genuine writers getting wrongly accused of using ai because of witch hunt and proper grammar/structure in their works must be what being a woman in the 1600s who is wrongly accused of being a witch because she can read and is intelligent feels like
I Finally received my box from my lovely wife @capricornywrites !!! As you can see the theme was very much inspired by my love for strawberries, I even got a cookie that reminded me of communion!!!! 😭😭
Also got a ‘Baddest bitch’ reward, didn’t even know I was a nominee, but I’m so happy I won!!😩
Whats ur fave headcanons youve ever done? Very curious + this has been on my mind. ALSO PUT A MEME AND ILL DRAW GYRO OVER IT
I have many favorites, but the one that’s currently popping up is the one where Mista and Narancia sneak into a room as reader and the person is getting freaky
I finally have less hours than I usually do, with my girls graduating and the fact that I put my foot down about their availability, I can finally find time to write!!!
Yooo I haven't talk to you in a while I hope you having a good day btw I graduated! -🐌
YIPPPPEEEE!!!! I’m so happy for you 🐌 anon!! Most of my girls are graduating too, I’ve even been invited to one grad party!! Though I still haven’t figured out what I’ll get her, I hope you enjoy the freedom of no classes!!!
i love how you are so polyvalent in subjects like wym i scrolled and read minecraft, sbr, and mads mikkelsen posts and they're all from you
IM CRYING😭😭
When I tell you all that I am chronically online, I truly mean it. Even if I work 40+ hours a week, I always make sure to look into rabbit holes and other platforms to see if anything peeks my interest!!
How are you? How is my fellow European surviving this heatwave? I'm scared for what summer will be like since I HATE the heat (but I managed to survive when I used to live in the Caribbean but I don't know how 🤷♀️)
Anyway, I am back from the most overstimulating and overwhelming vacation ever for my autistic brain, visiting two capital cities in less than 10 days wasn't my brightest idea ever. But, thanks to that I managed to get an english Jojo manga to display in my shelves so it's a win. I am a bit jealous of english speaking countries, their Jojo manga look so much better than the French ones 😩
🥖 anon
HELLO, 🥖 ANON!!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️
I hate it here too.
I hate the heat. I hate summer. I hate the humidity and yet dryness of the air. I hate having to wear sunscreen, be glossy looking and sticky. I hate how much I sweat. I hate having to take showers every day not to stink after 20 minutes of getting cleaned. I hate waking up at 4am drenched in sweat and overheating. Not being able to sleep properly because my room is a fucking oven. And then being tired all day because of the heat. I hate getting nosebleeds too every day.
It has not even started and I’m already at my last nerve over here…
The other day I snapped at @adeadcreator because she dared ask me “do you get irritated when it’s hot outside?” as I was walking in the heat, and I took it as a sarcastic comment instead of as a genuine question.
So yeah. I’m killing it with the heat wave. Murderous even. And not in a good way. Just because I’m one joke away from jumping at anyone HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
What kind of "pick me" do you think the main steel ball run boys would he?? I had this thought about Johnny being a pick me last night and I couldn't stop laughing, like do you think Gyro would be catching strays on Johnny's part while Johnny tries to make himself look better Infront of reader?? LMAO 😭✌️
LMFAOO THIS IS HILARIOUS WAIT
✿˚｡⋆ pick me hcs ⋆｡˚✿
Johnny Joestar
The Instant You Praise Anyone Else like You mention Gyro's laugh? Johnny's jaw tightens. "Yeah, he's loud. I guess that's charming to some people. Personally, I think quiet confidence is better. You know. When someone doesn't have to perform for attention."
"I mean, I was the youngest to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Not that I talk about it. It's in the past. But it's funny how Gyro's never won anything like that, right? Not that winning matters... it's just interesting."
He'll catch you staring at the sunset and say, softly, "I used to stand to watch these. Now I just... sit. But I notice more this way. The little things. You're a little thing I'd notice anywhere." (He practiced this line in his head for three miles.)
You and Gyro are having a perfectly normal conversation.
Johnny wheels up, says nothing, just sighs heavily and stares at his own lap. When you ask if he's okay, he says, "Don't worry about me. I'm used to being left out. It's fine. I'll just... sit here. Alone. Like always." Gyro rolls his eyes so hard he pulls a muscle.
It's really doesn't work on Gyro has witnessed this exact performance 400 times and now just says, "Johnny, if you want a hug, just ask. Stop making it weird."
"I'm not like those other boring, rule-following executioners back in Naples. I'm worldly, I'm passionate, and I have feelings, Johnny. Don't you want to hear about the steel balls? No? Okay..."
If you laugh at someone else’s joke, he will immediately shut down. He’ll wait five minutes, then tell a joke that makes zero sense and stare at you with those sparkly eyes until you give him a pity chuckle.
If johnny butts in to say it isn't funny he’ll say, "It’s okay. It’s a very high-level European humor. Not everyone has the mental capacity to 'get' it."
He’ll check his reflection in his Steel Ball, adjust his hat, and say, "Oh, that? That was just basic Spin technique. I could teach you, but it takes a very specific type of 'soul' to master it. A soul like mine. And... maybe yours. We’re just built different than the rest of these racers, aren't we?"
Gyro is the kind of pick-me who would buy you a gift, tell you it’s a "secret Zeppeli heirloom," and then get mad if you don't wear it every single day. he wants your undivided admiration.
He’ll see you struggling with something minor, like starting a campfire or opening a tin of food. He won't ask if you need help he’ll just snatch it out of your hands, do it perfectly in three seconds, and then hand it back with a look of pure, smug pity.
"It’s pathetic watching you struggle. Here. In the time it took you to strike that flint, I’ve already scouted the perimeter and caught dinner. You really should stick closer to me... the other racers are far too incompetent to keep someone like you alive."
He loves to talk about how he "doesn't need anyone" but the second you stop looking at him, he starts acting out to get your eyes back on him.
He’ll purposefully sit twenty feet away from the campfire, brooding in the dark like a gargoyle. He's waiting for you to notice how cool.and dangerous he looks.
The Reaction: If you ignore him and keep talking to someone else, he’ll start doing something loud like sharpening his knife with unnecessary force or eating a raw lizard just so you’ll look over and say, "Diego, what are you doing?" Then he can reply with, "Nothing. I’m just used to relying on my own instincts. Unlike some people."
Diego is the type of pick-me who would win a 100-mile race, come in first place, and then get mad because you didn't look "impressed enough" when he crossed the finish line. He’d probably try to "mark his territory" by giving you one of his expensive silk handkerchiefs and telling you it’s a "reward" for your loyalty
Mac’s first day at the studio was just two days after she arrived, so she had just enough time to have a proper rest before she went back to slowly torturing her body. Her class was set at 5p.m., so she made sure to set from home at least 40 minutes earlier so would still be on time if she got lost on the way there. Today was her presentation day; a day that determined, depending on how well she did, what class she was going to be placed in.
After not as much walking as she expected, Mac got to the academy before her scheduled time. The building was intimidating to see; the professionalism hit you right on the face the moment you walked through the doors. Only once she got fully inside was when Mac was able to take in how actually huge this place was. It not only had those large clear windows she had seen multiple times already in their YouTube videos, but there were more rooms than she had imagined. Thankfully, it won’t be hard to find the one she was supposed to be in, since only one of them had people going in at the moment. Mac hesitated for a hot second, thinking about whether to join in now or wait until the starting time was closer; and since she didn’t want to be extra awkward, she decided on the latter. Mac instead decided to keep on investigating for a few more minutes the rest of the facility before going inside the classroom.
She mainly walked to take a peek at the bending machines they had there, both the coffee one and the one with snacks and cold drinks. Honestly, nothing she hadn’t seen before; the typical overpriced sandwiches and a few ‘healthy’ drinks clearly marked with dieting in mind, —nothing she was interested in, that’s for certain. After getting jumpscared at the pricing of the items, she concluded it was time to go back and face the imminent danger of -entering a room full of strangers-, —her social anxiety not making the task any easier. To her surprise, her dance-mates were welcoming and incredibly eager to have a new recruit. She tried playing the safe card and walking in without being noticed like she always did, but she didn’t have time to put on her knee brace before a cheerful girl in bubble gum pink sweats practically skipped towards her. They had a polite conversation, introduced themselves and chatted casually for a bit before the teacher came and everyone went to get prepared for the class to begin.
Sweating was a warranted, and so was the muscle relaxing spay and the knee bracing tape on her right leg, but nothing was going to stop her. After being quickly introduced to the whole class (unfortunately for her), the teacher gave the start to a new routine, sending everyone into focus mode. Mac aced every move, eyes locked on her reflection in the mirror; checking if her body performed as intended. Once the rehearsed choreography was perfect, the teacher pointed at random dancers to come to the middle and perform it as the rest watched while taking the waiting period as cooldown time.
Being the newbie, they purposefully left her for last, knowing she would be too nervous to come out front right away. It was honestly one of the biggest fears she had coming in: either she was first and being put on the spot from second one; or going last and determining the finishing taste of the whole routine for the class. Both of the scenarios were equally as bad and terrifying inside of her mind, and seeing every single one of her classmates go and her name never getting called, was only making her heart race faster. After a long wait, Mac’s name was called the last like she had anticipated, and as if that wasn’t enough, was equally as intentionally placed to pair with the best dancer in her class. His serious but confident expression might have sent chills down her spine if she wasn’t too focused on remembering the steps to fully notice him. He looked effortlessly professional; a dark compression shirt, loose khaki cargo pants and a pair of expensive looking sneakers. His movements were flawless; his toned muscles showing proudly under his tight upper clothing ready to dance without missing a beat, and his locked-in glare was equally as hypnotizing to look at.
