Hostile Hospitality

All In Her Head

When she got up for work the next morning, she thought she had during the entire ordeal. There was no way anything that had happened to her first day of work, was remotely real. “Just first day jitters was all it was. I mean, yeah?” She said to herself in the bathroom mirror. “Who feeds off of other peoples souls for crying out loud?!” She covered her mouth with both hands as she realize she was possibly loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear her.

“Sorry!” She whisper shouted to no one in particular. She proceeded to get ready for work when I thought came to her. “Are there such thing as a soul sucking vampires? Nah!” She quickly put that thought out of her head, however the notion still lingered. Upon leaving the parking lot she gave herself a pep talk, “today will be a better day today I will not screw up, as much as yesterday.” She continued her pep talk by saying, “Today I will not see soul sucking alien/vampire beings.” Shana repeated this mantra to herself as she drove to work.

Once she arrived at the job site with a new found confidence, she decided to brief herself for safe measures. She did a quick moment of silence to reflect on everything that needed to be done today.“OK, so. I go in and clock in, then go upstairs put my stuff in the coat closet, so who’s working this morning, take out the appropriate seating chart, make sure to go get guest list, newspapers, and phone. Do you line up, start seating guests, In the appropriate table area. Rinse and repeat for lunch.”

Afterwords, Shaina was golden and ready For the day, or so she thought. Everything seem to be going along as planned, until the guest started arriving. Shanna, Jackie, and the rest of the staff seem to be.

hitting it off, and there was no weird anomalies throughout the set up and lineup. However, once the third set of guests came into the Godfrey room, Shanea started seeing a trend. For every two sets of guests that would come into the room for breakfast, all bushy eyed and perky, came a single group of guests that would come in not as enthusiastic or happy. In fact missing drain, as if they didn’t get a good nights sleep with a sleep they did have wasn’t enough to request them this morning. These areas were not only adults, but children, elderly and on the rare occasion, a dog!

“What in the world have they all been doing to be so worn out?” Shaina ask Jackie. “Who knows child? These folks can be crazy sometimes.” Jackie responded.Shanea agreed slightly, But she kept worrying about all those people for the rest of her shift.

No matter who she saw, it seems that every other or every two groups of guests were physically and or mentally drained. At one point there seem to be nothing but drain guess that she came in contact with. For the last two hours of her shift, she thought everyone was either really tired or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She would speak to them what are required greetings, “Hello, how may I help you?” or “Good afternoon, Will you be joining us for lunch?” Or “Greetings my name is Shanea, will you be dining with us today?”

However, no matter her greeting all she received in terms of a response was. “We are here for feeding. There are…” The guest would say how many and smile and a natural smile, all in unison. For those that had babies and or pets, the pets and the babies all seem to answer the same way; in their own gibberish language. “How bizarre.” Shanea would say quietly while looking at each in turn for more confirmation or something.

When no one else said anything she asked for a name. Sometimes they would respond with the name, and more Often than not repeat the same thing over again.Jackie would eventually tell her to just go see them, when they did this. “? OK? Right this way please.” With last glimpse at the gas, she did go to a table and without so much as a blinking I, but guess what follow, sit at the table, get the menus from Shanea, place them on the table, and just stare into space. Once a server came to their table, to take their order, they would say what they wanted; without even a glance at the menus. As if on cue, they turn to the server and said “steak Frites please.”

The server, Lillian smiled at that and said to the table, “How nice!” Before walking away licking her lips over her Ebony mouth. Shaina give Jackie a questionable glance, yet Jackie just smiled a similar toothy grin. Fifteen minutes later the tables’ food arrived and Jackie assisted Lily in distributing the dishes.

Shanea watched in fascination and a irritation at how flawlessly they served the guests. Her anxiety started to kick in to overdrive. How would she ever be able to execute such a flawless technique, without dumping food on to guess? What type of drinks and food to be served from? All of these alluring questions or concerns and doubt keep pondering in her mind.

The pondering was so intense that she failed to see the next group of zombie-fied guests, standing behind her. Allowed they came from the host stand as a zombie guest was attempting to get her attention. “What the what?!” She shrieked. After quickly gaining her composer, she fixed her expression, straightened her suit and said as professionally as she could.

“Good afternoon. How can I help you?” Once again these guys do the same thing as the previous guest, “we are here for feeding. We are 3 guests.” Shanea gave a quizzical glance towards the guests before writing down the number and us going down to the table the way she had seen Jackie perform so many times throughout the day. “I hope this is suitable table, right by the window?” Shanea asked the guests as they sat around the window table. “Yes.” The family setting unison, giving Shanea a reason to pause her task without warrant.

Very quickly she escaped her concerned thoughts and laid out the menus. “We shall bring you water in just a few minutes, and then your server... uh, will be with you.” Her uncertain break in speech was due to the fact that she had not come to remember the names of the month service just yet. Just before departing from the table she gave a quick smile without showing peep about awkwardly, and thundered away. With all of her intense focus on the new guests, she missed the other dining session happening on the opposite side of the room.

Jackie and Lillian were feasting on the essences of the previous table. Both women had a glowing magenta eyes and suction shaped mouth with tiny dog down teeth. What a shame I had a ride back at her house to stay in, the two inside were tidying up from their meal by wiping there now human shaped mouth and proceeding to remove finished dishes from the table. Her uncertain break in speech was due to the fact that she had not yet come to remember the names of the morning servers. Just before departing from the table she gave a quick smile without showing peep bowed awkwardly, and thundered away. And all of her intense focus on the new guess, she missed the odd dining session happening on the opposite side of the room. Jackie and Lillian were feasting on the essences of the previous table. Both women had a glowing magenta eyes and suction shaped mouths with tiny dulled down teeth.

Once Shanea had arrived back at the hostess stand, the two inside were tidying up from their meal by wiping their now human shaped mouths and proceeding to remove finished dishes from the table. As Shanea regained her composure from her odd encounter, she turned just in time to see Jackie and her well wishes to the guest as Lillian refilled their water glasses.

Jackie came swaying back to the hostess stand, Lillian can be her telling her table, “Now drink up. You must be hydrated. Then I will bring you some dessert!” She explained in a more upbeat youthful enthusiasm that she did not appear to have when the guest first arrived.

As soon as Jackie had entered into the hallway, another server, Tion came to service the guests' their water as they had just sat. Tion was much younger and approachable than Lillian. He had court hair that was a faded shame on either side, and on the back of his head. He approached everyone with an air of coolness that did not necessarily fit the environment, but went well for the casual lunch crowd. “What can I start you off with?” Tion asked the table by the window. “Steak Frites, please.”

The family said in unison. “Cool, all right. Would that be all? Do you want something to drink besides water?” Tion asked the guests. As a compelled to respond the father said to Tion, “I will have a blueberry cocktail with gin.” And immediately after him, the mother responded with the same, but with strawberries instead.

After each adult had given time and I drink water, they immediately turn back to base in the center of the table; unwavering ,unblinkingly. “Nice choices, I will be back with your drinks in a few minutes, just relax and I will take care of you.” Tion said just before giving a smooth glisten to his lips and swaggering off towards the kitchen. This reaction didn’t phase Shanea as Tion’s personality seemed to be a normal wave length.