Page 123 of Pride High 2: Orange

Off to a great start! He felt like a jerk for holding up the line while people were hungry, and like an idiot when the girl returned while shaking her head. Omar thanked her and left, cursing himself along the way. He could have easily gotten a job there. And it would have been so perfect!

He stopped in front of Right Round Records and peered through the window. Silvia was behind the counter, chatting with a customer. He watched her laugh at something he couldn’t hear, struck again by just how pretty she was. His insides buzzed with the love he felt for her. And that she now felt for him! He was still riding the high of finally getting to hear her say it. All of that was under threat now. They would barely have time to see each other if his parents had their way. School wouldn’t help. He could forget about changing his classes to match hers. His parents would have a meltdown if he tried. And if he was honest, it wouldn’t help his grades, because when Silvia was around, it was hard to think of anything but her. He had to try though, so he made himself continue walking down the street, even though all he wanted was to rush inside the store and kiss her.

He tried the travel agency on the other side of Right Round Records without any luck, and hit up most of the other businesses in its proximity, wanting to be close to her. Nobody was hiring. Which sucked, because all sorts of jobs had been available before the holidays. He’d simply gotten distracted.

Omar walked far enough to reach Archie’s Pizza Pi, which was one of his favorite places on the planet. Pizza, video games, and costumed characters. What more did a guy need? Besides a job. He’d already tried there previously, to no avail. It had been one of the first places he’d checked, but he went inside anyway, intending to grab himself a slice and maybe feed a couple bucks into theSimpsonsarcade cabinet that was so much fun. He already felt guilty on his way in. Enough that when the greeter asked if he’d be dining alone, he shook his head.

“Are you guys hiring?” he asked.

The woman behind the podium blinked in surprised. “We will be soon. My manager mentioned it this morning.”

“Oh yeah?” Omar asked. “How soon? Because Ireallyneed a job.”

“I’m not sure. Let me ask. I’ll be right back.”

When she returned, a heavy-set man was with her. He had short gray hair and a pink face. If cast in a movie, all the guy would need was a brown robe and he’d make the perfect friar.

“You’re seeking employment?” the man asked.

Omar snapped to attention. “Yes sir! Are you hiring?”

The man nodded. “Do you have any experience?”

“Well no,” he admitted. “This would be my first job. But I do have tons of experience eating here.” The man laughed, as if he was being funny. “I mean it!” Omar insisted. “I’ve been a fan of this place since I was a little kid. Like, I remember back when Pythagoras the Python used to be Archie’s nemesis. What ever happened to him anyway?”

“We had to phase him out,” the man said while looking slightly embarrassed. “A religious group became very upset with us.”

“Because the devil was a snake?” Omar guessed. “That’s lame. I mean, Pythagoras was clearly the bad guy, right?”

“My thoughts exactly!” the man said, standing up straighter. “Believe it or not, their biggest problem was with Archie, because if his worst enemy was a snake, that would make him… Well…”

“Jesus?” Omar asked with a scrunched-up face. “But he’s a panda.”

“A panda who loves pizza,” the man said rather sadly. “He doesn’t want to save the world from its sins. He only wants us to have a good time.”

“With his main squeeze Llama Lovelace,” Omar said. “I was at their wedding, you know.”

The man perked up again. “Really?” He gestured for Omar to follow him when a family of four approached the podium.

“Absolutely,” Omar said as they walked deeper into the restaurant. “They got hitched on my birthday. I was having my party here and about lost it when the ceremony started. I thought it was all for me. And hey, my sister caught the bouquet. I still have it in my room. Er… Because I made her give it to me.”

“I wasn’t sure if anyone still remembered that,” the man said, seeming a little misty-eyed. “Most people think the characters are only there to lure in customers, but I truly care about them.”

“So do I,” Omar said with a grin. “I have a shoebox that I keep all my Archie merch in. I have a nice little collection.”

The man smiled. “Then I have something you might be interested in seeing.”

He led Omar into an employees-only area, which was thrilling enough, but it got even better when he was ushered into a small office with framed photos all over the walls. Each depicted a different milestone in the restaurant’s history. Omar gravitated to one in particular. In the photo, a fat man in a toga had black and white panda makeup on his face.

“Is that an early version of Archie?” he asked.

“Sure is,” the man admitted. “First year of business, back when we were still Archimedes Pizza. We didn’t have the costumes yet, so I had to dress up.”

“Wow,” Omar said. “You’ve worked here for that long?”

“Yes,” the man said with a titter. “I was here on opening day. And before then, when it was all still a dream.”

Omar slowly turned toward him in awe. “This isyourrestaurant?”