//------------------------------//
// Day On The Job 
// Story: My Stepfather Discord 
// by Raikage77 
//------------------------------//


Day On The Job



Date: July/26th/2013


"Okay, so you want ketchup, mayonnaise, cheese and fried onions on it?"

"Yes ...oh, and can you add pickles too?"

I smiled at the little girl sitting in the booth in front of me. "Sure thing." I said, writing down the last bit of the order in my notepad. "And pickles," I looked over the order to make sure that I'd gotten everything down, them turned to the man sitting across from her who I assumed was her father. "Will that be all, sir."

"Yep, that'll be it." The man said, smiling. "And thanks for being so patent with my daughter, she can be picky sometimes."

"Dad, I'm not picky." The little girl, whined.

I smiled. John used to act somewhat like that at that age, too. "It's no problem, sir. You're food should be here in a few minutes."

And with that I turned and walked through the dinning area towards the main counter to place the orders. Working at this diner was something I never thought I'd see myself doing before Discord brought me here, and though I was a bit tried, I was really enjoying it. The music here was great and even the uniform was classy, it consisted of a pair of black dress pants, a white button up shirt, black tie and a black vest; it reminded me sort of what a butler would wear, but hey, I wasn't complaining. The waitress uniform was about the same, except the bottoms were a black skirt.

I tore the paper with the order on it out of the notepad and attached it to the rotational rack and rang the small bell, signaling that an order had just been put in. A moment later, one of the kitchen workers came out, took the order, and headed back into the kitchen through the double swing doors. Leaving me there to wait, listening to the smooth old time music that played out of the speakers.

I leaned back against the counter and hummed along with the song, I heard it a hundred times before thanks to my late grandmother, it had a very nostalgic feel to it. I could get used to this type of work, it wasn't too hard and I had a great memory when it came to taking notes. It was one of the things that got me through high school, after all.

"Well, you're looking as calm as ever today." A voice said behind me. I knew exactly who it was the second I heard it.

I turned around and faced the speaker. He was a shorter guy, wearing the same uniform as me, the only difference was that while I was a waiter, he was the restaurant dishwasher. His name was Michael but everyone who knew him called him, Mike. Mike's been working here for way longer then I have, he was also the one that helped show me the ropes; what gos where, how to deal with rude customers, that sort of thing.

"Were you expecting me to be moping around on a day like this?" I said, smiling at him. "The music's great, the works easy and-."

"The costumers aren't assholes." He interjected.

I gave a nod. "Exactly." I glanced up at the clock, and saw that it was close to five, then turned my attention back to Mike. "So ...got any plans for after work? A girl, maybe?"

"Nope, not today. I'm planning on just hitting the casinos, maybe seeing a show," Mike answered, before adding. "Oh, and you're stepdad's having a show tonight, now that I think about it."

"Really?"

"Yep, right at that old uptown show place by Harvey street." He said, leaning his elbows on the counter. "So, you gonna go or what, I've got two tickets."

"Uh ...I don't know, what time does it start?" I asked.

"At eight; we get off work in like an hour or so, that gives us time to change and what not," Mike Replied, taking one of the tickets out of his pocket. "So you in or what?"

I thought on it. I really had no reason to say no, and considering this was Discord's show, I was curious. "Sure, why not, I have nothing else planned," I said, taking the ticket as he passed it to me, putting it in my back pocket.

A voice spoke from behind Michael. "Mike, these dishes ain't gonna wash themselves! Get back in here," one of the kitchen workers yelled, as she poked her head through the kitchen doors.

Mike smiled, and started towards the swing doors, giving me and wave. "I'll see you there, don't be late."

I nodded. "Yeah, see you after work."


XxxxX


The rest of my hours at the diner went on as usual; I wasn't gonna lie, I was pretty excited about the show. I've never been to a magic show before, hell, before Discord showed up I was convinced that real magic didn't exist, and boy did the chaos spirit prove me wrong.

Like most, I was a skeptic. I never believed in things like aliens or ghosts, even fortune tellers had me raising an eyebrow at the stupidity of it all. 

And Then, Discord showed up, and my whole view on life was thrown completely upside down, sometimes literally. The first time he went on telling me things about magic and whatnot, I completely brushed it off, that was until I woke one day, as a bunny rabbit ...that's right, the guy turned me into a freakin' animal, and to make matters worse I couldn't even talk. And mom, she had the nerve to laugh and call me cute and fluffy.

