AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sorry.”
“He needs it for his collection.” The big guy, the one they’d called Cave Troll – and he sure did look rather like one with his big round face, protruding pierced ears and shiny forehead – muscled his way to the front and slapped his wallet on the counter along with a pile of keys. “Give the big kid his toy.” He drew out a couple of twenties from a stash that had to add up to a grand. Who the hellwerethese guys?
Probably some sort of biker gang with criminal links.
“I…”
“For your excellent service.” Out came another twenty.
Lollipop stealer turned his big, beautiful eyes on her, and offered her a smile that promised the world, or at least an extremely X-rated tumble. Jodi glanced behind her. She was currently the only server, so there was no one to shop her to Laura, and it wasn’t as if the line-manager could possibly know it hadn’t been a kid from the till receipt. “Okay,” she agreed, sliding the plastic figurine across the counter, and watching the guy’s face light up with glee. Still bagged, he dropped the toy into the inside pocket of his jacket that his phone had come out of. Meanwhile, the big guy scrunched the notes into her hand.
“Thanks, is that everything?” she asked, and ran through the order again.
“Better get Paul something,” the woman said.
“Right. Yeah. Add on one of your weird-ass fungi things.”
“You mean the tofu burger?”
“That’s it.”
“With or without fries?”
“Better make it with.”
She totted it all up and took the payment. “It’ll just be a couple of minutes. Ketchup, etcetera is on the right.”
“We’re eating in.”
“Okay. I’ll bring it over.”
~*~
Jodi bustled back behind the counter, having delivered their order, still smiling over the huge tip. If only the rest of their customers were so generous and appreciative, but most of the people who came here to eat were trailing children, cross to the core, and desperate to be in and out of the place as fast as possible, kiddie meal and plastic toy in hand, and caffeine drip reinstated in their bloodstreams.
Maybe criminal bikers weren’t so bad after all. At least they had nice manners – mostly. Their talk had been pretty fruity, though. Enough to make her ears burn.
Cathy had taken up residence behind the till. “It’s your break. Laura wants to see you.”
“What about?”
“Dunno. It’s probably to do with the shifts. Jay called in sick again. Surprise, surprise. We all know what sort of sickness he has. Dumbo probably only crawled into bed at 10 o’clock this morning, assuming he’s even got home yet.”
“Yeah,” Jodi agreed. She found it was usually best to pretend she understood whatever Cathy was telling her. It saved her having to endure marathon, blow-by-blow accounts of the lives of every member of staff at the Cavorting Cuttlefish.
“He was at that gig last night. The one he had meet-and-greet tickets for.”
“To meet who?”
Cathy shrugged; obviously, she hadn’t considered that detail important enough to remember. “Black Potato or something like that. Some hardcore metal band.”
“Megadeatharillion!” one of the lads in the back shouted. Jodi didn’t think that was correct either. The bikers in the corner would probably know. She squinted, only half listening to Cathy, while trying to picture the hoodie that Jay always came to work in. Black, she remembered that much, with a religious symbol on it, and spiky black writing.
“Course he was so full of how he’d come by the tickets he clean forgot he had to get there. Didn’t sort any transport. I heard he had to blow for a taxi. Bet that cost him, but of course that’ll only have been one way. Bet he had to walk back.”
“Where from, Leeds?”
Cathy raised her shoulders.
