“I, um… please hire me!”

“...What?” Boss was the first to break the stunned silence both of us were under. It took a minute for me to process what they just said, but once I did…

“What!?” …seriously, though, the hell are they going on about!?

“I know that sounds weird coming from a total stranger, but I really need the help! Please, please consider it!” They seem to be really desperate… I feel kind of bad for them.

“Okay, uh, kid. You clearly don’t know how things work around here. First of all, we’re closed right now. Se--”

“That’s why I knocked! I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t bother you when customers are around.”

“*ahem* Second of all, we’re not even hiring right now--”

“I thought I’d take my chance before anyone does. And, I dunno. I’m sure you could use another barista while you man the register, right? Well, if this girl is all you have, anyway.” Boss seems to be getting increasingly frustrated… any more and that red hair of hers might flare up. Though…

“Actually, Boss, they have a point. Even if it’s not always crowded here, it can get hectic mixing drinks and serving everyone on our own… especially when you’re not around.”

“Not now, Emmy.” Real smooth, Boss… I can see their mocking smirk from here. “And third of all, we don’t hire children! Now scra--”

“Um, actually, I just turned eighteen. See?” They pulled out their ID. I couldn’t figure out their first name (their thumb was in the way), but it was there, plain as day: their 18^th birthday is today.

“...urgh, all right. I’m all out of arguments. Come sit here and let’s see if there’s anything we can do. Emmeryn, you can come too. Make sure I don’t punch the pretentious squirt.”

“Aye aye, captain… hehe.” I can’t help but chuckle to myself at that, turning to our could-be new hire as I did, trying to be friendly…

“Alright, let’s go then. You coming, girl?” …but their overly-familiar tone and utter lack of eye contact (or really, consideration in general) only served to make me feel dumb.

“Hey, I have a name, you know…”

“Well, I don’t know it.” They snapped back, unrelenting.

“Ah, um…” I wanted to note that Boss just referred to me by name, but my words escaped me.

“Well?”

“Uuuh, Emmeryn Selene Voldoiseau, sir! B-But you can just call me Emmy!”

“Heh.” That damned smirk again… “Got it. The name’s Lillian. Nice to meet you, Songbird.”

“Wh-- uh…” My face must be redder, hotter, and brighter than a fire right now. “You… know French? Not a lot of people get my family name at all…”

“Just a little bit from high school.”

“Hey! You two coming or what!?” Oh, right, Boss.

“Um, m-maybe we should talk later…”

“Right. I have an interview to ace.”

They did not ace the interview.

It became really quickly apparent that despite their confident airs, Lillian didn’t actually know the first thing about… much. We had to explain to them pretty much everything there is to know about being a barista, not to mention all the legal stuff they had to fill in once we eventually decided to at least give them a week to prove themself (though, mostly out of pity).

“…Alright, and you just sign and put in your personal information here.” Boss handed them the final form after what seemed like hours of slowly walking them through every document.

“Ah, right, my name…”

“Something wrong?”

“Ah, no, nothing!” Lillian exclaimed before quickly snatching the form from Boss’s hand… and proceeding to stare blankly at it, seeming overwhelmed.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake… I thought this’d be the easy part.”

“No, it’s just… well, I don’t have an address. I’m staying at a hotel right now, but…”

“Hm? Don’t you have a relative to stay with?” I asked, concerned. “What happened to your parents?”

“…” Their silence speaks volumes.

“…okay. Just… skip that part, I guess. I’ll hand you your paycheck by hand instead of mailing it.”

“Thanks. Listen, I know I’ve been kind of a mess so far… but this means a lot. Thank you.”

A small smile sneaked its way along Boss’s lips. “Heh. You’re welcome, kid…” …though it confuses me why she’d go through all that effort for a stranger who she didn’t even seem to like that much five minutes ago.

The rest of the form seemed to go much better, though I noticed their legal name being different from the one they gave me… though I can’t say I’m not familiar with that specific, annoying part of paperwork. I guess it is a queer bar here, in the end…

“Here you go, Miss…”

“Zena. But everyone here calls me Boss. Welcome aboard, at least for the time being, Pau--”

“Lillian!” They eagerly cut her off. Guess I was right. “My name’s… Lillian.”

“...got it, Lian. Oh, and while we’re at it, guess I should ask before the daggers Emmy’s staring into me start drawing blood. What are your pronouns?”

“Oh, um… they/them, please. I’m… non-binary.” They blushed at that, seeming almost ashamed. I hope that has nothing to do with their family situation… oh, but…!