The secret challenge her teacher had put her through was passed without her knowledge. After their turn dancing together, everyone was left shocked, jaws dropped on the floor. Mac took a deep breath as the music started playing, waiting for their starting cue to sound. By the time the beat marked the beginning of their dancing routine, she had already gone into a mental space for concentration; she was no longer nothing more than a mere puppet to the music. Her body flowed with the rhythm, hitting every step just right. Without knowing each other, not even having talked before, both of them ruled over the dancefloor like they were meant to be together. The man’s aura was powerful, but Mac’s matched it perfectly without fear. Both of them were planning on following the choreography to a T, but towards the second half, Mac wanted to show off and decided to add some moves of her own, hopeful on proving the teacher what she was worth. Catching on immediately, her partner followed her back, making their set truly theirs. They ended on 8, just as the beat stopped, each of them striking a pose that complimented the other’s, camouflaging heavy breathing and ignoring sweat dripping from their foreheads. The occasional hyping from their classmates during their routine became a full roar when they were done, officially letting them stop pretending seriousness and immediately going to both relieve and cheerfulness.
Not long after the teacher gave them all feedback, the 3 hour class was finished and she was deemed capable of staying in the high intensity group. After saying goodbye to everyone that congratulated her on her first day, Mac sat down tucked away in a corner to decompress, still not fully believing what she had just done minutes before. But without letting her some alone time after removing her knee brace and applying some numbing cream, the man she had danced with before came towards her as she was giving herself a massage.
“You surprised me earlier. No one has ever been such a great partner as you and it was only your first day. Well done.” He commented, placing a hand on his hip as he put all his body weight on the left foot, extending the other to the side.
“Thanks! It was a pleasure dancing with you too.” She replied back, still stroking her leg muscles down just like her physiotherapist back home had taught her to. “Glad you caught onto my intentions with adding moves. I would have looked like a complete idiot if you hadn’t followed me.” She let out a shy chuckle in slight embarrassment. The man agreed with a subtle nod and raising his eyebrows as he took a sip from his water bottle.
“Yeah, totally. Thankfully for you, I’m always down for some boldness.” He closed the lid with a pause. “My name is Diego, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
“Mac. Nice to meet you too.” She replied, fixing her sports bag on her shoulder.
“I see you have trouble with your leg. You should totally go check on the physicians that come with scholarship’s insurance.” And after giving that advice, he turned around and left as he had come. “See you tomorrow!”
“See you! And thank you!”
*****
Meanwhile, work kept hitting Jen square in the face. The new store looked impressive from the outside: big windows, constant foot traffic; the kind of place corporate loved to brag about but inside it was a nightmare wrapped in fluorescent lighting. Too many customers, not enough staff, and a schedule that looked like it had been made by someone who hated sleep.
Her coworkers were… fine. Overworked, underpaid, permanently tired. Some were nice in that quiet, mutual-suffering way. Others kept their heads down and did the bare minimum because survival demanded it. Jen didn’t blame them. She barely blamed herself.
Then there was Valentine.
Valentine was technically her boss on paper. In reality, he was the kind of supervisor who delegated responsibility but never blame, who vanished during rush hours and reappeared just in time to criticize numbers. He smiled too much. Talked too loudly. Pretended morale was a pizza-party problem. Jen had clocked him as unbearable within the first day, and after almost a month, he hasn’t done anything to change her perception of him.
Still, she ran the floor like she always did: fixed schedules, smoothed over conflicts, covered shifts when people called out sick or burned out. She stayed late, came in early. Learned everyone’s limits and quietly worked around them. The store was bleeding staff, but it wasn’t sinking. Not on her watch.
After coming back to the apartment from yet another exhausting shift, Jen stood in front of the bathroom mirror, eyes unblinking as she took in her appearance. Dark circles had begun to settle underneath her eyes, hair wet, curling stubbornly despite no product on it. Her appearance reflected the day's weight.
“I should really bomb that place...” She huffed as she wiped her face dry, a small sniff escaped as she crossed the hallway towards the living room.
Consequently the front door opened without a single previous tingling of keys as a warning. Silence filled the apartment until Jen heard the faint sound of thin plastic rubbing together and cursed whispers in a foreign language.
“Mac, please tell me that’s you.” Jen said, peeking her head around the corner, just enough to see a familiar figure unloading bags by the door. “Oh thank God, I was worried you were some guy.”
Mac’s eyebrow raised as Jen reached the entering hall, helping Mac set things down. “Wow, that’s how you greet me?” She sassed as Jen rolled her eyes playfully.
“I’m sorry for being cautious!” Mac hummed before nudging a bag towards her.
“I got us Chinese food for dinner from a restaurant I saw on my way to the dance academy earlier.” Mac added, nodding towards the mattress. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
Jen froze. Then visibly deflated, looking inside the bag that was comfortingly warm in her hands as she held it. “Oh,” she whispered, suddenly emotional “You’re actually an angel.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Mac scoffed at the compliment, defusing it. “I hope you like spring rolls, because I got a lot.”
For a brief moment, surrounded by takeout containers, aching bodies, and the low hum of the city outside, it almost felt like they had everything under control. They sat on the mattress using the moving boxes that had yet to be unpacked as temporary tables, the smell of sweet-and-sour sauce and fried rice filling the apartment. Mac was already on her third spring roll.
“So,” Mac broke the silence, dipping the fourth one in the sauce container before devouring it. “How was work?”
“How was work…?” Jen scoffed immediately, repeating the question in disgust as she shoved the food around her plate instead of eating it. “We should bomb that place.” Mac paused mid-chew, eyes flicking towards her. “Ain’t nothing good there besides HP and Dio…” Jen continued, voice dropping into a hiss as she stabbed a piece of broccoli like it had personally wronged her. Mac chewed slowly, deliberately, as if giving Jen space to unload.
It wasn’t news. Jen’s workplace had a reputation; fantastic café, five-star reviews, tourists raving online about the atmosphere and service. People loved it; corporate loved it even more. But that never stopped Jen from fantasizing about blowing the building and her boss, Valentine, straight to hell. She swallowed hard, exhaustion pressing behind her eyes.
“And the worst part?” Jen muttered. “If I don’t keep it together, everything falls apart.” Mac didn’t respond right away. She just took another bite and listened. Jen poked at her food for a moment longer, then looked up suddenly, eyes lighting with dangerous sincerity. “We should blow it up.” Mac paused mid-bite. Again.
“You already said that.”
“I mean it this time.”
Mac stared at her, unimpressed. “Yeah, no. I don’t want to be labeled a terrorist just because your job sucks.” Jen let out an exaggerated sigh, tossing her head back against the mattress, setting her unfinished plate next to her on the floor.
“If they weren’t paying me seventeen an hour, I would’ve quit already.”
Mac choked.
She coughed violently, slapping a hand against her chest as rice nearly became her downfall. “—Seventeen?!” She wheezed.
Jen blinked, startled. “What?”
“You get paid seventeen an hour?” Mac demanded once she could breathe again, staring at her like she’d just confessed to armed robbery. Jen shrugged weakly.
“I mean… yeah? Manager pay.” Mac leaned back slowly, eyes narrowed.
“You hate that place with your entire soul.”
“Yes.”
“You come home looking like you fought God and lost.”
“Correct.”
“And they’re paying you seventeen an hour.”
Jen frowned. “…When you say it like that, it sounds worse.”
Mac laughed despite herself, shaking her head. “I’d blow up a little bit of my dignity for seventeen an hour.” She admitted bouncing her eyebrows high towards her forehead.
Jen snorted. “See? So you get it.”
“No,” Mac said, pointing a chopstick at her. “I get why you’re staying. I do not get why you want me to commit crimes with you.” Jen sighed again, dramatic as ever, slumping deeper in between the covers.
“Fine. We won’t blow it up.” She paused. “…Yet.” Mac threw a nasty, glaring side-eye over her shoulder to Jen, who gave her a smug look in response. “Oh, yeah!” She exclaimed, seeming to snap back to reality from her mischievous thoughts. “How was your first day at the academy?”
Mac looked up to the ceiling, tilting her head to the side as she shrugged. “Pretty good, actually.” She made a pause as she chewed, leaving Jen waiting for the continuation for a few seconds. “It wasn’t as far as I thought it was. The building is quite nice as well; it has changing rooms with showers and lockers, and a lounge area next to the vending machines.” She set the chopsticks down before turning to face Jen again, who had adjusted herself on the bed as well, now holding her head with her hand as she laid on her side. “I introduced myself to my classmates and then we practiced a song for the whole three-hour class.”
The way Mac had said that as if it was nothing scared the shit out of Jen. “THREE HOURS?!” Her friend just slowly nodded, not understanding what was the big deal about it. “With breaks, right?” Jen added with both curiosity and concern.
“I mean…” Mac cocked her eyes to the side, juggling her hands in thought. “Not exactly. We stop to drink when the teacher shows us new moves, but other than that, not really. Everything it’s very on-the-go.” Jen’s expression was out of a renaissance painting, but Mac kept on talking without paying any mind to it. “So yeah. After we learned it, we were selected to go perform it in pairs for the class, and I think I did pretty well. My dance partner was really, really, good as well.” She went back to eating without care. “His name was Diego. He seemed really nice. Gave me some advice as well.” Mac added in between bites and chewing.
Jen chuckled to herself. “Huh… Funnily enough, I also have a coworker that’s named Diego, but we call him “Dio” for short.” She crossed one of her arms behind her head, now turning to lay on her back to look up to the ceiling. “But he’s more of an arrogant bastard with a not-so-lowkey God complex and very controlling. So they seem like complete opposites.” Both of them laughed out loud after the statement.
After catching their breath from laughing so hard, Mac patted Jen on the leg.
“By the way, don’t worry about your job. You’re doing amazing, just don’t overwork yourself too much. I’m sure the next few days are going to go for the better.” The sincere comment took her off guard, but before she could even acknowledge it, Mac deflected the conversation as always when anything got emotional. “Well. Looks like we might have lunch for tomorrow with all these leftovers. Imma put them in the fridge.”
And just like that, she stood up, picked everything up, covered the ones with food with their lids and threw the empty ones in the trash. Jen laid there reflecting, visibly exhausted. Her eyes fixated on the textures of the ceiling while the low roarings of cars outside the window became soft hums mixed with María’s pacing around in between rooms as she cleaned up into the perfect background noise. The weeks’ worth of tiredness she had been ignoring finally caught up to her and took over her body. By the time Mac came back to the living room after brushing her teeth, Jen was already out cold on the mattress.
