Carrying the Platter

Smalls' Schnail Problem

Tuesday 10 AM

"We're open!" Seitz shouted.

"Officially open!" Smalls repeated, just a bit louder than Seitz.

"Alright. S'everythin' in its place?" JoJo asked, much quieter than the previous shouts, now that only the window 1 group needed to hear.

"I think so." Smalls quickly looked at the counter.

"We don't have any cress," Henry pointed out.

"Go get it, Hen," JoJo said quickly. "Do we got all the plates in the heat cabinet?"

Smalls swiftly bent down and slid the cabinet door open. A stack of white plate, a stack of black plates and a few soup bowls stood in there.

"Yep!" Smalls answered.

"Great!" JoJo did a couple of thumbs up. "Ev'ryone knows what they's gonna do?"

"We's platin'," Smalls said proudly, holding her fist out for a quick fist bump from JoJo, which she got.

"I'm gonna put the salmon an' cauliflower in da oven," Albert nonchalantly said.

"An I'm doin' da same wit da chicken an' da mushroom truffles," Henry said, patting the food pan with the uncooked truffles.

"Excuse me?" a voice interrupted. It was Davey. "I got an order here."

"Fantastic!" Smalls returned to her position in the window. "Let's hear it."

"Two root vegetable soups, out," Davey said, handing Smalls an order receipt. She took it and hung it on the shelf, under the label "out." "An' two salmons, wait," Davey continued with another receipt, which Smalls hung under the "wait" label.

"Thanks, Dave!" Smalls turned around. "Two soup jugs needed, Jo!"

The intense game of getting the outed dishes out as soon as possible was on.

Smalls bent down and opened the heat cabinet twice as fast as before, and retrieved two black bowls. The second they were on the counter, JoJo pied some cream onto the bottom. Smalls placed a few root chips in the bowl. One, two, three. All fastening themselves in the thick cress cream. She heard the familar sound of the flambéing fire on the stove. The pear pieces would be done soon.

"PRAISE SATAN!" Albert dramatically roared. Considering he was behind a pan of alcoholic, but controlled, flames, the cry was logical. It was a good place for a ritual.

"Here are the onions," Henry said, placing a pan beside Smalls.

She took the half moon shaped onion pieces and placed them on the soup.

"Pears here," Albert appeared, doing the same as Henry.

Using a grabber, Smalls added the hot pears to the bowls. In perfect timing, JoJo appeared with the soup jugs.

DING!

Smalls enthusiastically pressed the waiter's bell.

"Davey! Table 2! Two root veggie soups! Out!"

She avidly shoved the soup receipt onto the finished-receipts holder. While Davey picked up his soup bowls, and Jack took the jugs, Smalls danced in a celebratory manner. It quickly got sweaty.

"Ay! Party!" Sniper appeared.

Smalls immediately leaned her elbows on the counter. She looked Sniper up and down.

"Damn... You pull off that apron well."

Sniper proudly posed, showing off his waist in the long apron. In the middle of making himself look nice for Smalls, he stopped to tell her: "You don't look too bad yerself." He smirked. The only option for Smalls was to copy him and model a bit herself.