Order #2
"I'm pleased to be the first to greet you to Galra Sweet Empire, home to the utter destruction of taste buds by our own devilishly splendid treats thanks to your monetary benefits!" Sitting on a luxurious high chair, Ezor rested both her elbows down on the counter after she quipped her longwinded spiel at the anxious customer.
You should just be lucky that Zethrid isn't taking cashier duties today, she grinned eerily to herself. A sparkle of mischief glistened around her blue irises.
The rounded-shaped Galran customer hesitated when approaching the preppy, multi-colored cashier. The overhanging lamps shone directly below on the customer's forehead and revealed sweat emerging from his pores. Nevertheless, taking a deep breath inward, he pushed aside all his worrisome thoughts. He reminded himself that he desperately needed a shot of the famous Lotor's Galran Expresso with a Verpit Roasted-Chicken Sa-Sandwiches and a Lotorious Berry Parfait—for the affordable price of $15, tax included—in order to function in life.
"I would like a—"
"But, first, grovel."
"H-Huh?"
"On the ground. Both knees. Put your back into—" Ezor was interrupted when a single hand promptly bonked her on the head. She ignored the sharp pain as she turned to smile at the offender.
"Hiii Acxaaa!" She sang as she hopelessly resisted the urge to chuckle at her coworker's annoyed expression. Boldly standing upright and her shoulders stiff, Axca vainly tried to stare at eye level with the obviously taller Ezor without cocking her head upward to indicate their noticeable height difference. And, the high chair that Ezor was currently sitting didn't help at all. She's adorable…, Ezor giggled.
The anxious customer took note of the two females' opposing traits, both physically and emotionally. Their demeanors greatly contrasted as one female resembled a busted box of confetti waiting for some poor sucker to come over, so mischief could just explode all over and the other female simply didn't care about convoluted metaphors.
Axca causally clicked her tongue at her colleague before turning her attention at the confused customer. "I apologize for her behavior," she bluntly stated. "I've already prepared your order. Here you go." Short and to the point was Axca's specialty.
"Um, t-thanks?" He awkwardly waltzed out of the bakery; the sound of beeping followed as the automatic doors opened for his exit.
"What are you trying to do, Ezor?" Axca inquired bitterly, hands rested on hips and lips pursed. Her coworker sighed, smiling to herself. Ezor knew well that Axca was asking a rhetorical question, and still, Ezor wanted to amuse her.
"Just keeping myself proactive!" she grinned. Axca just mentally sighed at Ezor's response. However, despite how tedious it was, she always felt to correct her coworkers' errors. Because Axca is always right, Exor smirked.
"One," Axca started, "that wasn't the welcoming of which Lotor approved. And two, you can't make paying customers to lay on the ground and grovel in public display!" Axca explained coldly and softly as if she was a parent speaking to her child.
"So, you're saying that non-paying customers could grovel at my feet in the private." At this point, Axca and Ezor might as well agreed that was where their relationship was heading.
Axca sighed again at Ezor's quick rebuttal. "What am I going with you?" Ezor attempted to pull her into a hug from which Axca hastily backed away. "No."
Ezor laughed. Typical Axca for you. "Haha, fine."
Axca shifted her stern deposition to one of worry. "By the way, have you seen Narti? I haven't seen her since this morning when she went for pick-up?"
The multi-colored employee shook her head. "Nope, but you shouldn't bother yourself. She usually pops out of nowhere for work." As she said this, Ezor crept in closer to Axca which made Axca felt awkward. "What we should be discussing, instead, is…" She quickly whipped her head left and right for surveillance. "The elephant in the room."
"What is an elephant?"
"Axca, you're too adorable for this world…," she smiled. "What I meant is—"
BIIIII...BOOOHHHH...BIIIIII
"Why did Lotor ever choose this as the bell?" Ezor mumbled, annoyed by the interruption of their fellow employee Keith, exiting from the kitchen through the sliding doors. He held a platter of sandwiches and other Galran pastries comfortably on one hand. With his entrance came the uproar of swooning and cooing from—as it had appeared—a hanging balcony full of squealing girls.
It was Ezor's "ingenious" idea to spur up entertainment inside the bakery to boost profit. For only twenty-five dollars the hour, guests sat up in a booth—which she amusingly dubbed as the "Fanservice Suite"—as they eagerly waited for the female or male working staff of Galra Sweet Empire to grace the guests by their presences. It had seemed that this time the booth was mainly occupied by a group of heterosexual females who waited all day to throw their love and personal possessions at Keith.
