“Order Up! Table five!” The smell of fry grease was strong as the fish and chips came through the kitchen window. I was standing at the register behind the bar, cashing out a table that was finishing up their night early..

“Ari!” Came a voice from behind me. “Bring that out for me? I need to use the little girls room.”

“Sure thing, Sarah!” I said back. Had to shout, really. The live music in the background was as loud as always. 

The boss loved having local artists around and though some were better than others, this quartet was one of the better acts. Of course, they were only the openers for the night. Once they finished their set, the night’s real attraction would be getting on stage. The ‘Ladies of Mount Helicon’ were a popular up and coming band that was well liked around the area. 

I sighed looking at the stage. It had always been a dream of mine to be under the lights myself. I had even learned how to play the guitar in hopes of accomplishing that goal. Unfortunately, I was far too uncomfortable with my voice, practiced as it was at this point, to actually stand in front of the crowd. The passion had still driven me to work at the LGBT music bar, even if it meant being a waitress. 

I loaded up a tray with the three plates full of greasy cod and french fries and brought them out to a table of guys that were as much into the football on the television as they were the music. They thanked me for the food and I looked around. It seemed a lesbian couple had just walked in and was standing near the door. All of the wait staff helped around the front as people came in and as it seemed that Jeremy was already seating a table, I moved over to the hostess stand. 

“Evening ladies! Welcome to the Long Shot! Stage side or bar area?”

The shorter woman, wearing a ball cap and a denim jacket, answered. “Table near the bar please. And can we get some menus?”

“No problem, follow me.” I sat them at a high top against the dividing wall and told them that their waitress would be right with them. 

As I went to turn away, I failed to see one of my fellow waiters coming up from behind, carrying a tray of drinks from the barkeep. Of course, this went as you might expect. We collided and drinks went flying, one dumping directly onto my white top. At least two of the glasses shattered on the floor and I stumbled back.

Both myself and the other waiter grasped painfully at our chests. Humorously, both of us chorused out “Fucking tits!” 

I looked up at the man and giggled through the pain. “Scars not healed all the way yet, huh, Silas? Sorry, I wasn’t paying enough attention I guess.”

He winced on pain but was still able to laugh back at me. “I get rid of mine, and you are growing yours, but both still hurt, don’t they?” Silas had gotten top surgery about a month back and was still healing afterwards and my hormone therapy was finally having noticeable results. 

Luckily, the drinks had missed him, but my top was a definite casualty. “You’d better get a new shirt, Ari. I don’t think you want to have people thinking that we are having a wet t-shirt contest or something. Don’t worry about the mess, I’ll get it.” He smiled at me knowingly. 

“Thanks, Si. Sorry for not paying attention.” he waved a hand at me dismissively. 

I pulled my waist apron off and held it up against my front to hide anything embarrassing as I quickly walked to the back. The boss was in their office and saw me walk in. They were a taller person of incomprehensible gender, just as they liked it. They slicked back their wild and unkempt looking hair and looked up at me. Luckily, the music was muted by the walls and it was a lot easier to hear them when they spoke.

“Have an accident there, hun?”

“Yes… I ran into Silas carrying a tray of drinks. Can I go upstairs and change?”

“Of course. I doubt you want to be finishing out your shift in wet clothes.”

I thanked him too and stepped over to the door next to his office that opened into the private staircase. Avery, who owned the building, extremely kindly allowed some especially in-need employees to rent one of the rooms above the bar. 

My room was quite near the exterior door that we used to get in and out of the flat outside of working hours. To my surprise, there was a small box waiting for me in the mailbox that hung from my door. I tilted my head in confusion but grabbed it before walking inside. The box was tossed on a table and I quickly divested myself of the wet top. Even my bra had to be changed which sucked because I was wearing my favorite one. The replacement wasn’t quite as comfortable and lacked the inserts that helped… enhance things. Yes, I was insecure, so sue me!

Once I buttoned up my fresh top, I took a moment to take a look at my mysterious package. It was only a few inches per side and only had a shipping label with no return address. Curiously, I used a key to rip the tape and open the box.

