Cat and Mouse

Chapter 5

As soon as I arrive home, I flop down onto the mattress and release a sigh of relief. My muscles ache from the physical strain and Two-Face's tendency to throw me around like a ragdoll. Too exhausted to properly change out of my costume, I remove the utility belt and fox tail before falling asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The shrill ringing of my alarm clock is what wakes me up in the morning. Despite the sun being fully risen, I am still exhausted and try to drown out the pestering nonsense, but my attempts are futile. Rolling off the bed, I land on my feet, which wobble a bit under my weight. i shut off my alarm clock and groggily step towards the bathroom.

It's the middle of a school week and school has already started, but at 9 in the morning I only woke up for the 8 hour work shift for Happy Hamburger starting in one hour. My hair is messed up, sticking up in all angles and tangled around the fox ears I had forgotten to take off. The spandex is wrinkled slightly and the sleeves have rolled up. I quickly put my hair in a ponytail and change, taking a moment to notice a bruise forming on bicep, before pulling on my work uniform and jogging out the door.

The small apartment is about three blocks away from my workplace, located in the rather "shady" part of town, and seeing as I had no money to buy a car or any vehicle, I had opted to walk. The streets of Gotham were quiet, most people already in school or at work. A few elderly people walked by, giving me polite smiles or questioning looks, wondering why I am not in school. I just scowl softly and continue walking with my head bowed.

"Amber, you're late!" Mr. Wescott's voice rings through the burger joint as he sits behind the counter, lazily eating a hamburger. I honestly think he should quit the manager job and go as our mascot instead. I inwardly roll my eyes at his behavior, it's a minute past when I'm meant to start work but Wescott is just looking for an excuse to belittle me.

"Sorry sir, won't happen again" I mutter with my eyes downcast, even though my fists are clenched. My ass of a manager smiles at me and moves aside to let me in behind the register. Being the youngest employee, I was too inexperienced to work anything but that, so while the others rotated between the drive-thru and the other tasks, I was constantly stuck behind a cold, outdated piece of metal holding more money than I owned.

"Why does he always pick on you?" My coworker, Andrew asks when Wescott disappears to his office doing God knows what. A dish rag is in his hand as he wipes down the always dirty tables of the restaurant. Andrew was a nice boy, a college dropout with shining blue eyes and light brown hair. He's pretty much my only friend in this place, especially seeing as he's only about 2 years older than me.

"Probably jealous of my awesomeness" I mutter as a response, a smile hinting at my lips.

Andrew chuckles as he moves to a table closer to me, spraying it with water and washing the towel over it "Well that's a given, even I'm jealous" he retorts teasingly.

I roll my eyes at his playful behavior "What can I say, I was born with it"

Andrew laughs again, this time moving over so he's on the opposite side of the counter as me. I narrow my eyes slightly as he inspects my face, giving him a questioning glance.

"What?' I finally ask after a moment undr his scrutinizing gaze.

"Just seeing something"

"Huh?" his cryptic answer is confusing and far from a real answer.

Suddenly, Andrew reaches over the counter and rubs both hands on my arms. I stand frozen, thoroughly confused over what he's doing. being a martial arts specialist, I'd assumed I'd have at least punched him by now but I'm still frozen in shock.

After a moment he pulls away "Nope, didn't work" Andrew says with a smirk.

"What didn't work?" I ask, still not fully recovered from the action.

"I was gonna see if your awesomeness would rub off on me but I guess not" He replies and I roll my eyes.

"You're weird" I state blankly.

Andrew winks "But you love me" He says. I sigh, rubbing my palm over my face.

"Amber! Stop talking and get back to work!" Mr. Wescott's voice cuts in and I jump in shock, turning around to face him.

How can I work if no one's even in the damn restaurant? I want to shout at him but i just mutter a 'sorry' and turn away. Andrew gives me an apologetic look as he returns to wiping down the counters.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ten minutes away from the end of my shift and I'm ready to drop dead. Andrew had clocked out over an hour ago, leaving me to deal with the rush of people that came around dinner time. Many were students that would be in my grade if I had decided to stay in school. I do nothing to greet them, but instead plaster on a fake smile and take their order.

The door opens, the annoying bell tingling like it does every five second. i'm surprised such a crappy restaurant would attract so many customers. I turn to the new customer, another smile pasted on my face. It falls slightly as I notice the boy walking up to the counter.

He's tall and lean, looking about my age with messy black hair that seemed familiar. His blue eyes give the illusion of happiness, but underneath I can see the tragedy and the pain he must've gone through somewhere in his past.

"Um, hello?" He asks in a rather playful tone. I jump slightly, realizing I had zoned out. I clear my throat and look up, slightly entranced by his azul orbs.

"Oh, sorry! Can I... help you?" I cough out as I lean against the counter, ready to punch in the guys order to the cash register.

"Uh yeah, can I get a Number Five and a small drink?" He asks and I nod. adding the two orders on the cash register (because I suck at math) and turning back to him.

"That'll be $5.06" I say. The boy hands me a 10 and I give him his change, taking a moments pause to get to coins needed to pay him back. Hey, I never finished schooling and math was my least favorite subject.

"Thanks" he says and he waits as his order is made. After a minute, the door opens again and a tall man with black hair like the boy's comes in. I immediately recognize him as Bruce Wayne, a successful businessman and one of the richest people in Gotham. Now that's odd for him to be in a Happy Hamburger.

"Dick, hurry up, you need to start your... homework" Bruce Wayne says. The boy, I assume Dick, rolls his eyes and turns around.
"I'll be right there, just need to get my food!" he replies. Bruce sighs before exiting again. He turns back to me and smiles "Sorry, the old man's such a stickler when it comes to me handling my extracurriculars" he says with a sinister smile. I narrow my eyes, ready to question the boy but a cook hands me Dick's meal and I hold off on the question, giving the meal to Dick.

"Thanks... Amber" Dick says, reading the nametag pinned to my shirt. A light pink surprisingly tinges my freckled cheeks and I watch the boy leave the restaurant, feeling slightly nauseated after the encounter.