Miguel got a taste of victory when he made the student, who was buried nose-deep into their readings, look up. All it took was a burger. His burger. The sword that fell the foul beast of dispassion was a slab of meat sandwiched between bread with some vegetables and condiments (and a hint of love).

That moment right there would have made Miguel’s day, and he could just pack up, leave, and dream about the experience. Fortunately, the fair was only beginning, and he had a large tub of meat and several packs of buns to cook up and serve. The first customer walked a few inches before they finished their snack or breakfast, which was amazing to watch somehow. Miguel couldn’t figure out if this student was eating right. A few moments later, more customers followed and ordered their share of what he had to offer.

The next few orders were more-or-less the same, with a few changes depending on whether the customer felt like they wanted to eat a tomato or not today. The challenging part was adding the fries to the customers’ orders. Sure, Miguel was confident enough in his deep-frying skills that the potatoes turn out the perfect consistency – soft, but still has some sort of bite to it. What if he had one of those off-orders where he took out the fries too early? Or underestimated the cooking time, leaving him and the customer with extra-hard fries?

Miguel shook his head, with his vampire cape fluttering along. This was no time to worry, customers are waiting in line! The best he could do was just to do whatever was needed. And so he did. He dumped the appropriate amount of fries for one order, and let the agonizing wait begin. He stared at the fries like his career depended it; one second away from the gaze of the sizzling potatoes could mean hell. Once it looked to be at the right shade of crispy and soft, Miguel took out the strainer from the pot of boiling oil, shaking it a few times before dumping it on a tray lined with paper towels. Once enough of the oil was absorbed, he used his trusty pair of tongs to pick up the fries onto a box and served It to the lady who had an affinity to the color red.

“Thank you! Please pay at the cashier. What will you have?”

Even though he wanted to, Miguel had no luxury to listen to what the lady’s reaction to the first bite of fries were. He had a growing line of customers, and by the looks of it, some were only taking advantage of the downtime between classes to get some food, if their frequent time checks were any indication. Every few seconds, one of them checked their watch, shifting around, eager to eat, but the looming threat of getting marked late was just as strong.

“Alright, I think that’s the last one.” Joseph wiped the sweat off his brow, careful as to not smear any of the bluish-green paint. After a few hours of trying to empty out his candy sack, Joseph was finally done with his part in his university’s Halloween Event. Now that he was essentially done for the day it was time to visit one of his favorite people.

Of course, he would have visited Celine, but she was too busy holding the podium. He could hear her rock the mic, keeping the energy of the fair going, so he had to settle for Miguel.

A few excited skips later, he was in front of the booth, as empty as it could be.

“Ah man, not enough customers huh?” Joseph dropped the candy sack by the table.

“No,” the council treasurer said, taking off her witch hat, “A huge wave was just here and now-“

The girl waved her hand towards the direction of Miguel. He, as Joseph put it,

Did not look good.

Miguel’s hair, for once, was let down, with bangs invading the personal space of his eyes. the heat of the stove and sweat proved no match for whatever hair wax he was using. Joseph was worried about the amount of hair that got into the food, but knowing Miguel, he had nothing to worry about. And he was right, he could see a stretched-out hair net beside the groggy man’s vicinity.

“You okay?” Joseph asked.

“Yeah, I’m-“ Miguel trailed off.

“Hey!” Joseph shouted.

“Okay!” Miguel finished, startled at the beginning, bringing him back to his usual composure, and then back into his tired self.

“You sure?”

“Yeah!” Miguel said, trying to look energetic, but his eyes and general sluggishness said otherwise. “No. I wanna sleep”

“Didn’t get much last night?”

Miguel nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I was too excited.”

“That sucks.” Joseph said, trying not to laugh; He was imagining Miguel as a giddy student, waiting for the day of their field trip.

“Anyway, we have a few patties left, so I think I can handle it.” Miguel stood up, but the gravity of the comfort sitting brought him was too strong, and resumed his resting position.

Joseph felt the exhaustion of the old man, from his dishevelled hair, sweat-soaked shirt, eyebags, and his general disposition really.

“Why don’t you take a nap? We can take care of the rest for you.”

Miguel’s eyes shot open. Or at least Joseph thought they did. Hard to tell because of the deep black surrounding his eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“Listen, you agreed to sponsor the school, so it’s the least we can do.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Positive.”

“If you say so, then,” Miguel stood up, and sat down on the chair at the back of the booth, greeting the table with his head with a polite thud, and let the sweet embrace of slumber take over him.

“Alright, let’s get to work then.” Joseph looked at the treasurer.

“You know how to cook?” The treasurer asked.

“No.”

“Alright, move over.”

“I guess you know how to work the grill?”

“I watched him make burgers for the past two hours, so I think I have it down.”

“Great! Let’s get to work then.”

“Calculator’s over there, and here’s your hair net. You want to switch hats?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Joseph adjusted his screw headband, asserting his territory.

“Alright,” the treasurer spun her witch hat around, trying to illustrate a missed opportunity “Your loss.”

“Anyway,” Joseph made a circle using his hands and put it over his mouth, “Come get fresh, delicious burgers here at Miguel’s Café! Last ten left!”

The volume of Joseph’s voice was enough to catch everyone’s attention.

“That scared the shit out of me,” Tthe treasurer said, her hand delicately placed over her chest.

“Well,” Joseph shrugged, “It worked for the number of customers you’ve had before I was here.”

“Oh you were responsible for that?” The treasurer asked.

“Yeah, Miguel said he didn’t have fliers or anything, so I did what I had to do: scream.”

“That’s kind of sweet.”

“It’s what I do-” Joseph had to stop their banter when a customer finally showed up in front of the booth. “Hi there, what would you like on your burger?”

For the next ten people and the next half an hour, the only words that left their mouth were business talk.

“We’re out of fries, sorry!”

“We only have fruit soda left.”

“I’m sorry, you can’t have the ‘Burger with Only Tomatoes’, the patty has to be in there.”

“I’m not Miguel, but thank you.”

-and the like. After the last customer left, the two let out a sigh of relief, and sealed the success with a high-five. Their first experience working behind the counter of a café (or a grill as it is right now), and it was a success.

The treasurer waved goodbye to Joseph after several minutes of banter and left Joseph and a knocked-out Miguel alone.

Joseph stared at Miguel, figuring out what to do while the large man slept. Should he wake Miguel up? Let him rest? Pack his things for him?

Fortunately, Miguel answered that for him, by lifting his head from the table, readjusting his vision before looking at Joseph.

“You’re a moist sleeper aren’t you?” Joseph teased, looking at the puddle of drool Miguel left on the table.

“Why would you say that?” Miguel said, a bit disgusted, wiping a bit of the moisture off his face using his handkerchief.

“I dunno, I saw it on a cartoon once and it felt appropriate.” Joseph remarked with a smirk on his face.

Miguel stood up, and looked at the fridge. The tub of meat was empty. A few cans of soda were left and a few slices of lettuce were left.

“If you’re wondering how it went, it went great!” Joseph bragged. “We served the last ten burgers and we’re pretty sure the customers paid.”

“Hey.” Miguel reprimanded.

“Kidding.”

Miguel breathed out heavy air, half out of relief, half out of humor. “Let me see how much we earned, and how much I can pay you guys.”

“Nah, you don’t have to,” Joseph replied, “The treasurer said she’ll just take a discount on her next order.”

“What about you though?” Miguel said.

“Oh I have that settled.” Joseph said with a hint of mischief.

“Let’s go on a date.”