She snorted softly at the view before carefully pulling the covers from underneath her friend so as not to wake her up. She draped the sheets over Jen, tucking her in and laid to her side. Plugging her phone before going to sleep herself, Mac set an alarm to wake up early tomorrow, and then, she was finally able to lull herself to slumber to the city noises.
*****
When she woke up, Jen wasn’t there anymore, already gone for her opening shift it seemed. Mac groaned herself awake, rubbing her eyes with a big sigh before getting ready for her morning chores. On today’s list, she had mentally noted she was going to check on the hospital thing Diego had told her about the day before. So she opened her suitcase and took out the paperwork she had brought with herself from Spain. She didn’t really know what she would need, so she played it safe and took the whole folder with her in her backpack.
Setting her location on GoogleMaps, the closest medical center to her was 40 minutes walking from their apartment. Good thing she had all morning free. “That’s not so far… it’s about 12 songs long.” She thought, already walking in the direction it sent her in. Sure enough, Mac arrived there like it was nothing. The day was sunny and uncharacteristically warm for a winter morning, so she had a blast taking in the new areas she had walked by.
Mac found her way inside the building, walking past some planted gardens outside in the smoke-free area right by the entrance. Hospitals weren’t as different from the ones she was used to; same clean atmosphere and that sterile smell she had gotten accustomed to. After looking around, she located a desk deeper in the hallway with a single, seemingly busy nurse typing away at a keyboard. Mac walked timidly towards it, calling softly to the woman.
“Hi! I wanted to ask a question. I don’t know if you could help me with it?” The nurse looked up from the screen and tipped her head to the side.
“Yeah, sure. Tell me.”
“So…” Mac turned her backpack to the front, taking out the folder she had brought with her. “My name is María Manzanos and I came from Spain a few days ago. I’m here with a scholarship with ‘Studio 25’ dancing academy. I was in physical therapy back in Spain, and a classmate told me yesterday the academy had insurance for it.” Mac took some documents out and handed them to the nurse; some proving she was a student, the scholarship paperwork, her ID and what little medical information she had brought with her for the academy’s records. She pressed her forearms to the desk, leaning into them as she watched the lady flip through the documents she just handed her. “I don’t know if you have these resources available, and if so, what do I need to get them, or…”
The nurse looked thoroughly through the paperwork, her expression not showing well from behind her face mask. She glanced up at Mac after quietly studying the papers she had given her. Some of them were in Spanish, others she had already translated to English for the academy.
“Let me get someone, okay?” Mac just nodded as the woman left the desk to fetch for a coworker, waiting patiently for her to come back.
Not so long after, she appeared again with another man, already talking about the situation as they approached. He was about a head taller than the nurse he came with, wearing mint green scrubs and some crocs. He said ‘hello’ in acknowledgment and immediately checked the documents.
“This is Mr. Zeppeli.” The nurse informed Mac. “He’s one of the doctors at our Physical Therapy department.”
“Ah…” She simply whispered. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, María.” He finally responded after setting down the documents and handing them back to the nurse. “There’s really nothing we can do other than waiting, unfortunately. However, we’re going to scan these files to keep them registered in our system so you don’t need to leave the originals here.” He put his hands in his pockets and smiled under the face mask. “If there’s anything that needs to be sorted, we’ll take care of it. For now, just sign the paperwork my coworker is going to hand you so we have your details in order to get in contact with you if needed.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, if you excuse me, I’ll go back to checking in on patients.” He waved the two of you off and disappeared through a corridor. Before you set off for home again, you filled in the formulary and placed the ones you brought back inside your folder, eventually waving goodbye to the nurse again.
On her way home, Mac took the liberty of exploring around the area instead of goin g back the way she came from, —which probably could have ended with her getting mugged, but thankfully it didn’t happen. After an extra 20 minutes added to her stroll back to the apartment, she finally made her way into it. Coming back from outside hit Mac with how empty it actually was about ten times more than when she first came in. And that needed to change. So she stood, analyzed and planned like a construction worker, —or a crazy enough first born older daughter with an Animal Crossing and TheSims addiction.
Something about the laundry machine and the dryer both being in the kitchen area rubbed María the wrong way. Maybe it was her Spanish blood boiling, but her brain didn’t understand why someone would want their clean clothes smelling like food or vice versa. It was while furiously staring at them when she remembered the extra bedroom having a big closet. Without removing her thinking finger from her mouth, she power-walked to check its dimensions. Mac opened the sliding door, imagined, and then measured loosely with her arms.
“Yeah. They’ll fit.” She went back to the kitchen as fast as she left. Not out of rush, but for efficiency.
Now that the plan was set, the tricky part was about to start. How the fuck was she meant to move these two beasts of machines into that room? Well, easy answer: with persistence, a lot of strength and an even bigger stubbornness. Looking behind her, she saw the piles of empty cardboard boxes and went into work. Mac cut, sliced and placed the cardboard in front of the first candidate like it was a rug. Now with pure force, just needed to pull the metal cage on top of it and drag it to the room so as not to damage the floors and also making it easier to slide the weight. Easier said than done, but nothing impossible.
The rest of the day was spent like that. Aside from remodeling the place, she took a nap and ate some of the leftovers. It was only a couple of hours after she had woken up from her pick-me-up sleep that Jen came back dragging her feet after another exhausting day at work. At this point she couldn’t believe her eyes when she came in, fully thinking she was having hallucinations from how tired she was.
“What the fuck just happened…?” There was cardboard on the floor mimicking a doormat, slices tapped to the wall as picture placeholders, and in general, something felt off about the place. “Did you descend into madness while I was at work today or what? And why does it smell like cinnamon in here?” Jen asked, very much confused, as she placed her keys and the takeout bags on the kitchen counter.
“Oh! Hi!” Mac stood up from the mattress, sliding off her headphones to rest on her neck. “I have been renovating the place. Do you like it?”
“Well, is the ‘renovation’ in the room with us? Because if anything the place looks even emptier now that you have destroyed most of the cardboard boxes…” Jen paused on the spot before she threw her dirty apron to the floor. “… María, where is the laundry machine?” Jen turned around slowly, trying not to snap at her friend. Today was not the day for her to play tricks on her. But she didn’t catch on to the exhaustion, or if she did, she chose to ignore it.
“Glad you ask! Follow me.” Mac turned enthusiastic and made a cartoony gesture to indicate Jen to follow her lead. She took a deep sigh, bracing herself for what her friend could have prepared. Needless to say, she did not expect what she saw. Mac slid the closet doors open. “Tadaaa!”
Jen took a moment of silence before speaking; part for measuring her words and part to make sure she was alive and not in a fever dream. “Did you move the two machines here yourself…?”
“Yeah.” Mac nodded proudly, admiring her masterpiece. The confidence left Jen out of words. And for that reason it took her longer to notice.
“Wait. Wasn’t the closet all the way over here?!”
“Yeah…” Mac turned to the side like a dog caught in trouble while scratching her neck. “I maaay or may not have moved the machines without checking if there was current here first, so then I had to improvise…”
“Jesus Christ, Mac…”
“Listen. I ran downstairs to a corner shop, bought some tools and made sure to divide it into pieces before moving it, okay? I’m not a monster.” Jen mumbled another prayer under her breath while pinching her nose. “And I might have had to cut out part of the back paneling for it to be plugged, but…”
“YOU DID WHAT?!?” Jen snapped, switching to rubbing her forehead and temples now instead. “Oh, we’re so not going to get our deposit back…”
“Hey, but it looks cute, no…?” Mac placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, seemingly calming her down even if just for a bit. The way Mac smiled made Jen reconsider burning down the whole place before jumping out of the window.
“Well… I guess it is aesthetically pleasing…” She gave it a less harsh look now. “How did you stack—?”
“Y’don’t wanna know.” Mac cut her with an innocent looking smile, but being pretty much guilty. Before Jen got to snap back again, she interrupted once more. “I have also done some brainstorming.” They now moved back to the living room and sat down on the mattress as Mac unlocked her iPad to show her friend. “Having in mind the space we have, I have designed some possible layouts for the apartment AND made a shopping list for each of them.” Once again, Jen was left speechless.
“Remind me not to let you have free time again.” Mac aped at the comment before adding.
“I also made a general utensil shopping list for the house. We need to do some grocery shopping too, unless you want to live off of takeout for the rest of your life…” Jen took the paper in her hands without checking what was written.
“This might be the only one of your lists we can afford, most probably. Can we at least have dinner now? It’s going to get cold and I’m already hungry enough.”
“Sure.” Mac stood up, leaving Jen to slough on the bed. “What did you get this time…?” She didn’t need to open up the bag to know what it was. Just by the look on her friend’s face, she could get a great guess. “Did you get tacos again? I swear, I’m going to clog the toilet tonight as revenge.”
“Not my fault your white ass stomach cannot handle spice.” Jen defended her dinner choice like it was the only correct one, —because to her it was.
“Well, not my fault you order them with cheese sauce on the side for the nachos and I happen to be lactose intolerant!” Mac sat down forcefully next to Jen on the mattress, making her bounce back on purpose.
“Well, you could just not eat it, y’know?!”
“But cheese tastes so good… I'd rather die.”
“At this point you will.” Jen raised her eyebrows the highest she could as she took her first bite.
“And I’ll do it happily…” Mac responded, also digging in on the food.
“Please don’t die on me.” Jen pleaded back with her mouth still munching.
“For cheese??? I will.” Mac joked. After that, both of them enjoyed the rest of dinner in silence; only the crunching and the night city noises as background.
“Tomorrow I’m free by 5pm. We can go shopping for groceries together at Walmart. I’m not letting your ass walk all the way there.” Jen gave her friend a side eye, knowing fully well she was going to talk back with some argument about her being able to anyway. But surprisingly, she didn’t.
“Okay. I’ll go pick you up at the cafeteria then.”
“Okay…” And they went back to eating, now with a plan for tomorrow.
