Chapter 9: It’s Haute in Here!
Richard woke at exactly 5:30 am.
With immediate alacrity, he got off the bed and made his way straight to the bathroom to observe his personal hygiene.
Mondays for him were always the most hectic and he knew better than to sleep in and get into New York’s quagmire disguised as traffic.
Stepping out a couple minutes later, he quickly dressed up.
Fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, he made his way straight into his son’s room to wake him up.
"Rise and shine, Champ--"
Staring at the already well-made room though, his son standing amidst whilst equally fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, Aiden greeted with a filial warmth;
"Mornin’, Pops. How was your night?"
"Good. It was good. Yours?" Richard replied, clearly surprised.
"Dandy." Aiden replied, smoothing out his shirt with an energized smile.
Though they’d already ironed out their schedule for the rest of the summer break yesternight, the man was still stunned to see his kid, not just up early but equally out of his usual groggy state.
Sharing a brief hug with his son though, he then asked, a notable hint of concern on his features.
"You’ve been up since when?"
"Four," Aiden replied, whilst picking up his boots from the small shoe rack in the corner.
"Figured I should get my cardio in earlier," he added casually, his legs slipping into said boots.
"Oh, and I already microwaved our meal so let’s hurry. It’s almost six." he hurriedly walked out the room, gesturing for his Pops to follow.
Still tad bit stunned yet pleasantly surprised, Richard promptly followed, picking up his own boots, gears and the likes from his room.
A couple minutes later, both were chowing on their meal. Having prepared it yesterday night, refrigerating and microwaving it so early did well to preserve the freshness of it.
And for Aiden,
-
[Quest completed!]
⸢Daily Quests
› Road to College.
└ Read and assimilate a page from next year’s curriculum – [0.01 LP].
› Eat Your Broccolis, Champ.
└ Eat a healthy meal within the first half of the day – [0.01 LP Awarded!].
› Wakey wakey!
└ Log 7 to 8 hours of sleep from dusk till dawn – [0.01 LP Claimed!].
› How To Be Strong.
└ 10 push-ups. 10 pull-ups. 10 sit-ups. 10 squats. 5km run. – [0.01 LP Claimed!].
-
It helped that it counted towards knocking out most of his daily quests.
By the time they were done eating and Richard’s vehicle pulled out of the driveway, it was already 6:20 am.
It didn’t take long before the usual hustle and bustle of a busy Monday morning in New York did well to rile Richard up, the man cursing up a storm practically every ten minutes.
Yet, roughly forty minutes later, he’d dropped his son off at the restaurant and made his way up the block to the construction site.
As for Aiden,
"Ah. You’re here earlier than I expected," David remarked as he walked in through the backdoor.
"Morning, Mr. Haute." he respectfully greeted to which the manager reciprocated;
"Morning, Aiden. David’s fine, by the way."
"More importantly, your outfit’s in the dressing room," the man gestured, pointing down the corridor.
"Also, I already informed everyone you’d be joining today but hit up Cody, nonetheless. He’ll put you through. Show you the ropes." he concluded, his demeanor all business as he made his way to his office.
Nodding in appreciation, Aiden did as he was told.
Currently in the dressing room, he outfitted himself with the uniform; a crimson-red shirt with a cursive ’HT’ on the breast pocket and sleek black pants, alongside a nametag with his name on it.
Stepping out a couple minutes later, he made his way through the backrooms and into the restaurant, politely greeting every employee he came across.
And though everyone reciprocated in kind, their smiles cordial, Aiden couldn’t help but notice the slight hint of pity in the gazes directed his way.
This was made even more apparent when he stepped into the dining area itself, and one of his co-workers--and the only waitress on their shift--gave him a similar look.
’Well,’
’That’s not concerning at all...’ Aiden thought to himself as he turned his attention to the only person amidst the three attendants whom was closest to him in age.
And by close, that was twenty-two year old college dropout, Cody Banks, his name tag pinned to his shirt.
He had a peppy air to him, his ash-brown hair cropped and his demeanor inviting as he cuffed an arm around Aiden’s shoulders and said;
"So, you’re the rookie, huh?"
"I wonder how long you’ll last..." he ominously grinned, his nut-brown irises twinkling with mischief.
"Don’t scare the kid, you bully." Mrs. Bao, the pretty waitress who looked no older than thirty but was actually fifty, grabbed the imp by the ear.
