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The snow had been falling down faster than usual. One of the managers at Offshoring and Drilling District, Alton S. Crow had been standing outside a restaurant, Mozzarella Styx waiting for at least 10 minutes. The cold didn't bother him that much but any longer and he’d probably freeze into an ice cube.
“Quite frankly, wasn't there a better place you could have chosen Crow?” a flat voice said behind him, leading to the manager to turn around, surprised by the cog behind him.
It was a cog dressed in a suit, polished and in a nice clean condition. The suit was finished off with a striped tie, black wrapping around the red base of the tie. It lay on top of the white shirt, which the cog was attempting to wipe off snow from. It was silly, considering more snow had just fallen upon him. The cog’s face had a scowl, though this was typical for him. His golden goggles reflected the dull blue sky, and his green lens mirrored the scowl, glaring at the other manager.
Alton had invited his acquaintance down in the Central Oil District, William Boar, here though usually he denied these invites, claiming they were nothing but distractions to his work. However, there were rare times when he did accept. Today was one of them. But William seemed to regret that decision as more snow came down, having to brush it off each second.
The taller cog laughed at his actions while the other rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Seriously, couldn't you choose somewhere warmer ?” said Boar walking towards the door, while Crow marched towards it and held it for his fellow coworker.
“Was in the mood for something different Boar, is that so wrong?” The other walked into the establishment, refusing to face the chuckling cog, who was following suit.
The pair entered inside where cheery music met their ears and the soft fuzzy rug touched their polished black shoes. Tables filled with cogs faced them while the cold air disappeared behind them. A dark green skelecog walking around with a pan noticed the two of them and signaled them toward the reservation desk.
“Afternoon gentlemen. name please?” said the skelecog.
“Crow. Alton S. Crow.” said the manager while the employee scrolled through a book, looking for his name.
Eventually after flipping a page, the skelecog confirmed the manager's name. He gestured towards a small table behind the desk hidden away in the corner. They thanked him and took their menu from the skelecog, walking towards their table, chatting as they did. Sitting down, both looked at their menus planning what to order.
“Didn't know this district had a pizzeria. Seems… odd.” said William, glancing at the… unique options the pizzeria had to offer. Tomato pizza, Topping pizza, and Special pizza…? Odd choices but that didn't seem to bother the other cog. Alton laughed at him and set down his menu.
“Yer funny Boar, at least it looks edible. Smells somewhat good too.” He pointed at other tables being served pizza, all with different toppings. Most of the cogs seemed quite satisfied with theirs.
“Mr. Wilde says he comes here all the time with his partners. Nothin stops him from eating them pizzas. Other than Mr. Kerosene of course… But they said oils pretty good here though.” said Alton, spinning the salt shaker with his hand. “Winston asked me to save ’em a slice, so if yer not eating I bet they will.”
Both laughed at his comment as a waiter stumbled to their table. Oddly they weren't a skelecog, and had their outer shell. The waiter sighed out of relief and took out a pen and paper. “Hello! Sorry about that. Are you guys ready to order?” said the Loan Shark.
Both stared, confused at this sudden change but brushed it off. As much as he didn't want to admit, William was quite hungry. Regardless of the questionable options he’d eat anything.
“It's nothing… I'll take an oil and two slices of pine pizza,” said William as the waiter scribbled it down as Alton spoke their order.
“Mmm.. gimme a pie of mushroom and oil as well. Thanks.” The waiter nodded and scurried off into the back.
Both looked at each other in confusion but Alton shrugged it off. He continued to say whatever came to his mind as they waited for the (hopefully edible) pizza. “Mr. Wilde told me not to say this but… yer one of my favorite acquaintances if ya didn't know already. So Imma tell you anyways. ” Alton said staring at William, laughing while he scoffed.
Alton continued talking to his acquaintance, leaning closer to talk about the details. “Supposedly the chairman’s office got sent almost 500 chairs. Jennifer got a call saying the Chairman wanted them and all of them listened. Turns out it was a prank call but oh I wish I coulda been there. Mr. Wilde said Chairman was even more furious than usual. Must of been a sight to see.” he said, trying hard to keep the laughter in.