Inside was a plastic capsule like you got out of toy vending machines, except the normally clear bubble was frosted so I couldn’t tell the contents. A scrap of paper stuck out from under. I pulled it out and read the short and simple message.

“Seemed like you might appreciate this. Have fun. -Kid_Chaos”

I recognized the name at least. She was a member of a discord server for trans gamers that I participated in. My phone came out next and I opened a private message with the sender.

Saffari_Ari: Hey kid, did you send me something?

Kid_Chaos: Oh good! It got there?

Saffari_Ari: Yeah, but what is it?

Kid_Chaos: Just something that made me think of you. Enjoy it!

Saffari_Ari: Okay… Well, I need to get back to work, but this better not be another one of your pranks!

Kid_Chaos: 😇

Rolling my eyes at the chronic troublemaker, I popped the capsule open. Inside was a tiny plush cat on a black plastic clip that was honestly really cute. The mostly white body seemed to be made of soft knitted yarn with blotches of orange and black spread across its back, ears and tail. Its face was an amusing site, with the left eye being surrounded by black fur, but the right with orange. The bright blue eyes almost sparkled and I figured that they must have some glitter or something woven in. 

A small giggle escaped me as I clipped it to my newly replaced waist apron. Other waiters had stickers and goofy pens, why couldn’t I have a cute kitty? 

Not wanting to waste any time, I rushed back downstairs and poked my head into the office. “I’m back Avery!”

The boss wasn’t alone in their office, however. The beautiful, black haired lead singer of the Ladies of Mt Helicon was also present, chatting before her group went on stage.

I hadn’t met the woman personally before, though I was certainly a fan of her work on stage, so I eeped slightly when I realized I had interrupted their conversation. 

Both turned to me and Avery waved. “Welcome back Ari. I was just talking with Miss Prospor here. Have you met?”

I shrunk down slightly as my face pinked. “Uh.. no, we haven’t, but I am a big fan, Ma’am. Your music is amazing.”

She laughed and rubbed at a tattooed pan flute on her arm. “I appreciate that. Are you one of the wait staff here? There’s so many of you, it's hard to keep track when we are only here once a month. I love your cat plush! Where’d you get it?”

Avery looked over at me, confused. “Yeah, where did you get that? I didn’t see you wearing that earlier.”

I grasped the little toy on its clip and ran a thumb across the soft face. “A friend sent it, I guess. It was in a box, sitting in my door’s mailbox when I went to change. It is pretty cute isn’t it?”

“Reminds me of a cat my sisters and I took care of when I was still young,” Said the singer. 

“Just don’t let it get caught on something. I don’t mind you decorating your uniforms, but be careful not to let it cause trouble.” 

My boss made a fair point, but I couldn’t just let him talk badly about my new little friend. I unclipped it and displayed it to them. “Oh come on, this little cutie? How could you possibly think she’d cause any trouble?” 

We all chuckled at that, though Avery still tried to keep their managerial expression intact as he raised a single finger up to point at the cat. “Well then, maybe it's you that can keep Ari out of trouble then, alright kitty cat?”

I giggled and played back, making the cat wiggle. “Nyof course! I’m a good kitty! Nyaa!”

The laughter was less restrained this time, but abruptly stopped, the other two staring at me, jaws dropped. 

My head tilted and my ears twitched. I wondered why they would be looking at me like that. I shrugged as best as I could and began walking out, tail held high. Knowing I needed to wash up before I served customers, I lightly hopped up onto the barback and reached out to turn the faucet on. 

Much to my surprise, a pair of hands grabbed me around my belly and lifted me. I gave an afronted look to Sarah, the owner of the hands. Her eyes were wide as she looked at me and cooed. 

“Where did you come from, sweet kitten?” 

Kitten? Where? The plush? I looked down to where the toy cat should have hung from my apron only to notice that the apron was missing.

…So were the rest of my clothes for that matter. My tail waved into my vision as confused thoughts bounced around in my head. 

Wait… tail?