THE ALGORITHM

1.

Penny only nodded and left the kitchen. She found herself on the main floor of the restaurant. She was familiar with the layout, having been employed for nearly four years. When Penny reached table ten, she realized the customers were conversing. The man was chomping away at his rubbery steak while the woman sat there pointing at her food with a frown. She was obviously not happy about something.

The complainer.

"Hi." Penny pushed out, forcing herself to put on a gentle voice. However, her face did not match the softness she tried to convey. "Is everything okay?"

"No, everything is not okay. The chef is trying to kill me. Who are you?" The woman questioned her.

"I'm Penny. The chef." Penny announced herself while wearing her signature hardened exterior. "Just how am I trying to kill you?"

The woman wasn't expecting to hear that. Her eyes fluttered before she caught herself. "I'm Dr. Holbrook. I ordered the mixed vegetables with shrimp, and someone put mushrooms in my food."

"So..." Penny held a bored expression with a light shrug.

"So?" Dr. Holbrook reiterated with irritation. "Young lady, I am allergic to mushrooms."

"Okay..." Penny tried her best to hold her composure. "Did you make sure to tell the waitress no mushrooms?"

Dr. Holbrook didn't speak immediately. She used that time to glare at Penny. Judging from her sharp appearance, Penny assumed she was living well. She wore her silver hair in an elegant updo, and her neck and fingers were draped in diamonds. Penny couldn't forget how she threw her little doctor's title when greeting her.

"I didn't know it came with mushrooms."

"Well..." Penny trailed off as she clasped her hands. "If you had read the description thoroughly, doctor. You would see that...mushrooms are included in the mixed vegetables."

The older woman gaped and glanced at the older gentleman sitting beside her. She sighed hard while pushing her plate away. "I still want you to remake my meal. I can't eat this. It'll kill me."

The little handy shimmy almost activated Penny's fuse. Fortunately, she took a deep breath and grabbed the plate from the table. She glanced at the woman with a faux smile and said, "I can do that for you. It'll take about fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes?" Dr. Holbrook reiterated. "By that time, my husband will be finished with his meal."

"Fifteen minutes, ma'am," Penny repeated with sternness. "We're a little short-staffed tonight. Besides, it is getting pretty late."

Quickly, she hurried into the kitchen and finished her duties. Penny didn't take long to prepare a new plate of food for the doctor. She worked with her team to serve the customers efficiently. It was rare for them to receive complaints about their cooking. Most of the objections came from snooty customers who thought they were too good to eat their food a certain way.

It took her months to adjust to Bert's Grill and Lounge. Penny was used to bad attitudes, but didn't know how to keep her composure with customers until she was challenged at the restaurant. She had thick skin. All she needed was some self-control.

Penny spent most of her life in foster care. She entered the system at an early age. The young woman didn't know much about her biological parents and their reason for giving her up. She endured the hassle of being pushed from house to house. Her life wasn't as smooth as she wanted. Penny grew up with several foster parents who were either abusive, neglectful, or all the above. None of them were nice to her. She also had issues with kids. It was difficult growing up and attending school as a foster kid.