It was 2:40 AM and the function I had been serving at had long since winded down. It was a quick weekend job I had taken; the listing said it'd only be about six hours of work. High activity, but decent pay. I had been a waiter for a bit back when I was in college and thought the extra cash would come in handy. The pay was decent - plus, the opportunity to see a couple of famous people was not a bad perk either.
The party was mostly uneventful. Well, I did not exactly have time to gawk at the beautiful people holding various levels of celebrity in-between delivering glasses of alcohol way too expensive for me to do more than enjoy the smell. Hell, I barely had time to enjoy any of the several times that hands -- set wandering by inebriation -- pinched my backside as I moved through the crowd.
Streamers; athletes; actors and actresses. Some of those in attendance I knew and others I had never heard of. Round-cheeked kids much richer than myself. The entire affair made me feel old and somewhat out of touch. Still, it was over now, and I even managed to let myself get talked into helping clean up for a bonus.
I probably scammed myself, but whatever.
That's how I found myself alone in the kitchen, or so I thought. I had been stacking plates, scraping uneaten food off into a tray to be disposed of, when I heard a voice from the entrance.
"Excuse me," the voice came, a woman's, barely audible over the sound of the flowing tap water. "Mind if I bother you for a moment?"
I turned, stunned to see that one of the guests had made to the kitchens, and so long after most of the others had already left for the afterparty. She seemed to be about my age, about a head shorter than myself. I knew her instantly as the streamer Pokimane, wearing a sleek black dress that left her shoulders exposed and stopped at the mid-thigh. That was a fact I might have noticed earlier in the evening as well.
"Ah, sorry," I said, almost fumbling my two-word statement. Thankfully, I only embarrassed myself a little bit as I hastily dried my hands. "How can I help?"
I tried my best to be polite. Helpful, even. The hallways and the kitchen area they led too weren't exactly designed for guests' eyes to see. She stood out, making the tiles and metal fixtures look even more dull. It was obvious that a lot of care, skill, time and money had gone into her appearance tonight. Things I could not begin to understand the intricacies of.
She took several steps towards where I stood. The heels of her open-toed shoes clicked as she approached me. "I was just wondering..." she said as I restricted the flow of water to little more than a trickle. Now that it was easier to hear, it seemed clear to me that she was speaking in an airy, high-pitched voice.
"Wondering...?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Wondering, yes." She blushed. "Whether I've seen you somewhere before."
I laughed nervously. "Earlier in the night, maybe," I responded. "I don't usually get invited to these sorts of things."
She laughed. Which was good because I was a bit wary of making a fool of myself if that joke didn't land. "Oh, well," she sighed, "I just thought because I noticed you looking at me earlier. For a second I thought we should have known each other."
Now it was my turn to blush. "Ah, sorry." - Why was I apologizing? - "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable if I did. Just caught my eye is all."
She laughed again. Obvious now that she enjoyed knowing that she had managed to get me flustered.
"But," I continued, "I'm happy to help with anything you need. Even if we're strangers. I take it you took a wrong turn somewhere. I'm not exactly the most familiar with this place but I've been back and forth enough times tonight to know my way around..."
"Actually," she interjected. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I noticed you were working a lot harder than you were probably getting compensated for."
"Thanks..."
"In between looking at my ass."
"...I'm sorry."
"Well, it's not like I'm offended." She turned on the spot, flexing the leg nearest to me as she showed off where the hem of the dress rested against her olive skin. I was not exactly sure whether it was appropriate to look...even if she was flaunting. "Still," she said, "thought I'd come back here and offer you a tip."
"Oh, that's not necessary," I said quickly. "I actually got paid quite a lot and...I had nothing better to do this weekend. It's just something I did...for...extra money." I waved my hand as though dismissing the idea. "Plus," I chuckled, "we were told that if we asked attendees for tips we'd never get another job serving these sorts of events. Not that I plan to...but it doesn't seem appropriate still."
Her face scrunched as though displeased. Small wrinkles formed along the bridge of her nose, doing almost nothing to diminish the cuteness that her makeup was designed to exaggerate. "Who told you that?"
"Oh just," I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to get anyone in trouble, "t-the boss, you know?"
She seemed confused, touching her fingertip to her chin with one arm crossed just below her bust. Still clutching her purse, she thought aloud: "But I'm the boss."
"Y-you're," I stammered. "Of course you are," I made a quick attempt to correct myself, "well it was the...manager, I guess. I'm not exactly sure about the dynamic at work. Regardless...
I paused and lowered my voice before I continued.
"Regardless, it's no big deal. Honestly."
She pouted yet again. Almost seeming disappointed with the turn of events. "Well that's too bad," she said as she stepped once again towards where I stood, "because I was feeling extra-generous tonight."
I tried to retreat, only to find myself pressed against the cold metal of the waist-high sink behind me. The water soaked into my clothing, causing a chill to ripple through my body which she seemed to misinterpret, giggling slightly.
"Miss..." I began.