"Take my will, Keith! —No, my inheritance! —My baby!" they screamed. This clamor would have disturbed the other clients inside the bakery; however, due to Ezor's genius and Lotor's vanity, those clients were at peace thanks to their purchase of Lotor-Styled Headphones. As they ate their delectable treats, customers blissfully listened to the smoothing, accented voice of Lotor. (Only twenty dollars, the standard. Upgrade for twenty dollars extra for personalized details such as Lotor saying your name nice and... Lotorish. Operators are standing by.)
"I'll never understand why Lotor ever agreed to allow this joke to become reality…," Axca grumbled, rolling her eyes at the sight of a fainting guest. I don't feel like calling in the ambulance again today…
"Same here…," Keith mumbled, quickly becoming irritated at the girls' personal materials hitting his head. Using the body as a shield for his platter, he delivered the meal to expecting guests. Once he finished, he, as habit, tried to scurry back to the kitchen to avoid his coworkers. I don't have time for Ezor's harassments today…
And, as habit, they always seemed to stop him from succeeding as he bumped into an invisible figure at the doorway. Revealing herself, Ezor smirked mischievously.
"Well, hello there, traitor!" She tightly grabbed ahold of his cheeks.
"One, I am not a traitor. And, two, don't you have a job to do…!" He vainly attempted to pull away from her grip, but Ezor didn't budge as she swung Keith around the little area around the doorway.
He's like a tinier version of tiny Axca, Ezor smiled. As this was taking place, the girls continued to squeal at the young boy's presence and began to pay Axca more to increase their time.
"Poor, little bitty Keith, always loss in his own world," Ezor started. "You're about to be agent! You have to be prepared for the unexpected to get the goods!"
"What is she getting at?" Keith whispered to Axca who just shrugged in response.
"Only Zethrid knows…" BIII. The doors slid open to reveal a focused Zethrid who was busy with pounding dough. Each aggressive slam echo throughout the room. It was as if she was crushing multitude of mini flour-covered enemies with each blow.
"Disguises," Zethrid remarked, not glancing up at her coworkers. "Die!" She muttered under her breath.
"No," Keith started as he realized what Ezor was planning, "no, I refuse to play apart—"
"Aw, lil' Keith thinks he has a say in this…" Getting closer to his face, she pinched his cheeks harder. "That's cute!"
Keith finally managed to push away as he stumbled a few feet away from the cheek-pincher. "They didn't even hire me yet! And, for your information, I was dressed normally when I gave them my application!"
"Trivial details, Keith," Ezor waved her hands in the air. "I think the reverse harem collection would be rather sweet this time of year…"
"The cool type would be most fitting for him…" Keith heard Axca commented as she took an order from an Olkarion customer.
"Axca!" he screeched.
"I wasn't serious, Keith...," she smiled subtly. While Axca did enjoy teasing Keith occasionally, she knew when to stop. Ezor, on the other hand… "Ezor, instead of embarrassing Keith, you should be doing your job!" She turned her attention back to the costumer. "Would you like it served hot or chilled, ma'am?"
Ezor didn't bat an eye. "The cool type is the best option, but that's pretty much what he is already. What he needs is a captivating backstory to deceive those idiots!"
"Isn't life pathetic enough?" Zethrid spoke as Keith tried to exit stealthily through the automatic doors. BOHH… However, Ezor successfully grabbed him by his midsection with her multi-colored appendage.
"That is true with the dad being dead…"
"Mom gone missin'…," Zethrid interjected from behind the now-closed doors.
"Is an emotionally unstable mess."
"A delinquent."
"Easy to manipulate."
"A coward."
"Pretty insecure."
"Has no girlfriend or even boyfriend."
"His hair is so out of date!"
"Would everyone just quit degrading my life!?" Keith loudly interrupted. You all sure know how to make a guy feel appreciated, he thought bitterly. And, my hair is totally in style nowadays!
"We're just playing around, Keith—Well, sort of," Ezor wrapped her arm around his shoulder. She casually poked his cheeks as Keith pouted.
BOOHHH. BIII. "OMG! WE LOVE YOU!" Instantly, a clamor arose from above followed by the thumping of more fallen girls. The employees didn't need to turn to realize that their boss Lotor just left his office.
Indifferently catching a GAC with his index and middle fingers, Lotor flashed a smile and flipped his white locks towards the squealing crowd. Even some customers began taking pictures with their phones. Lotor would have to remember to charge them. All for profit, he reminded himself as each of his flirty actions felt as if they were degrading himself—which they totally were. "I do hope that you all aren't slacking off." He found his way to his throne. It had rotated to face his subordinate employees.