*****
It was Hell, a place no person deserved to be in. The line wrapped around the counter. Of course, Jen was by herself once again. She could feel the aggravation build up more and more. How dare Valentine schedule her by herself? Especially when he knew that they would have an influx of customers since there was a festival near the area. She could strangle him right then and there if he dared to show his face to her. “‘I’m the most competent boss you’ll ever have’ my ass.” She hissed as the frother’s high pitched scream flooded out the noise of the crowd. Gently, she tapped the metal cup on the counter before moving her hands with ease.
It had been like this since nine in the morning; people flooding in, elbow to elbow. Her typical silent morning ruined by the disarray of customers. Latte’s, Cappuccinos, Hell; even americano’s were set on the counter like a small army of drinks. Each decorated by the names of each customer, but did that stop them from asking her if it was their drink? No. Unfortunately not. She was one stupid question away from tackling a customer and ringing them out. A familiar —at this point irritating— screech, from a red tailed hawk; who her boss claimed was a bald eagle’s cry, rang out. Yes, she was five seconds away from ripping off the door and chucking it to the street.
Mac walked through the door, looking over her shoulder very confused at the noise. “Hello, welcome to Red, White & Brew cafe. How can I help you?” Jen said in her customer service voice. She could mask her irritation well, making her eyes match her smile. At least until she saw Mac standing there, a grin plastered on her face. “Oh, hey.” Jen said, her whole demeanor changing. Mac let out a snort at the octave-drop in pitch in record time.
“So when did your shift end?” She chose to ignore what just happened. “I don’t think I want to be here for long…”
“My shift ends at five tonight. Hottie should be coming in soon.” Jen glanced down at the digital clock before snapping them back towards her roommate. “Hottie?” Mac questioned, not sure if she should question any further.
“Yeah, Hot Pants, I just call them by their nickname. Anyway, what can I get for you?” Mac looked up at the board behind her friend, blowing lip bubbles as her eyes searched.
“I don’t know…? Is there like a regular latte or something…” She frowned her eyebrows. “Those names are getting me too confused…”
“Oh, so… ‘The Valentine special’…" Once the words left Jen’s mouth she seemed to want to disappear. Mac grew concerned as her friend moved slower than before. Dragging her feet to the espresso machine. “I hate my life right now, I hope you know that…” Jen whispered just for her friend to hear, pouring the strawberry syrup into the rim of the cup, adding a pink swirl and pouring the almond milk into the cup. Two scoops of ice before finishing it up with the two shots of espresso.
Swirling the cup gently before grabbing a straw and reluctantly going back to the counter, pausing before her concerned friend. She gently hit a button near the register as a soft jiggle ran out. Jen placed her right hand on her chest, straightening her back. “I pledge allegiance to this cafe, that this latte was made from the blood, sweat and tears of this barista. I hope you enjoy and stay free.”
No words were exchanged after that bizarre situation took place, the otherwise silence that would have followed, was filled by the roaring of dozens of people walking in and chatting. Mac took the drink in comically slow while holding eye contact. “I swear to God. Only you Americans find a way to make everything patriotic…” She slipped the exact change over the counter. “Seventeen dollars an hour for manager pay isn’t enough.” Mac raised an eyebrow joined with a concerned smile.
“Um, actually I’m getting paid eighteen an hour and it’s just my boss. He’s a psycho…” Jen corrected, before leaning across the counter. “I told you we needed to burn this place down.”
”Yeah… Now I understand." She scanned the room before walking away. “I’ll sit nearby, and you tell me whenever you’re done.” Jen rolled her eyes before slipping the money back towards her.
“Oh sure, now you agree. Get outta here, I got your drink covered…”
“I already paid, you dumbass.” Mac pushed back the cash to her friend.
“Well, I’m pocketing this then.” Jen muttered, sending her friend away before going back to her perky attitude. “Hi, welcome to Red, White & Brew! How can I help you?”
She sat down at one of the low coffee tables with the puffy chairs. Since silence was not an option, Mac put her headphones in noise-canceling mode and zoned out doomscrolling as she waited. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that Mac saw Hot Pants walk in; a tall, slender, pink-haired woman who seemed ready to punch someone’s face in at any given moment. She disappeared behind the metal door as Jen followed after, a smile of joy gently on her face. A few minutes later, Jen briskly walked to her roommate, the tiredness suddenly washed away from her face. It seemed that her will to live had been revived. “Okay, I’m clocked out. We can get out of this Hell hole now.”
They walked side by side, with Jen leaning towards Mac instinctively. Humming softly as she wobbled her head side by side, she observed those around her. To the children, teens and finally adults; the adults who seemed to be madly in love with one another. A soft pang echoed through her heart as she thought back to her boyfriend. Had he answered her messages? Subconsciously, she reached for her phone, unlocking the screen to only find notifications from Mac and the many reels she had sent her. ‘Maybe he’s just busy… yeah, busy.’
Though before she could spiral more into her deeper thoughts, Mac interrupted. “Hey, so what are we doing now?” Jen straightened her posture before cracking a wide smile. “Well, I was thinking we could go grocery shopping, but not here…” Jen’s words seemed to lure Mac in, her attention still straight forward as the two stopped at a cross walk.
“I’m scared to ask where.” Jen gave a hearty chuckle at her friend's concern
“Oh please, it’s just Walmart!”
“I don’t trust you that much…” Mac muttered as Jen leaned into Mac’s personal space, gently shoving her shoulders to Mac’s.
“It’ll be fun, please. You can try stuff you’ve never tried before!!” Before Mac could form any disagreement, they were already in front of the Cougar. Its white paint shimmered in the setting sunlight, Jen rounded to the drivers side; slipping in as she unlocked the passengers side. “Get in, we’re going shopping!!” Mac gave a defeated sigh before slipping in, buckling her seat belt as Jen cranked up the radio. “We’ll be there in no time… Unless we hit traffic…”
Jen really had to learn how to shut her mouth, because the amount of times she had jinxed every scenario was astronomical. Hell, she was better getting struck by lightning than not getting jinxed. The radio was now lowered to a comfortable level, allowing both girls to listen in and out of the repetitive tones that played as they stood in a traffic jam. Jen was the one to break the silence. “Do they… wait, actually nevermind. I don’t wanna be stupid right now…” Jen replied to herself, squinting her eyes as Mac gave her a side glance. The sun visors were placed down, Mac’s eyes protected while Jen’s were hardly able to be covered.
“You can’t choose to be stupid. You already are.”
It was Jen’s turn to give a side glance to her friend. “How dare you…” Mac bursted out laughing as Jen grumbled in disarray. “I should leave you by customer service.” Luckily the traffic subsided as it was now their exit, allowing Mac to truly see the magnificent size of the Super-Walmart. The concrete building stood in all its glory with the neon lights guiding them further towards the parking lot.
Not even a moment passed as they got out of the car did Jen speak again. “So…” The pause was stuck between them as Mac turned to her friend, patiently waiting for her to continue. “So what do you think the logo looks like?” Mac gave a deadpanned expression to Jen as she turned towards Mac now, a smile painted on her face. Mac glanced back to the enormous building before looking back to Jen. She examined it quietly for a few seconds.
“It looks like a fire spark from a firework.” There was another pause as Jen looked between the logo and back to her friend. “Oh… It looked like a butthole to me…” Mac sighed tiredly.
“What’s with you and asses…?”
“I don’t really know. Wanna show me yours…?” Jen looked at her friend with a smug smile. But what she didn’t see coming was how Mac leaned over with the same look on her face.
“Right here in public? At least let’s go somewhere private.” There was a silence of tension where Jen didn’t know how to take those words, if as a joke or a threat. “Get your ass to the store now, please.” And Mac was back to her usual sassy self, turning and walking away. “Or do you want me to get lost in your sauce aisle?”
The automatic doors opened as they both stepped in, employees stood by the entrances, greeting them as they passed. The rattle of the wagon being the only source of sound besides the echoing chimes of their radio system. “Okay so let’s get our food products then household items!” Jen chirped, pushing the wagon to the left as Mac followed not too far behind. Her attention went to what was displayed, seeing the clothes to her right and the cashiers on the left.
Despite being a Wednesday night, it seemed to be more crowded than ever. “Is it always like this?” Matt commented, looking at the crowds of people who waited at self checkout and cashiers. Jen shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
“Yeah it’s usually like this on Wednesdays. You should see how it is on Fridays.”
“Jesus Christ…”
Mac continued to follow Jen as she weaved around the aisles with practiced ease, watching as Jen’s eyes scanned the products, and merchandise before stopping at the grocery side. There, a number of fruits and vegetables formed pyramids as displays.
Jen passed for a moment in front of the pyramid of oranges, but once she went to grab any, her eyes seemed to pick at each one before she moved on towards the organic side. “We may be on a budget, but I refuse to be frugal about our food quality.” Mac noted the long watch as Jen carefully inspected each variant of fruits before placing them into a plastic bag that she had prepared.
Simple fruits like apples, pears, strawberries, and even blueberries were placed inside the wagon before Jen turned her body a 180, motioning Mac to follow after her with the cart. Her strides were confident as she landmark towards her intended aisle, while pointing out which aisle was for each product.
“Weirdly enough the shampoo isn’t in the bath aisle anymore. It has its own section, but we should be fine. We have some at home for now.” Mac nearly ran into Jen as she paused for a moment and pointed at the section before continuing on her way towards the electronic aisle.
A man stood in the middle, clearly trying to sell something. Though before he can even make his pitch, Jen shook her head and continued on like a woman on a mission. “So, what do ya think of it?” Jen asked, pausing in front of the cleaning products. Glancing back at Mac, who seemed to be observant of everything around —and as characteristically quiet. The amount of people, to the amount of products that were on display, but most of all: the prices.
“Twelve eighty-five for forty-two duster wipes??” Mac questioned as she read out loud while leaning on the cart handle. Jen was more than used to these prices, Hell, these were on the cheaper end. “Well, for the named brand yeah, but we’re a store-brand household!” She pointed out, showing how much cheaper the store brands were compared to the name brand.
