Good Vibes

by sunsetsjournal

Coinky-Dink World

Chapter 2:

Coinky-Dink World

“Thank you for visiting us!”. Pinkie Pie said to a customer, sitting at a table, with her usual smile on her face. “Did you enjoy your meal?”

“You bet I did!”. The customer, a fifty years old man with very pale skin, an elongated chin and a rather funny haircut, replied. “I hadn't eaten so well since my poor mom passed away. Oh, the food she used to prepare for me was so good that just the thought makes my mouth water again. Not that I am saying that my wife, Matilda, isn't a good cook, but still...”. The man sighed embarrassed, while his cheeks turned red as tomatoes.

“Don't worry, Mr. Cranky Doodle!”. Pinkie went on giggling. “Your secret is safe with me”.

“Thanks, Pinkie”. The customer said, clearing his throat. “But next time don't call me Doodle!”. With these very last words the man left the restaurant, marching to the jewelry store, where he had left his wife, Matilda.

“Another customer satisfied”. The young girl exclaimed at that point. “Good job me...again”.

“Are you sure about what you're saying, Pinkie?”. Said a purple haired woman, wearing a waitress dress identical to Pinkie's, appearing from the kitchen door. “He seemed pretty furious to me”.

“Ah, he's always like this”. The youngster giggled, still convinced that she had succeeded in cheering up her old grumpy teacher's mood.

“If you say so”. The other woman replied, knowing that starting an argument with the young girl would be no use. “I wonder if what he said is true, though”.

“Do you mean the thing he said about his wife?”. The older purple haired woman nodded.

“Absolutely, I've visited Matilda at her place dozens of times, before she and Mr. Cranky decided to marry and I guarantee that she cannot even boil an egg properly”.

At the sound of those words the waitress remained a little shocked: sure Mr. Cranky Doodle was a bit skinny, but overall he seemed very well fed.

“Luckily for him I happen to have a bit of free time every weekend, so I can bake a cake for him and his wife”.

“Wow, Pinkie!”. The older woman exclaimed, even more surprised than before. “You give them cake every weekend? That's pretty generous of you! Why would you do that?”.

“Because both Mr. Cranky and Matilda are my friends and I always make sure to make all of my friends smile!”. Pinkie's colleague found that response very pleasant: in her whole life she had never encountered somebody as selfless and cheerful as the young girl, Pinkie Pie.

“Wow!” The older woman said in the end, smiling herself. “No wonder why you have so many friends!”.

“Well, duh! It's because I...”.

While the youngster was still speaking, a noise came from behind her and the kitchen door opened. A man, wearing a chef jacket, appeared. The character in question was tall and had a glowing complexion; his hair was the color of fire. His chin was hidden by a badly shaved beard and a pair of long red mustache covered the base of his nose. His chest was wide and his arms appeared to be rather bulky. Overall he was a handsome fellow.

“What is going on around here?”. The chef said, fixing his cold blue eyes upon the chatting waitresses. “ So, why are you two wasting your time?!”. He went on shouting, making his Irish accent even more evident.

“Sorry, chef!”. The purple haired woman answered, embarrassed at the fact that she had been caught chatting, instead of working, for the first time in ten years. “I just asked a question to our new girl here. That's why we were talking. I apologize: it was my fault”.

“Listen...”. The man replied in his deep tone of voice. “I don't care whose fault it is. I just need you both to get back to work. Look: a new client! Now stop whatever you are doing and go see what she wants to eat, you'll have plenty of time to catch up later, once the restaurant has closed. Everything clear?!”.

“Yes, chef!”. The two waitresses answered, blushing.

“Good. One of you go to her!”.

“I'll take care of her”. Pinkie replied, happy to see the new client was one of her friends, and quickly headed to the table where the girl in question had sat.

---

The place where Pinkie Pie had been hired was one of the many small restaurants one could come across, while shopping, in the mall.

The owners were officially an Irish couple who had moved to Canterlot City from Manehattan just a few months ago. Yet no one at the restaurant had seen the chef's wife so far.

Pinkie had arrived at the place a few minutes later than she was supposed to due to her previous chat with Applejack, yet that had not given her any trouble, as the chef himself was not exactly known for his punctuality.

The restaurant was not too pompous. The interior design consisted of ten or twelve tables, a large counter right before the entrance to the kitchen and the walls were painted in a simple white color. In a few words any fashion designer like Rarity would have rather died than worked in a place like that; yet Pinkie Pie was not nearly as fashion forward as her friend Rarity, so she did not seem to mind.

