Chereads / Make-Believe! / Chapter 3 - Daisy's Diner

Chapter 3 - Daisy's Diner

Daisy's Diner. A famous place to relax and grab a quick bite after working a long shift. In contrast to the modern city, the restaurant maintained its retro 60s style. Its metallic exterior glistened in the sunlight. Red and black paint covered the bottom half of the restaurant. Daisy's Diner expressed itself in beautiful, pink neon lights with a large sign on top of the building.

Cars packed the small parking lot as people walked in-and-out of the restaurant. Just nearby, a group of men huddled near their vehicles as they told their jokes and stories. By the diner's door, a few dwarves and beastkin gambled on a dice game. Some cheered while others sulked in their loss.

"O' glorious and righteous masters, why are we here?" Goomy moaned in annoyance. He couldn't stand the large crowd and lively atmosphere.

"To celebrate our success at the best restaurant in the city!" Arlo gleefully said as he swung the door open.

"Yeah...congratulations, masters," Goomy rolled his eyes. Goomy still felt salty that he was made into a servant by these two idiots.

As they walked inside, a pleasant aroma wafted through the air, and Rocky and Arlo couldn't stop salivating. They heard the sounds of sizzling patties in the kitchen and the chattering from the crowd. They glanced around the restaurant. The floor consisted of checkered tiles, and the walls were painted light blue with various old pictures hung up.

A cyborg danced to some old rock tunes near the jukebox as a small crowd cheered him on. Meanwhile, two beautiful waitresses walked across the diner and attended to the customer's orders. Rocky and Arlo couldn't help but stare at them.

A gorgeous waitress greeted them. Her eyes were like beautiful onyx gemstones. The waitress' hair was as dark as the night sky and flowed down to her shoulders in waves. On her head was a pair of small, white horns. She had cherry red lips and a cute button nose that complimented her lightly tanned face. The waitress wore a white apron over her pink dress with black high heels. The waitress was a demonkin. She was one of the rarer races that arrived on Earth since the monster invasion began.

"Rocky! Arlo!" The waitress ran up to them and hugged them. She gave them a dazzling smile as she looked at their faces.

A few days back, Rocky and Arlo had saved this girl from a perverted satyr. Satyrs were male spirits that preyed upon unsuspecting women. In Roman mythology, satyrs had the appearance of half man-half goat, but they only had horse ears and tails in Greek mythology. However, ever since they arrived on Earth, they were able to take up both forms.

Coincidentally enough, the girl they saved happened to be newly hired at their favorite restaurant. Now every time they came here, she would often sneak them free food when her manager wasn't looking.

"Yo, Piper," Rocky rubbed her head. Piper had always asked him for head rubs. Rocky was weirded out at first, but after a few days, it became instinctual for him to give her one.

"Hey, Piper. How's your new job going?" Arlo asked.

"It's awesome! Everyone gives me huge tips," Piper said as she glanced at Goomy. "And who's this little fella here?"

"Oh, him? That's Gomble, our servant," Arlo glanced at Goomy. "You can just ignore him."

Goomy hastily corrected, "It's Goomy!"

Piper squatted and patted Goomy's head, "My, how ugly!"

"Get your hands off me, woman!" Goomy felt offended and slapped her hand away.

Goomy instantly received an electric shock from his collar. Curious onlookers watched in awe as a dazzling light show flashed intensely from Goomy. Moments later, the light show ended, and Goomy twitched helplessly on the floor as smoke rose from his head. He turned red from embarrassment as everyone laughed at his misery.

"Sorry, Piper, I haven't taught the little runt manners yet," Arlo apologized.

"Not at all," Piper giggled. "Follow me to your tables!"

The idiot trio sat down in an empty table, and Rocky and Arlo ordered their usuals from the menu. Piper poured them a glass of beer and left the three to themselves.

"Can ya believe it? The old granny gave us one grand plus another three grand from selling all those jewelry!" Rocky chugged his beer down.

"Hell yeah! We struck it rich this time!" Arlo wrapped his arm around Goomy's shoulders. "You know what, Gumbo? I'm actually glad you robbed that poor lady's house."

"It's! Hah, nevermind..." Goomy leaned back and took a sip of his beer. Goomy sighed as he stared out of the window with his chin rested on his hand. His eyes followed a group of kids as they flew on their hoverboards over the road.

"If we keep this up, we'll reach the Promised Land in no time," Rocky said as he daydreamed about his future.

