Chapter 1 - fries before guys

“Another pair I just have to throw away.”

An annoying, but familiar feeling crept over Emily since she started her summer job. Her days mostly consisted of shouting out orders for fried fish, lobster rolls, and an assortment of processed chicken products for those without the flair for regional cuisine. Normally she spent her summers tanning and enjoying the warm weather, but finally the day came that she had semester bills to pay. Begrudgingly, she applied to a seaside restaurant and was accepted almost immediately.
 
“These fucking staff lunches are killing me.” Perhaps hyperbolic, but they certainly weren’t helping her ego. It was only a month into the position, and her latest pair of black athletic shorts dug a red mark into her waist from hours of squeezing. Naturally tall, thin, and a hobby tennis player, she was not used to this weight she started carrying on her hips and stomach. She was not even used to being able to pinch any fat on her sides. Though it’d be a stretch to call her even close to overweight, her weight was different, and her scale confirmed it.
 
Brushing off the mild annoyance, she slipped into her staff shirt, a pair of leggings, greasy tennis shoes she wouldn’t dare bring in the house and drove to her shift.
 
“Dan’s out – Emily, fryer.” was all she needed to hear to know this shift would suck. The fryer was the most annoying station in the entire restaurant. Thawing fries and frozen fish in, a few hundred steaming-hot calories out. The only saving grace was that it was an easy spot to steal a quick snack that wouldn’t be missed by the generous portions served to hungry tourists. A fry here, a nugget there – how could you avoid snacking while boiling oil made everything smell so good? It was close to 3 before Emily was able to snag a break, and the memory of this morning’s irritation already gone, she ordered her usual – fried fish sandwich with a garden salad.
 
By 5, evening shift had switched in, and she was free to go. Order 3433 failed to pick up their chicken tenders and fries combo, making it open season for the staff. Not particularly hungry, but snacky, Emily snagged it for the ride home. In the car, the smell of the food stirred a gurgle in her stomach. The meal disappeared by the time she got home, remains gently tossed in the bin by the garage. Full, tired, and content, she made a face at the ring camera and unlocked the door, immediately remembering as her eyes met the kitchen table that it was family pasta night.