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S1:E1
World
. . .
After an exhausting first day of school, AJ found himself walking through the doors of the Nighthawk Diner on 17th street- music blasting in his ears and an opened backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Hey kiddo!" one of the waitresses, Katy, greeted once she saw the younger boy walk in.
Katy Hart was secretly one of AJ's favorite people to work with, despite being old enough to be his mother. The blonde was always cheerful and trying to put a smile on people's faces, despite how tired she may be. Though honestly, AJ's favorite thing about Katy is probably the way she talks about her daughter. You can just hear in her voice how much she loves Maya, and she has so much hope for her future. It almost made AJ wish his mom did the same.
"Hey." AJ waved with his free hand, heading towards the back of the restaurant.
"Better watch out- Earl's in a bad mood today." the blonde warned, putting cash into the register.
AJ laughed and pushed open the kitchen door, "Isn't he always?"
Earl, the cook, was quite possibly the grumpiest man AJ had ever met. He was like the incarnation of that one Muppet that lives in a garbage can. Earl was constantly grumbling under his breath or full out complaining about something- typically work or something his wife had done. AJ wouldn't quite say he was mean, just... stern.
The brown-haired boy could hear Katy's giggle, even as he ventured further into the back of the kitchen and entered the little makeshift locker room to change into his uniform before he started to work. So, for the next four hours, now clad in an ugly aqua blue 50's themed outfit, that's what AJ did; he cleaned tables, washed dishes, and even served food when need-be.
When 7:30 rolled around, Katy poked her head into the kitchen, "Alright kiddo, your shift's over. Better get home 'fore your momma sends out a search party."
AJ chuckled, mostly for her benefit. The blue-eyed boy hadn't even seen his mom in almost a year, at least not since his youngest sister was born. But Katy didn't need to know that. So instead of correcting her, which would only cause them both pain- AJ changed out of his uniform. He grabbed his backpack, said a quick goodbye to some of his coworkers, and headed out the door.
. . .
"I'm home!" AJ called out as he kicked the front door shut with his foot, a large brown paper bag in his arms.
AJ barely glanced at the living room full of kids, who were seemingly in the middle of watching the Goonies, as he made his way towards the kitchen. "I got Chinese, come and get it."
"I'll get the plates." Vi announced, getting up from her spot on the floor and ruffling one of the younger kids' hair.
Viola 'Vi' is the second oldest of the siblings, at the age of ten. She's always been AJ's right-hand-man as well as his best friend. Due to them being close in age, they kind of went through the same things growing up - stuff the littles wouldn't remember. It just bonded them together. AJ also respected his sister more than anyone. She's more mature than most kids her age and has always been a huge help in raising their younger siblings. She's also a complete bookworm, perfectly content to nestle in a pile of blankets and read all day. The older boy almost envied his sister's love of reading - he always found it too hard or time-consuming.
