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It was supposed to be a temporary job. She thought it would last about six months. Maybe a year at most. And somehow this temporary job at a crappy diner stretched to two years.
Where other wait staff left within a month or two, Gigi somehow stuck around and ended up becoming the waitress who stayed the longest. It wasn’t like she didn’t threaten to leave before. It wasn’t like there were times that she was nearly fired. She wanted to leave but she couldn't. She was stuck in a loop, a holding pattern. Circling around, living paycheck to paycheck. Just enough for groceries, this month’s rent and maybe a treat to keep her sane; never more than that. The tips sometimes help, but those hardly come by when you work in a run down diner.
So after two years of this endless cycle, she found herself in a vortex that made her thoughts swirl around a whirlpool of despair. They sink further and further with each moment, sapping her. And she keeps circling around. A holding pattern. A cycle destined to crash.
“Um, excuse me?”
Gigi snapped from her trance when she heard a voice call out to her like the ringing of a tiny bell. Something clear, something that pulled her thoughts out of the vortex.
“I'm ready for my order.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Gigi instantly stowed away the misery that lingered in her voice and switched to a more cheerful tone. “What can I get ya?”
The girl in the booth smiled back gently as a flicker of light shimmered in her aquamarine eyes. A sign of empathy, perhaps? It would explain her saintly patience to Gigi momentarily phasing out of this plane of the universe.
“This one, please!”
The girl ever so gently tucked a lock of silver and green hair behind her ear before pointing at a picture of pancakes on the menu. Gigi didn’t want to admit it, but for a moment she became fixated with the way the girl’s delicate, segmented fingers glided effortlessly and separated locks of her hair into silvery strands.
“Blueberry pancakes? Anything else?” Gigi miraculously maintained her composure.
“How about tea?”
“Sure! I can get you that!”
The polished brass wind-up key rotated ever so slightly and glinted brilliantly, even with the dim light filtering through water stained windows. “That would be lovely!”
“Anything else?” The gremlin waitress managed to choke out.
“That’ll be all!” The automaton girl replied.
Gigi’s chest tensed up into inexplicable knots as the reply was punctuated by a smile. She would have curled into a nervous mess at that moment had the fear of looking like an idiot in front of a cute girl kept her constitution intact. She didn’t care that her tail wrapped around her leg and fidgeted. It was rare for her tail to be this animated and honestly, she would take her hyperactive tail over collapsing in front of the customer any day.
After she jotted down the girl’s order and handed the ticket to the cook (who gave her strange glances for some reason), Gigi found herself before the electric kettle. Usually, she would just bring the water to an adequate temperature and dump a tea bag in there before serving it to customers. She wasn't sure why she was taking extra care making this tea this time, or at least she didn't want to admit it.
The water in the kettle boiled–she made sure that it was hot to make the tea taste better than usual. She never really thought much about tea making but she read somewhere that it had to be just the right temperature to get the most out of it. Once poured into a mug, she gently placed a teabag and watched the cup of steaming water turn into a clear amber-green.
Satisfied, she took the mug with her and moved towards the automaton girl. She caught a waft of the tea; it was definitely made better than usual and she hoped that the automaton girl would like it.
“Let me know if you need anything else! Those pancakes should be coming soon!”
“Thank you!”
The sincere smile of gratitude made the knots in Gigi’s chest worse. She needed to sit down. She was thankful that it was just another day where there were barely any customers. So she made her way behind the counter and took a seat, dizzy from the lack of oxygen and her tail, a victim of shared hypoxia, wrapped around her waist and trembled.
She stared out the window, waiting for the order. Occasionally, she pretended to yawn and stretched her arms; a lame excuse to steal another glance at the automaton customer and thankfully, the girl was focused on reading her book to notice.
She really was something though: the way her shoulder length hair cascaded down into gentle curls, the way her single braid swayed with every head tilt, the way she placed her finger on her lips in a pensive gesture….
“Order’s ready.” The clatter of a haphazardly tossed plate with a stack of blueberry pancakes startled Gigi out of her trance.
The gremlin waitress eyed the pancakes as she walked them to the booth. They… barely looked appetizing. The white, gooey splotches of batter definitely meant that some spots were undercooked. The blueberries were smashed in there, creating blue blobs in a matrix of beige batter. As she carefully laid out the plate in front of the automaton girl, she tried to give her best smile but instead managed to convey an expression best described as a hybrid between a grin and a grimace.
“Blueberry pancakes!” She exclaimed with feigned gusto. She hoped that her simulacrum of enthusiasm would lessen the blow of disappointment.
