Cool With A "K" PART 10 - CHAPTER 7

Mouse sat at the cash register. It was say four at her job and she was already beginning to loathe it. "Alice! I don't like this, it's your turn." She said loudly. Alice didn't come, that was odd. "Alice! Come take my shift! I'm bored!" Still no answer. "Alice!" Mouse said again. Then something caught her eye, "Alice! What are you doing?" She got up and walked over to Alice, who had on plastic gloves and was violently trying to scrape weeks of gum off the bottom of a table. "Did the boss ask you to do that?" Mouse asked her. Alice looked up, shaking her head. "No, but just- look at this, Mouse! This is disgusting! How can people do that? Just stick there gum under the table. That's horribly disgusting! Terribly!" 
Mouse took the piece of gum she was chewing out of her mouth and stuck it under a table. "Mouse!" Alice squeaked, "Don't do that!"
"Are you saying that you have never stuck a piece of gum under a table?" Mouse raised an eyebrow at Alice. Alice stared at her for a minute and went back to cleaning the bottom of the table. She sighed, "I don't even know what to say to that."
Mouse said, "I do. 'Alice, I don't like working here. Your turn to man the cash register.'"
Alice sighed, pealing herself away from her task and then going right back to it. "No, Mouse. I need to finish this."
"You don't need to, you think you need to. It's all in your head." Mouse said.
Alice stood up, "Now look here, Mouse. You are not here to boss me around, you are here to work. I will not settle for being bossed around by you."
Mouse grinned, seeing the perfect opportunity to say one thing that would set her off. "Oh, Alice, you're so sexy when you're angry."
Alice stared into Mouse's eyes, not letting herself lash out at her. "Mouse," She said through clenched teeth, "Get back to work."
Mouse leaned over, putting her face close to Alice's, causing Alice to step back. "I'm not afraid of you, Princess." Mouse chuckled and picked up Alice's water bottle, unscrewing the lid. Alice froze. "Mouse.... What are you doing?" 
Mouse smiled slyly and opened the bottle. She spit into it. Alice stood, in shock, she couldn't believe what Mouse had just done. Mouse closed the water bottle and handed it back to Alice. Alice stared at her, "Mouse!" She hissed, "You just...." Alice didn't know what to do. Why had Mouse done that? She couldn't just let her get away with it! Alice knew that violence wasn't the answer, storming away wasn't the answer. Should she cry? No! That would just give Mouse more power. What to do...?
Alice threw the water bottle down onto the floor. "You... just... spit.. into... my water bottle...." She said, refusing to let herself get angry. Alice, anger is a very dangerous emotion, don't let it take you over. She thought.
Mouse stood, smiling. Alice took a deep breath, "Mouse, I'll give you a warning. Get back to work... now."
"Or else what?" Mouse said cooly. Alice didn't know what to say to this. What would she do? What could she do? "I'll get back to you on that." Alice said. Mouse smile faded slowly and she looked Alice up and down. "Like I said, I ain't afraid of you. Good luck with that." As she walked by, Mouse stuck another piece of gum under the nearest table.
Alice sighed, going back to cleaning the table. How would she get back at Mouse? Maybe she didn't need to... No! If she didn't do anything, Mouse would never stop.


Later that day, Madison (the rude french fry deep frier), went up to Alice, "Hey, kid. Come 'ere a sec." Alice looked around before pointing to herself. Madison rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you." Alice walked up to her, "Yes, Madison."
"Hey, I can't work late tonight. Do you think you could take my night shift?" Madison said.
Alice thought about this. She really didn't want to and she didn't think that Madison really couldn't work that night, but Alice didn't want to be rude. Then, an idea struck her. Alice smiled, "Well, I don't think I can tonight, but I can ask Mouse." Madison looked her up and down, smacking her gum loudly. "Sure kid."
Alice went up to Mouse, "Hey, Mousey! How are you today Honey?" Mouse looked at her suspiciously. "Fine."
"That's nice." Alice smiled a smile that struck Mouse as the tiniest bit disturbing. It wasn't a normal Alice smile. Mouse nodded and Alice walked back over to Madison. "Mouse would be happy to take your night shift tonight, Madison."
Madison smiled a fake-looking smile and reached over to playfully pinch Alice's cheek. Alice didn't like the idea of anyone touching her face, but didn't want to be rude. "Oh, uh." Alice tried to smile politely. Madison waved with her fingers, her long red false nails glimmering. "Thanks , Hun." Madison took her gum out of her mouth and stuck it underneath a table on her way out. Alice turned and smiled at Mouse, proud that she had been so clever. Mouse stood a few feet away, her mouth hanging open. She stormed up to Alice. "Alice! What did you just do? I didn't volunteer to do that!"
Alice fluttered her eyelashes innocently, "Why? Are you busy tonight?"
"No, but you know that I hate working here!" Mouse growled.
Alice held her hand to her lips, "Oops." 
As she walked away, Alice said, "Hey, Mouse."
Mouse turned around and Alice held up her water bottle that mouse had spit into, waving it in front of her face. "I'll get back to you on that." Alice giggled and left Mouse standing in the middle of Burger Wonderland, her mouth hanging open.
Mouse didn't get off work until 9:00. Stupid Alice! She thought, It was just a joke! 


Mouse called me at about 9:20. "Hey, Mousey." I said. 
"We need to talk." She said shortly. I sat up, "What, now?"
"Yes, now." 
I sighed, "Mouse, can't this wait until tomorrow?"
"No, I have to work."
"Don't you have Fridays off?" I asked. The other line went silent. "Mouse? You there?"
"Yes. Alice was such a little scum bag today!" Mouse said, she sounded mad. I couldn't help laughing, "Alice? Don't you mean Leo or someth-"
"No! This was Alice!" She said, sounding shocked that I didn't believe her. "Oh, okay." I said casually. "What did she do?" 
Mouse sounded like she had been waiting for me to ask (which she probably had), "So, I didn't want to do my shift so I asked her to come take over and she wouldn't 'cuz she was cleaning gum off the tables! How stupid is that? So, I told her that she didn't need to do that and she just started yelling at me! I told her she looked pretty and she was like 'GET BACK TO WORK RAWR!!!' and I was like 'woah, chill.' and she wouldn't listen! So, I picked up her water bottle and she started yelling at me!-" 
"Well, Mouse." I interrupted, "You know how touchy she is about other people touching anything of hers."
"I'm not finished," Mouse said sharply.
"Sorry, sorry."
She continued her story, "And she was yelling at me and I nicely asked her to stop yelling and she said that if I didn't get back to work she would get me fired! So later she said I would take Madison's shift!"
I chuckled, "Interesting story, Mouse. Why do I find that hard to believe?"
"That was what happened! Honest!" Mouse cried.
"Oh, so you're being honest now? Well, personally, I found Alice's side of the story a bit more believable." I said calmly.
"Found? What?" Mouse said.
I said, "Alice called earlier, telling me that you spit into her water bottle. Now, that's just mean, Mouse."
"What?" Mouse practically yelled, "I did not!"
"And why should I believe you?" Silence.
"Uh huh." I said, "I'll talk to you later, Mouse."
"Wait! No, Angie!" Mouse screamed into the phone, "You trader! You're siding with her because you like her better!"
I sighed, "No, Mouse. I'm siding with her because her story makes more sense. Maybe if I can trust you more then your side of the story will be more believable."
"Wait- Angie!"


I hung up on her, "Mouse, when will you learn?"