Vanessa and the Glamrock Gigatronics

Chapter 2 - On-the-Job Training

Just as she had promised the night before, Vanessa made sure to board the earliest night bus that went all the way to the Pizzaplex. Her plan had been to reach the infamous building at least thirty minutes before her orientation shift was supposed to start. By doing that, she could impress her grumpy new boss, who had clearly become accustomed to disappointment.

Much to her surprise, Layla was nowhere to be found when she eventually got to the Pizzaplex, and this was the case right until the actual meeting time came. When she had asked about the head's whereabouts, the unpleasant daytime security team simply told her to wait at the security office near the entrance lobby, until Layla arrived. Her employment here was already off to a bad start, and she had not even gotten past the introductory stage yet.

The young woman shook her head in disapproval, as she sat and played games on her phone to pass the time. Layla had been so snippy about her time being wasted, yet here she was wasting Vanessa's time instead. Her efforts to arrive early had completely gone to waste. The orientation was supposed to start at 9:30pm, yet here she was at 10pm with no rule book, no uniform, and no supervisor.

After endlessly scrolling on her phone for another twenty minutes, the sound of urgent footsteps came suddenly, from behind the door to the entrance lobby security office. Vanessa stood up slowly as a very frazzled looking woman burst into the office with an apologetic expression on her face. She wore a navy-blue security uniform and had black wavy hair in a messy bun.

"I am so sorry, Vanessa," said the woman, in between deep breaths of exhaustion. "I genuinely thought you wouldn't be coming in today, or at the very least that you would be here late. I came as soon as I could, once one of the daytime security guards called me to say that you were here already."

Vanessa's face clearly showed her annoyance with the situation, but she swallowed her angry words and walked over to greet Layla politely.

"I did tell you that I would be coming in on time, didn't I?" asked Vanessa as she gently shook the Latina woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

"I know that it really isn't", replied Layla, hanging her head in shame. "I am sorry for being so mean and irritable. You have no idea how many times, I have been called to do this exact task over and over again, just for a dirty prankster to show up, ridicule me, then post about it on the internet."

Vanessa's annoyed expression softened, as her new boss basically confirmed her suspicions from the day before. Layla's brain was probably fried from doing this recruiters' song and dance on repeat.

"I understand, ma'am", said the blonde, with a gentle smile.

"No need for ma'am, please", said Layla warmly. "I'm just Layla to you."

Vanessa nodded in response and they immediately began the orientation protocols. The two ladies walked through the entrance lobby, where Layla showed her around the important areas such as Glamrock Gifts, the Faz-pad café, the Superstar Day-care and the customer service desk. From there they took the elevator to the main atrium, the most expansive area of the Pizzaplex.

As they stepped out onto the escalator that led down to the bottom area, Vanessa started contemplating the kind of physical effort it would take to check through this place on foot every night. Imagine her relief when Layla guided her towards a small booth near the party check-in, where a group of animatronic-themed indoor shuttle cars were parked. Vanessa immediately recognised the one with green, pink and white themed decor on it.

"Hey, that's Chica, right?" blurted Vanessa. She had not meant to say that out loud.

"Indeed, it is", said Layla, as she snorted with laughter at Vanessa's declaration. "Are you a fan of hers by any chance?"