“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. Brand name is still about 6-8€ in Spain.” Mac complained as she reluctantly turned the wagon for Jen to start loading. There were significant differences between Europe and America, from land mass to prices and transportation. But Mac hadn’t realized how much the prices differed. “Are you sure we can afford this Jen?” Mac asked softly, watching as her roommate continued to place cleaning items inside the wagon.
“Yeah I know we can afford this, after all I budgeted months for this; meaning that it’ll be a lot more than our normal cost of groceries would be.”
Mac shouldn’t have been as surprised as she had, considering the fact that Jen had always done the grocery shopping for her family prior to this. So she knew how to budget and apply coupons when necessary. Hell, Jen could even probably get the whole store's worth of products and only end up paying thirty bucks for everything.
“Okay let’s get to the chip aisle. You need to experience the American diet!!”
*****
After her rest days were over, Mac was back at the academy for her dancing classes. Since her first day had gone so well, the next time she went, her teacher gave her a timetable for the week for the usual classes’ schedule; also explaining to her it might deviate if they were to land a job for her. She took it, thanked her, and prepared herself for the day. For the first two weeks, it stayed like that. Nothing changed out of practicing choreographies for the occasional YouTube video or TikTok trend most of the time. Of course they also had serious jobs like being a stage dancer for a concert or a music video, but the people chosen for them were mostly professionals already and very rarely did they choose one of the students on the scholarship program.
Sometimes she did land tiny gigs: background appearances, minor dancer roles for artists that most people wouldn’t recognize, but they were enough to keep her going, enough to remind her she hadn’t crossed an ocean for nothing, —but also happened to be the minimum stated in her contract of sorts. Still, they weren’t stable. They didn’t pay reliably, if they even paid anything. And in the case they did, the academy took most of what she was supposed to earn. But at least, she was happy to bring a hundred or two dollars every week. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
For Jennifer, it was the same. Her whole week was mostly twelve hour shifts, opening to closing, and by the time she came back to the apartment, she only had enough energy to collapse on the mattress. The only days she had free were Sundays and all she did those days was sleeping, or at least trying to catch up to it. She was thankful she at least was in a flat with a competent person; if she were to be at her house, she would even have to do more housework on her free day, —even if another four men lived with her.
Eventually, February 28th came, and it found both Jen and Mac ‘panties down’ unprepared. They sat on the living room floor, not even on the mattress today; too much of a modesty for the situation they were going through. In front of them were receipts, —bills to be exact—, unpaid ones to be clearer.
“I have this much from my sidejobs as a dancer. And I can pitch in with my savings I brought as emergency money if we need—.” Jen stopped her friend.
“No need to. I can cover most of it with my salary. Just your dancing one is enough.” Mac stopped her from pocketing the documents.
“Yeah, no. That ain’t happening.” She pressed her hand on the paper, applying force so Jen couldn’t slide it further towards herself. “You already paid for the whole month of February because I didn’t have money aside for what I brought from Spain. This time I do. And I will at least pay for the rest of the bills.” Mac explained all this while serious, holding eye contact without blinking. “Even if I have to take out some from my savings.” Eventually, Jen caved under pressure. And it was because she couldn’t fight that logic, knowing full well she was not going to be able to afford everything by herself this time around.
“Fine. You pay for the electricity, water, trash and community fee, and I take the rest.”
“Add 20% of the rent to it and we have a deal.” Mac stretched her hand to the front for a shake. Jen looked at her, questioning, but after seeing the confidence in her friend’s eyes, she knew she couldn’t stop or change her mind. So she just sighed.
“We have a deal.”
*****
New month doesn’t always mean new opportunities, and it certainly didn’t mean it for this two. Seeing how her academy situation didn’t promise to get any better for now, Mac decided to start leaving CVs in the area in hopes luck struck her for once. She wasn’t going to accept Jen taking most of the expenses this time around, and her savings were already begging for mercy. Needless to say, after a few weeks of trying, and only getting rejections, she was losing all hope.
Everything at the cafeteria was going south too. The capable people quitted at the beginning of the month, and by week three, only Hot Pants, Diego and Jennifer were the ones standing. It also didn’t help that most of the personnel were young students in training and incapable of doing most stuff on their own, so even if the three of them were resourceful and quick on their feet, having to tend to the girls slowed them down more than helped.
“I can’t take this anymore.” Diego buried his head in between his arms, holding himself by the edge of the counter. “If the situation doesn’t change, I’m quitting too by the end of the month.”
“Listen, Dio. I don’t like you much, but if you dare quit, next time you see me it’s in the news with a gunshot to the head in the back room.” Jen warned with deep circles under her eyes.
“Or in prison after killing Valentine yourself.” Hot Pants added, leaning on the coffee maker equally as tired. Today it was just the three of them; none of the other girls were available, like they weren’t most of the days.
“Well, at least we didn’t have to babysit the newbies…” Diego murmured in disgust and relief as he adjusted his hair under the uniform cap.
“Yeah. It also doesn’t help that it’s Valentine’s fault they are that way.” Hot Pants pushed herself off of the counter and took out one of the biscuits to eat. “I heard him on the phone with someone saying he purposely hires them to keep them underpaid but filling in on employee quota or something like that. But since they are students, and most of them are immigrants, he pays them less than they should knowing they cannot complain.” They paused to take a bite out of the cookie. “And don’t worry. I’ll pay for this. I wasn’t able to have lunch today yet.”
What their coworker said had left both Jen and Diego speechless. “He what…?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh hell no.” Jen immediately took off her apron and walked, —flew—, to the back office. She knew that, even if he wasn’t present outside, her boss was inside of his office scratching his balls and complaining like always. So she feared not to pound on the door as loud as she could.
“Oh, he’s so done…” Diego whispered to Hot Pants after being able to hear the knocking from the front. Luckily, there were no customers now. Unaware what was to come, Valentine opened the door, with the same air of arrogance and superiority he always carried himself with.
“What’s the matter, Jen? Did you run out of milk? I swear I ordered it last week but it hasn’t arrived yet—“ He defended his ass with a lie, most probably, thinking she was there to reprimand the lack of supplies they have had for the duration of the month now.
“Are you hiring people illegally?!” Jennifer’s words slapped him on the face.
“What?”
“I heard you the other day on a phone call, so you better tell me the truth.” She purposely omitted the fact that she was just told that by Hot Pants to avoid them getting fired. “Because I’m telling you. If they keep on working here with those conditions, the three of us,” she moved a pointed finger towards where her two coworkers were outside.” are going to quit on the spot. You cannot have us covering endless shifts, without proper resting time, having a chaos of a timetable just because it brings you more benefits. Understood?” She straightened up her posture with a smile appropriate for someone working in customer service. “So I better see a message in the group chat today telling the girls they are getting paid what they’re owed, and fired with bonuses, if you don’t want your “favorite employees” to quit. Okay?” After that, she turned and left without giving him time to respond. But it was not like he had to. Things were said clear as day, and there was only one correct way of doing so.
When Jen came back out with a big smile on her face but a vein about to pop out of her forehead, they knew something was said and done. And it was definitely that and not the fact that they could hear her screaming from the register. As promised, surprisingly, later that afternoon they received a message on their phone with very polite wording, but also equally as Valentine-esque, as per Jen’s request. Needless to say, Hot Pants ended her shift with a weight lifted off of their shoulders, but also worried as fuck about tomorrow, leaving just Jen and Diego for closing for the day.
Tonight it was one of those dead, dragging night shifts that felt as if time was moving like syrup; nothing in comparison with how busy the afternoon shift had been like since Hot Pants’ turn ended. Thankfully, they were down to the last tasks for the night. While Diego finished up cleaning the front, now that they had closed the doors, Jen took out the trash. The air outside was cold and damp, the kind that clung to your hoodie. Jen pushed the back door open with her hip, two bags of trash in each hand, already thinking about going back inside and stealing a pastry from the heat tray.
Then she heard it. Not loud, not dramatic. Just small ‘mews’. She froze, nothing but the patter of the raindrops rang out. “...Hello?” She muttered, scanning the dark alley like a raccoon might answer back. Another sound: thin, ready, too small.
“Meow”
The four bags dropped from her grip as she whipped her head around, listening for another peep. “‘Meow’? Oh god, please don’t let it be injured…! Pss, pss!!” She whispered, already walking around, trying to locate the sound.
“Meow”
Behind an overturned milk crate, tucked against the brick wall, was a small pile of movement: fur, eyeshine and tiny wobbly heads. Kittens. Two of them to be exact; too small to be out there alone.
Jen crouched, heart already doing that soft thing it does when life presents something helpless. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me...” One of them hissed at her when she leaned closer to check on them, sounding like a squeaky toy with anxiety. The spiciest of the two was a calico kitten, almost fully white aside from some patches of color around her tiny face. The other one was a tabby, clearly the weakest of the two. He had his eyes glued shut with eye buggers and stayed meowing for help from behind his very protective sister. Without hesitation, Jen pulled out her phone.
Jen🥀, 10:25pm: Emergency
Mac🩵, 10:25pm: What happened??
Jen🥀, 10:25pm: I found kittens
Mac🩵, 10:25pm: …Okay but like medical emergency or emotional emergency??
Mac🩵, 10:26pm: OH
Jen🥀, 10:26pm: THEYRE BABIES MAC
Three dots popped up instantly.
Mac🩵, 10:26pm: Send pic
Mac🩵, 10:26pm: NOW!
Jen snapped the worst blurry photo known to man and sent it. A pause.
Mac🩵, 10:27pm: …
Mac🩵, 10:27pm: Oh no
Mac🩵, 10:27pm: Oh we’re fucked
Jen bit her lip, looking at them again. There was no mom cat in sight, otherwise Jen would have been mauled to death by then. No animal shelter was nearby that were opened at 10:30 at night. “They’re gonna die out here,” she muttered.
Mac🩵, 10:27pm: We can’t let them there…
Mac🩵, 10:28pm: But we do not have money for this
Jen🥀, 10:28pm: I know
Jen🥀, 10:28pm: But there’s no mom cat here…
Mac🩵, 10:28pm: We don't have money for US
Jen🥀10:28pm: I KNOW
Jen🥀, 10:28pm: But look at them :(
Another pause, Jen brought her finger closer to the two kittens, making the white one jump like a sprinkler. A text vibrated in her hand.
