I think it was safe to say that I got all the sleep I very desperately needed because I slept right up until the point where my very first shift began, if the sun position and the stretched out shadows outside are of any indication. Kind of hard not to given how soft this mattress was. It was like sleeping on clouds! Normally for us snakes we tend to just curl up on a small mat which is really all we need, so sleeping on something so much bigger and so much more comfortable? Absolute bliss! Whoever slept here before me was certainly lucky I'll give them that.
Anyway, I'd better be heading downstairs and help out however I can. Don't want to waste too much time up here and keep my new boss waiting, so without a second to spare, I slithered out the room, down the stairs and headed right into the kitchen where I found the goose chef with his back to me preparing something in a pot so large that he needed a stool in order to properly stir the contents inside. He seemed quite content as he hummed a tune I was unfamiliar with. I decided to let him know I was here with a friendly 'good evening' and he immediately took notice cutting his humming short and turned his slender neck to face me.
"Ah Jahmil, excellent timing! Come over here a second, would you?"
I did what he asked and closed the distance until I was right by his side in which thanks to the stool he now towered over me. "How can I help sir?" I responded politely, actually quite eager to begin.
No sooner did I ask did I rather suddenly find myself being handed, or more accurately being forced onto me plates, chopsticks and napkins, at least half a dozen of each. Needless to say I had just taken on a lot of items. So much so that even someone with two arms would struggle with so much stuff so you can only imagine how I fared after all those things being forced into my coils and tail. The look of surprise and confusion I now expressed seemed invisible to my boss as he continued.
"I need tables 5 to ten laid out before we open for the night. Think you can handle it?"
"Of course sir! Not a problem."
That was a lie of course. I could barely move. But the second those words had left my mouth, Mr. Ping had already turned his attention back to his pot leaving me with the very important task of not dropping a single thing. Still, this was the very first task that had been asked of me and I wasn't going to mess it up! I headed towards the entrance to the dining area at once!
... At the speed of a snail.
Most of my body had to keep everything from falling and smashing on the floor giving me only a small fraction to actually slither on, which is not the easiest thing in the world to do, okay? Had Mr. Ping turned around to see me just inching my way over to the door at the pace I was going at, it would have been quite awkward. I thought about maybe asking for help, but for something as silly as laying tables would have been ridiculous lets be honest. Also I'm now using my jaws to hold two plates in an attempt to make things easier, which it did only a little bit.
Soon enough I make it to the door and everything is still unbroken, nice and safe like a parent looking after their twenty newborn children. Now all I need to do is push the door open and that'll be the hard part out of the way wi-
...
The door didn't open as I pressed my weight against it. Why wasn't it- Oh for goodness sake, I'm going to have to pull it open aren't I?
Reshuffling the items round until I had more use of my tail, I tried to reach the handle and pulled it open bit by bit. Every time I did I had to slither back causing every plate to rattle side to side, and considering that they're being balanced made this entire scenario the most stressful, anxiety filled thing I have ever done in my life! So after finally getting enough of a gap where I could squeeze through without risking the door or the wall knocking a plate off I got to the nearest table and offloaded everything on it. The less stuff I was carrying the easier it became and my stress levels managed to go down at last.
Laying the tables was, as you'd expect, a piece of cake. Just a matter of using the proper etiquette. Napkin down first to the left neatly folded, bowl in the middle three inches from the table edge and chopsticks together pointed towards the middle of the table and that's that! Kind of easy to memorize when you see it at every restaurant you go to. Or do I just sound like a boring loser right now? Anyway moving on... as instructed, tables five to ten were laid out perfect and ready for the evening rush. The cold weather began to pick up with the lack of sunlight and rather than wait around I headed back inside, making sure to tell Mr. Ping that I had done as he had asked.
"I've laid the tables Mr. Ping." I spoke up the second I slithered through still maintaining my polite smile.
"Ah good, good." He murmured as he was more focused now with seasoning whatever he had been stirring moments ago. "Well for now man the service window and open up in five minutes! The ingredients for this soup is taking longer to blend than I'd like it to." He sourly grumbled.
