Pizza O’Clock: Sudden Filling Hire (Preview)

Well, can’t argue with that. Pizza does sound good right now. Roxy hurried down towards the pizza parlor, carefully crossing the street on the way over. The storefront windows were hazy, red curtains on the inside obscuring even more of the sights inside. Another neon sign laid in the window, flashing “Open” thankfully.

The young woman stepped in through the door and onto the oversized welcome mat inside. Ding-a-ding! “Heeey dere, skinny!”

A sight across the room made Roxy gasp, her cheeks brighten a rosy-red. Over by the diner top counter, right behind it, a large toon was there. It was a huge beaver, one who’s gut was almost on full display if not for a t-shirt that only covered everything above his belly button.

At the counter on the other side was another toon who didn’t even go that far. It was a fat, gray rat that proudly sat shirtless. The only thing he wore was a backwards baseball cap and some rather tight shorts.

The rat spoke up. “Heh, tolds ya! Youse just has ta be patient! Peeps wills be runnin’ in lookin’ for a fill-up in noes time! Gotta has sum faith heres!”

Roxy froze, her glasses sliding down her nose. Toons!

Indeed, before her were big, fat, hefty toons. She had never seen such beings in real life before, let alone this close. She knew them by their reputation and all of the silliness within it. Their goofy, larger-than-life natures; wild living and behaviors; and more made them unpredictable and kind of intimidating for most humans.

Roxy was no exception, their presence making her feel nervous. Her legs anxiously shook, unsure of whether to leave or stay.

“Welllllls, don’t just stand dere!” the beaver boomed with a jovial tune. “Park dat keister over heres besides mah fatass buddy!” His arm cartoonishly stretched over the side of the counter, patting the stool beside the rat.

The rat didn’t even look remotely phased by the “fatass” remark, patting the stool as well. “Yeah! Park it heres! Dese chairs are made fors all sizes ands fors comfort!”

Roxy gulped. This wasn’t what she was expecting when she sought out a pizzeria… or any other day. I should… I should leave, right?

Her eyes started to turn away from them, her body beginning to turn as well. However, a feeling rose seeing them. They looked so excited, so joyful and happy to see her. Leaving now, that would be rude and awkward, wouldn’t it? She couldn’t just go.

Plus, who knew how they would react if she just left as soon as they invited her over.

Taking a deep breath, she approached the two and took a seat beside the rat, facing the beaver head on.

Man, these guys smell! Roxy almost gagged being that close to them. The two of them had such powerful odors coming off their bodies. They both smelled like fresh pizza, which wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t feel so overwhelming. Then there was also a pungent smoke scent coming off the rat, not helping matters.

She tried her best to ignore it, even as her eyes felt like watering. She instead looked ahead at the nametag on the beaver. It read, “Roy Buckbutt.” Yep, that sounded about right for a goofy toon name.

“So!” Roy said, clearing his throat. “Youse want a menu, lil’ lady?”

“Oh! Ahhh! S-s-sure!” Roxy diverted her eyes back on the counter. How long was she staring at him? Sure, it was just his nametag, but staring wasn’t good. She was probably staring for so long!

She mentally tried to calm herself. No, only was a few seconds, dummy. Be chill. She was so wound up and off before she came in. Now, she was getting all nervous and anxious, plus a tad woozy from the toon fumes.

As the beaver went to fetch a menu, she brought up the newspaper she got and opened it. Maybe reading this will help. She quickly flipped through to the Help Wanted section, breathing slowly. It seemed to help, especially when she started reading what was listed.

Better. Just relax. It was hard to retain information as she read, but things were getting better. Just read. Just relax. She breathed in slowly and released just as slow. Her nerves and small ticks began to settle.

She breathed in again, through her nose now, and exhaled. Maybe it was just being too overloaded now or she was getting used to it, but the scents from the others around her seemed to be dying down. Dying down or smelling fine.

Smelling fine or smelling alright? It was hard to say, but it was better for her to not focus on it for long.