Lauren to Lozza

Lozza's POV

I get off the bus, according to Google maps it's just a two-minute walk from here, I go past a row of boarded-up shops. I don't know if they are permanently closed or just closed for the day. There was a small dive bar with a guy stumbling out, despite it still being early; he looked very drunk. The McDonald's itself was away from the other stores, almost standing on its own in a little free area. It was not huge or small.

I opened the door, unsure if I should just ask at the till. It was virtually empty, apart from some delivery drivers waiting around on bikes and a group of three customers. I then spotted Dani at the till, I caught her eye, and she broke into a smile.

"Lozza! OMG you look fab, the blonde suits you, fit as fuck," she said, before waving me towards the staff door.

I walked up to the door at the side, feeling a bit of nerves kick in. "Hey Dani, thanks. So what's next?"

"Well, I'll show you the ropes, Harry will do all the crappy paperwork and shit, she replied. "Let's go get him. Follow me babes."

We walked past the fryers, towards a door that Dani said was the break room, she opened it. Harry was sat in there on his phone and looked up as we walked in, the room was quite small, it had a very old TV in the corner, I didn't even know they still worked properly, it was one of the ones like from a retro movie that had a big back on it. The room had a table attached to the wall, running along with a few chairs beside it, Harry was using one of the chairs to rest his legs, other than a kettle, a sink and a coat rack, the room was pretty bare.

"Wow, fuck, you look amazing," Harry said with a friendly smile, his eyes glancing at my hair. "It really suits you."

"Thanks Harry," I replied, feeling a slight blush. "I thought it was time for a change." I said, just thinking on my feet, I felt like I couldn't say it was part of a bet.

"Well, it looks great," he said, removing his legs from one of the chairs and gesturing to it, he said, "Take a seat. We need to go through some paperwork first, contract, health and safety, the usual shit."

Dani said she'll leave us to sort it all out, and to give her a shout once ready, as she was leaving just the two of us in the break room, she added, "don't be getting up to anything too naughty you two, remember this is work," she gave me a little wink, and then she was gone.

Harry let out a laugh and offered to take my jacket, which I gave him, now exposing the McDonald's polo didn't feel as bad in the confines of the building itself, although I already wanted to shake the feeling of fitting in, not that I did fit in with Harry as the managers uniform was different, but I realize I'm now rambling.

Harry suggested we go through the documents, it was all pretty boring stuff, along with health and safety protocols there was my work contract, guidelines, some of the rules felt never-ending and clearly obvious, I was surprised it even had to be wrote down.

Harry looked bored through most of it as I read through it. I couldn't blame him; it was dull, once it was all done and signed, Harry leaned back in his chair. "Alright, that's the crappy part done. Dani will take you through the induction now, sorry for all the shit we had to look through, just procedure, not that any of it matters, if you're not sure on anything, just give me, Dani or someone a shout."

As we were leaving the break room, Harry from behind me whispered in my ear, "you'll love it here babe, we just all have a laugh," with that he gave me a quick swatt on my butt, before adding, "your arse looks great in them pants by the way."

"Hey," I said, before turning towards him with a stern look on my face, but he just laughed and said, "ooo, I like when you look serious, you don't have to act professional Loz, as I said, we all just have a laugh, while the customers stuff their faces," he guided me out with his hand on my lower back, and I just let him.

I was back with Dani, who gave me a playful nudge, "Come on, let's get you familiar with everything. It's all simple, really."

She took me around, explaining the different stations, how to operate the fryers and the grill, and where to find the cleaning supplies.

She introduced me to some of the other workers as we made our way around.

"And that's pretty much it," she said finally. "You'll get the hang of it in no time. Anything you ain't sure on you can always give me a shout, we'll match shifts. Any questions?"

"No, I don't think so," I replied, still not sure where I would get started, I looked around a bit nervous, I really didn't want to work here, I was far too good for this place.

Dani snapped me out of my thoughts. "Don't worry, we'll get you started," I went to one station with Dani, and she handed me plastic gloves and an awful hair net that she insisted I had to wear, it itched and felt so cheap on my hair, I hadn't brought my cap, but Dani got me a spare one, I was now ready to get started.