“Thanks! They… they look wonderful!”
She was definitely disappointed. Just the sight of her disappointed eyes was enough to light a fire inside Gigi and her impulsivity got the best of her.
“I, uh,” Gigi leaned closer and lowered her voice, hoping that the cook and her manager were out of earshot. “Listen, I’ll pay for these if they taste awful. You deserve better than crappy pancakes!”
The diamonds in the automaton’s pupils widened for a second but quickly closed as she giggled.
“Oh, no no! You don’t have to worry about it!” She managed to say in between quick giggles followed by sharp, high pitched inhales. “It’s fine!”
“No, I’m really serious!”
“Are you sure?”
“Dead serious.”
“But you look quite excited!” The automaton girl pointed at Gigi’s giant, black tail.
Gigi wasn't expecting her tail to be wagging. In fact, she wasn't expecting it to be doing anything at all. For years now, the oversized, blunt appendage looked deflated more than anything. It stayed limp during working hours, only occasionally tensing or fidgeting whenever the gremlin waitress encountered a belligerent customer.
“It-it’s nothing! Don't worry about it!” She pushed her tail down, while ignoring the increasingly warm sensation spreading from her ears. “Come meet me at the park after my shift. I know a better place with better pancakes. It’ll be my treat!”
Gigi wasn’t thinking when the words left her mouth. Maybe it was because she was distracted with calming her excited tail. Or maybe because the indignation of a cute girl paying for subpar pancakes was getting on her nerves. It was just one of many of her micro-grievances with her work, after all. She only realized that what she said could have been misconstrued as asking the girl for a date when the automaton girl’s eyes widened and her face turned the deepest shade of scarlet.
The girl smiled the kind of smile that Gigi had seen before; half embarrassment, half bemusement. The type of smile that usually precedes rejection more often than not.
“Alright, meet you at the park? 5 o’clock, I take it?”
And at that moment, Gigi realized the kind of situation she mouthed herself into and the knot in her chest unravelled.
-
Gigi didn’t appreciate her manager yelling at her for collapsing in front of a customer. It could’ve easily been a medical emergency and yet somehow it was her fault. She definitely did not appreciate having a small meeting in her manager’s office right after her shift, which explained why she was late to her meeting.
In truth however, Gigi hoped that the girl would just ghost her. She hoped that when she got to the park, the bench would be empty. She’d laugh, ridicule herself for even trying to go for a girl way out of her league. Maybe she would wait ten or fifteen minutes, shrug and go home. She wouldn’t mind jumping back into the vortex the following day.
And yet there she was.
Silver and green hair. The brass key glinting in full sunlight as it turned, a golden bow tied around it to accentuate it. She changed to a light green blouse with semi-translucent sleeves, and a pleated skirt that was perfectly ironed. She smiled brightly at the sight of Gigi and almost looked as surprised as her in fact, but then she giggled as she took a longer look at the gremlin.
“Hey, wh-what’s up?” Gigi greeted her weakly.
Gigi was still in her work slacks and buttoned up shirt. The latter had its lower half crumpled from being tucked in all day and there was a stain there from when she spilled a bit of coffee on it. Her tail also waved in greeting, just to punctuate the ensemble.
“Um, so…” Gigi started, with half-hopes that what she was seeing was just a hallucination brought out by aneurysms caused by the customers that day.
“So?” The automaton girl leapt to her feet and clapped her hands in anticipation. She was definitely real. “Pancake time?”
“Right! Pancake time!”
Cecilia was her name. The type of automaton with a penchant for tea and music and flowers; a lot of dainty things that Gigi expected a pretty girl like Cecilia would like. Although she didn’t mind an odd experience once in a while, she added. Gigi wasn’t sure if that last thing was about her, but she didn’t dwell on it.
Gigi introduced herself and quickly excused her appearance and tardiness.
“I didn’t know you were actually going to show up,” she added as they walked out of the park and to the restaurant.
“What do you mean by that?” Cecilia said after clearing out chuckles.
“I dunno, forget I said that.” Gigi lied but she doubted that Cecilia believed her.
-
Gigi was relieved that the pancakes were indeed better than what her workplace had to offer. For once, they were actually cooked all the way through. The blueberries were fresh and melded well with the buttery batter. They weren’t drowning in sticky syrup either.
“Told you they were good!” She sat back on her chair and nursed a full stomach.
“That they are!” Cecilia concurred. “I think the tea at your diner was better though.”
“What? The tea’s just from teabags that I made.”
