. No loitering, and don't harass my employees. I have the right to kick you out," Hiccup said as Astrid looked at him. "Popularity or money status doesn't matter here like it does at school. They are just customers here, Astrid; no more or less than anyone else," he reminded. Astrid nodded, smiling a little.

"Will you be dining in or eating out this evening?" Astrid asked.

"You know, we'll eat in," Camicazi said.

"What can I get for you?" Astrid inquired. The seven in the group placed their orders, making it as complicated as possible for Astrid. It hit a point where they were requesting things that she didn't know how to do.

"What's the matter? Don't you know how to work that thing?" Gruffnut stated.

"Maybe we should call the main office and report her for being incompetent," Nadia giggled.

"Would likely get her in trouble, or fired," Eret snickered. Astrid closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I apologize; I'm still new…" Astrid stated.

"Rumor is that you've been here since December. No excuse now," Thuggory said.

"N-New on register…" I tried.

"All this time here, and you're just learning now? Pfft, should have it down by now," Camicazi remarked. Hiccup heard that comment and decided it was time to shut them up in the best way. Hiccup walked over, standing beside Astrid.

"Your employee doesn't know her position," Nadia informed.

"She's new to the register, and we just had a system upgrade, so she's not the only one," Hiccup stated calmly.

"Well, perhaps someone who does know how to work it should be taking the orders," Eret said.

"Perhaps you should mind your own business about things you don't understand as well. I doubt any of you could just come back here and instantly understand the different positions without proper training. I showed Astrid how to work the system, and she was doing fine until you decided to make it more complicated by changed things or asking for ridiculous modifications. You're also making it harder on my grill and sandwich workers. So maybe you stop being difficult and just order the normal things you do every week," Hiccup enlightened.

"I'm sure it's not that hard to work fast food. I could do it with no training, any of us could," Thuggory rolled his eyes. Hiccup arched a brow.

"Oh, you think so? Well, why don't we put that to the test, shall we? I could use a couple extra hands tonight. You seven come back here and work two hours with no training or help. If you can do it; I'll give each of you $100, cash, out of pocket. And to add a bonus; I'll throw in one free meal this week, and the next, each," Hiccup offered casually.

"You serious?" Gruffnut asked.

"As a heart attack," Hiccup folded his arms over one another. "But you have to do the work the right way. No half-assing it," he added.

"Heh. You're on, Hiccup," Eret smirked. Hiccup shook their hands and let them come back, then he got them shirts, hats, and visors to use.

"Awe, you all look so cute in your work uniforms…" Hiccup said.

"Shut it, Haddock," Thuggory said ad Hiccup fixed Gruffnut's hat, so it was position correctly. Hiccup counted two drawers out, handing one to Camicazi, and the other to Nadia.

"He's your boss right now, so it's Mr. Haddock, or boss to you," Felicity remarked.

"My crew, step away from your positions! Grab a soda, and relax for two hours," Hiccup told his other four workers. Henrik, Syver, Felicity, and Astrid got cups, then went towards the back to watch the show. "Nadia, drive-thru. Camicazi, front. Eret, grill. Ragna, the front-runner. Thuggory, sandwiches. Gruffnut, fries."

None of them moved and were very confused. "Uh…" they looked at one another and then back to Hiccup.

"I thought you knew how to do all this without training? And knew the positions? Don't tell me it was all talk?" Hiccup asked.

"N-No, we got it," Ragna said. Still, neither of them moved. Hiccup facepalmed hard, then sighed. Hiccup moved Nadia towards drive-thru, had her put the drawer in and got her signed in, then placed one of the headsets on her head. Carefully taking her hand, he placed her finger on the button that was forward.