Mac🩵, 10:29pm: ...Bring them home
Jen let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding after reading it. “Okay.” She whispered, already taking off her apron. After some fighting from the white kitten, Jen managed to place both into the apron, making it look like a ball so as not to appear suspicious. Hurriedly, she went back inside, rushing past Diego. “I’M TAKING MY BREAK!” She screamed as he sighed.
“There’s no breaks if we’re closing.”
Inside the break room, she let them down into the table. The white one immediately started to swat at the air, hissing, while the other one stood still, now disoriented. She put the apron back on and lined the inside of it with napkins, making the saddest little makeshift kitten burrito station of all time. One by one, she scooped them up, their tiny rib cages breathing heavily in fear still. They were warm, so small that her hands felt giant. The calico one immediately tried crawling up her sleeve in escape. “Sir– no– ma’am, please?!?!”
After another hour, she was finally done closing. When she got home, Mac was waiting at the door like a tired single dad. Arms crossed and a long, exhausted sigh escaped her when she saw Jen open the door. “You better not have brought five.” She said, Jen smiled before presenting them, taking one of them out of each of her jacket pockets.
“Two, actually.” Mac’s expression melted instantly, stretching her hands to hold them.
“Oh, you stupid little things…”
They set them up in a cardboard box with a blanket Mac had prepared in anticipation. Before Jen had come, she Googled everything at once. Once together, they argued over whether evaporated milk counted as ‘close enough’, it did not. They ended up using a dropper and watered-down kitten formula from the twenty-four hour pet store Mac ran to in pajama pants. She also brewed one of her herbal teas to warm up and clean the tabby kitten’s eyes like she was so used to doing back home. Grabbing a cleaned cloth, she dumped it in the infusion and carefully rubbed off the junk on his tiny eyes. The kitten blinked softly, meowing at the new, brighter world before him. She took him in her lap and lowered herself next to Jen. At now 3:12 A.M., they sat on the kitchen floor, backs against the cabinets. A kitten asleep in Jen’s palm, another was climbing Mac’s leg like Everest. “We are financially irresponsible.” Mac said.
“Correct.” Jen agreed.
“We don’t even have a couch.”
“Also correct.”
A tiny mew filled the kitchen. They both looked down at Jen’s hand, watching how the previously feral calico troublemaker was now cuddling in between her fingers. Mac sighed “We’re keeping them until they’re bigger. That’s it.” She said, authority raging through her voice as Jen smiled softly.
“Yeah, just until they’re safe.” They both knew that was a lie. But it was a good one. After a few seconds of silence, Mac spoke again.
“Guess I’ll be doing the feedings since your sleeping schedule is already wack. These bastards have to eat every 3-4 hours until they can handle solids.” She commented, scratching softly the back of the head of the one that was trying to climb her shirt. Jen just nodded in agreement, looking down at the one in her arms. This time, after a few seconds of silence, Jen broke it.
“So,” she said casually, leaning back against the counter with the tiny white kitten nibbling at one of her fingers. “Are you still searching for a job?”
“Huh?” Mac blinked, like she’d been pulled out of a trance.
“Do you need a job?” Jen repeated herself, the same sly smile on her stupidly tired face.
“Well, I am still searching, yeah. I have been dropping my CV everywhere in the area but I have yet to be called from somewhere.” Mac responded without looking up from the kitten, so it wasn’t until she glanced up to question Jen about her sudden interest when she caught on to her playful expression. “Are you kidding me?” Mac muttered, letting out a soft laugh. But the look Jen had in her eyes told her she was far from joking. “Where, though…?”
“At my place. We’re short staffed.” Mac went from giving Jen a suspicious look, to actually questioning if it was plausible.
”I mean,” Mac continued, already spiraling. “I don’t even think I’d get hired. I don’t really have experience like that. The closest experience I have had working in retail was my weekend job as a bartender, but that’s not nearly as busy as your—” She stopped because Jen was smiling. Not a soft smile. Not a reassuring one.
A wicked one.
“Leave that to me,” Jen said lightly. “I’ll make this come true.” Mac frowned.
“Jen.”
“Mhm?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Jen puffed her chest out, suddenly energized in a way she hadn’t been all day. “I mean you’re responsible, you show up on time, you don’t suck at talking to people, and we’re severely understaffed.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“I’m a manager. Nepotism is my birthright.” Mac’s stomach dropped. Jen grabbed her phone. “Send me your résumé.”
“Jen.”
“Mac.” There was something dangerous about how happy she looked, and all the Spaniard could do was let out a big sigh in defeat while petting the kitten in her lap.
”Okay… I’ll send it to you.” She finally said as she took her phone out of her pocket. She was about to send the file to her friend when she turned with a pointed finger. “But if they don’t want to hire me, do not push them to. Alright?”
The next day, Jen clocked in with much more confidence than usual, walking her way into the employees only room in the back. Valentine was in his office, posture straight, aura of corporate patriotism radiating off of him. Jen didn’t knock, she just walked in with a clipboard in hand. “I need to hire someone.” She spoke, breaking the silence of his office, Valentine looked up.
“We aren’t currently hir—“
“Well, now we are,” Jen cut in, “because Diego tried to make espresso with cold brew yesterday.” Valentine inhaled sharply.
“That is concerning.” Without missing a beat Jen continued.
“She has food service experience, can handle customers, and actually shows up to work. Which puts her above the national average.” Valentine folded his hands.
“And this candidate is…?”
“Mac.”
A pause.
“…Is that short for something?”
“Yeah.” She threw the clipboard with María’s resumé attached to it over his deck. “Employment.”
Valentine blinked, and silently started to read over the file. “I see…” Jen didn’t break eye contact. The manager stare. The one that said ‘I already decided this’. “She starts tomorrow. I’ll train her, no extra labor cost because I’m handling onboarding.” Valentine nodded slowly, like this was his idea.
“Efficient. I value initiative.”
“I know you do.” Jen said flatly.
“Good. Close the door on your way out.” Jen turned and left without another word, the sound of the store rushing back in as she walked over to the front. Behind her, Valentine leaned back in his chair again, completely unaware that he’d just approved the best decision the store would ever make. And the worst one for himself.
Before she fully walked out to get back to the register, she took out her phone. “You start tomorrow.” Was all she sent to Mac in a quick message. Her friend replied immediately after.
“…You scare me.” Jen grinned at the screen.
*****
For the first time they have been living together, both of them woke up at the same time and were able to have breakfast calmly alongside the other without one of them having to rush out of the door. It felt amazing being able to have a chat as they prepared to head out to work together for the first time. Honestly, to Mac that was like a fever dream. Jen turned to her friend one last time before going into the store.
“I know you’re gonna do great. Don’t get too intimidated by my boss.”
”I think that should be the least of your worries, Jen.” Mac smiled to the side. “After everything you have told me about him, I think you should be more worried about the possibility of my launching at his throat.” Both of them laughed as Jen opened the door. By the time they arrived, their other two coworkers were already there —since Valentine had arranged all of them to be there for meeting the new hire. Hot Pants; who Mac had met, at least by sight, the day she went to wait for Jen a few weeks ago, was refilling the pastry station.
“Hi, Hot Pants. How has the day been so far?” Jen started a conversation as Mac walked quietly behind her.
“Ugh… don’t get me started. On God, one of the worst morning shifts I have had. Breakfast time was crazy…” It was as they finished the sentence, they finally acknowledged the other person in the room. “Are you the new hire?”
“Oh, yeah. Hi!” Mac waved a hand shyly. As she spoke, the other man, who was cleaning up the coffee machine with his back facing to them, turned.
“Mac…?” He seemed to stop dead on the spot, very confused at the sight of one of his dance partners being at his workplace. She was equally as taken aback, trying to make out who he was, until his voice registered.
“Diego…?” It took her a hot second to fully recognize him with such a different set of clothes. “Ain’t no way that’s you.”
“What are the odds, right?” The other two women stood there looking at each other, not understanding a thing of what was going on. That, and the way Diego appeared chirper than usual all of a sudden.
“Do you know each other? I thought Jen said you moved in a few months ago.” Hot Pants finally asked. Mac turned to answer but yet another foreign voice interrupted her.
“Oh, it seems like you’re already getting to know each other.” Valentine walked out of the staff only area after hearing talking outside. He introduced himself as fast as he could and immediately went back into his office with a conclusive clap. After a moment in silence to make sure he was actually gone, Mac questioned quietly but with clear disgust in her voice. One thing was what Jen told her, and another was actually seeing it in person.
“Is he always like this…?” She was practically burning holes into the door he walked into.
“Yeah, unfortunately.” Hot Pants leaned into the counter, following the same direction with their eyes. “You’ll get used to it. My name is Hot Pants, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, at least!”
After introductions were concluded, Jen accompanied Mac to the break room to give her her uniform and explain the basics before going outside and teaching her how to use part of the equipment. A quick round down was enough for the newbie to note everything down, so about ten minutes later, Mac was at the espresso machine trying to replicate what Jen had told her seconds before. Jen stood behind her, sleeves pushed up, fully in manager/barista instructor mode. “Okay, no, stop.” She gently grabbed the milk pitcher from her trainee. “You’re just heating up milk. We are not microwaving soup. There’s a science behind it.”
Mac blinked. “I thought we just… steam it.” Jen gives her a look, one of judgement. “That’s what amateurs say. We are professionals.” She dumped the milk and refilled the pitcher halfway. Mac looked at the milk go down the drain and froze.
“Well, that looks like a waste of materials but okay…” Jen gave her a side eye and ignored the comment before continuing the explanation.
“Rule one,” she said, tapping the metal, “cold milk. Always start with cold. The foam forms better because the proteins stretch before they die.”
Mac stares, a bit of bewilderment exposed on her face as Jen waits for her response. “The proteins… die?” Jen nodded, settling the metal pitcher close to the wand.