“Oh, you’re not cis either, then?”

“Hm? What’s it to you, girl?”

“No, no, don’t get me wrong, this is amazing! See, I’m… transgender. So it’s nice to see another person who’s a little bit like me… apart from my brother, I haven’t ever met anyone else like us.”

“Oh, really? Huh. You’re so cute, I never would have guessed you had that kind of past.”

“C-Cute…?” Here I go flaring up again…

“Bahahaha! I like you already, new kid. Anyone who can mess with my number one lackey like that is welcome here.”

“Booossssss!”

“...Isn’t she your only “lackey”…?”

“Not anymore, she isn’t! We’re opening up in five minutes, by the way. So grab an apron and get on with it, Lian!”

“Right. I’m on it!”

A few hours pass, and things seem to be going all right for my new colleague. Sure, they don’t know how anything works, and they’ve made some mistakes with orders, but they’re certainly doing better than I did on my first day. I still remember the tray incident… so much beer everywhere… *ahem* anyway. It seems like they at least had some experience with handling food and drinks, which is nice to see. Eventually, we fell into a nice rhythm. They would prepare the drinks, and I would serve them, with Boss supervising us from afar and making small talk with the patrons… and it’s good she’s doing so, because I’m shy as hell, and Lillian doesn’t seem to… really be that good at talking to people. I may or may not have had to stand between a very angry lesbian and them… and sure, it may sound like neither of us are really fit to be baristas, from those descriptions alone, but as Boss put it once, at the end of my first day…

“Emmy, let me tell you. Misfits like us are what make this world go ‘round. If everyone was perfect all the time, and knew what they were doing, why would anyone ever experiment? Sure, you’d expect a bar called The Utopia to be flawless in every way, but… honestly, that sounds more like a dystopia to me. So, sure, I’m not gonna ask you to hold a tray again for the next… while…” *shudder* “…but I’m not gonna fire you for it either. You’re kind of a mess, but you’re an earnest mess.”

***

“Aaaaand that’s 1:30AM! Alright, everyone out. Yes, you too, Steve! Some of us wanna sleep right about now.” Boss suddenly exclaimed. Huh. Guess time flew by. “I mean, look at Lian! I almost wanna check their pulse right now!”

I turned towards them, and just as she said, Lian seemed completely out of it. Their head is resting on the counter, with one hand on the cupboard above, most likely an attempt to support themself and keep working. I decide to take matters into my own hands… quite literally. I pull them up from behind, turn them towards me, and…

“Wake uuuup! Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup!” …I start shaking them furiously.

“Wh- huh- ugnh!? I’m up, I’m uuup!” Satisfied with a job well done, I let them go.

“It’s closing time, Lillian. You did great today.”

“...huh, already? Thanks, Emmy. Glad I could help.”

“Mhm. You gonna be okay walking back home alone? Boss and I will take care of cleaning up.”

“Yeah, of course. I made sure to make a mental note of where my hotel is from here. *yawn* Guess I’ll go, then… good night, you two. Thanks again for the opportunity.”

“See ya, kid! Don’t forget, you gotta be back here by 6:30PM tomorrow!”

“Mhm… got it, Boss… *yawn*”

“Heh. Good kid, that one.”

“They seem nice enough… to us. I gotta keep an eye on them with the customers… hehe.” They barely just showed up, but somehow, they already feel like an integral part of the bar. I don’t usually warm up to others that quickly… and Boss… “Oh, that reminds me. How come you hired them, in the end? I mean, I’m glad you did, but they’re far from the ideal employee.”

“Well, first of all, they’re not hired for sure yet. And… I dunno. They just seemed so… desperate. And there are clearly some things they’d rather not talk about… I guess I’d just rather have a small loss in revenue rather than a young adult in the streets, you know?”

“That’s… awfully generous of you.”

“Yeah… I just hope that whatever’s going on, it isn’t haunting them or anything. It seemed like heavy stuff…”

“That’s true… well, no matter how life really is for them, let’s keep doing our best to make sure they have fun here!”

“And work hard. I’m a generous woman, but I’m not a charity either.”

“Haha, of course.”

As I walked back home, I couldn’t help but think about today’s events. Everything happened really fast, but… I guess that’s a good thing, given how long it can be sometimes. And even if strangers can be intimidating still, it’s always nice to make a new friend. If they see me as a friend yet. …I’m not gonna overthink it.

“Well, Lillian… I don’t know much about who you are, but I have a feeling we’re gonna get along just fine.”

And with that, another calm night at the Utopia is coming to a close.