"Front talks to customers outside at the speaker," Hiccup said, then set her finger on the back button. "Talks to anyone else with a headset. You hear a ding; there's someone at the box. You hear static, and voices someone is waiting," Hiccup explained. "You," he pointed to Camicazi. "On front register," he stated. Camicazi walked over and set her drawer in as Hiccup got her assigned to it. Hiccup moved to the rest of them. Hiccup pushed Eret in front of the grill. "You're in charge of dropping meat, nuggets, tenders, spicy, homestyle, and grilled chicken for the sandwich maker. From here to here," he showed the two markers. "is your work area,"

"Thuggory, you're sandwiches. Anything that comes up on that board above you which is a sandwich; you make. Pay attention to what the label is because there are two different spots where they go. Some could be front, some for the drive-thru. Gruffnut, you're fries. You have to check these two screens for when people order fries, nuggets, or tenders. And Ragna; you run orders for the front. When sandwiches come up, you either bag or tray it with any sides that Gruffnut makes," Hiccup explained.

"And where are you?" Thuggory asked.

"I'm the boss; I'm everywhere. Now, as you can see; it's dinner time. Have fun, and the two hours starts right now," Hiccup stated. "Remember, you get no help since you seem to know exactly how to do all this without training," he added.

. . .

{7:30 pm}

The staff of Archia Burger got a laugh out of the popular group messing up so many things. There were only thirty minutes left in the two-hour challenge. It got so busy around 6:20 pm and Hiccup needed to correct so many things. Thankfully, all the customers understood what was going on, and were willing to wait the few extra moments. Hiccup never faltered, though, and he kept his cool the entire time. Astrid couldn't believe Hiccup had done something like this when the group gave her trouble.

"Why are you making a double with pickles and onions?" Hiccup asked Thuggory.

"Th-That's how they're made!" Thuggory exclaimed.

"Not when the board says no onion or pickle!" Hiccup remarked. Thuggory muttered but fixed the sandwich.

"Eret, why aren't you dropping him patties? You see there are a bunch of sandwiches to make, and he'll need meat to do that. They take about two minutes to cook, get to work," Hiccup informed. "Nadia, the car at the box has been waiting almost two minutes for you to take the order. Gruffnut, you're going to need fries down. And you're supposed to call to Eret when you're running low on tenders and nuggets!" Hiccup continued. It was easy to see how frustrated they all were about the work.

"I-I can't find wraps!" Camicazi cried.

As it went on 7:45 pm, Hiccup knew they'd had enough when there were no customers. "So…Not so easy with no training, is it?"

"No…" the seven sighed.

"You had zero right to give Astrid trouble about having a little trouble on the register when it was only her first day on the register. Astrid did get trained, and she was doing perfectly fine until you had to come in here and make it difficult. In all of two hours; you weren't able to figure things out," Hiccup scolded. "My team, back on position," Hiccup called. And just like that, all of Hiccup's employees returned to their spots and got right back to work as if nothing had changed. "And maybe it wouldn't have been so hard for you if any of you had ever worked a day in your lives. That being said; you can apologize to Astrid for giving her trouble, then get out,"

"You mean we can't eat dinner here?" Nadia said quickly.

"Not tonight, no. You don't eat in my restaurant after purposely giving my employees a hard time for NO REASON. You keep your personal shit out of my business, got it?" Hiccup said. They nodded, handing over the shirts and hats or visors. "Now, apologize and beat it," he pointed to the left side door.

"Sorry, Astrid…" the seven said, then quickly hurried out the door. Hiccup sighed.

"You're not like, gonna get in trouble for doing that, are you?" Astrid asked.

"Of course not. I told you, aside from a few legal matters; I basically run this place," Hiccup smiled.

"Well, thank you for showing them up the way you did…" Astrid stated.

"It was for me too; I got it all on camera," Hiccup chuckled a bit. "Now, I have blackmail if they decide to give me crap again," he added. "Hey, you do good work here, Astrid. And I take care of my employees; I'd have done the same for any one of them. I don't live by that the customer is always right crap. Sometimes the customer is just an asshole, and that shit doesn't fly with me. Not on my watch," he said gently. Astrid nodded, getting back to the register and preparing to finish working her shift until 9 pm.