labyrinth Δ harry styles

Door Nine: Persuasion

BURNT OUT. THAT'S exactly how Indira has been feeling all week. She was taking covers, working from open to close, and even showing up before the doors opened for food prep. She was exhausted, and surprised that the boss let her work this many days. But this needed to be done. She wanted to save some extra money since the rent for her apartment was going to be higher even though she was splitting it with Natasha.

All she could think about was laying down in the comforts of her bed whilst another coworker from the line kept talking her ear off. Any other day, she would contribute, but she didn't feel like conversing at all that day. She placed her head down on the counter for a few seconds before the phone began ringing loudly.

With her head still down, she stretched out an arm to pick it up from its incessant ringing. She answered it like any other cashier would answer a phone order: "Boss' Pizza!"

"Can I place a takeout order?" A man with a deep voice asked.

"Sure what can I get for you?" She stood straight now, all while adding a fake cheery voice to make it seem like she actually enjoyed working as a cashier for more than twenty hours a week.

As the man placed his small order, she couldn't help but notice how familiar it sounded. She argued that it might have been a regular she hasn't seen in a while.

"Alright, can I get a name for the order?" She asked as she pressed on the empty name slot.

"Uh, Edward," the man replied.

Once Indira told him the approximated wait time then hung up, she laid her head back down on the counter. The phone in her back pocket buzzed a couple of times. When Indira decided to pay attention to it, she picked it up and noticed texts from Juniper. What does she want now? She huffed to herself.

*can you make sure to clean the dining room this time??* Indira sighed loudly at the first text, not caring that her coworkers were giving her odd stares.

*i dont wanna have to come in to work and see all that shit on the tables* Read another.

Letting the anger take over, she let the thought of chucking her phone across the dining room sound like a great idea. Juniper had been itching on her last nerve, however today wasn't the day she felt like replying, so she jammed her phone in her back pocket and placed her head back down on the counter.

If a germaphobe and a neat freak had a baby, Juniper surely would be the outcome. Everything had to be spotless to her and if she didn't wash her hands at least a hundred times a day, it would be a problem. To make it even worse, it affected everyone at the restaurant including Indira who gets the shittier end of the stick. Looking back on it, Indira realized that she is probably the only one that brushes aside her intolerable shit, and she hated that.

She could go on and on, but to waste her breath on someone who could give less of a shit, especially when she's been overworked, was illogical.

Her coworker on the pizza side of the kitchen kept trying to cheer her up and continuously tell her memorable stories of the times he went back home to Trinidad. Frankie, the one who made the pizzas, was one of Indira's favorite coworkers. She generally got along with everyone, but he always found a way to make her laugh even in distressing times like these.

"What's wrong, honey? You tired?" He asked in his thick island accent as he stretched out the dough.

"I've been working all week, Frankie," she responded with her head still down. She could hear him giggle as he walked to the back room to get some more pans. "I'm just tired..."