“Oh, so it was you who made it!”
“Of course! I gotta put effort to please the customer, you know!”
“I believe you. You even went above and beyond to invite them to have a pancake dinner with you.”
An intense heat settled in Gigi’s cheeks as she tried to stammer a comeback. She only spat out useless noises as the words tripped over her tongue, which only heightened the embarrassment. Had Cecilia not been laughing so much, she could’ve easily dug a hole in the ground and buried herself right then and there.
“Why’d you pick that place for breakfast anyway?” Gigi tried to change the subject. “It’s a piece of crap that I’ve been wanting to get out of for years now.”
“No particular reasons. I just happened to find it when I was hungry.” Cecilia put her finger to lips. It’s that pensive gesture that she does but a slight smile at the corner of lips belied something else. “Oh, and don't be too hard on it. It has its charms.”
Gigi looked at her with an eyebrow raised, barely even hiding her incredulity.
“I guess ‘charming’ is one way to describe the wet cigarette smell.”
“The tea is good!”
“The tea that I made?”
Cecilia nodded. Perhaps she wanted to say more but instead stayed silent and smiled. That smile that stayed pristine and unwavering. And sincere. And genuine. It served to ease the knots in Gigi’s stomach.
“What about you?” Cecilia finally broke her silence. “Why haven’t you moved on from that place? It doesn't sound like you like your time there.”
She leaned closer with aquamarine eyes bright with curiosity before she realized that she may have overstepped boundaries and quickly reigned herself in.
“Sorry. You don’t have to answer that if it's too prying.”
“No, it's okay.” Gigi took her turn to laugh as she found amusement in a reversal of their situation. “I've been wanting to leave. For years now. I don't know why I haven't yet. Sorry if that's too vague.”
“No, no. I really should apologize for asking.”
Gigi didn’t know what to follow up after that and apparently, from the prolonged silence that followed, neither did Cecilia. The only sound shared between the two of them was the clatter of metal forks against plates as the pair finished what remained of the blueberry pancakes.
The silence, occasionally interrupted by inconsequential small talk, continued until after dinner was paid for and the two of them found themselves walking in the park once more. The summer sun, which had mercifully granted them a mild day, was starting to set. The residual light made melancholy streaks out of shadows that ran long through the grass.
“I should get back home soon.” Cecilia said quietly, almost in a whisper, or perhaps it was because the gentle evening breeze carried much of her words away.
“Right! Me too, actually. Gotta be up and early for work tomorrow.” Gigi agreed.
The two of them turned to face each other in what was to be a cordial farewell, but found themselves unable to say anything. Gigi was transfixed on Cecilia’s blouse, which billowed softly with the breeze. Locks of her hair caught rays of the orange sunset, making the silver and green flicker softly. She looked ephemeral. Fleeting. Gigi wouldn't be surprised if she disappeared forever the moment she would turn away and leave. And everything was a hallucination. Or a fever dream. And then she would wake up like nothing happened.
She waved weakly and Cecilia did the same. She saw miniscule movements on Cecilia’s lips, or maybe it was just the stark shadows caused by the setting sun. Gigi was afraid to ask. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know if Cecilia wanted to say more.
So, Gigi turned away, burying an ache in her chest and only hoped that the regret wouldn’t fester later on in her life….
“Oh my god! I’m sorry, Cecilia! I–I didn’t do that on purpose, I swear!” Gigi felt the heat rising from her chest and in her face and settled in her burning hot ears.
The reason being that as she turned around to leave, she felt a tug from behind her. It was her tail and it somehow took the opportunity to reach over and towards Cecilia where it wrapped itself around the automaton girl.
It was a hug, in a sense, or at least a strange imitation of one. No arms were involved. Just Gigi’s tail wrapped around Cecilia’s hips and above her shoulder, which had managed to move the two close enough that their faces were mere inches from each other. At that distance, Gigi could see a better view of Cecilia’s clear, porcelain skin. For a brief moment, she longed to know how it felt with her own fingers. Only for a moment, because Cecilia blinked and it was as if they both snapped out of their shared trance.
Gigi was ready to cut her tail off and offer it to Cecilia as a form of apology. She wouldn’t even hesitate if Cecilia demanded it right on the spot. Much to her surprise (and relief) however, Cecilia giggled.
“Oh, don’t worry! It’s very cute!” She let Gigi’s giant, black tail curl over her shoulder and petted it.