We went through making a big Mac, I followed Dani's instructions.

As I assembled my first burger, Dani kept up a steady stream of encouragement. "You're doing great babe. Just keep it up. Remember the key is to stay calm and keep moving."

I finished the burger and wrapped it up, it was easy, I knew it would be, "that's perfect," Dani said with a grin. "We'll see if you can keep it up during a rush, also we move sections every so often here, Harry says so we don't get bored."

Just as she said that, Harry walked over. "How's the newbie doing?" he asked, looking at me with a smirk.

"She's a natural," Dani replied, giving me a wink. "She just did her first big mac; the order has just gone."

Harry smiled. "Well, I think we're getting a few people in right now, remember give me a shout Loz if you need anything at all."

Unbelievably I found myself liking being called Loz, purely because I think it's better than being called Lozza.

It did begin to get busy, it became harder than I expected, we swapped sections at times, when the orders were coming fast I found myself sweating as I rushed to get them done quickly and correctly like Dani instructed.

Break was approaching soon, I was actually quite hungry, working with food would do that to you I guess, Dani told me we could have a little bite or a taster as she called it, she said in her words "Harry doesnt give a fuck, especially if it's you babes."

I'd snuck an odd bite or two, but during break we were allowed a free McDonald's meal, and I felt my stomach begging for it. As both me and Dani were nearing break I heard Dani yell catch, as I looked up a greasy fry was hurled at me, the fry bounced off my forehead, Dani burst into laughter before saying, "come on Lozza, you got to admit that was a great shot, sorry babes couldn't resist."

I was a little annoyed, but I knew she was only playing a joke, so I smiled as we both went on break, I gave her a little nudge and playfully said, "I'll get you back."

We had our food prepared and headed back to the break room, where a big girl named Sammy was lounging, her phone in her hand and a coke on the table next to her.

She looked up, then said, "How's it going? I'll wrap up my break now."

"Good Sammy, Lozza is settling in well," Dani replied.

"You enjoying it Lozza?" Sammy asked.

I was already tucking into my fries at this point, so my answer of "good" came out a bit muffled, I never usually talk while mid-eating, I think I did it because Sammy was finishing her break, so I wanted to answer quickly.

"Great working here, ain't it, I never get fed up of eating maccies," Sammy said with a smile. "Right, I'll catch youse in a bit."

Sammy left, and me and Dani sat down to eat. Seeing as it was free, rather than get something a bit lighter, I didn't hold back; my tray had a Big Mac, large fries, and a large coke.

Starving, I dive in. I take a huge bite of my burger, I eat some fries between bites, and I dunk them generously in ketchup or BBQ sauce, relishing every bite.

I'm eating quickly and messy, too hungry to worry about appearances. Suddenly, I hear a burst of laughter. Looking up, Dani is grinning at me. "You've got sauce on your chin," she says, pointing and giggling.

I laugh too, slightly embarrassed, I grab a napkin to wipe my face. "Guess I was a bit too eager," I say. Dani laughs again and says, "yeah girl, you attacked that burger."

I take a sip of my coke and decide I should slow down a bit, I'm never usually this hungry.

Once our break was over, I was switched over to work the till, Dani gave me tips and instructions, and before I got started, she reassured me aswell, telling me, "the self service screens are a big help, keeps everyone coming the till, and frees us up."

As I got under way, basically shouting people's order numbers before passing them their food, the first guy who wanted to order at the till was a huge guy probably in his 40's, I smiled and said, "Hi, welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?". I found myself blushing as I remembered saying that same sentence to Harry before I gave him a blowjob, I snapped myself out of my thoughts and processed the man's order, I got through most of the shift fine, I felt myself getting tired, dealing with the customers was annoying as they often either acted stupid, rude or unbelievablely talked down to me. Who did they think they were dealing with.

I still hated this uniform, particularly the hairnet as it itched, I went the bathroom at one point, Sammy covering my till, just so I could take it off and give my now blonde hair a shake, it felt good to have it off, I couldn't wait for the shift to be over so I could get it permanently off.

I took back over from big Sammy, I'd checked the time and was counting down the minutes.