Smirking, Ezor let go of Keith. "We were just deciding how—" Axca had closed Ezor's mouth with her hand. She glared at Ezor before forming her question.
"How was the meeting, Prince Lotor?"
"He's no princ—!" Ezor muttered before Axca muffled her some more. Lotor didn't bother himself about the two and was focused on Axca's question.
"It was," Lotor thought for a second, "productive."
"This is just a waste of time…," Lotor grumbled repeatedly throughout the whole private meeting. It was with his mother, unfortunately. However, fortunately for both of them, it was a virtual meeting. Their meetings were always once phoeb on a certain quintant of their choosing. It was always dull, long, and tedious with a splatter of quarrels in between to make it interesting. Lotor had thanked the ancients that his father was busy with whatever he busied himself doing to avoid his only son. Or recurring disgrace as his father always said.
"And, you must open your funds to the sponsor I'll be providing. Your father won't allow you to procrastinate any longer because of whatever teenage angst you are been dealing with!" His mother continued. "Ah! You were just a sweet boy in quintants of the past. You followed commands without question. You kept that ridiculous hair of yours at a moderate length. That attitude of yours was at least tolerable when you were a kit..."
The woman just kept going on and on. Lotor fidgeted his left foot as he constantly checked the table clock to see how many doboshes left he had to bear. Just keep on breathing, he calmed himself for his sanity was on the brink of breaking.
"If only, you cherished something of a better—"
"And, whose fault is that!" He heard himself spurting out bitterly. Quiznak.
"Your temper never astounds me, son," she replied sharply. "Back to the business at hand, your...poor excuse of bakery is surprisingly faring well, but if you had—"
"For the last time, Mother! I am not and WILL not have any sponsors from Father's business. I've spent too long behind his shadow, eating up his scraps for my gain. I have already committed a small, tiny act of violence because of your intervention! You all need to stop treating me as a child!"
"And, yet you continue to act like one, you pertinacious prune." She turned away as she took a bite of something familiar looking to Lotor.
"You ungrateful hag! Are you eating a cookie from that wretched bakery!"
His mother continued to do such a thing as she ignored her son's rude comment. "A Voltrookie, I think they called it. Alluring Delights might be a new business, but they will soon become a formidable rival, you purple smurf! Their cookies are surprisingly delightful." She munched loudly on a second one.
"You horrid witch! I command you stop eating that treat this instant!"
"Or what, you're going to cry?" His mother mocked. "You are just like your father, unable to defeat a person in a measly debate…"
"I am nothing like my father!"
"Very productive," Lotor repeated in the present moment. "Now, since I was overhearing you all, I was thinking Keith could benefit as one of those cute feminine characters if we are following that reverse harem. His hair is suitable for the job." He sneered at Keith whose face completely drained of color.
"W-Wait, What! It is not like I have the job ye—" His cell phone beeped, and Keith quickly checked his messages. "Shoot, I'm starting tomorrow."
"Alright! I may I have that fairy princess dress he wore for our themed Monster and Mana event!" Ezor jumped in excitement. She grabbed the unwilling Keith and dashed inside the kitchen. "Zethrid, let's make some arrangements!"
"What? Hey, w-wait! LOTTTOORR!" Keith yelled. BOOOHHH. BIII. The automatic door closed in front of him.
"Keith in a dress! —He'll look so adorable! —Princess Keith! PRINCESS KEITH!" The girls chanted from the booths above. They completely had forgotten about Lotor and moved on to the next, soon-to-be-humiliated subject. Axca rolled her eyes at the commotion. She turned her attention to Lotor. She had wondered why Lotor had chosen him specifically to spy on that "horrid little shop"—as Lotor constantly insulted that Alluring Delights bakery. However, she knew better than to question her boss's actions. No matter how outlandish they were.
But, there was a small thing that Axca had to off her chest in relation to Keith. "Lotor…," Axca began. She had realized something more to Lotor, especially how he dealt with poor Keith.
"Yes…," he answered.
"Forgive me for saying this, but you are the worst." Short and to the point was Axca's specialty. Rude too, it appeared. Lotor just smirked at her response.
"Axca, that is already a well-established fact. I'm ashamed that it took you this long to realize that."
Thank you all who viewed, favorited, followed, and even reviewed this mess I call a story! And, sorry for the wait!
I wrote this before, during, and after S7, so the mixed bag of emotions I have for these characters (especially Lotor's "Generals") are all present in this chapter. I did have fun writing them though...especially, Ezor and Lotor...if that wasn't obvious :P
reviews are appreciated!