Sammy

"What the hell was that?" Grayson asked, slipping out of one of the vet rings to join me in the back room.

"I- I don't know." I replied honestly, still holding the ice pack in hand. "I was trying to get this to him. He bolted out of here without grabbing it." My hands squished the room temperature cool pack between my fingers as I turned to face Grayson.

"That was the same kid from last night right? Looks like he was bringing us lunch." Grayson noted. "What the hell did you do to scare him off that quick?"

I threw my hands up in defeat. "It honestly beats me. I just told him I could give him some pointers on defense. Harmless stuff I swear. Just trying to help." I replied. Grayson gave me a look that said he wasn't buying it.

But with Grayson, this look was pretty much always present on his face.

"You know you do tend to make terrible choices with words. I'm sure something got lost in translation." He replied. I was quick to come to my own defense.

"I know, but I'm serious this time! I don't think I said anything disrespectful."

Grayson sighed at my words. "Well we'll know for sure depending on whether Kassie decides to come kill us or not. She really likes that kid, man. Plus you know how long they've been short staffed for."

My fingers pushed back the strands of hair that had slipped through the hair bun. This whole situation was just bizarre.

Dante

I sighed heavily, allowing my back to rest against the hard porcelain water reservoir of the toilet.

Why was I so fucked up? I thought to myself.

Why was everything so fucking triggering?

My hand grabbed at the stall railing, as I took another deep breath. The words fight back amplified through me. I felt the memories surface like an air filled rubber duck that's been held beneath water, then suddenly released.

I fought to keep my breathing under control. To keep me under control.

Kassie hadn't noticed when I entered Tidal Wave and shot straight to the restrooms, but that didn't negate from the fact that I couldn't stay in this stall forever. Those familiar cries echoed against the walls of my memory as my ex's voice cut through like a hot knife in butter...

But something else pulled me out from my suffocating thoughts. I heard a loud crash from somewhere in the bar and it was accompanied with the sound of glass breaking. I quickly stood, rubbing the tears that had threatened to fall away from my eyes. I washed my hands as fast as possible, before i could make it back out into the bar.

Once I did, I noticed Kassie standing in the middle of the floor with a broom in her hand. She was clearing up the pieces of what looked to be broken glasses. The tray that Chris usually used to serve, was also on the ground besides the broken shards. Something must have happened while she was serving.

Honestly, I was still trying to get used to calling her Chris. It really stood for Christina (I think she mentioned), but she preferred to go by Chris.

I hadn't really had the opportunity to carry much of a conversation between her and Aiden. Aiden seemed pretty laid back for the most part. He had to step in to fix a drink I made incorrectly last night, but the entire time he was really nice and understanding. Even Chris had given me some pointers on how to deal with difficult regulars, or what to do if someone comes in asking for a salad- apparently our menu didn't consist of a single salad option, so this happened more frequently than not.

The only person I had yet to work with, was Howard. So much had happened in such little time, I had almost forgot the main managers name. He mentioned that he wouldn't be back until tomorrow, and call me crazy, but I was absolutely petrified he'd pick up on the fact that I had no bartending skills.

When it came to Chris and Aiden, they knew what they were doing, and they kept the busy flow going. Their customer service was lacking however, that's for sure. It took maybe 3 seconds before Chris got into it with the customer who I presume might have bumped into her. Kassie intervened immediately before the customer and Chris could escalate the situation.

Aiden, on the other hand, just couldn't be bothered with anything. He hated cleaning, and wasn't a fan of messy customers. Kassie had told him a few times last night when he complained, that he chose the wrong job if he wasn't ready to clean spilt drinks. There was no argument there. Regardless of how ridiculous Chris and Aiden could be with certain aspects of the job, Kassie knew how to reel them in.

I watched as she talked both the customer and Chris down before cleaning up the rest of the mess, and making it to the bin behind the bar to throw out the shattered glass. That was when her eye finally caught mine.

"Dante! You're back!" She called out, beckoning me over once again. I wiped my still slightly damp hands on my shirt as I made my way to her.

"Hi, yes sorry, it took me a little longer than expected." I replied. I was going to tell her about one of the guys from the gym patching up my nose, but Kassie was already moving on to the next task at hand.

"I know you haven't met much of our kitchen staff, but I was going to have you on dishes for the remainder of the day if you don't mind?" She asked me. I almost immediately shook my head in return.

"Not at all, just show me the ropes and I'll catch on." I assured her.

-

When things had died down, Kassie put Aiden on bartending, and she gestures for me to fallow her through a different door located next to the bar. I had seen Chris and Aiden walk in and out with trays of food, but I hadn't seen exactly what was located back there. When Kassie pushed the door open, we were immediately welcomed with a different group of people.

There were 4 guys total back here. All of them were working on preparing the food, while one looked to be rotating between cleaning and cooking.

"Listen up guys!" Kassie called out, drawing the groups attention. Some where in the middle of stirring sauces or flipping burgers, so all they could do was give a head nod in her direction for acknowledgement. "This is Dante. He's going to be helping out with dishes for the day. I expect you all to treat him kindly. Ben?"

A man who was in the middle of stirring cilantro into a sauce, glanced over. "What's up Kas?"

"I want you to show Dante the ropes. Let me know if you have any questions." Kassie replied, before giving me one brief pat on the back, and swiftly leaving me alone to fend for myself. I hesitantly made my way towards who Kassie had called Ben.

He was a tall individual, definitely over six feet. His dark tan complexion complimented the black hair he had pulled into a bun. With his sleeves rolled, I could see the coverings of tattoos that peaked out beneath each arm. He was good looking, but he had this rough exterior that somehow made my skin crawl.

"Alright kid, grab those gloves under the sink there, and lets put you to work."

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