Yes, a skeleton.
"So Sans. I'm ____, it's a pleasure to meet you. " I smile, reaching my hand over the counter to grip his in a handshake. He eyed my hand cautiously before shaking it.
"you too."
"So I take it you've had previous occupations in the underground and a couple above ground but didn't go well."
"there's a lot of hate towards monsters above ground." I nod
"Tell me about the jobs underground. What exactly did you do as a sentry? And how would that benefit this cafe."
He thinks for a second before answering "well, we sentry's were on the watch for humans. and i ran a hot dog stand down there as well, a side business at one of my sentry stations. i figure, i knew how to work with humans and i've had past experiences working with food and stuff."
I purse my lips and let out a breath. I looked him over once before standing. The front bell rang and I looked over, one of my regulars. I gave them a smile and they looked around nervously as if they knew they walked in on something. I looked back at Sans, he was sitting down with a wide look on his face. He didn't know what to expect from me. I walk to the counter that flips up to the front, unlatched it and motioned for him to come in.
"You have a good record and seem to be well trusted from what I've read."
He stands up, wipes his skeletal palms on his jeans and walked over to the open hatch. He looked at me once before entering, his face still wide and confused. I closed the hatch, latched it, slid the paper next to my book on the far side of the counter. Then turned to Sans, he watched the ground noticed I was looking at him and met my stare. I gave him a wide smile.
"Okay, let's see how you are on the job. I'll show you what to do then when the next customer comes in, you do the same. alright?" He nods.
I turn to the regular, this one was a human. He had a bald spot growing on his head, he wore a brown trench coat that trailed down to his feet. He wore some baggy jeans and a probably stained shirt underneath. He was glancing at Sans nervously every now and then but calmed down a bit when I gave him a reassuring smile.
"Okay, Mr. Calosky. The usual today? Or do you want to try something different." I ask He looked up at the board, skimming through before shaking his head.
"Ah n-no thanks ____ I'll take the usual today, Stick with what I'm used to y'know." He gave a sheepish smile, even though this guy was a teacher at the local middle school in town, he's really shy around monsters.
"Okay, that's fine." I turn around with a smile still on my face and walked to the kitchen, waving for Sans to follow.
"This is the warming oven. As is labeled." I laugh a little, easing the look that had crept on Sans' face. "I keep the morning's muffins and donuts and such warm in here along with the leftovers of the ones cooked from the day before. It's easy to get to and quick for the customers." I look at him for a nod before pulling out one of the muffins. "Mr. Calosky is a regular here and he always gets the pecan muffins in the mornings with a small mocha coffee. He doesn't usually stay in the Cafe to eat but sometimes he does. He always wants it in a to-go bag for if he doesn't finish and he needs to be somewhere quickly." I pull out the tray then carefully took out the soft muffin with one of the napkins, wrapping it around it delicately before putting it into one of the skinny brown paper bags.
They tray pushes itself back in and the oven snaps closed silently and I turn around to go back to the front, looking behind me to see if Sans was following. he was.
I set the bag with the muffin down and pulled out a cup filling it with the second nozzle of coffee, next to the straight black. I added a little bit of milk and put a small bit of whipped topping on before setting it next to the bag. He held out a five dollar bill, with a nickel sitting on it. I took it, put it into the register and smiled at him. He nodded thanks, turned around with his items in his arms and shuffled out the door.
I look at sans with the same smile and he gave me a strange look.
"What?"
"n-nothin." he says and looks away. I shift from foot to foot, feeling as if I'm forgetting something and looked around the counter space.
"OH!" My sudden outburst startled Sans. He watched me with a strange look but it didn't last, It faded into his lazy smile. I know that look, I wear it too much. He's hiding something. "Here, it'll get a bit slow." I walk over to the kitchen door Sans following curiously. I pulled out a stool, alike to mine. Cushions on the seat and the back, bars near the bottom where i rest my feet on by habit. I shifted it out the door and sat it along the counter close by to my own. "Tada, and" I pulled out an apron similar to mine except larger. It was black with the emerald green seams and edges, there were pockets like a painting apron which were green. And it had the Cafes logo along the top.
"It should fit." I murmur looking at it. I hand it to him and he gave me a look, as if he's trying to figure something out. I just gave him a smile which seemed to perplex him some more. "Well go on. Try it on, It's the one my last employee wore." A dark look flashed over my eyes before I continued. "If it doesn't fit, I can always find another. But you look about his size."
He pauses for a second before lifting it over and around his neck to hang there. He pulled the strings on the sides behind him then tied it lazily. It fit him perfectly.