“Yes.” Jen said calmly. “We are cooking them, respectfully.” She purged the steam wand with a sharp hiss. “Now watch. This part matters.” Jen positioned the wand just under the surface. “You hear that?” The steamer erupted in a ‘Tsst-tsst-tsst’ rhythm. “That paper-tearing sound? That’s the air going in. That's the microfoam, if it sounds like a demon screaming, you’ve gone too deep. If it’s silent, you’re just heating milk and disappointing me—” It was when Jen to her side that she saw Mac trying so hard to not laugh at this point, —biggest stupidest grin in the world.
“Oh yeah? I’ve gone too deep?” Jen's eyes turned to disappointment after she heard back the words she used, but she was holding in her laughter as well. She had to keep her manager's image.
“Please, take this seriously.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Mac joked, bringing a hand to her forehead in a salute. Jen almost let out a snort, but she managed to keep on her explanation.
“Now we’re not adding air anymore. We’re rolling the milk, see the whirlpool? That’s breaking the big bubbles into tiny ones. We want a paint texture. Wet white paint, but bubble baths.” She tapped the pitcher on the counter, swirling it, choosing to ignore how yet again Mac snorted at her words. The milk looked glossy, smooth. Like melted ice cream. Jen handed it to Mac “Touch it.” Mac hesitates.
“It’s hot though—”
“JUST TOUCH THE SIDE, I’M NOT ASKING YOU TO PUT YOUR HAND IN!” Jen screamed, her patience running thin. Mac taped it quickly before fully pressing her hand to it.
“Oh. That’s like… warm-warm, not lava.”
“Exactly, if it burns your hand, you murdered it.” Jen pours it into the espresso, wrist moving confidently. A heart formed like she summoned it out of thin air. Mac’s jaw droped.
“Okay that was kinda hot…” Jen slid the cup aside like it’s nothing, sticking out her tongue as Mac compliments her latte art.
“Okay, now your turn!” Mac squinted at her.
“Wow, I did not know you liked coffee this much.” Jen doesn’t even look up as she wiped the wand.
“Oh, I’ve never drank coffee in my life.” Mac froze as she was about to pour.
“What?”
“I just like latte art!” Jen says cheerfully, discarding the used wipe into her apron pocket.
“...You learned all that.” Mac motioned with the espresso cup, towards the espresso machines and steamer. Jen nodded as Mac grew puzzled. “About milk proteins.” Mac retorts, feeling like she was missing a piece of a puzzle.
“Mm-hmm!” Jen hummed, leaning back against the counter as Mac looked at her.
“For something you don’t consume?”
Jen shrugged. “I like being better than people at things that they care about.” Mac stared at her, vividly seeing the devil horns on top of her head.
“That’s the most unhinged thing I’ve heard… And I love it.” Jen smiled sweetly before fixing Mac’s hold.
“Tilt the pitcher more, you’re pouring like you’re scared of it!”
“Yeah, and watch my ‘heart’ turn out like a penis…” Both of them laughed loudly before realizing the volume and growing quiet before they got caught. Needless to say, the training was carried out with pretty much about the same energy.
“Alright, I’m moving you to the cashier now so you get a handle of her POS system. It’s not that big of a deal. It seems overwhelming however, once you start fooling around with it and getting used to everything you will get the hang of things.” Mac glanced at the POS register, confusion marking her face as she tried to fool around with the system like Jen had told her too.
“Guess ‘POS’ also stands for ‘Piece Of Shit’, because what the hell is this system layout?” Her designer brain was getting overwhelmed by the unnecessarily complicated sea of buttons. Jen hid a cackle at the comparison.
For the most part, many of the categories were organized, most likely by Jen, however, some other things were unorganized like the frappe’s. Not to mention many of the things had weird names, but that was undoubtedly Valentine’s fault. Jen stood over her shoulder, watching carefully before slowly, guiding her to each category and showing her how to bring up certain items and how to take off discount items.
No more than five minutes had another customer come in, the irritating Redhawk screech rang out. Quickly Jen went back to her managerial mode. “Hi! Welcome to Red, White & Brew. How can we help you today?” The woman hadn’t even bothered to say any pleasantries back, simply glancing through the screen before looking back at Mac.
“Just a caramel macchiato, no caramel.”
Mac fingers hesitated for a moment before Jen gently motivated her to the right sections and buttons successfully ringing up the woman. “Okay. I’ll make a drink real quick and then I’ll explain it to you afterwards.” Mac nodded along, watching as Jen moved around with swift ease. After handing the customer her drink, instead of cleaning up her station right away like usual, Jen stood right by Mac. Confusing her before hearing a disgusted grown.
“This isn’t a macchiato. Who the hell made this? The new person?” The woman screeched, Jen blinked gently before nodding.
“No, I did. It’s exactly what you wanted: a caramel macchiato minus the caramel.”
Mac had never seen Jen so serious before, sure she had seen Jen outraged over losing Mario Party or Mario Kart because of her. But never so serious where it became apparent that she was a manager. Jen was always a chaotic soul; one who wasn’t afraid to be her true self or speak out even if she said something stupid… but seeing her as someone serious?
It made Mac look at her in a different light. There she was standing in front of the register, lecturing a customer on the proper order of a macchiato. Defending Mac like it was second nature, her usual enchanting smile, now long gone and replaced with her managerial grimace. “I will not tolerate any disrespect towards me or my employees, if you have an issue, you can run it up with our reviews online or you can wait patiently until the owner is here. But from past experience, you will have a better time making a review online rather than waiting here.”
The older customer gassed as if Jen had stabbed her multiple times. Mac had known people tend to be more dramatic during fast food environments, but she had never witnessed an American breakdown. “How dare you talk to me that way? I would like to speak with your manager.” Mac could see the anchor dissolve quickly within Jen. It was like a light had switched off on her. A soft smile painted on her face as she nodded to the customer before heading towards the back door.
Mac was oddly confused by this. There was no other manager on duty, not unless you counted Diego, but he was hiding in the fridge. Suddenly, Jen came back this time. Her demeanor has changed from one of grimace to cheerfulness. “Hello ma’am I’m the manager of this establishment. How can I help you today?” The woman was bewildered by Jen’s actions before huffing and storming away. Muttering under her breath before the familiar sound of a hawk filled the air.
And just as quickly as a woman left, Jen‘s attitude shifted to one of boredom. “Man, I was really hoping that she would stay longer. It would’ve been funny to see Valentine deal with her.” Jen turned to Mac as she grinned
“Valentine deals with customers?” Her question was answered with a howl from Jen, her arms clutching her stomach.
“Oh God no. That man hates entitled people. He would’ve chewed her up and banned her. He's only good at one thing and one thing only. And that is dealing with Karen’s”
Mac nodded realizing Jen wasn’t lying when she said that the boss was useless besides one thing. “Oh, really?? He seems like a ‘Karen’ too, but like the man version.” Gently against the counter and snickered even more
“Oh yeah, he definitely loves chewing us out if we do something wrong, especially if they're not to his ‘expectations’. But he knows better than to try and to test me.” Jen leaned off the counter and motioned Mac to follow towards the blenders.
“Okay I think it’s time now to show you how to make your hardest drinks. Now shut up and listen.”
Yeah, Mac started to regret her decision to take this job and position. It was one thing to have your friend as a manager, but it’s another one to have an incompetent boss. “Hey, you better be paying attention cause I’m not telling you again.”
*****
It had been approximately about a week since Mac joined the cafeteria’s staff, and it was already doing wonders for Jennifer’s health. For the first time in months, she looked like a human being again. Even though Mac technically was still a trainee until the end of the month, it was not like her and Diego wouldn’t be able to handle a regular day by themselves while Hot Pants had a few rest days.
For the upcoming rent, Mac had to still chip in with some of her savings since her salary wasn’t a full one yet due to her short time working. Nevertheless, they were able to afford another month, seemingly with more grace than the last one’s. Finally, it looked like April was going to be better for them all things considered: they were on time with payments, Jen had an actual sleeping schedule and didn’t survive on naps anymore and the kittens were growing up healthily into tiny bastards. Yes, they might have just enough money to survive, and they were sleeping in a twin size mattress on the floor still, but they chose to be optimistic for once.
Work didn’t feel like torture anymore since Mac had started there. The days the four of them were scheduled at the same time, it was absolute wonderland, —or Hell if you were Valentine. They were the perfect mix between productive and goofy.
The customer was already loud by the time Jen noticed. Diego stood at the register, jaw tight, hands braced flat against the counter as a woman waved her phone in his face, voice sharp enough to cut through the café noise.
“I’ve been waiting ten minutes!” She snapped. “This is unacceptable!” Diego inhaled through his nose.
“Ma’am, I’ve already explained—”
“And I don’t care what you explained.” Jen was there before he could say something that would get him written up.
“Hi,” She said gently, stepping in beside Diego like she’d always been there. Although she secretly wished she was a tad bit higher to hide her coworker’s murderous expression. “I’m so sorry about the wait.”
The woman turned to the new voice, ready to bite again, then paused. Jen smiled, —not fake, not corporate—, warm, steady; the kind that made people feel seen instead of managed. “I can see why you’re frustrated.” Jen continued, nodding slightly. “We’re running a bit behind today, but I promise we’ll fix this for you.”
The woman’s shoulders lowered a fraction. “Well… I just—”
“Of course,” Jen said smoothly. “How about I remake your drink personally? On us.”
A beat.
“…Fine.” The woman muttered. Jen nodded once, already moving.
“Thank you for your patience.”
By the time the drink was handed over; perfect foam, extra drizzle just how the woman wanted it, the customer was smiling, apologizing for her tone, and wishing Jen a good rest of her day. Diego watched the entire thing in silence. As the woman walked away, he scoffed quietly. “Must be nice.” Jen glanced at him.
“What?”
“You come in and suddenly everyone’s under your spell.” Jen blinked, genuinely confused.
“I just listened.”
“I did too. Not my fault these people are entitled.” Diego turned away, clearly irritated, shoulders stiff as he went back to work. It wasn’t until Mac’s comment lightened up his mood.
“Your face was scary too. In true British fashion.” Then Valentine appeared.