William rolled his eyes and gave a small smile. Alton’s stories were always very bizarre but regardless they always made a nice way to pass the time. As much as he hated to admit, spending time with his fellow manager did relieve some stress. Though, at times the whole land expansion conversation never seems to land with him.
The thoughts of his acquaintance and anything else disappeared when the Loan Shark came out stumbling trying to hold the pizzas while going up the stairs. They gave out a deep sigh mumbling to themselves.
“Oh too- cog… My apologies again. Here are your orders. I'll be back with your drinks in a moment.” Quickly as they appeared they rushed back into the kitchen, doors swinging back and forth. Both managers paid no mind to this, as Alton swiftly moved the mushroom pizza towards him and sighed happily.
“This here pizza smells pretty good. I told ya it looks edible.” Alton said, before grabbing a slice and began to eat it. William ignored his comment and inspected his pizza, before taking a small bite. It honestly didn't taste as bad as he imagined. The mushroom pizza seemed like a better choice though.
“Yer a fan of it see! Man wish Winston was here. We woulda of been having more fun with her. Shame that he’s…” Alton’s words turned into mumbles as his eyes wandered away from the pizza. Winston’s situation was terrible and while Alton cared for them dearly, the two couldn't spend as much time together unfortunately. As a result, he tried his best to bring wonderful experiences to them, this time it would be pizza.
His acquaintance's mood changed once the Loan Shark came back with their oil, placing it down. “Sorry for the wait, here you are!” they said before rushing back into the kitchen. The skelecog at the front of the restaurant noticed them and followed them too. Both were too busy eating to see this, considering Alton was done with half of his pizza already.
“Seems like I wasn’t the only one starving huh?” William snickered, while Alton shooed him away but laughed. He drank his oil and began to speak.
“Says the one who wanted to go to a different place hm…? You're almost done with yer pizza ha!” The manager laughed as he drank the rest of his oil as William scoffed his comment off. As he was about to insult him, a loud commotion was heard near the kitchen.
“HEY DON WE GOT TOONS HERE!”
Both managers turned their heads towards the sounds, where three toons came out with pies and one in a Loan Shark suit running around the entrance. Don Kuiper, the owner, ran out of the kitchen with his skelecogs in pursuit too. “YA TOONS COME BACK HERE!” Kuiper yelled as the middle toon turned around.
“Take this!” said one of the toons and threw a pie at one of the skelecogs. It hit them and the toons ran out laughing. The skelecogs pursued them with Don Kuiper yelling and slamming the door. Every other cog that was there watched in shock or just continued to eat their pizza.
“Well, it seems like this is our sign to go. Winston’s pizza will get cold if we stay here any longer. I'll take care of the check while you find a box or something to put it in.” Alton nodded as he went to look for one, while William headed towards the front to pay.
After waiting for a few minutes, the tall manager came out with a pizza box in a bag and a smile on his face. He saw that his acquaintance was still standing near the entrance, brushing off snow as usual.
“Thought yer woulda left already Boar. Didn't you say you hated the cold?” Alton asked as he shut the door to the pizzeria. It seemed like everything had calmed down already, cogs inside continued eating as if nothing happened.
“It’s tolerable.” William said, a clear statement that both could tell was a lie.
“Well, we ought to get going. Trynna keep this pizza warm is gonna be hard.” Alton said, nudging William in the side. He rolled his eyes, and started walking towards Stone and Iron District when he heard Alton speak again.
“Ya know, ‘ppreciate you accepting my invite William. Know yer not a big fan and all but thanks. Mean it.” he said, with a small smile.
“ It’s nothing. Needed a small break from paperwork.” said William slowing down, to walk Alton’s speed. “But we really should get going, that pizza will freeze. Plus I have to make sure that pesky toon hasn't broken into my office again.” Alton laughed while William stopped and grabbed snow to throw at his face.
“Hey I’m carrying the pizza, at least wait till we out of the cold!” he said laughing, wiping off snow while William walked past him.
As with most things, William would never say that he appreciated the invites, because regardless of where they went, the company that Alton gave never failed to be the highlight of his day. Simple but memorable.