Ultraviolence

La niña

•-
You press down on the rag and scrub a little harder, using your fingertips to put more pressure on it. Stupid grease stain won't come off. Just a few more hours left, you sigh as you look at the clock. It's a particularly slow day, at least for Los Pollos Hermanos' standards. You'd expect more people to be up for fried chicken on a warm, New Mexico Friday afternoon.

But the restaurant is practically empty, with only a handful of people quietly chowing down on their meals. Music is playing in the background as you continue scrubbing.
Mr. Fring is nowhere to be found, you wonder if he's even in today. Turning your head to Lyle, you ask him about his plans for the weekend. Trying to make smalltalk to -hopefully- kill some time.
"So, what're you up to this weekend? You're free tomorrow, right?"
Lyle looks up from whatever he's doing. Mopping the same spot on the floor for the hundredth time. The kid has a dorky look. Bad haircut, glassy eyes and the Los Pollos uniform, which is ugly in general, definitely doesn't do him any favours. But, he's basically your manager. Shift leader. Whatever. And he's really not that bad personality wise. Pretty sweet, but oh, so boring. But so are you, you suppose.

"So, yeah. What about you?" He asks with a genuine smile. You stare at him and realise you completely forgot to even listen to what he had to say. Hoping he didn't tell you about his grandmother's funeral, you reply: "Sounds like fun! I'm thinking of trying out a new recipe. Some kind of pie. Like apple pie, but with peaches." You listen to yourself talk. You really have no right criticising anyone if this is how you're planning to spend your weekend. You shake your head as if you're trying to shake the thought out of your skull.
"Nice, save me a slice." Lyle answers. And with that, the conversation dies and smalltalk is over.

You've never really been a talker. Not that you don't want to talk, you just don't know what you should be chatting about. You know people aren't interested in your grandma-like lifestyle, just like you aren't really interested in their relationship gossip.
You wipe down the counter one more time, leaving it truly spotless. As you turn around to put away your rag and bottle of all-purpose cleaner, the door opens. Lyle quickly puts the mop away and walks towards the register, ready to help the newly arrived customers.

The rag lands in the sink with a thud, but you pick it up again to fold it neatly before putting it back in the right spot. Sometimes you forget how strict mr. Fring is with this kind of stuff. You leave the kitchen and walk back to the counter. Lyle is just standing there and when you look at his face, it's like he's seen a ghost. Eyes widened, cheeks pale. He rubs his forehead before turning to you.

"What is it, Lyle?" You ask, a bit worried.
"I uh.. I have to go get mr. Fring." He tries to scurry away, but you swiftly grab his arm.
"Why?"
"Those men, the ones that just walked in." He looks at the men sitting at a table. You quickly glance their way. Two men. Both Mexican, if you had to guess. A short one, but definitely not less intimidating. He has a buzzcut and piercing eyes. A hooked nose,which fit his face well. Wearing a leather jacket.
Then the second one, a tall man. Big frame. Older than the other, you could see that in the lines on his forehead and the single grey streak in his dark, slicked back hair. He had a moustache and a soul patch. You make sure not to look at his eyes during your quick face-study.
You look back at Lyle. "What about them?" You almost whisper.
"Well, one of them caused serious issues last year. Apparently he and mr. Fring go way back."
"And not in a good way." He adds, before walking to Fring's office.

'Serious issues.' Huh. You wonder what he's talking about. You haven't even been working here for a full year yet, so you have no clue.
He has nice arms.
Sneakily studying him, you notice how the sleeves of his shirt are slightly tight around his biceps. He has an expressive face. A strong nose and a killer smile, which you've seen him do a few times in the past 5 minutes.