“Hey!” He said loudly, clapping his hands together like he was announcing a raffle. “Mac!” She nearly jumped.
“Yes?” Her words camouflaged a trembling with a change in tone, nervous system already kicking in fight-or-flight response in case she got told off on something.
Valentine smiled down at her, all teeth and false concern. “How’re you handling everything so far? Not too overwhelming?”
“Oh—uh,” Mac stuttered. “It’s been—” Behind him, Jen leaned toward Diego and exaggerated Valentine’s posture, puffing her chest out and silently mouthing ‘How’re you handling everything?’ with an overdone grin. Diego snorted despite himself, then caught on immediately, rolling his shoulders, mimicking Valentine’s hand gestures like a bad impression. Mac bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. “—good.” She finished, nodding. “Yeah. Good.”
Valentine beamed. “Great! Love to hear it.” He turned suddenly. Jen and Diego snapped back to normal in record time: faces neutral, hands busy; the picture of professionalism. Valentine glanced between them, suspicious for half a second, then shrugged. “Keep up the good work.”
As he walked away, Diego exhaled sharply. Jen leaned over and murmured. “See? Team bonding.” Diego didn’t answer, but he didn’t glare this time either.
Valentine found Jen near the espresso machine an hour later. There was still a rush, cups lining the counter, steam hissing in the air but he clapped his hands anyway, loud enough to cut through the noise.
“Honestly,” he said, smiling like he was about to give a speech, “you’re kind of my prodigy, Jen.”
Jen slowly turned to look at him. Side-eyed him, actually. Her expression stayed neutral, but one eyebrow lifted just enough to say you’re pushing it.
“Well,” She said calmly, wiping down the counter. “I was trained by corporate, after all.” Valentine’s smile froze for half a second.
“Oh.” He said, nodding quickly. “Yeah. Right. Corporate.” Behind his back, Mac and Diego exchanged a glance. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t have to. Valentine puffed up a little, clearly pleased with himself for remembering something important. “Exactly. That’s why things have been running so smoothly today.” Jen bit her tongue to stop herself from speaking more than she should. “Alright,” Valentine continued, already turning toward the staff-only area. “You two—” He pointed lazily at Mac and Diego “—back to work. Jen and I need to make the schedules.”
Mac stiffened, Diego’s jaw tightened. Jen rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt, but she caught Mac’s gaze for just a moment, just long enough to silently say I’ll fix this later.
“Sure,” Jen said evenly, following Valentine toward the office.As the door closed behind them, Diego muttered under his breath.
“Unbelievable.” Mac watched the office door, expression thoughtful. She was starting to understand how this place really worked. And how easily Jen could move the pieces, whether she wanted to or not.
Valentine spun his chair toward the computer, cracking his knuckles like he was about to do something important.
“Alright,” he said, squinting at the screen. “Let’s see… We’re short, so I’m thinking Mac opens tomorrow, then stays through close. Diego can take the next shift, close to open. That should cover it.”
Jen didn’t even blink.
“No.”
Valentine paused, fingers hovering over the keyboard. “No?”
“We’re trying to keep employees,” Jen said flatly, stepping closer, “not get rid of them.”
She leaned over his shoulder, eyes scanning the schedule he’d half-built. “Mac works the times she requested. She has obligations at certain hours.” Valentine waved a hand dismissively.
“Everyone has obligations.”
“And Diego,” Jen continued, already deleting shifts, “is not doing back-to-back opens and closes. Last thing we need is for him to burn this place down.”
Valentine let out a short laugh. “That’s dramatic.”
Jen pushed his chair aside with her hip, not hard but firm enough that it made her point. She took the mouse from his hand and started fixing the schedule herself.
Click. Drag. Adjust.
Clean. Logical. Humane.
Valentine watched, mildly stunned, as the chaos he’d created turned into something functional in under a minute. She finished, then turned to him slowly.
“Have you talked to Hp about their availability this week,” she asked, voice calm but pointed, “or did you forget?”
Valentine blinked.
“Oh!” he said. “Uh—yeah. Yeah, I did.” Jen raised an eyebrow. “Let me check,” he added quickly, already turning back to the computer. She folded her arms, unimpressed, watching him fumble through emails he clearly hadn’t opened yet.
Behind the office door, the store kept running because it always did. Just not because of Valentine. Mac and Diego only meant to grab the schedule, or that’s what they would claim if caught snooping while they were supposed to finish with the closing chores. These two were powered and fueled with gossip. They hovered at the office doorway for a second, peeking in just enough to see what was going on and immediately paused. Jen was standing beside the desk, one hand braced on it; posture relaxed but grounded. Valentine sat in his chair, phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly with the air of someone waiting for a miracle to happen.
“So if Hot Pants can’t do mornings,” Diego started cautiously, whispering to Mac at the corridor. “who’s covering—”
“Hot Pants said they’re free after three.” Jen replied instantly, without even looking up from the screen. It wasn’t to reply to Diego’s question; she had just taken into her own hands messaging her coworker since her boss apparently hadn’t done their job properly. “They have agreed to closing on Friday. That leaves Diego for mid-shift, and Mac does morning since she’s busy in the afternoon.”
“Wait—how does she—” Mac blinked, whispering back to Diego, now as shocked as him.
Valentine looked up from his phone, finally defeated. “I’m still waiting for Hot Pants to text back.” Jen stared at him. Then, without asking, she reached over, took his phone straight out of his hand, and hit call. Valentine sputtered. “Hey—!”
The phone rang once. Twice.
“Hot Pants,” Jen said the moment they answered. “It’s Jen. I’m making the schedule for next week. What’s your availability these days?” A pause from her, but a subtle chatter from the other end of the call. “Yeah. Okay. Got it.” She nodded, already adjusting the schedule. “Thanks.”
She hung up. Mac and Diego stared amazed through the tiny crack by the door. Jen set the phone down like nothing had happened, finished tweaking the last shift, then pulled out her own phone. She snapped a photo of the schedule and sent it to the group chat.
“There.” She said, “Everyone has it.”
Valentine opened his mouth, then closed it again. Jen turned to her superior as she walked to the door. “Now, if you excuse me, I’ll go back to doing inventory so we can close—“ Before they could react, she opened the door, discovering Mac and Diego snooping. Jen stopped in her step right in time to not crash into them. “Did you two do the closing chores yet or no?” Both of them stiffened.
“Nope,” Diego said immediately.
“We’re—uh—going,” Mac added.
They were gone before Jen even stepped out of the office. As the door swung shut behind her, Mac felt it settle in her chest, slow, undeniable. Jen wasn’t just good at her job. She ran circles around people who were supposed to be in charge. And somehow, without raising her voice or demanding attention, she’d already become the boss everyone listened to.
*****
April flew like the wind before their eyes. Everything had started to flow into a rhythm of controlled chaos in a good way. Jobs or money weren’t a problem anymore, at least. Since they got paid weekly, they had created a great budgeting system for groceries and other expenses that may arise, while also saving for the bill at the end of the month. Their biggest issue now were the furry troublemakers they had adopted back in February. The two kittens were about two months old now and very, very full of energy. Honestly, it didn’t matter that much to them. Both Mac and Jen rather have to work their way around kitten-proofing their whole apartment than scraping pennies to have something to eat, —as much as having bodies full of scratch marks was annoying.
Jen stood by the cooker, attempting to make dinner but being pretty much interrupted by the calico kitten she had claimed as hers taking climbing up her pyjama pants as a challenge. “No! This is not your food! You have already eaten!” She tried shaking her leg, reprimanded the desperate meowing of the allegedly hungry lady. The door unlocked and Mac walked into a scene out of a soap opera.
“The fuck is going on?” At the sound of her voice, the other kitten wobbled over to welcome her back into the living room after her shopping trip.
“She won’t let go of my leg!”
“Guess the name really suits her.” Mac joked as she approached Jen. “Lucy, as in Lucifer.” She let out a laugh, dropping the grocery bags on the counter and grabbing the tiny climber from the scruff.
“Mew!” The kitten roar like a lion, —at least to herself—, but as soon as Mac placed her down, she locked eyes with her brother and immediately proceeded to pounce on him, the other one whining at the nimbling.
“So what did you get?” Jen tried to peek inside the bags, but Mac had already started to take the items out without giving her any chance for mystery.
“So I got white wine~” She practically sang. “Which is going straight to the fridge because it’s better served cold. Some staffed olives and chips for snacks.” Mac took them out as she announced them. “And I also got us some face masks for a girl’s night before sleeping!”
“I already have face masks here. You didn’t have to—“ Mac pointed a finger to her friend’s lips, silencing her.
“Do your face masks have silly drawings? No? Then shut the fuck up!” Jen rolled her eyes. “Have some fun, we have to celebrate! I got called by the academy to tell me I got selected to be a back dancer for a concert in the area!” Mac twirled her way to the other side of the peninsula, now standing right opposite Jen. “Aren’t you excited?”
Truth was, Jen was excited for her friend, but something inside her had already prepared for a storm about to happen that she yet had to know existed. It was like her nervous system was going through it. These past days she had been exhausted despite the amount of hours she slept. So she couldn’t understand. At work it was fine, she hung out with her friends on the regular, had a great time with Mac at the apartment, the kittens were a cute distraction too… The only thing she could blame it on was how her conversations with her boyfriend were getting drier and drier. But he was busy with work, she had moved further away from him; he couldn’t come to visit her. He hadn’t even gone to her new place yet and it had been four months since the move…
For the sake of Mac’s enthusiasm, she tried to push those murky thoughts to the back of her brain and be present in the moment. And honestly, it was working. They had connected to Spotify for background music and danced around the kitchen like goofballs, —the white wine not helping. They had dinner, sang along to 2010’s hit songs dramatically and laughed about job anecdotes about Valentine and his ridiculous way of standing while speaking. After hours of fun chaos, it was time to relax. By now, they sat on the mattress, Korean-animal-printed face masks on, watching silently how the kittens spent their last zoomies for the day chasing after a loose shoelace. Jen was finally at peace when her phone buzzed by her side. Her eyes lit up the second she saw the notification name, but her heart dropped equally as fast once she read it.