Arlo held his beer glass up, "Cheers for all the booze and moolah!"

Rocky raised his glass with a bright smile. To others, his smile was like a demon that enjoyed torturing humans.

Goomy only sat there as he watched these two idiots drown in their stupidity. He wondered how these guys were Hunters in the first place.

Arlo looked at Goomy, "What are you waiting for? Join us!"

Goomy hesitated as he looked at their ridiculous smiles. To be honest, he didn't think it would be bad if he hung out with them for a while. All he had ever done was rob and sleep in abandoned buildings. Not to mention being chased down by Hunters who were after his life nearly every day. Perhaps a change up would be nice.

Goomy finally raised his glass, "Sure, why not?"

"Cheers!" They yelled in unison and chugged their beers down.

Rocky waved his arms, "Oi, Piper! Give us anotha round of beer, would ya?"

"Sure, sweetie!" Piper yelled from across the diner.

Moments later, Piper came back with several plates balanced on her arm. They were all classic American dishes that would make a person's mouth salivate. Daisy's Diner was especially famous for their burgers. Many people would come in droves to get a chance to taste it.

"Food's ready!" Piper enthusiastically said. She laid the plates onto the table before refilling their glass with more beer. Piper then sat next to Rocky and stared at him with sparkling eyes.

Rocky and Arlo wasted no time at all and dug into their food like animals. Goomy didn't touch his food, on the other hand. His face showed clear disgust towards human food. In his lifetime, all he had ever eaten were insects and raw meat from hunting. Cooked meals were an entirely new concept for him.

Arlo grabbed a bunch of fries and shoved them in his mouth, "Something wrong, Gumbo?"

"I don't know..." Goomy cautiously poked his burger. "I've never eaten this type of food before. I don't think I even want to."

"Damn! You're really missing out then!" Arlo cried in shock. "Then as your master, I order you to eat that burger."

"But I don't want-"

"Eat it," Arlo interrupted him. His finger is nearly on the red button, ready to zap Goomy.

"Okay, okay! I'll eat the stupid burger!" Goomy lifted the burger and stared at it. "Oh god..."

Goomy closed his eyes tightly as he brought the burger closer to his mouth. He could practically feel his soul leaving his body. Goomy slowly ripped a tiny piece of meat off and chewed it in anguish.

"Oh god, it's worst than I- huh?" Goomy stared blankly into space. Goomy had gained sudden enlightenment. The crispy lettuce, the melted cheese, the tender beef - he understood it all now. The God of Burgers had opened the gate, and Goomy's soul transcended Earth and reached Burger Heaven.

"My whole life had been a lie," Goomy uttered. In an instant, Goomy ferociously ate his burger like it was his last meal.

"Atta boy!" Arlo patted his back.

Arlo's phone suddenly rang, and he answered it, "Monster Hunter's Incorporation, how can I help you?"

*****

Piper took a sip from Rocky's glass.

"So, Rocky~" Piper seductively said. "Are you enjoying the food?"

"Best food ever!" Rocky answered with his mouth full. He then squeezed a bottle of hot sauce into his mouth.

She moved closer to him and their shoulders touched. Piper fiddled with her fingers as she snuck glances at Rocky's body. Piper vividly remembered how Rocky appeared in front of her and courageously fought against the perverted satyr. Although he was seriously wounded, Rocky still managed to come up top and win. At that moment, She knew that her Prince Charming had arrived at long last.

"I'm still thankful that you saved me, Rocky," Piper wrapped her hand around his waist. "You were so strong~"

Rocky burped loudly, "Just doin' what a Hunter s'pose to be doin'."

"You know..." Piper dragged her fingers across his arm. "I've always wanted a Hunter as a boyfriend."

"You're pretty cute. I think it'll be easy for ya to grab ahold of a sucker," Rocky complimented.

Piper blushed and spoke in a low voice, "I think we should go on a date sometimes..."

Arlo hung up his phone and shouted, "Rocky, we gotta go! A citizen is in need of our help!"

Arlo grabbed Goomy and ran out of the diner at full speed ahead.

"You're hurting my arm, master!" Goomy screamed.

Rocky got up and ran after them, "Sorry, Piper! I'll talk to ya later, kay?"

"No, wait!" Piper yelled. She reached her hand out to him, but she was too late. Rocky had left the diner already. He hopped into the van, and it quickly drove off. Piper was all alone now.

A waitress walked up to Piper and asked, "Who was that?"

Piper smiled widely, "My future boyfriend!"