Gigi, in an effort to maintain what sense of balance she had (and fully collapsing into Cecilia), took a step away. It was still a lot closer than she would normally put herself next to a girl that she had just barely met but at least she gave themselves a bit more breathing room. Quietly, she cursed her tail but deep inside, she felt like it was a good excuse to prolong her conversation, even if for a minute.
“I swear sometimes it has a mind of its own!”
“Does it think a lot like its owner?”
“No! I mean, sometimes! I mean–!”
Cecilia giggled again as she petted Gigi’s tail one more time and even rubbed her cheek against it. “I suppose you can say that it’s very honest.”
“R-right!” Gigi shook her head to shake off the flustered feeling. It barely helped. “Anyway, if you feel like having more tea, come drop by at the diner again. You don’t have to order the crappy pancakes next time.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened before she quickly erupted in a high pitched laugh. “Of course! I would love to have your tea again!”
“You bet, Cecilia!”
“Cece! Erm… You can call me Cece.”
There was a change in her demeanor. Or maybe Gigi was just imagining it; the way she blinked a little bit faster and a hint of scarlet on her cheeks. Maybe it was the sunset, or maybe that blush had always been there and Gigi just noticed because of how close they were standing together. A momentary glimpse of shyness that she hadn’t shown Gigi at all for the entire day. Regardless, Gigi didn't want to dwell too hard on it and smiled her widest instead.
“Alright! I’ll see you again sometime, Cece!”
-
Cecilia didn’t go for breakfast at the diner the following day. She wasn’t there the day after either. At that point, Gigi thought to herself to temper her expectations. Maybe she was foolish in thinking that Cecilia would actually go back to this crappy diner, if only for Gigi’s tea. Maybe she was being polite about the tea in the first place. Maybe she was too optimistic that Cecilia would find her interesting, semi-sentient tail or not. In any case, she shouldn’t be thinking too hard about it because it would only distract her from her work.
A week passed by and the impromptu pancake dinner was just another memory for Gigi. Had her tail not stopped her from leaving prematurely, she may have regretted it that day, but at least now she could tell herself that she tried. She thought about this as she donned her apron and walked out among the tables and booths of the diner.
But there she was, framed by the yellowed posters haphazardly taped against semi-opaque windows, buried in her book as if intent on devouring it for breakfast. She sat in the same booth as before, where the tattered red vinyl seats had barely any cushion left in them. She was brilliant, an anomaly in the dregs of the restaurant, a calm ocean that settled the vortex in Gigi’s mind.Just the sight of her made Gigi subconsciously hurl herself towards her and even almost lost her balance had her tail not pulled her upright.
“Hi, Cece! Green tea, I presume?”
Cecilia lifted her head from her novel. Her smile was instant and bright and it was enough for Gigi’s insides to twist and her tail to wag uncontrollably.
“Your world renowned green tea please! And just that for now!”
“No pancakes today?”
“No pancakes. Maybe tonight if I’m in a good mood.”
Gigi’s cheeks hurt from grinning and she could feel her tail move so rapidly that she was starting to lose her balance again. She didn’t care that Cecilia giggled uncontrollably at the weird sight. She didn’t care that her manager across the diner was eyeing her with suspicion. She jotted down the order, excused herself and started to get the water in the kettle boiling.
The temperature was just right. The tea steeped in it for just the right amount of time. It wouldn’t be bitter at all. Summoning every bit of her self-control to not jump through the roof from excitement, she calmly picked up the mug and walked towards the booth where Cecilia was sitting.
To her surprise, there was another person sitting there in front of her. She didn’t recognize the man. He wasn’t a regular for sure. Possibly someone who just walked in or maybe someone that Cecilia knows?
She walked with caution, the tea still perfectly warm in its mug. On the way to the booth, she could hear what the man was talking about. It was mostly flirtations. Awkward attempts at small talk. Cecilia did not oblige him, or at least she did so in the most polite way possible. She nodded her head; her smile was timid, courteous. It wasn't anything like the bright and excited smile that she gave Gigi earlier.
“Here’s your tea!” Gigi carefully set the mug on the table.
Cecilia, looking extremely uncomfortable, nodded and mouthed a word of thanks towards her.
“Um, can I get you something?” Gigi turned towards the stranger. She tried to put on her most polite voice but she feared that a bit of trepidation leaked out.
“Nah I’m good. Just talking with her right now.”
“Sorry but we only serve customers here.” Gigi, not a stranger to belligerent customers, made her voice stern.
“Fine, get me some water then.” The man looked at her with annoyance.
Again, nothing new for Gigi. Interactions like these were a dime a dozen for her and they practically forged her patience to that of a saint’s. So Gigi nodded while she pretended to jot it in her notepad.