"Ow, ow, ow." Cody whined in pain, wincing with every pinch and turn.
"I haven’t even done anything!" he complained!
"You’ve done enough!" she shot back, finally relieving him of his torture.
Though Aiden couldn’t tell where exactly she was from, he was certain she was Asian.
’Chinese, perhaps,’ he thought to himself as she walked up to him and said;
"Don’t mind Cody. He likes to agitate the new part-timers."
Before Aiden could reply though,
"For good reason though." Jermaine, the other waiter whom was a Black-American man with well-kept dreadlocks said, a reserved smile on his features. He looked quite the charmer.
"See! Someone gets it!" Cody sprung right back into the conversation, only for him to shrink right back when Mrs. Bao levelled him a subtle glare.
"Jokes aside, they’re gonna come swarming through that door in a couple minutes, and you have to be ready." Cody’s demeanor soon assumed a professionalism that looked notably fitting despite his inviting demeanor.
"I know." Aiden replied simply, his head bobbing once in a curt nod.
Cody cocked a brow in response, seemingly skeptic.
"Do you now?" Jermaine on the other hand casually asked as he wiped down a table, doubtful the rookie was actually aware of what he’d signed up for.
In response, Aiden turned to him;
"New investment firm just opened down the block. New business park’s being renovated a couple blocks up. Then there’s the popular hotel that’s a stone’s throw from here,"
"Bring all that together, while throwing peak rush hours into the mix and you get a slew of famished office workers, businessmen, construction workers, tourists and the locals gunning to grab a quick meal at the closest restaurant nearby. Here." he gestured to the ground with his fingers.
"So yeah. I know. I did my research. This place’s a hotspot, to say the least." Aiden affirmed, giving every attendant in the room a polite nod.
Pleasantly surprised to have heard all that from someone he’d half expected to have signed up for the job solely out of a pressing need for some pocket change for the summer break, Cody flashed him an impressed smile.
Even Jermaine was the same, as was Mrs. Bao herself.
"Well, I’ll be damned. I guess you do know." Jermaine remarked, slinging a towel over his broad shoulders.
"Who knows? You just might last longer than the last couple part-timers we’ve had." Cody casually threw in, quickly assuming his professionalism before Mrs. Bao pulled his ears again.
"For now, you will be lingering in that corner as it typically has the least flux of customers," he gestured to a portion of the restaurant where three tables and their respective chairs were situated.
"Whenever you’re less busy, follow us closely with your eyes and watch what we do and how we respond," he continued.
"Try to glean as much as you can, ’cause trust me, we’ll barely have enough time to teach you anything. You’ll just have to learn on the job."
"If you have any questions though, you’ll have to wait till lunch break. Is that clear?" he demanded.
"Very clear." Aiden nodded in kind, a determined expression on his features.
"Good." Cody nodded and then moved over to the main door to flip the placard over, signifying that business was open for the day.
In kind, everyone assumed their positions, ready to pick up a customer’s order.
Roughly thirty seconds after, the customers began trickling in, the restaurant gradually crowding up at an alarming pace.
Watching as Cody, Jermaine and Mrs. Bao moved about swiftly, their gears well-oiled and their efficiency clicking into place, Aiden did his best to learn from the way they interacted with the customers.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long before a man in a sleek business suit walked in, and moved to one of the tables he was waiting by while reading something from his phone.
Promptly, Aiden attended to the man as he took his seat.
"Morning, Sir. What would you like to have today?" he politely asked, already utilizing what he’d seen of his co-workers and their interactions with their customers.
No sooner had he said that though, his system updated.
-
[Ding!]
[Exclusive quests updated!]
⸢Exclusive Quests
› It’s Haute in Here!
└ Serve a total of 50 customers before your shift is over – [0.5 LP]
-
Well...
Now that was quite the herculean task, wasn’t it?
The odds of accomplishing that was almost nigh impossible, especially since he was positioned by the weakest hub of tables.
And though Aiden had put up a competent front when he’d spoken with his co-workers earlier, he more than anyone knew that waiting these three tables alone was going to push him. Hard.
There was also the fact that his muscles were still very sore from his new regimen.
Which was why,
’The hell does this system think I am? Some shounen protagonist in a food anime?!’ his inner voice deprecatingly demanded, contrasting jarringly against his outwardly composed demeanor.
