After dropping the floor mop and rinsing the egg stain off my uniform (which ended up leaving a large, faint yellow mark), I rushed back to the counter.
Susan had finished taking orders, and just as she came over, two more ladies walked in. They headed straight for the counter, requesting a takeaway pack.
"The two men over there want chicken burgers each," Susan said to me after they left. "One wants a cocktail, the other Chenin Blanc. I'll get the drinks, you prepare the burgers."
Following her instructions, I grilled the patties and assembled the burgers. Soon, I was done, and Susan took a tray to serve the customers while I resumed grilling for the target and his girlfriend.
It turned out only the girlfriend wanted a burger. The young man just ordered an iced coffee.
My mind raced, trying to figure out how to talk to him for a minute with his girlfriend around.
Finished with their order, I snatched the tray back from Susan just as she was about to take it. The food wobbled precariously.
"Let go," Susan demanded, wanting to take the tray, but my grip was firm. I thought serving their table might give me a chance to strike up a conversation.
Although, with my appearance and egg-stained uniform, not to mention his girlfriend right there, the odds seemed heavily stacked against me.
"Why?" Susan pressed, unable to understand my sudden resistance.
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "I'll serve table two their order," I said.
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?" she repeated skeptically.
Just as I was about to fabricate an excuse, the doorbell jingled, and two high school girls walked in.
"Because you have to take the orders of those kids," I blurted out, pointing at them hastily. It was a flimsy excuse, considering my usual aversion to interacting with customers. I much preferred staying behind the counter, prepping food and drinks, while whoever I was working with handled the orders.
As expected, Susan was suspicious. "I thought you hated showing yourself to customers?" she arched an eyebrow.
"It's the dawn of a new era, Susan," I said playfully, shaking my head from side to side, hoping she'd buy it. "Let thy children embrace a new light."
With a confused look and eyes squinted, Susan dropped the tray for me. "It would have been better if the beginning of a new dawn meant you washing your hair, because I cannot seem to comprehend if it is black or grey color now," she scoffed and moved closer to the counter to attend to the students.
Humph!
It couldn't be that bad, could it? I hadn't even checked the mirror before leaving the house, not that I particularly cared about looking attractive anyway.
Now, on to the task!
My heart hammered in my chest as I approached table two with a wide smile plastered on my face. Usually, smiling made me look worse, but I didn't know what else to do in this situation.
[Host approaching target!]
The system popped up and began blaring again.
Oh, please. Could it stop the unnecessary hype and shut the fuck up?
[Ding!]
[Foul language from host to system detected]
[1 out of 5 points to be earned upon completion of the task has been deducted!]
What in the blazing hell —?
This system could actually hear the words in my head.
[Ding!]
[During activation– system is open to host's thought.]
Well, well, well.
Speak of fantasy.
I was at a loss for words, so, I focused on approaching table two instead. When I got there, I made sure a big smile was plastered on my face.
Usually, smiling made me look uglier but I had no idea how to act in this situation. So, I settled for a smile still.
"Enjoy your meal," I chirped cheerfully as I placed the burger in front of the girl. She offered me a polite smile in return.
Well, if she was grateful, why didn't she shoo me away and give me a minute with her boyfriend?
Like, yeah, right. If I said, 'Excuse me, missy, I need a minute with your boyfriend,' she'd verbally pounce on me, and just like Mrs. Del Monte had said, I'd kiss my job goodbye.
Pfft!
I set the iced coffee down in front of the guy. "Enjoy your drink!" I recited, desperately hoping he'd glance up and strike up a conversation.
Then, unlike my usual self, I'd do my best to stretch it out to a whole minute. However, I knew that was pure fantasy.
The girl's voice broke my train of thought. "What's that rotten egg smell?" she said, sniffing the air.
Shame washed over me as I took two steps back. The rotten egg smell was me. My confidence plummeted further.
"Egg?" the boyfriend asked her.
She abruptly stood up, scraping her chair across the marble floor with a screech.
"Yes, I think I'm going to throw up," she mumbled, hands over her mouth and rushing towards the restroom.
Yes! My chance! I thought, turning to the guy's handsome face.
"She's allergic to the smell of raw eggs," he explained sheepishly.
Oh my gosh, was he actually talking to me? Like, really talking to me?! I caught a glimpse of Susan waving at me from the corner of my eye.
"What's going on?" she mouthed, hands flying in the air with a frown. I completely ignored her. No way was I letting her waste my one minute!
"Oh, I see," I replied, a wide grin spreading across my face. My response should have been more than one syllable if I wanted to extend the conversation, but my mind was blank.
My entire life, the only person of the opposite sex I'd spoken to for more than an hour was my dad. And now, he was gone. Both he and Mom. Dead and gone in a terrible accident, leaving me to face the world alone.
[Conversation initiated by host; countdown begun. 59...58...57...56...] The system blared inside my head.
Ugh, not again!
"You've got something..." the guy started, raising his finger to his nose as if pointing something out.
Dear Universe, you are my best friend right now!
My cheeks burned with a blush which I desperately hoped he hadn't noticed. "Your—" he continued, tapping his nose again.
I had no clue what he was doing, but to keep the conversation going, I maintained my goofy grin.
Thankfully, no new customers had entered the restaurant yet. Perhaps sensing my awkwardness, he slumped his shoulders and finished his sentence. "You've got some slimy liquid stuck on the bridge of your nose," he said with a hint of irritation.
My smile vanished instantly.
Raw egg on my nose? How embarrassing!
Just as I was about to apologize, his girlfriend reappeared. "Babe—" she called out from behind me.
[Presence of a third party; countdown paused.]
[Failure to resume conversation in 30 seconds will cease existing countdown!]
A warning siren blared in my head. Both the guy and I watched her grab her purse and wipe sweat off her forehead. "I might puke my guts out if we don't leave now!" she exclaimed.
Before my eyes, the target stood up, took a small sip of his untouched iced tea, and walked to the counter to pay.
A rebooting sound echoed from the system, followed by: [Failure! Countdown ceased.]
[Initiate a new conversation with the target before two minutes!]
Cosima, seriously, just die already! Couldn't the system see they were leaving? I stood frozen like an action figure watching them walk out the door, the bell jingling their farewell.
This opportunity was lost, all because I was lazy and forgetful – neglecting to brush my teeth, wash my hair, shower, and clumsy enough to smear raw eggs on myself.
If this system was real and I was supposed to seduce men, the first priority should be smelling good and looking presentable, even if I wasn't conventionally attractive.
[Target out of range! Status of the task: Failed!]
[Number of points obtained: None.]
[ Initiating second round of the task. Engage a man in a conversation for 2 minutes to lose a pound!]
What the heck? "I couldn't even handle one minute, and now you're giving me two?" I gaped in disbelief as I turned back towards the counter.
[Ding!]
[Designated time for tasks will be increased in the second rounds.]
[Host must always complete the task in the first round to avoid a longer time sentence.]
[Second rounds only award 2 points!]
Another obnoxious sound.
[Beware; only first and second rounds are available! Failure to accomplish tasks in second rounds gains host ugly features!]
Now, I screamed in pure horror. "That's ridiculous! One more ugly feature and I'm cutting my wrists!" I yelled.
Susan jumped, her finger pressed to her lips, frantically motioning for me to be quiet. She also pointed behind me, but it was too late.
Clank!
The resounding clang of a ladle hitting the back of my head reverberated through the air.