"urm... thanks.." he murmurs. I shake my head.
"Ah, it's nothing. You gotta be in uniform for the customers and it goes pretty long without anybody coming in so just standing around for hours on end sounds exhausting. And besides. You haven't gotten the job yet, gotta prove yourself first." The same look, I just once again return it with another smile.
I walk over to the counter and sat on my own stool, sliding my book over to put into my bag. Sans sat down slowly on his own stool and watched over the counter.
Once finished I stretched my legs and arms and yawned. and leaned forward onto the counter.
"So what made you want to work in this Cafe?" I ask after a few minutes of silence. I could feel Sans eyes fall on me. I tilt my head which was resting on my palm, to look at him.
"hmm..." He shrugs. "heard of this place from one'a my pals. they said you were hirein' and i was lookin' so.. here i am."
"Mmm." I gave him a soft smile. "Nice to know my Cafe is well spoke of."
He lets out a small chuckle. He still seemed tense and awkward, not relaxed. He was slightly stiffened in his seat, his hands were on his lap and he continued to watch out the door.
A few minutes pass before a customer walks in, I've seen this guy often but not every day, perhaps once a week to two weeks. I don't even know his name. He's tall, black hair, blue eyes large round glasses. He's recognized in my mind as 'Cat Guy' Because every time he walks into my shop, he always seems to wear a cat shirt. And even today he wasn't breaking that streak, He wore a shirt with a picture of a striped cat on the front. He wore tan pants that matched the fur of the cat and black converse. He had a light jacket that was unzipped over the shirt. He approached the counter with a smile, his eyes flicking between me and Sans before settling on me.
"Cat Guy!" I exclaim widening my arms with a smile. "Wow, it's been a while huh?"
"Yeah. Sure has." He looks at Sans with a curious look. "What happened to your last employee? Things were getting along well from what I saw."
My eyes flick to the counter and back up but my gaze settled on something behind him and a dark mood filled the air, my tongue dried. 'oh yeah, last time he was here was..' I blink a couple times noticing I had at some point, started chewing on my lip, and bring my gaze back at him putting a smile on my face and not so subtly changing the subject.
"This is Sans, he's gonna be your cashier today." I gesture to the confused skeleton at my side.
"hey." He lifts his hand up to Cat Guy who nods back.
I sit down in my chair and watch Sans who seemed more relaxed and smoothly asked for his order. Cat Guy answers but I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. Sans turns around to the board and then looks back at him.
I leaned back in my chair watching as Sans disappears into the back then comes back out with a muffin in one of the to go bags. He hands it to Cat Guy along with a cup of coffee that I didn't notice he got. He tells Cat Guy his total and when it's placed into his hand he expertly puts it into the cash register.
"Hey, thanks. And sorry." Cat guy waves bye with his hands full of his order and strolls out of the building with an apologetic face. I stand and look at Sans with a genuine smile on my face.
"Nice job! You handled that really expertly. You got the job. I'll have to run a few things onto paper and get you a name tag but other than that. Congratulations." He gives me a lazy smile that I should get used to. "Also here, Youll need something to clock in with." I handed him a black and white card with the green symbol of the cafe, similar to my own. I then showed him that he needed to swipe the card into the cash register and then type his name. Once he did so, his name printed onto his card. Officially making it his.
"ah, thanks." He relaxes into his chair and I did the same. Leaning against the counter with a sigh and a glance at the clock. His order took no time at all. This skeleton is really handy. Long moments pass as we sit in silence, eventually, the silence got to me, I didn't know how to start a conversation and he wasn't really trying. So I look up at the clock again, a half an hour had gone by since Cat Guy left. I chewed the inside of my cheek thinking.
"Welp, I think it's time for a break. You hungry?" I sit back and look at him. He tears his eyes away from the door, a glance at the clock then to me.
He seemed unsure of what to say so he just nodded.
"Okay, lunch break." I smile. I stood up, untied my apron laid it across the counter. Pulled out my phone and wallet from my bag. Along with my keys. I tucked my phone and wallet into my back pocket and held my keys in my hands. I looked back at Sans to see him standing up watching me, his apron across the counter as well.
"Alright, whater you in the mood for?" I ask unlatching the hatch and opening it up, letting Sans through before myself.
He shrugs and I let out a sigh. "Alright, burgers and fries it is." I put a sticky note on the door, when we exited through to the other side, I locked it then hooked the key-chain to my pants loop. The cold wind swept through but the sun crept out of the shadows of the clouds. I looked down the street and saw the shop. I nudged my head for Sans to follow and he did.
"Lunch time!"