As soon as she entered the restaurant she was warmly welcomed by a purple haired older lady and a blue haired girl who at first sight seemed just a little younger than Pinkie. Both of them were wearing the same waitress uniform she had been given the day she had taken the job.

“Hello and welcome to Coinky-Dink”. The first woman exclaimed, as she laid her eyes on the young girl. “You must be Pinkie Pie”.

“Yeah, that's me!”. The youngster answered in her usual excited tone of voice. “And you are?”.

“I am Viola and this here is Ruby”. The other one went on talking. “We work here, so I guess we're gonna be colleagues from now on!”.

“Super!”. The cheerful youngster shouted at the sound of those words. “Not only did I get I job, but I already have a pair of super friendly colleagues, too! This must be my lucky day!” .

“Thanks!”. The older woman replied, visibly embarrassed by the girl's unexpected reaction. “You are very kind. But enough chat. I see you're already wearing your uniform”.

“Yeah, I though it would be a good idea not to waste any time changing at work”.

“Smart intuition: the chef will certainly appreciate that. You see, he wants all of us to be as professional as possible”.

“Speaking of the chef, were is he?”. Pinkie questioned, surprised at the fact that she had not seen her new boss, yet.

“He'll be here in a few minutes. He also likes to take his time in the afternoon. Why don't you take a look around the restaurant, while we're waiting?”.

Hearing those words, the youngster turned around and immediately noticed that, apart from a few tables and chairs, there was very little to see in the place. The purple haired waitress looked embarrassed: she of all people had worked in the restaurant the longest and she of all people knew how much it needed renovating; yet the owner had categorically refused to spend money for a fresh brush of paint on the walls or new furniture.

“Maybe I could take our new girl to the kitchen?”. The one called Ruby intervened, seeing her colleague's cheeks had turned red.

“I am not so sure it's a good idea...”. Viola replied, worried.

“Ah, why not?!”. Pinkie asked, obviously looking forward to see the place where her new boss worked.

“Well, the chef doesn't exactly like other people touching his things, especially, while he's absent”.

“Oh, c'mon, Viola!”. Ruby went on complaining. “You don't wanna disappoint our newest girl, right?!”.

---

As much as she knew Ruby's idea was actually as bad as it sounded, in the end Viola gave up and allowed the other waitress to enter the kitchen with Pinkie Pie, while she would be keeping her eyes open outside and warn them, when the chef was coming.

“Gee...”. The young pink haired girl, exclaimed, staring at what was lying before her.

The kitchen was certainly the worst looking room in the whole restaurant. In fact, while at least the rest of the place was clean and tidy, the kitchen was a giant mess of dirty dishes, piled one under the other, and a bunch of utensils, abandoned on the wet sink.

“How could anyone work in a place like this?!”. Pinkie Pie, exclaimed, shouting so loudly that the whole mall probably heard her voice.

“Please don't be so loud”. Ruby intervened, attempting to justify the state of the kitchen. “There's no need to be so shocked, Pinkie. Since the chef isn't here, yet, we haven't started working, so it's practically normal that the kitchen is still a bit messy”.

“Little, you say?!”. Pinkie Pie kept shouting even more loudly than before. “You call this little?! This is a complete disaster; it'll take hours to clean up! When are we supposed to open?! The chef can't possibly think of cooking for our clients in a kitchen this dirty! What will he say, when he arrives?!”.

“Usually he says nothing”. Ruby answered calmly as if that situation were truly just part of her regular daily routine.

“What?!”. The young pink haired girl questioned now clearly agitated. “Are you being serious, Ruby?!”.

“See me smiling? I am dead serious. This is where our chef always cooks; plain and simple. He likes to call it organized chaos”. While listening to these words a brilliant idea flashed in Pinkie's mind.

“I think we'd better clean up this mess on our own, before the boss gets here”.The young girl suggested.

“Are you like...for real?!”. Ruby exclaimed stunned.

“Yeah”. Pinkie went on excited as ever. “I am sure he'll appreciate that, don't ya think?”.

“I wouldn't advise you to do that”. The other youngster replied, visibly worried.

“Ah, why not?!”.

“Because...How do I put this? As Viola explained before, the chef doesn't really like people snooping into his things; especially when it comes to his kitchen”.

“Oh, c'mon! I am sure he's not really that grumpy”.

“Just wait and you'll see for yourself, Pinkie!”. Ruby intervened, clearing her throat.

“Anyway, if we gotta do something about this dirty kitchen, we need to start as soon as possible. Tell me where the supply closet is”.