It wasn’t long when she came back with a glass of water. The man was still there. Still trying to pry into Cecilia, still trying to flirt with her. Gigi could tell from the slight furrow in Cecilia’s brow that she was getting annoyed. She was definitely not interested in this stranger who just happened to wander in and start getting in her business.
“Here’s your water.”
“Yeah, just leave it there. Now…” The man barely even acknowledged Gigi before he returned his attention to Cecilia, whose patience must be at its limit.
Gigi rolled her eyes as she set the water down and started formulating another plan to get rid of the nuisance customer. She barely turned around before she felt a familiar tug behind her. At first she thought that the man grabbed her tail, or maybe it launched itself at Cecilia. From the small amount of times that Gigi interacted with Cecilia, her tail did have the propensity to wrap itself around the automaton girl.
None of that happened, however. A surprised yelp came from the man and the sound of the water spilling on the floor must have meant that it was accidentally knocked over. In reality, as Gigi turned to look behind her, she was met with the sign of the man’s wet shirt and pants. Her large, black tail still grasped at the now empty glass, overturned over the man's furious head.
Gigi wasn’t sure how to react at first. She stared at the exasperated man, whose face was turning red with rage and was firing out expletives with abandon.
Cecilia, however, knew exactly how to react. She tried to be discreet at first, covering her mouth to hide her high giggles. It didn't last long when she gave up and let out her high pitched laughs.
And then, Gigi couldn’t help but laugh with her.
-
Gigi sat slumped on the park bench. Her head tilted to look at the sky above her as she watched birds overhead with the summer sky being uncharacteristically cloudy.
She was fired. The last straw in a long string of misbehavior, according to her manager. This last incident was the most brazen one yet. She let out a sigh. She didn’t care anymore. She just wanted out of that diner anyway. She wanted to break the cycle, but at what cost? Finally out of the vortex, she found herself adrift in an unending sea of uncertainty. She didn’t know how long she would be floating for, but she hoped she could find solid ground sooner than later.
“Gigi?”
The gremlin’s head popped up from her stupor. Cecilia stood in front of her, aquamarine eyes bright but filled with worry.
“I was looking for you!” Cecilia didn't hesitate to take a seat next to her. “I talked to your manager and explained everything. I think he understands and he’ll let you keep your job.”
“Thanks,” Gigi sighed heavily and craned her neck to look at the sky again. “I’m really thankful that you did that, but I’m quitting that place for real.”
Cecilia didn’t respond but Gigi sensed from the corner of her eye that she also started looking at the sky above, possibly to see if there was anything interesting that Gigi was looking at. There really wasn’t. It’s vast and blue, featureless; almost intimidating in its enormity, like the sea of doubt that they both found themselves floating in. It was probably another minute of silence before Cecilia said another word.
“I agree with you. You deserve better than that place.” Cecilia shifted in her seat before continuing. “Thanks, by the way. I'm glad you did something about that creep.”
“No problem. It was mostly my tail anyway.”
“Your tail again?” Cecilia appeared to sound incredulous. “I’m starting to think that you can control your tail more than you let on.”
“I swear, sometimes it just acts on its own!” Gigi was trying her best not to get too flustered.
“Alright, alright. I believe you.” The automaton finally relented.
Gigi didn’t respond, but tilted her head to look at Cecilia, who just happened to look at Gigi at the same time. As they exchanged smiles, there was an unmistakable sensation within Gigi. It was difficult to describe but an all too simple of a feeling. It was like… knowing. Knowing how Cecilia felt at the moment. Knowing what she was about to say. It was uncanny and strange but not unpleasant or frightening.
“So, Gigi…”
“So, Cece…”
The two of them spoke at the same time and then followed it with simultaneous giggles.
“Hey, Gigi. I heard you have some free time now. How about celebrating with some blueberry pancakes?”
“What? Who told you that?”
“Oh, no one. I’m just that good. Oh, and I guess your tail can come too!” Cecilia placed her arm over her shoulder, where Gigi’s tail excitedly wrapped itself and nuzzled her cheek against its velvet-like fur.
“Yeah, we’re kind of a bargain deal when you think about it.”
At that moment, Gigi didn’t mind being adrift into a blue unknown. She found Cecilia after all. Another person to be set adrift with. And even if she found herself in another vortex or if she felt lost at any point in her life, she had a feeling that Cecilia would be there to help her out of it again. And she would do the same for her.
And worst comes to worst, her tail would be there to keep them both company.