Almost automatically I was about to ask if he wanted help but stopped myself before I could. Asking if a chef wanted help with their own food preparation was not a smart move. Especially if it was your boss, so I remained silent and waited out the minutes. Soon after what I roughly counted as five minutes worth of counting, the serving window was opened and as though like magic, there was already a small line of villagers waiting patiently. Mr. Ping had quickly decided to grab more soy sauce leaving me to deal with this small group on my own. Thankfully I had a list of all the dishes being sold tonight as well as their prices so I should be able to handle things. Given how quickly all these faces showed up I guess that shows how good a reputation this place has and the professionalism I'm expected to uphold while working here. The first customer in line, a lady pig seemed to quickly go from friendly looking to shocked and confused instantly upon seeing me. She must have been expecting a goose to be manning the station instead of a cobra which is understandable.
What was arguably less understandable was her trying to cave my skull in with her stringed purse demanding to know what I had done with Mr. Ping thinking me to be a robber.
"OW! Ma'am will you please stop?! Mr. Ping's fine! He's- OW!"
None of the other customers joined in, thank my lucky stars but this lady swung with the strength of a rhino! The commotion was enough for Mr. Ping to eventually return and he was quick to explain to the customers that I was a new member of staff before the lady could try and climb over the counter with the intent of sending me to an early grave. To her credit she did apologize for her assumption and I waved it off with a smile. Although said wave was a tiny bit forced, can you blame me?
Thankfully the rest of the services wasn't as... 'adventurous', and dishes were served as quickly as they were ordered. From dumplings and bread to soup and noodles, the restaurant nearly ran out of its registered food for the evening, in which I was assured by Mr. Ping that that was a good thing. A total of two hours came and went and as you'd expect, I'd managed to pick up servicing the customers quite well. Heck, I even made a good few tips! Least I won't have to ask for an early paycheck to get through the rest of the week if the patrons are this generous. But yeah, like I said, it was a rather calm evening. Granted I didn't get the chance to cook yet, you know since that's a huge part of what an assistant chef does, but hey! I'll get my chance.
Perhaps twenty minutes or so after we officially stopped serving, the last customer finished his meal of wonton soup and left meaning that we were officially closed for the day. Now all that was left was the cleanup. Nothing more than clearing the tables, wiping them down and washing plates while Mr. Ping did a thorough cleaning of the kitchen. The whole process took us both another fifteen minutes of hard labor before officially calling it a day.
You know, if I'm being honest, I expected things to be much tougher for a first shift. Plenty of mistakes being made left and right by yours truly, but no. It actually went rather smoothly! Granted all I did was serve customers mostly but still, it went off without a hitch.
"So. Looks like you handled thing pretty well out there today."
I had been washing a plate in the sink when Mr. Ping spoke, breaking the long silence that had lasted up til this point. It almost made me drop the porcelain item in surprise. I turned my head and responded.
"Thank you sir. I think I managed to do well."
"Well that's good to hear because today was easy. Tomorrow we'll be working morning to late afternoon so be sure to get plenty of rest."
"Oh uh, of course sir." I nodded cheerfully but nervously.
"Good. Finish the last of those plates then the rest of the evening is yours. Make sure to lock the door once you're done." The goose nodded before leaving me on my own. Or at least I thought so until he spoke up not ten seconds later. "Oh, Jahmil! I've been so busy preparing dishes I almost forgot. Here."
When I turned round again I found him holding up a hat designed in the shape of a bowl of noodles, almost identical to his own right in front of me. It didn't take long for me to realize it was my new work uniform. I instinctively smiled a little wider.
"Thank you sir! I'll take good care of it." I promised, taking the hat and placing it on top of my head. It fit quite snuggly on top. A perfect size.
Mr. Ping seemed to give a nod in satisfaction, entrusting me with the kitchen as he headed out of the room, properly leaving me on my own this time. I have to say, aside from the horrific start this morning and the near concussion from that one customer, it's been a good day. Tough, but pleasant. After all, I'm still here instead of heading back home which is great! I think I'm going to really like it here.
