Just a Pizza Guy

Just a Normal Date

After the ghost fight, Samuel had a long week of delivering pizzas all over the city. Fortunately, he didn't come across any bank robberies or children standing in the middle of the street with their noses in their phones. His left shoulder healed over this time, but it wasn't good as new by the end of the week. Come early evening Friday, Samuel was casually strolling back to his apartment without a worry in his mind.

"I bet we've still got tasty leftovers that are just dying to get eaten!" Samuel thought to himself excitedly. He picked up his pace and began to imagine how every tasty bite of the leftover meatball spaghetti would taste. Their mother had brought some over earlier in the week when Samuel was at work, but Gideon was home from classes. Gideon said she had not mentioned the news or the Pizza Guy at all, but Samuel still had a hunch she knew it was him. His mouth watered as he imagined her homemade meatballs. Her cooking was unbelievable, and Gideon's cooking skills came from the master herself. Unfortunately, Samuel took after his father, and he was only good for making pizza and bread from scratch (he also made a mean BLT sandwich). So much good food flew through his mind he had to stop himself from drooling.

"Hey, uh, wait up!" A familiar young woman's voice called out. The lack of usual harshness threw off Samuel as he dropped back to reality and stopped to turn around. It was Anya, but she was wearing her store's uniform: white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, bright red apron, jeans, and sensible slip resistant work shoes. Samuel blinked slowly.

"Uhm, hey, Anya. Why the uniform? Your store fixed up?" He asked slowly. She purses her lips in thought and Samuel winced in preparation for pain.

"No... I was just checking everything earlier and wanted to wear proper attire. I can't wait for the store to be up and running again," she sighed, twirling her hair. Samuel watched in wonder. No torture for mentioning her store?

"S-Sorry, uhm, was there something you wanted to tell me?" Anya shrugged.

"It's alright, I wanted to ask if you're free tomorrow. We should hang out some and work on our communication and teamwork. I am your manager after all and we should get to know each other better again," she logically explained. Samuel rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"You make some good points. Yeah, I'm free tomorrow. What did you have in mind?" Her face lit up brighter than the city streets at night.

"It's a surprise! I have lots planned! Just meet me at the store tomorrow at about 10 AM! Okay?" Samuel began to feel a cold sweat as she cheerfully spoke. Her sweetness could only mean absolute pain and suffering in the future. He swallowed his fear and nodded quickly. "Okay, see ya!" She turned and skipped away. She looked so happy, so enthusiastic. He was so dead. Samuel spent the rest of his time walking back to the apartment contemplating what he should include in his will.

***

"You okay? You look like you're going to your own funeral," Gideon asked Samuel worriedly. Samuel shook his head.

"Anya wanted to hang out today. She said it was just quality time but-" Samuel began to explain.

"You think she's going to kill you? Come on, we both know she would've already if she wanted to. You're her only real customer right now, too, you know. She wouldn't benefit from killing you," Gideon interrupted. "Just keep an open mind and have some fun. When's the last time you went out to have fun with people? That's not counting when we do lunch occasionally." Samuel opened his mouth to reply and shut it quickly. He had no reply. "Go on! Relax! There's no need to worry!"

"O-Okay, if you think it's safe..." he meekly replied. Gideon chuckled.

"You forget Anya didn't terrorize you everyday. You had days where you both were chill." Samuel sighed. Gideon's logic was undeniable. When he really thought about it, there were days just like the ones he described.