Transparency

Chapter Three

Mesonii forgot she hadn't been in this restaurant because of all the turfing.

The lights were dimmed and the walls were a burgundy brick, giving the place the ambient atmosphere she ceased to recall. Booths lined both walls and a plethora of tables took up the middle. At the far end was the kitchen- large enough not to be cramped like a sweatshop but small enough not to be too intimidating.

What she did remember about it was that people would frequent and make Flanker's packed; no one was in sight until a male Inkling popped out of a closet with a stack of pots. Aunt Pesto made a run for him.

"Guppi! Don't worry, I'll get that for you."  She took half of the pots, helping him out them down on the counter. "What's the occasion today?"

Guppi, a squid of average stature, an unshaven dark blue goatee, and an accent not unlike a fluent jellyfish, sighed. "Again, it's Mr. Fin. It's cocoa that he wants. These pots, all of them, he needs heated up."

"At least he's thinking of the patrons. Mesonii, did your mom or dad ever teach you how to boil water to make cocoa?"

Mesonii's heart leaped at Aunt Pesto's words. She hadn't seen her parents in a while, after unfortunate circumstances decided to lead them to a divorce. Pesto took her under her wing, as her niece was the only child of the family.

"You put it in the pan and turn the dial, yeah? That's all I know."

"Right! And once the water is hot enough we mix in the cocoa and spices." Aunt Pesto pushed Mesonii back as Guppi demonstrated it to the two.

"Today, how many people are coming in? This hot cocoa is not something I want to spend all day working on."

"Certainly, it's got to be a lot. Care to help me teach Mesonii how to be a good hostess?"

---

It was eleven, and the restaurant finally opened its doors for the cold Inklings and jellyfish waiting outside. As expected by Guppi, there was a huge audience that turned up to watch the chefs cook; to receive the fruits of their labour. Mesonii, much to her luck, wasn't the only hostess there- some had already taken the helm of sending people to their table.

She eyed the people in the restaurant. Who was finished? Who had just arrived? She looked to her right, to the booth farthest from the kitchen and started walking.

"Peppie, don't be upset about it. Sheldon's shop will be open tomorrow, and you can sign up then."

"It's just... I was SO ready to join the pro-turfers! I polished my Splattershot, I figured out how to swim really fast in the ink, I looked up tips and stuff, and this happens right on the day we were gonna go! It sucks, Delpha, it SUCKS!"

The younger inkling, Peppie, grimaced and threw his head onto the table. The girl across from him, Delpha, tried to comfort him but ultimately did not promise.

"So, um, are you two doing ok?" Mesonii asked as she came up to them. "Do you need water, or the check, or anything?"

"Might need some tissues." Delpha tapped her fingers on Peppie's head. Both of them had green hair and the same red-tinted eyes- siblings. The boy was the pudgier out of the two and had dark green freckles. On the other hand, his sister had near perfectly stylized her hair and did her makeup with finesse, a definite step-up from Mesonii's looks.

Delpha took a glance at Mesonii, already off to get the tissues. "Hold up. Do I know you?"

Mesonii stopped and turned back around to the booth. "Do you turf?"

"Do I? It's the thing in our family. Peps was about to join the bigs, but because of the snow Ammo Knights was closed."

"Eh. Sorry he's acting like that. Hope he'll feel better soon." Mesonii inhaled sharply.

Peppie made some sort of growl from his throat.

Delpha kept looking at the other girl's features- her ears, the way her hair was tied up, the glasses she wore. "Yeah, it must be your face. I know I've seen you before, though."

Mesonii was relieved it wasn't an old enemy. "D'you still need your tissues?"

Peppie looked up, blushed, and let out a loud sigh. He began to drink the cocoa that had remained untouched before.

"No, we're ok now," his sister said. Mesonii left the two alone and went back to what Aunt Pesto reminded her what to do. As she greeted new guests and helped serve heaping plates of catfish burgers, she swore she could hear those two, mostly Delpha, but still those two talking about her, how the recognized her, how they felt she changed.