After Ruby had pointed out the room in question, the pink haired youngster rushed to pick up a broom and bunch of dish clothes and started cleaning up the kitchen.

Even the other waitress, Viola, did not seem to like Pinkie's idea, yet her disagreement was not enough to stop the Pinkie Hurricane.

---

By the time the owner of the restaurant arrived, his kitchen sparkled as if it were brand new.

“Hello, chef!” Viola said, greeting the man, entering from the main door.

“Hello yourself, Viola!”. The chef replied in his manly deep tone of voice. “Is everything ready to open?”.

“Sure, boss. Why wouldn't it be?”. Viola answered, doing her best to hide the trembling in her voice.

“You seem odd, today”. The owner went on, noticing the waitress was sweating. “Are you sure, you're okay? Do you need me to call a doctor or something?”.

“Absolutely not!”. The woman replied, suddenly raising her voice. “I am fine and ready for work, see?”.

“Viola...”. The man exclaimed, completely sure the woman was not telling him the truth. “...How many times do I have to repeat this? You are a terrible actor. Now would you please tell me what's going on in my restaurant without me knowing?”.

Right at that moment a loud noise was heard: it was similar to that of a heavy metallic object, falling on the ground.

“What was that?!”. The big man shouted, suddenly loosing his previous composure. “Who is doing what inside my kitchen?!”. Before the waitress could answer a voice was heard, saying.

“Gee, these pans are heavy!”.

“Damn it!”. The chef went on saying furiously. “Is that the new waitress I hired the other day? Tell me, Viola, is it her or not?!”. Viola did not have the courage to reply, or perhaps thought that if she had done so, she would have gotten Pinkie into even more trouble. Yet her silence did not help either.

“I see you stand silent”. The restaurant owner intervened, having understood that the waitress would not answer his question. “Well, if you don't want to talk to me, I'll just go and see for myself who dared touching my precious kitchen utensils!”. And with these very words the chef marched to the kitchen room to see what was going on inside; Viola following behind him.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, his jaw dropped from shock, seeing what was laying before him, while poor Viola almost passed out.

In a very short time Pinkie Pie had managed to clean up the whole mess she and Ruby had found in the place. The dishes had all been scrubbed clean and the sink sparkled in a silvery light. The dust on the floor had suddenly disappeared and every single one of the utensils had been put back to its place.

“What is the meaning of this?!”. The chef shouted agitated, while Viola had yet to come up to her senses. “I asked a question and I demand an answer now. Ruby?!”.

“Yes, boss?!”. The blue teenage girl shouted, swallowing.

“Why are you holding a broom? And why does everything in this place look so clean and tidy?!”.

“Well, chef, you see....”.

“We thought that the kitchen could use a little spring cleaning”.

“And who might you be, little girl?”. The owner asked in a threatening tone.

“I am Pinkie Pie and you, Sir, hired me the other day, remember?”.

“Yes, of course I do”. The big man replied, looking very disappointed and regretful. “It's very hard to forget someone like you, kid, and now that you made this mess in my kitchen, it'll be even harder!”.

“Don't be silly, boss!”. The young pink haired girl went on giggling, as if the chef were joking. “I did not make a mess in your kitchen: I made the mess go away!”.

“Well you shouldn't have done that.” The man went on, as his pale cheeks turned red as chili peppers.

“What do you mean?”. Pinkie Pie asked, visibly confused.

“Did seriously none of you explain to this here girl that I do not appreciate people, touching my stuff?”.

As the red haired man asked this question, Ruby immediately felt like revealing the truth to the chef, but was soon stopped by her older colleague that signaled her not to utter a word from behind their boss's back.

“Well?”.

“We did not...”. Viola replied in the end, looking mortified. “...The girl just wanted to do something nice for her first day of work and thought that cleaning up the kitchen would be a nice idea. She did not know anything about how we usually work here at Coinky-Dink”.

“Is that true, Ruby?”. The big red haired man questioned, now facing the other young waitress.

As much as Ruby wished to tell the truth, so she would not get in trouble; another stare from Viola was enough to make her change her mind. “Yeah, boss. We're sorry, we should have warned her as soon as she arrived about the restaurant rules”.

“For that reason we're asking you to forgive her. Please, chef, give her another chance. It's only her first day after all”.

A deep silence filled the atmosphere, nothing could be heard in the kitchen of the Coiky-Dink restaurant but the grinding of Pinkie Pie's teeth.

