Café Q

Chapter Ten

Tuesday is the day that Clifton was off, and that was today. It was also the day that Winnie got sick and Rhett had to go back to his therapist for a checkup. Not only that, the twins are visiting their grandparents' house. Nobuo was taking another test, he'll be back later. Caspian also decided to take his break today. We were low on people today.

Mrs. Cheryl had to move people around to keep things organized. I had to take over Rhett's job because that's what I do a lot when he is gone. The rest was completely random. Ember and I were sitting in the employee lounge it was ten minutes till we opened. Everyone was changing into their clothes. Toru walked in with a waiter uniform on, he didn't look pleased with it. "Wait till Nobuo sees you" I commented.

"I better change back when he gets here" Toru mumbles as he sat down.
Mrs. Cheryl and Jemmie walked in, they were talking. Well, more like Jemmie is complaining to her. She had to become a waitress too. "I just spoke with Pike and he said that it would be alright to close the booth today" Mrs. Cheryl announced to everyone. Pike then walked out wearing exactly Caspian's clothes. It was a bit big for him but he could make it work.

"Everyone get ready!" Mrs. Cheryl told us. "I'll take care of the drinks and desserts," Ember told Pike as she stood up. She acted a bit sour towards him. It was probably because he humiliated Caspian and was a bit upset about that. I got up and started heading to the dining room. "Wait for Zach! You are in charge of taking care of Jemmie and Toru" Mrs. Cheryl said to me before I walked out. Toru was getting a drink of coffee while Jemmie was talking to Ember.

The café just opened and not many people walked in. I had to show Toru how the seats were numbered and how to write the orders down. Yeah, it's a complex process. "Always ask if they want a drink before asking for their foods" I advised Toru. "I'm not good at this stuff" Toru sighed as he sat in one of the seats.
"Don't worry I'll help you through the process" I tried to cheer him up.
"No not that, I'm not good at communicating with people. Have ever seen me how I try to talk to Ember?" Toru told me.
"Not really, but you are good at talking to us," I said.
"That's because I know you"
"Pretend the customers are your friends"
"But I don't want to be their friends"
This is going to be much harder than I suppose. I looked at Jemmie, she was doing a good job of taking care of people. She even stopped by some tables, even when her hands are full, to see if the customers need assistance.
"How about you clean up and I just do what I always do?" I asked him.
"That's fine by me" Toru got up. I handed him the broom and told him what to clean up. I also showed him the process of picking up the silverware and bringing it to the sink.

"Is their any more waitress uniforms?" Jemmie marched up to me and asked. She looked really upset. "No that's the only one unless you want to use Winnie's," I told her.
"Whatever" Jemmie grumbled as she went back to work.

There was only one table that needed our assistance and Jemmie was busy serving another table. I decided to see what they want. "How could I help you?" I asked them politely. It was a couple, just enjoying their time together. "We would like to change waiters" the girl was seemed very upset, the boy just went along with what she said. "Of course, is there something that is displeasing you" I tried to stay relax and confident.

"I just don't understand why you would hire sluts like her" The girl hissed at me. "I'm sorry, that attitude is not accepted here" I decided to stand up to her for Jemmie's sake and everyone in the café. "I don't care, you need to get rid of people like her" the girl hissed at me. "We don't kick out hardworking employees but we can kick out annoying customers," I told her.
"You are not the boss of me" the girl glared at me.
"But I am" I turned around and couldn't believe who it was.
"Lady Cindy, I...I'm s...sorry" the girl bowed her head.
"I don't appreciate how you treated that girl so you can kiss that promotion goodbye" Cindy looked down at her.
"Bu...but, I-"
"Enough!" Cindy turned around on her heels and was about to leave.
"Wait, why are you even here?" I asked her before she could walk out the door.

"I heard about what Janice did to your workers, no one deserves to be hurt like that" Cindy said plainly.
"Thank you for standing up for Jemmie"
"I don't usually like her but girls always protect each other. I am not going to sit around and let her get humiliated by that"
"That was a brave thing you did there"
"Thanks, but I have to leave" Cindy pushed open the doors and left.

A few minutes later, Nobuo walked in and I needed him to do something for me. I walked to the sink where Mrs. Cheryl was doing Nobuo's job. She looked busy telling Ember and Pike what to do and also cleaning the dishes.
"Nobuo is here, so could Jemmie wash the dishes," I asked her.
"I would refer if Nobuo did it since he has experience," Mrs. Cheryl told me.
"Why do you want me to take Jemmie's place?" Nobuo walked up to me. I decided to tell them what happened.
"A customer was giving her disrespect from how she looks, it would be best for her to stay away from them," I told them.
"I understand, but if people start staring at my butt than it's not my fault" Nobuo smirked. Mrs. Cheryl and I rolled our eyes at him.

I spend the majority of my time telling Nobuo what to do and how to take orders. He pretended to be clueless but it was easy to tell he was pretending. Toru was scrubbing the tables and Nobuo took that opportunity to kick him in the bottom. "Would you stop!" Toru states towards him. Nobuo snickered as he galloped away. Toru just facepalmed as he got back to work.

Today was a super interesting day. Nobuo was teasing Toru all day as he cleans the tables and picked up dirty silverware. I didn't hear Jemmie complain all day, so she must be feeling better or just complaining to Mrs. Cheryl. Pike and Ember were quiet the whole time while they worked in the kitchen.

"See you tomorrow" Winnie waved as she waved at me. I walked out of the boys' locker room with my usual clothes on. I left my bag in the employee lounge so I walked out to get it. On top of my bag was a clear wrapped chocolate. I picked it up to examine it. The package had 'Chocolate Mocha' written on the front of it. Who would give me this? Candy is candy. I grabbed my bag and started heading back to my hotel.