The Adventures of Vyxsin the Vixen- Manic Monday
#2 of The Adventures of Vyxsin the Vixen
The second installment of the series. This time, we get a bit more insight into Vyxsin's working life.
This story is clean, except for one or two cases of bad language. Reader discretion is advised.
And finally, a BIG thank you to Igambledwithdeathonce for proofreading!
Tales of Vyxsin the Vixen
Just Another Manic Monday
Vyxsin sighed as she pulled up the handbrake on her car, staring at the diner where she worked. It was 7:45, she didn't even need to think about clocking in for another 10 minutes. Vyxsin continued to stare as she wondered why she'd even driven to work when she only lived a few streets away. Because you only just got your license and you want to drive alone her consciousness answered for her, it had a nasty habit of doing that.
Contrary to the song, Vyxsin was nobody's baby, she didn't take the morning train and she didn't work from 9 'til 5. No, she worked from 8 'til 5 most days. 8 'til 8 if somebody had the guts to call in sick for the dinner shift. You would be forgiven for thinking that this left Vyxsin with a lot of money, but all the forgiving in the world wouldn't make you any less wrong. A bitchy manager, coupled with the government not knowing about her job meant that she was paid whatever her boss wanted her to be paid- namely 5 dollars an hour. And she wasn't even allowed to collect tips. No, the back-room 'beauty', as she liked to call herself, made sure of that. According to her, "Pink-haired freaks don't deserve tips." Vyxsin knew this wasn't the real reason Mable was keeping her tips. The regulars loved her pink fur, and they tipped generously because of it. Her fur was probably what was keeping this place in the black.
Vyxsin sighed again. It was now 7:50, and she'd better get inside, lest the Dalmatian yell at her for being on time, as opposed to early. Still she thought I suppose it's better than nothing. At least I have my laptop now. That thought brought a smile to her face. Yes, she did have a new laptop, one that it had taken her months of saving to get. It was by no means a powerful machine, but Vyxsin didn't care. It did the things she wanted it to do, and for the time being, that was good enough. She could talk to her friends now, they had been nice enough to set up her facebook account for her, and she kept them posted with daily updates.
Vyxsin strolled in as the clock ticked over to 7:52 and she was greeted by none other than the Dalmation. It appeared she was in trouble again, so she waited for her boss to unload.
"Vyxsin!" Came the unmistakable voice "You are late! Now hurry up, there's people waiting to be served!"
Letting out her third sigh in almost as many minutes, Vyxsin pondered her options. She could either go clock in early and serve people, but have to deal with another spray when it showed up on the computer that she'd clocked in early, or she could wait until her shift started, and serve people, potentially exposing herself to a getting yelled at now. Vyxsin glanced around the diner. One older couple at a table, about halfway through their breakfast. One lonely looking teenager in a booth, already being attended to. And a turtle in the 'to go' line. Vyxsin decided to wait, clearly she wasn't urgently needed.
Fortunately, as 8 AM rolled around, Vyxsin had not been yelled at again. She punched in her timecard and headed out to the register, adjusting her dorky name tag (Hi! My Name Is Vyxsin!) as she went.
And then, as is the norm every day from 8 until the lunch rush, very little happened. Vyxsin was trying to keep a running total in her head, it was one of the ways she distracted herself from the job. If she was correct, their total sales had reached a meager forty three dollars between 8 and 10. Even if the other two working with her made the same amount she did, the diner was down 2 dollars for the two hours. She idly pondered why they even stayed open for those times when it was clear they weren't making any money from them when Mable came over to tell her off for standing around.
"Why aren't you doing anything?" Mable demanded
Go fuck yourself Vyxsin thought "Because there's nothing that needs doing" Vyxsin said softly "And there is nobody here to serve" So fuck you.
"Have you changed all the menus to the lunch ones?"
No, I thought we might serve pancakes and sausage for lunch today. "Yes"
"Have you collected your breakfast pick up and sent it to the office"
No, I gave it to the nice kid who said I looked cool. "Yes"
Mable paused "Okay then. You go on your meal break at 10:30."
Another thing Vyxsin hated about working at a diner was that she had to eat lunch at 10:30 in the morning, because they couldn't have her on break during the lunch period. She had learned quickly that if you wanted a chance to enjoy your food instead of scarfing it down, you had to let the cook know about half an hour before you went on break. The cook was a nice guy, from 'The old country' and he did his best to please everybody there. But that didn't mean he could have something ready for you instantly.
Nothing happened for the next half hour, and Vyxsin was glad to be able to sit down and eat. But, as is always the case, her break was over far too soon and she was back into the grind. The lunch rush was a blur for her. She was always busy for that period until about 2 or 3 o'clock, when it would inevitably die down again, and she would start preparing for the dinner shift. Such was her life as a diner waitress. Usually when Vyxsin got home, she would eat, maybe watch TV or write some music for a few hours and get ready to sleep, and when tomorrow came, she'd do it all again. Today was different though, because she had her laptop, and she was more than ready to chat to her friends.
Sighing again, this time with relief, Vyxsin pulled off her work uniform, relaxing in the comfort of her own place, looking about at her modest home, it wasn't much, but it was something. "Better than nothing." As she had once said. It was because of small moments like these, times of relative peace and quiet that helped Vyxsin maintain her sanity. Gently raking her claws through her head fur, she smiled and walked to her room, flopping down on her bed and reaching over to her laptop, flipping it open and starting it up. The sound of her desktop application jumping to life was music to her ears, it sounded like freedom. In seconds she was on her instant messenger, starting it up and logging on. By the time she had logged in, she was welcomed with a warm voice "One friend online." She looked over to her friends' list, seeing that Christy was on at the moment.
Christy: Hey
Vyxsin: Hi! What's up?
Christy: Kellys making dinner. U?
Vyxsin: Not much, just got back from work
Christy: How was it?
Vyxsin: Just great, can't wait to tell you all about the day I had
Christy: That bad huh?
Vyxsin: Yeah lol
Christy: Hey listen, me and kelly are probably going out on Saturday, wanna come?
Vyxsin: I dunno. where you going?
Christy: Just this little place in the city, its really nice youll love it
Vyxsin: Hmm yeah i guess ill go
Christy: Yay!!!
Vyxsin: Is kent going?
Christy: He might, i havent asked him yet
Vyxsin: k, let me know what he says
Christy: k. Well, gotta go. Dinners ready
Vyxisn: k. Bye!
Christy: Bye!
*Christy has gone offline*
Vyxsin sighed as she closed her laptop and rolled onto her back, looking up at her ceiling, laying deep in thought about what the weekend would hold for her.
The rest of the week was very standard for over-worked female. Get up. Go to work. Go home. Go to bed. She'd learned through status updates that it would be just her and the sisters on Saturday, Kent was feeling under the weather and wouldn't be joining them, an unpleasant set-back, but she wouldn't let it run the fun.
So there it is. Let me know what you think in the comment section below.
(PS. The spelling and grammar errors in the IM dialogue are intentional.)