Don't even get me started on John; I swear I've never tasted anything as bad as rabbit food in my life, I still don't know how animals survive off the stuff.

That was the first day that Discord used magic on me, it wasn't the last, but that's a retelling for another time.

As of right now, I was standing outside of the theater waiting for Mike. I took my phone out of my pocket and clicked it on, seeing that it was seven-forty; about a half hour ago there was a huge line for the show that went half way down the street, filled with mostly couples and families. Now the only ones going up to the ticket booth were the last few who just arrived, me being the polite friend that I was, I decided to wait for Mike outside, he was the one who gave me a ticket to the show after all, it was only fair.

It was about ten minutes later when he had finally showed up, wearing a black hoodie, army green cargo shorts and black sneakers. We greeted each other, went up to the ticket booth to give the guy our tickets, then went inside the newly refurbished show theater.

The inside was quite a sight to behind, the walls were freshly painted and it smelled of flowers, and there was a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I followed after Mike, taking the red carpet covered staircase up to the second floor, we walked along the black railing until we came to a red oak double door, Mike pushed them inward and we proceeded inside.

The theater was packed tight; we were on the second floor row, watching over the first floor row of people. We squeezed through some of the people in the front row, and took our seats, waiting for the show to began.

"So, how did you get these seats, anyway," I asked, turning to him.

Mike grinned. "You know me, I have my connections. Someone owed me big time, and the person who owes me just so happens to work here," he answered. "Besides, I've never gone to a magic show when I was younger. Thought I'd give it a shot."

"You're not the only one, it's a first time for the both of us," I said.

"You live with the guy, right?" I nodded. "Does he do magic around the house, you know, normally?"

I nodded again. "Yep, all the time. I've just never been to his shows." Though a part of me did suspected that the magic he did on stage was tuned down from his usual chaotic-ness, if that's even a word.

"Dude, that's awesome. You should ask him to teach you."

"Trust me, I'm not even sure I know how his simplest tricks work," I sighed, relaxing back in my seat as the lights in the theater dimmed. "Besides, a magician never reveals his secrets, even you should know that."

"You're right about that." Mike leaned forward on the black railing in front of us, looking like a little kid at a circus. "Oh, look, it's starting!" He said loudly, getting a shushed by someone in the row behind us. "Sorry."

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for, put your hands together for Discord!"

The lights all pointed to the center of the stage as the curtains raised, but, no one standing there. People started muttering and such to each other, wondering where the man of the hour was and why he wasn't there, then after a few moments past, someone's voice started to echo around the room, singing.

Different shapes moved on the walls, animal shadows danced on the ceiling, and the entire room changed from it's normal look to outer space. Stars twinkled, and comets shot past over head. The room then turned back to normal, but some of the stars remained, they slowly gathered together towards the center stage, grabbing the attention of the audience.

There was a bright flash on stage, and Discord appeared, wearing a suit and cape with a top hat and draconequus head cane. The audience clapped, myself included, and the chaos spirit gave a bow.

"Now, now. No need to waste applause on the intro," Discord said, standing up from his bow. "The show has just begun. For those of you who don't know, I am Discord, magic extraordinaire and master of chaos." He tossed his cane behind him and it exploded in a mini mushroom cloud. "Prepare to be amazed, for what you will see tonight, will be beyond explanation. That being said," he continued with a grin. "Who in the crowd likes cotton candy, maybe the kids, huh?"

I wasn't surprise when more then half the kids in the audience shouted out: "me~!" and "I do~!"

Discord snapped his fingers, and small cotton candy clouds appeared in front of all the kids who answered. "Do I get a thank you for the treats!"

"Thank you, mister Discord~!"

"Good, now let's start the show!" The stage behind him flared up in sparklers as he took off his hat and threw it into the air. I sat back and watched the show with excitement, I was really impressed with what Discord pulled off without giving away who or what he really was; pulling a tiger out his hat rather then a rabbit, clowns, acrobatic ninjas, and even a talking monkey that got pissed off enough to throw a pie in his face.

The show went on into the night and ended at around ten-thirty, and I wasn't going to lie, I had a hell of a time. For the first time ever I could honestly say, that my stepfather was great at what he did, even if he was annoying as hell.