Erik quickly headed for the bathroom to change his clothes. As usual, the bathroom was questionably clean right before his shift, so that meant that the morning workers were slacking on the job again. On the surface it might appear clean, but under that deodorizing perfume that was used heavily in the bathrooms, he could smell the stale stench of urine.
Having grown up sharing a single bathroom meant that it got dirty quickly, so he had learned early on, the best way to combat that eventual nasty dirty smell was to clean the bathroom every day. Between him and Nikki, they had a system where they could make any bathroom sparkle in no time flat. This bathroom was no exception. So, he changed his clothes and prepared himself mentally for work. He took mental note of everything that needed cleaning in here so he could be prepared with a game plan. After attempting to wash his hands and finding no soap, Erik added it to his mental to-do list for the men's restroom.
Exiting the bathroom, changed for work, he went straight towards dropping off his bag in the corner where all the employees were supposed to put their stuff. As usual, it was untidy and was spilling into the walking path. He knew, though, that if he dared touch anyone's stuff but his own, he could find himself being accused of stealing. Even if it was to keep walkways clear of debris, that was listed in the safety manual as an important part of cleaning the restaurant.
Placing his bag the furthest from the walkway and out of the way, Erik turned to see his manager staring at Liona who was sitting at a table waiting, like she said she was going to do until he started work. 'Ugh. He's noticed her. Now what? What kind of fuss is he going to come up with to chase her out of here and go running for the hills? I knew I should have warned her that my boss was an asshole…' He thought, as he tracked his manager's shitty gaze, that spoke volumes about his equally shitty personality.
"Ah Miss? I don't believe I've had the pleasure of helping you. What can I get started for you today?" Erik nearly gagged at the saccharine, sweet voice his manager was using as he called out to Liona.
'I can't believe he's going for sweet and gentleness while he looks at her like she's a piece of meat! I hope Liona will be alright. I can't exactly say anything without losing my job.'
"That's alright, I'm waiting for Erik to start his shift before I order. It should only be a few moments." He heard her say as he was busying himself washing his hands at the handwashing station in the back. She was speaking like she was pretending to be alright again… He had heard that slightly strained voice before. She was also speaking a little louder than usual, since he could hear her clearly over the running water as well as the noises of the kitchen.
"Well, Miss, I need you to order something. Otherwise, you'd be loitering." 'Bingo. My manager is gonna fly into a rage in 3… 2… 1…'
"Excuse me! I've been here less than five minutes, and I'm trying to decide what I want to order while I wait for Erik to start his shift. Now, if looking at the menu is considered loitering, then I'll just have to take that up with the owner. I think your boss would just love to hear that you like turning customers away before they have a chance to decide what they want to eat." Liona sounded angry. He expected his boss to go flying off the handle when she explained she was waiting for him, especially since he hated being talked back to.
Erik finished up washing his hands and seeing as the time was now on the dot. 2:30 pm he clocked in. Not a minute later, he was satisfied at the readout displaying his time record. He clocked in, on time and out on time, every day he worked. He didn't have a single tardy, here nor in school, despite the early working hours and transportation time to and from work. Not saying a single word to Liona, or his boss, he stepped up to the register next to his boss and input his employee ID into the system, which unlocked his register for the shift. Liona smiled her dazzling smile and immediately moved over to his register.
"Welcome to McDermott's, what can I get started for you today?" Erik spoke straight from the employee manual on how to greet a customer. He didn't falter or trip up once, even though he thought he might have with how brightly Liona seemed to shine in front of him with that smile of hers.
"Hi, I'd like one large order of The McDermott Special Burger Combo with bottomless drink, one order of The McDermott Nuggies, twenty piece, with the sweet & sour dipping sauce; add a bottomless drink to that; four McDermott Moo upside down surprises; two in vanilla and two in chocolate. Then I'd like two Double Stackers, half-pounders, hold the onions, two McDermott Deluxe Clucks, no tomato on one, and no lettuce on the other. Add two large drinks to-go with that one. Oh, and one order of the famous McDermott apple tarts." Liona rattled off a huge order.
Erik was wondering if she was ordering for her friends with that huge order. This was enough food to feed his entire family for a day on, but he didn't say any of that as he put in her order. Before he could finalize it though and read it back to her, his nasty boss body checked him to the side and took over his register, logging him out and inputting his own ID in the process. After being pushed to the side, Erik held in his anger. He was supposed to be doing his job, but his asshole manager was not letting him.
"Excuse me? I was just ordering from Erik. Do you mind?"
"I'm sorry, Miss, but he doesn't know how to work the register yet. You see, he's still new and doesn't know how to do the job properly yet. I'll gladly take over and get your order taken care of. No need to worry about his incompetence."
Erik heard the load of bullshit his manager was spouting and seethed internally at what was just said. It's not like they worked on commission and there was no tipping setup here, so he just earned an hourly wage. His manager was doing all this just because of Liona's looks and gender. He thought about going over to the other register and logging in. Since you can only be logged into a single register at a time, his boss would be logged out of the one he had been at just a moment before.
"The only incompetent one I see here is you. Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. One, you let Erik do his job properly and stop feeding me bullshit, or two, I call up the owner and explain that you are preventing the employees from working properly, displaying inappropriate behavior toward customers. Also, that you're lying through your teeth about Erik's knowledge of the point-of-sale system. I have seen him use it just fine in the past, so your bullshit pack of lies really pisses me off. Every time I come here, you just leer at me and my friends. I usually ignore it, since this is our favorite hangout after school, but the behavior you just displayed is despicable. Now, what it'll it be?" Erik had never heard Liona sound so angry before. He was kinda impressed at her bravery, talking to his manager like that.
"Look here, Little Miss Omega. I don't think you understand what you're talking about. You see, I'm the manager for this place and I know the owner personally. Now you expect me to be frightened by your cute little threats. You know, back in my day, we used to call little women like you, Karens. These employees are lucky to even have these jobs thanks to me. This is the only fast-food joint in town that still has human employees. If it wasn't for me, these losers would all be jobless losers, instead they're gainfully employed losers thanks to my generosity. Now either order from me or get out of my store, before I throw you out myself…" Erik could hear the rage in his manager's voice and the look he gave Liona daring her to defy him to give him the excuse to feel her up, made him feel sick to his stomach at the thought of him even touching her.
"Very well then, I see you have chosen your social death flag." Liona said simply, before she took out her phone and fiddled with it for a moment. "Did you catch all that Auntie Hannah?" She asked the person on the other line. She paused and nodded her head a few times and spoke a bit more before she hung up.