Cuphead: The Devil's Daughter

Chapter 2: Milkshakes and Burgers

My life with my adoptive parents was a far cry from where I grew up. I had to work as a waitress, at the Sodapop Shack, while I roller-skated with grace to serve the customers, while sweet jazz music blasted from the diner's jukebox. Some customers would be afraid of my odd appearance, but most of them enjoyed my company. Mom and Dad would always tell me, how hardworking I was, and if I finished all my chores early, I would have time to play. So, basically, I did my best to earn my rewards and hit the tracks when I was done.

My favorite activity was rollerskating through inkwell, though some of the residents acted spooked around me due to my green eyes, so much so, that I hid one of them underneath my hair, and used my straw as a tiara. I began to spend more of my free time inside the diner. I had my room adorned with old vinyl CDs and a gramophone so I could listen to my favorite songs, whenever I wanted. Sometimes, I'd sing, sometimes I'd dance, and other times, I'd do both; and those activities sure kept me away from the fact that on the outside, I felt lonely and different from the other citizens of Inkwell. 

One day, I was jamming to a familiar song on the record:

I was singing this song way too carelessly because I ended up catching my ma and pa's attention.  They both marveled at my new talent: Singing. They picked me up and swirled me around, while they told me I had a very special gift, that absolutely had to be shared with the world. However, I declined the offer and told them my problem I could no longer hide from them.

" How can I share my voice with the world, if everyone in Inkwell's scared of how I look?" I asked.

Casey and Cherril exchanged worried looks with one another, as Casey sat me on his lap.

" C'mere, tell your ol' man, what seems to be the problem?" Casey asked.

"The citizens look at me as if I was some kinda... demon or somethin'." I sniffed.

They both gasped, as I spent a silent moment watching my legs swing back and forth.

"Don't you ever say that, they're just jealous because you're unique and special in all the ways possible," Cherril said while stroking my hair. I had nothing more to say, but to smile, and thank them.

Just then, I heard the shop bell ring downstairs.

"This might be another customer, " Casey thought, "I'll get it."

Casey rushed downstairs to see who was at the door. To his surprise, two cup boys were standing on the doorstep. One was dressed in red, while the other was dressed in blue.

"Why hello boys, how can we serve y'all today?" Casey said, in an energetic tone, as usual.

The cups exchanged smiles, with him.

" I'm Cuphead, and this is my brudda, Mugsy." Cuphead greeted. 

The Cupbros explain, that they were off to fetch white paint for their fence, but they stopped when they heard "a sound similar to a girl's singing voice", and they decided to investigate. That made Casey's eyes light up.

" Oh, you boys must be talking about Cocoa Cup," He said, "my beautiful daughter, I s'pose you wanna meet her 'cause she's feelin' a tad lonely."

This immediately captivated the young cups' attention in a flash.

" Beautiful daughter?! Oh boy!" They exclaimed in unison, as they rushed in at lightning speed, which almost made Casey fall flat on his butt.

The brothers searched anxiously for any signs of me, but as I wasn't used to being the main focus, except when I'm serving customers at work, I tried to hide until they decide to leave.

"So, where this gal at? I wanna meet 'er." Cuphead exclaimed.

Cherril laughed.

" I must tell you she ain't used to company, so she's a wee bit shy."

Cuphead's smile turned to a frown.

" Oh, banana oil, girls these days!" He complained, "Let's get outta here, Mugman!"

 Hearing no response, he called again.

" Mugman?"

In reality, Mugman climbed up the stairs to where I was hiding, to which he saw only my silhouette.

"Hey, we're friends, we ain't gonna hurt ya." He whispered.

I sighed. 

" All right, you win. But, uh, promise me you won't run away screaming?"

Mugman looked back, to see my adoptive parents and his brother staring at him from down the stairs.

"Cross my heart."

I stepped into the light and revealed myself to him. He gasped, and I waited for him to start running. Instead, he reached out to me.

"Come with us, we can show you all we know about Inkwell."

I nodded and went downstairs, with Mugman, and smiled back at Cuphead and my adoptive parents. Cuphead stared at me as his face turned red, but I didn't notice that yet.

"I'll be back home, before dinner," I told them, to which they nodded happily. "C'mon,  gentlemen."