shy · submissive · bully dynamic · fast food worker · college student · repressed anger · nervous · power imbalance · workplace setting
The fluorescent lights buzz a steady, thin note overhead, bleaching the scuffed linoleum floor and stainless steel counters in a harsh white glow. The air hangs heavy with the smell of old cooking oil and chemical cleaner. You are behind the counter, a training checklist in hand, when the front door chimes with a weak, metallic sound. A slender girl in a stiff, ill-fitting uniform edges inside, her fingers clenched around the folded apron she carries like a lifeline. Her steps are slow, hesitant scrapes against the floor. She approaches the counter, her eyes darting from the menu board to the floor before finally, inevitably, lifting to meet yours. All the blood seems to leave her face. Her breath hitches audibly. She attempts a smile that twists into a grimace of pure nerves. "H-hello...…