The girl had in fact understood what kind of mess she had gotten herself into. She had been right about one thing: her new boss was not so grumpy as Ruby had described him: he was even worse. Now, thanks to her brilliant idea, she was about to loose her part-time job on her first day.

“Normally I wouldn't have any problem with firing you, even if it's only your first day here”. The owner said, as he finally began to speak. “After all I've done that to so many other people already. But, as two of my best employees are for who knows what reason trying their best to defend you, I'll give you a second chance. But keep this in mind, kid, it's the first and only time I'm closing an eye on you, got it?!”.

Hearing that threatening voice, poor Pinkie nodded in response as quickly as she could.

“Good, now get out of my kitchen, all of you! You, Pinkie or whatever your name is, go deal with the clients who just entered, while you two take care of your usual tasks. We'll discuss about your punishments later, but I can tell you at once that you can forget about receiving your usual salary this month and I don't want any complaining”.

No complaining came from any of the waitresses, as they walked out of the kitchen.

---

That experience had left Pinkie Pie in a very bad mood. Despite all she did to try to hide it in front of the various customers she talked to, it was evident that her smile was not as natural and cheerful as usual, especially to the client who had walked into the restaurant just a moment before.

“Hi, Twilight!”. The young pink haired girl exclaimed, reaching the table where her friend was sitting.

“Hey, Pinkie!”. The youngster said, greeting the waitress. “How's your job going so far?”.

The moment she heard that question, Pinkie Pie made a face so frowning that Twilight remained shocked. “Let's just say it could be going better...”.

“And why is that?”. Twilight asked, clearly worried.

“Oh, you don't wanna hear it.”

“Yes I do”.

“Trust me, Twilight, it's be better if I just forget. Do you want to order something?”.

“Pinkie Pie!”. The purple haired girl went on, now looking more serious than ever. “I am not ordering anything, until you spill the beans”.

Seeing her friend's gaze upon her was enough to make poor Pinkie give up.

As she was telling what had happened to her during that day, the pink haired girl slowly got more ad more upset, until tears began to line her cheeks.

When her friend fully manifested her feelings, crying, Twilight pulled her into a tight hug. “There, there, it's okay, Pinkie”. The girl began to say. “I know how much effort you put into everything you do and I understand that what happened must have been really tough for you to swallow”.

“I was just trying my best to improve the condition of the restaurant and then what do I get?! The chef yelling at me!”. Pinkie went on crying.

“It's okay, let it come”.

After a few more minutes Pinkie Pie had calmed down, yet her face was still clearly soaked in tears.

“Feeling better now?”. Twilight asked, smiling.

“A bit...”. Her friend answered, trying to regain her composure. “...But still...”.

“Hey!”. The other girl suddenly exclaimed, interrupting her. “Remember: we're doing this for our trip to the beach”.

“I do remember”. Pinkie replied, looking at her.

“Don't think about that disgusting kitchen. If the chef wants to work in a mess, it's his business. Think instead of the seagulls, the heat of the sun on your skin and the salty smell of the sea”.

Luckily thinking about the things her friend had mentioned was enough to make Pinkie smile again.

“You're right, Twilight”. She said a few seconds after, while drying her cheeks with a tissue her friend had given to her. “I shouldn't worry too much, but focus on the main reason that made us take these jobs in the first place. Thanks for your help, I really needed it”.

“You're welcome!”. Twilight replied happily. “But you needn't thank me. After all: what are friends for, if not helping each other out?”.

After saying these things, Twilight hugged her friend once more, before standing up from the table and turning back toward the exit door.

“Wait, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, seeing her go away. “What about you order? Didn't you want to eat something?”.

Twilight shook her head in response. “Truth to be told”. She then said. “I just came here to say hi, so now I need to get back to my tech store. Plus, after all I heard, I don't think I'll ever eat anything here. See you later, Pinkie!”.

Hearing her friend's response, the pink haired girl remained glass-eyed: a client had gone away because of what she had said. But as much unprofessional as this may sound, she was pleased with it.

After all, who would ever recommend that a friend should eat in a place like that?

Comments

[Fetch]

Error I keep seeing by many authors on this site: costumer instead of customer.

[Crystal Aura]

As I have said before, you really need an editor. Try to find one in the group : Looking For Editors. I'll be glad to fix your story but I'll take a long time as I'm on vacation & viewing FIMFiction on my mobile (I like editing through computer...just feeling comfortable like that ). Good luck! xxxx

[Godiswithus3]

“It’s okay, let it come”

I think you meant “let it out”, because it really sounds wrong if you leave it?

And poor Pinkie.