Hell's Kitchen: The Truth Behind the Papa Louie Universe

Chapter Three

Akari sighed as she pulled off the blue ribbon from the counter. Jojo had been pretty much the same as the other Closers, but he was a pretentious bitch, and upon presenting Akari with the ribbon, he'd instructed her to take it down after three days, to ensure she 'didn't abuse his blessing'. He'd be back the next week, probably order another disgusting drink, and give her another ribbon, but he'd be damned if he let a coffee shop he'd highly reviewed do something foolish. Did he think that every single person in town had an abysmal sense of object permanence? Just because the ribbon was gone didn't mean the customers wouldn't remember- Where the hell do I put this?

She settled on above the counter. Maybe she'd get a nice line of them. Help her count the weeks. She trudged upstairs, flung herself onto the couch, and began flipping through channels on the small TV. She flinched at the sight of Duke Gotcha and the sound of his voice as he spoke about the upcoming holiday, and eventually she settled on reruns of an old cartoon show.

She tried to settle into the show, but she felt like she could hear footsteps. Just your imagination, she told herself, you're just tired and imagining it. Except no, someone was definitely climbing the stairs, she could hear the echo of the hallway. They got closer, and she heard a rattle of keys, and suddenly, there was a man standing in the doorframe.

She was stunned- should she run? Yell? But the guy was dragging a suitcase and looked just as surprised and confused as she was. He looked down at the keys he was holding, glanced around the room, and back to Akari, tilting his head as if to ask What's going on?

"Excuse me?" Akari got up from the couch, muting the TV.

"Uh."

"Yeah, 'uh'. Who are you?"

"My name is Allan-"

Allan. The name was familiar, she must have heard it recently... maybe he'd come into the shop? But she didn't recognize him-

"I'm the new driver? Papa Louie... I work here now- said I can live- you're Akari, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." The new driver. Papa Louie had definitely mentioned him in his last email.

"But I thought- I thought I'd have my own place? He never said anything about a roommate."

"Not to me either, pal. It's not every day a random man busts into your apartment unexpectedly."

"Yeah, sorry about that.

"It's... fine," Akari sighed, "You're really my new coworker and you aren't trying to kill me, yes?"

"Really truly." Allan showed her his key, same as hers, emblazoned with Papa Louie's face. He offered to show her his apron too, but she waved him off. "Sorry we couldn't have met, you know, better."

"Yeah, well welcome to the Mocharia nightmare. I'll make some... tea?"

Allan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this a coffee place?"

"Not after five PM it's not. I am not making another goddamn coffee until tomorrow morning."

"Okay... that was a joke... are you doing alright?"

"Sorry. I'm just pooped, man. I can make coffee if you want?"

"No... it's good. I'm... going to go and put my stuff away now."

"That's probably for the best."

"Talk to you later?"

"Sure."

As Akari boiled water and got over the shock of Allan's arrival, she couldn't help but wonder why Papa Louie hadn't really warned her about her new roommate. Sure, she'd wondered why it was a two-bedroom apartment, it seemed unnecessary, especially since ingredient storage was tight. But ideal location was ideal location, and he probably didn't have control over that. Still, he could have told her about it.