Jake parked his car in the lot and made his way to the door. The restaurant wasn’t the most popular place in town, but they were still open, everyday of the week. The neon sign atop the entrance door was turned on and lit up just about the whole of the restaurant’s perimeter. There was a bench in front of the restaurant, it was dirty and was often just there for the homeless or anyone having a rough time. Jake walked in and a man welcomed him in.

“Hello! How are you this morning?” The man said.

“Hey, are you the manager?” Jake asked.

“Stevie, nice to meet you. I actually own the place, and manage it so it’s a bit of an odd thing” He said jokingly, shaking Jake’s hand.

“Good to meet you, I’m Jake, you hired me as the chef?”

“Yes, yes, everything’s back here, follow me.” Stevie walked Jake to the the kitchen. It was small, greasy, and floors were tainted with the horrible yellow light from the ceiling. It wasn’t the best, but Jake knew he had to at least give it a shot.

“You’ll be working as the waiter, filling out people’s orders, getting them to the kitchen, regular sort of stuff I’m sure you’re used to given your résumé” Stevie said, gesturing with his hands as he walked in front of the kitchen counter and into the actual dining area.

Jake leaned on the kitchen counter and looked at Stevie as he spoke about the restaurant and finally found a gap in his speech to pop in a few words.

“On the application I put that I wanted the role of…” Before he could even finish, Stevie interrupted.

“Listen Jake, here, nobody seems to matter what they’re doing, pay not withstanding. As long as you do your job right, you’re all ready moving up!” Stevie said with enthusiasm while Jake just stood, perplexed at his bosses excitement at such an early time in the gloomy morning.

Stevie told Jake to get the restaurant ready before it opens in about thirty-or-so minutes.

Jake wanted to mention that he wasn’t exactly paid to work as the janitor, but he knew that he was just one step away from slipping into the sorrowful Lake Failure.

I had been a few days later since that first day. Jake had already tired himself out, the idea that it was only Thursday was gut-wrenching. He had to deal with Stevie’s dreaded enjoyment and his coworker’s disgusting essence. Jake’s coworker, Austin, probably couldn’t have been worst, he figured the worst person here was a “maniac meth-head”, turns out he got a maniac meth-head whose English is barely understandable and a temper shorter than the distance between the restaurant and the nearest package of cocaine.

“Yo Austin, you mind helping me out here? Floor can’t get any dirtier right now” Jake yelled from the dining area as he dragged the wet mop across the tiles.

“I’ll be right there…” Austin wasn’t one to really follow up on his agreements, Jake figured that out pretty quick.

Jake eventually finished up the dining area and went to the kitchen to look for Austin.

“Austin? Austin, where are you?” Jake yelled as he marched around the kitchen, looking for Austin in every hole and crevice. After being with Austin for less than a week, Jake probably wouldn’t be surprised if he found him in the back smoking a burnt out cigarette he found on the ground.

“Austin?” Jake yelled again, this time a bit more urgent.

“Austin! The hell are you?” Jake kept looking and yelling until he started to give up. He packed his stuff up to leave for the day.

“I’m heading out Austin! Remember to put your stuff away before you head out!” Jake yelled as a last goodbye for the night. Jake was about to leave until he heard a door close behind him, sounding a bit like the back door into the alleyway.

“Austin?” Jake asked into the kitchen.

“This is stupid…” Jake muttered to himself. Before he could get close to the door, a bat struck him in the head.