There was suddenly a bit of a queue as the kitchen staff seemed to slow down a little, Dani was now out back trying to help them, as I'd been managing things so well here, but the kitchen staff was struggling with the demands, I smiled to myself, I've been here a day and already proved myself to be superior, a guy probably in his early 20's walked up to the counter with a large dog in tow, pushing past a couple, but they didn't say anything, I said to him firmly, "sorry, no dogs are allowed here."

He completely ignored me, and just said "I'm only here to see the manager; go get him," he didn't even say please, so I repeated the policy that I had read just earlier, he continuing to stand there as if I hadn't spoken. I repeated myself, quite loudly this time, I was really annoyed, I'm never usually ignored, but he just smirked down at me, clearly amused by my attempts to enforce the rules.

"Little miss minimum wage, just go get your boss," he said with a condescending grin.

I was raging, I wanted to flip but decided I'll get Harry to kick this arsehole out, I went and got Harry, I was embarrassed at having him fight my battles, but I certainly didn't want to have "fired on first day in McDonald's on my CV for smacking a customer," not that I'd have actually hit him, but I was raging, as I told Harry about what happened, he looked slightly worried when I described the man, and he asked me to help out in the kitchen while he spoke to him.

Once Harry came back to me after hopefully throwing the guy out, "Loz, can I talk to you for a minute?" he said, motioning for me to follow him into the break room.

I nodded, why did he look so worried? I'd read about dogs being banned, I knew I hadn't fucked up.

Once we were in the office, Harry shut the door and turned to me. "That guy you just had a run-in with, his name's Tony. He's a local drug dealer, and he's not someone you want to mess with."

My eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious? I had no idea."

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, he's bad news. But here's the thing--he's insisting on having a birthday party for his kid here for next week."

I wondered why he said that, like it was a concern, "Okay, but why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Harry continued, looking uncomfortable, his usual flirting had stopped, "Tony specifically requested that you be the one to dress up as Ronald McDonald for the party. He said it's payback for how you talked about his dog."

My heart sank. Me dressing up as Ronald McDonald was beyond humiliating enough, but knowing it was because of Tony's spiteful revenge made it even worse. "But Harry, I was just doing my job. We're not supposed to allow dogs, I read it before."

"I know, I know, but Tony does what he likes," Harry said, holding up a hand to calm me down. "But some good news, your shift is nearly over, ring Becky she knows him, and I reckon she could tell him to back off, he'll probably listen, you'll probably owe her a massive thank you if she manages to save you're cute little arse."

Still in shock, I didn't really pay attention to his last remark; Harry had been regularly flirting with me since I got here, so I was used to it anyway, I actually enjoyed it, seeing as though he was described as out of my league by Becky, he's certainly showing a keen interest, so I guess she's not got that right. Although I won't be too critical of Becky if she can get me out of this ridiculous situation.

When my shift ended, I said my goodbyes and went and explained what happened to Dani. She looked shocked when I mentioned Tony. When I was finished explaining, she responded, "oh shit girl, sorry I weren't with you, I would have stopped you, erm it could be worse to be honest, Becky could save you hopefully, worst comes to the worst and you will just have to do what he wants, you will get a bonus for doing it for the day."

That's something I absolutely didn't want to do, with both our shifts finished, the horrible hairnet finally removed, I took a seat inside the McDonald's, and Dani waited while I called Becky, I was desperately hoping she could help me again, I'd be humiliated dressing like that and with the clown makeup.

Becky answered thankfully, "Hey babes, how's it going?" she sounded a bit out of breath. "how was your first shift?"

"Becky, I need your help," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I had a run-in with this guy at work today. It turns out he's a local drug dealer named Tony, apparently you know him, and now he's demanding I dress up as Ronald McDonald for his kid's birthday party here. It's payback for telling him dogs aren't allowed inside, will you help me please?"

There was a brief pause on the other end before Becky responded, her tone more serious now. "oh girl, you fucked with Tony, what were you thinking, lucky you got me, he's not going to be happy backing down, but I think I can sort it out for you."

"Really, you sure, how can you manage that?" I was delighted that Becky seemed sure she could get him to back off, I was a little curious about how she was so powerful.

Becky gave a little laugh and just said I shouldn't worry about that.

