It was just another shift.

Tuesday was Kid’s Eat Free–or, as June liked to call it, Chuckie Cheese night. For the last five hours, thanks to multiple callouts, the three of them had been dodging running children, swimming in spilled juice (for the kids) and vodka (for their parents), and serving with smiles despite constant verbal abuse. The only thing more chaotic than a toddler were the overwhelmed parents that raised them.

Ami stood behind the bar, counting out June’s cash drawer and filling out her deposit slips. Most of the back of house, or kitchen staff, had already left for the evening, the bulk of their work being done hours before the restaurant closed. The only three left in the building were Ami, June and Ginger. 

“You okay buddy?”

June sat beside Ginger on the other side of the bar, a fruity concoction in her hand. Ginger’s meaty hands were fiddling with their beer bottle, picking at the label until the shreds created a small pile beside them. They were staring off into the middle distance, the bags under their eyes looking more purple than usual.

“A child threw up on me.” They said simply.

June had seen it happen earlier. A child had fallen out of the booth and, ever the kind and concerned person, Ginger kneeled over to pick them up. Child securely in arms, they gently placed them back on the booth and assured both the child and the parent that everyone was okay.

“And what do we say?” The toddler’s parents asked.

The toddler  turned to Ginger with a smile, and immediately painted their shoes and pants in regurgitated  apple juice. 

So, midshift, Ginger had to go to their car and rustle up a pair of bright orange pants with sharks  all over the front and back. It was completely out of dress code but, given the circumstances, no one had said anything.

June nodded in solidarity.

“Beats what happened in the men’s room.” Ami called over her shoulder. Both June and Ginger grimaced. Humans were disgusting creatures.

The three decompressed from their day, trading various asides from tables and gossip about their coworkers. Around beer two and a quick rinse in the restroom, Ginger started to come back to center. June had changed out of her uniform and into a pair of leggings and an army green crop top while Ami had changed into a pair of jeans and a faded, obscure band t-shirt. Ginger wore a baggy black t-shirt and the same bright orange shark pants.

Typically on the nights they closed together the trio would make their way to a barcade or go to June’s house to play videogames and exchange obscure TikToks and videos. Given that tonight was, by far, one of the worst shifts they all had experienced in a while, they opted to go to June’s house so Ginger could shower and June and Ami could avoid flirtatious strangers.

The three grabbed their bags and the food they had ordered from the kitchen before they left. Ginger made sure that all of the fryers and grills were off while Ami checked off her managerial duties and June double checked that everything had been done to her satisfaction. The last thing they all wanted was a restaurant-wide reminder message about doing a, b or c at the crack of dawn–as the owner was wont to do.

“Bouncy Cats?” Ami asked.

“Mmm, I’ll pass; I feel like a shooter tonight. Frontier 5?” June replied.

“Shit. I left my vape on the bar. Ami can you let me in real quick?” Ginger responded.

Ami side eyed Ginger, but turned around and walked up the ramp to let them into the back door.

“Alarm will set off in a minute! Be quick!” She called after them. They raised their hand in acknowledgment and powerwalked to the dining room.

“I don’t know,” Ami responded to June, continuing their current line of thought, “I don’t know if I’m in the mood for violence. Honestly I just wanna play something cute. Can we raincheck Frontier 5?”

June shrugged and pulled open her phone and selected her game library app. Ami and June were polar opposite in their tastes, but they could typically find a compromise. Ami did the same. The two scanned their respective libraries, bouncing ideas off of each other. Several minutes passed in companionable silence before Ami realized that Ginger had been gone for longer than a minute. She opened the door and popped her head in. She could hear the humming of the refrigerators and the soft beep of the alarm. She went in and punched in the disarm code. It was strange that it hadn’t gone off, as she had tripped it multiple times because she had disarmed it seconds after the minute mark had passed. Maybe it was on the fritz? She’d text the owner about it before they left for June’s house. The backdoor opened wide, startling Ami. She clutched her imaginary pearls.

“Did Ginger die?”

Amy shrugged.

“GINGER,” June shouted from the half opened door, “DID YOU DIE?”

The refrigerators continued their humming, but the women couldn’t hear Ginger’s response–or if they had responded at all. A seed of worry sprouted in Ami’s stomach.

“I’m gonna go make sure they’re not doing anything stupid.”

“You mean something brilliant. Maybe they’ll hide pictures of Kermit the Frog everywhere like they did last time.”

“That’s what worries me,” Ami replied. While reliable, sociable and an absolute workhorse, Ginger was also incredibly prone to pranking their coworkers to blow off steam: sticky notes covering the manager’s desk for Ami’s birthday, hiding Kermit the Frog pictures in or on every nook and cranny they could reach, and hiding phones in plain sight that had been left out on the counter was typical behavior for their mischievous little friend. While she typically didn’t mind Ginger’s shenanigans, she also didn’t feel like dealing with the repercussions tomorrow.

“Ginger?” Ami called softly.

“Ginger, get your ass out here or we’re leaving without you!” June barked.

After a few seconds of continued silence, June sighed dramatically and stomped to the door that led from the back of house to the front of house.

“I’m gonna drink all the tequila, Ginge!” She threatened.

June pushed past the door and into the dining room. The lights were still off, and there was no evidence of stirring. It was exactly as they’d left it not five minutes before. June turned the flashlight on her phone and  walked down the hall into the server’s area, where the soda fountain, ice and an open window separated the kitchen and the rest of the restaurant.

Ami, not seeing their friend, followed June’s lead and turned her flashlight on. She popped her head into both restrooms, but the stalls in both were open, and Ginger wasn’t hiding in any of them. Ami caught June’s eyes when she left the restroom and shrugged. She could see June’s irritation starting to peak. June huffed and stomped back to the hallway that led to the kitchen.

“Alright fucker! Have fun sleeping in the booths tonight!” She bellowed over her shoulder, “Come on, Ami, let’s go.”

Ami nodded, grabbed her stuff and turned off her flashlight. The two pushed the kitchen doors open to leave for the evening.