I thanked her again, I was really grateful, 'thank you so much, you are a lifesaver, I definitely couldn't dress up as bloody Ronald McDonald."

"Oh, come on," Becky teased, her tone lightening. "It would be a laugh. Picture it: the big red shoes, the wig, the makeup. You'd look hilarious."

"no thank you," I grumbled, I did not want to picture it.

"anyway I'll sort it," she said, her voice reassuring. "I'll give him a call, I'll text you once I've finished with him, okay?"

"Thanks, Becky," I replied, "I owe you one."

We hung up, and I let out a sigh of relief, maybe I shouldn't be too relaxed though, just in case Becky can't ride to the rescue, as me and Dani went to make our way out of work, it started to rain heavily, neither of us had an umbrella, just our jackets, so Dani suggested we run over to the bar I mentioned earlier, with no real other options, we did just that, we made it in before we got soaked, it was quite quiet, not surprised judging by the state of it and it being midweek.

The bar was a very shady place, least we were out of the rain, but it had clearly seen better days. It was called Smokies Tavern, It was quite dark inside. The walls were cluttered with tacky, outdated pro-drinking paraphernalia, peeling posters of different beers, and unfunny material like a picture of a bottle of vodka with the slogan "vodka is just awesome water," another with a picture of empty beer bottles, this slogan reading "beer, helping ugly people have sex since it's invention."

The cramped interior could probably fit about 30 people, maybe a little more. On the right side, a row of dilapidated booths ran the length of the room, with worn seats and wooden tables. Opposite the bar stretched along the left side, just one barman needed to manage the very quiet place, offers we're written on little paper signs on the few draught beers available.

I took a seat in one of the booths at the back as Dani got us strawberry ciders, I'd said I'd just have a soft drink, but she won the argument by saying I'd just finished my first shift so it was a celebration. I removed my jacket as the one thing about this bar that must be fully functioning is the heating as it was boiling. Dani got the drinks and walked on the sticky floor over to me.

I quickly gave Dani my view on the state of this place.

Dani grinned, taking a swig of her cider before answering. "It's got... character."

"Bet it's seen some bad characters." I replied.

She laughed, "you haven't seen the toilets yet, now that's a sight to see." She paused for a second before continuing, "you ever watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall?" I nodded, Dani continued on,  "you remember that scene where the guy finds that photo of Mila Kunis flashing her tits on the wall in the men's toilets?"

I raised an eyebrow and blushed at her crude language, unsure where she was going with this. "Yeah...?"

"Well this place has a similar wall of shame in the toilets. It's like a tradition here, one in the women's, it has embarrassing photos of guys, and in the guys one, it has the same but for women."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "You're joking."

"Nope," Dani said, the grin on her face growing wider. "It's true. You end up smashed in here, and the bar staff will have their cheap Polaroid camera on standby. It's all just a laugh, well aslong as it ain't us getting stuck on the wall."

I shook my head, letting out a disbelieving laugh. "Remind me never to get drunk here."

Dani winked. "Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure the camera is ready if you do."

As we sipped our drinks, we were carried on chatting and getting along well. We discussed work, and Dani seemed impressed with how I did, she just said that if anything crept up with issues such as Tony and his dogs to give her or Harry a shout just in case, which I will, no way do I want to get on the wrong side of someone like Tony again, even though I was right.

The cider was actually very nice, I was really enjoying it, Dani then moved onto a new subject, "I love that you have settled into our friend group so quickly, our little gang."

I nodded along, not sure what to say, Dani and I then got into a chat about the other girls, and what they were up to tonight, Aimes had written in the group chat that she had been texting Jake tonight after his breakup with Emma.

Aimes apparently had an interest as soon as she heard they were over, and had moved in quickly, Jess was doing some updates on her onlyfans account, I didn't know what that involved and didn't want to know, I said to Dani, "I wonder what Becky has been up to tonight, a quiet night maybe?"

Dani shrugged, then let out a little laugh and said  "I know one thing she's been up to Lozza, saving your arse, I feel like Becky's been like a big sister to you yanno, always there helping you out."

Before I had a chance to reply, my phone pinged, it was Becky, "hey babes, I sorted it, no clown makeup in your future."