Therese took another sip of her coffee. Every Monday she promised herself she'd never drink so
much again, and every Saturday AND Sunday she made a liar of herself. She buried her face in the
wafting sweet steam of her beverage and waited in the foyer of the shopping mall's food court. Her
shift in the local Donny's wouldn't start for another ten minutes, but she always liked to get in early
so she had time to caffeinate herself. Especially on a Monday.
  There weren't many people here yet. Mostly trade workers grabbing a coffee before heading to
their own jobs, soon to be followed by those that worked office hours. The white cat was more
accustomed to serving the latter, enjoying the pleasant exchanges between the polite customers
and half assing her barista skills to the self-important ones that forgot their manners.
  A squirrel was reclined in one of the nearby booths outside the Donny's. Therese took a second
glance, realizing that the squirrel girl was wearing jeans similar to Therese's own, and a jacket likely
to fend off the overzealous air conditioning of the mall building. Therese caught a glimpse of the
squirrel's shirt through the half zipped front of her jacket, a blue button up not unlike the one the
cat herself was wearing.
  Therese groaned to herself before taking another sip of her coffee. Great, it seemed the new
employee that Gus had mentioned on Friday was a damn meatsicle taking a job that should rightly
have gone to a felid. She hated the equality laws, even though it had been almost eight months since
the laws had passed she still couldn't get used to having to having to treat prey animals as... equals.
  Sighing deeply, she finished off her hot drink and tossed the plastic cup into the nearest bin on
her way inside. She shot a glance to the squirrel on her way in before greeting the shift manager.
  'Therese.' Jacob nodded his greeting, the lynx already looking flustered. 'Have you met the new
girl yet?'
  'The squirrel outside?' Therese replied unenthusiastically.
  'Yea.' Jacob replied flatly. 'I need you to cover her training. Emily quit last night after some
bastard threw his burger at her for forgetting the extra onions or some shit like that. So I need to run
a double shift to make up for it until HQ sends someone in to fill in for her.'
  'Seriously?' Therese cringed. 'Can't anybody else do it?'
  Jacob glared down at her and shook his head. 'You're the next highest employee on roster. You
want the manager job eventually, you need to show that you can deal with everything it entails.
Now call the new girl in and start showing her the ropes.'
  'Fine...' Therese muttered. She headed back out into the food court and approached where the
squirrel sat. The girl had looked young from a distance, but up close it was apparent that she was at
least in her late teens, possibly even the same age or older than Therese. Her fur was a light creamy
brown and her hair looked like it was black and partially dyed silver.
  'I'm guessing you're not Jacob?' The squirrel asked, lifting her blue eyes to meet Therese's own.
  'No, Therese.' The cat replied. 'Jacob's covering two shifts, so lucky me gets to train unlucky you.'
  'You don't seem excited.' The squirrel noted, standing and removing her jacket before slumping it
over her shoulder. Therese suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow, beneath that jacket the
diminutive girl had an impressive figure. 'Well, whatever. My name's Jenn.' She held out a hand for
Therese to shake.
  'Cool.' Therese replied, turning and heading back inside. 'Let's get you started. Come on.'
  Jenn dropped her hand and jogged after the cat. It seemed apparent to her that Therese didn't
expect much from the smaller woman, but Jenn was determined to prove that she could work just as
hard as anyone despite being only half the cat's size. Therese gestured to a row of lockers as they
neared the back of the working area for Jenn to dump her jacket before stopping to think for a
moment.
  'I won't start you on the fryer, but I'm sure you can handle the grill.' Therese said, leading Jenn to
where the hotplate was simmering quietly.
  'Afraid I'll fall in?' Jenn laughed.
  'No, I'd love that.' Therese replied bluntly. 'But I can just see you fumbling the basket and losing
fries all over the place.'
  'Fine.' Jenn remained enthusiastically, undeterred by the cat's casual dismissal of her potential
death. 'I'll grill up the best burgers anyone has ever had.'
 
  The day went smoothly, Therese having to grudgingly admit that Jenn was indeed quite good at
her new job. Jenn was swift and noticeably stronger than she looked, able to keep up with the
steady flow of incoming orders and keep on top of all the little things that people asked for
differently. In essence she had every trait that a Donny's employee needed.
  It was the second break of their shift, and Therese had gotten herself a burger and a drink before
seating herself in one of the booths further towards the far end of the food court. She had just taken
her first bite when to her annoyance Jenn appeared between several of the nearby tables and
decided to join her.
  'So, how am I doing?' Jenn asked, setting her tray on the table opposite Therese and taking a seat.
To the cat's surprise, the squirrel has gotten herself a burger as well.
  'Aren't you a herbivore?' Therese asked, puzzled and annoyed that the squirrel had not picked up
at all the she wasn't fond of her.
  'Uhh, no.' Jenn shook her head simply, before lifting the burger and taking her own first bite. The
cat was stymied momentarily by the bluntness of Jenn's answer, watching bemused as the small girl
made short work of the cooked beef burger. 'So... How am I doing?'
  'Oh, fine I guess.' Therese shrugged. 'I mean, it's not like it's a trial or anything. You're obviously
competent so you'll probably keep the job. That's really all there is to it.' She took another bite of
her burger as Jenn nodded slowly, swallowing her last mouthful before starting to slurp her drink
through the brightly coloured straw.
  'Well. That's good.' Jenn nodded briefly as she set her drink down. 'So my only other question
would have to be... have I done something wrong to you?'
  'What?' Therese asked, now perplexed. Perhaps the squirrel wasn't as dim as she thought?
  'You seem very cold towards me.' Jenn continued. 'You've been perfectly cheery and chirpy to the
customers and the others working in the back there. But you don't seem to have any real interest in
talking to me. Did I do or say something to offend you?'
  'No.' Therese shook her head, narrowing her gaze slightly. 'I just...'
  'Oh.' Jenn seemed to realize something. 'The agency told me some felids might still be harbouring
resentment towards... prey. I guess you're one of those, then?'
  Therese was unsure of what to say for a few seconds, prompting Jenn to simply nod to herself
and look away. The cat sighed in frustration. It was bad enough that she had to babysit a rodent, but
being forced to treat her fairly when she should by all rights simply be allowed to eat her was an
unwelcome start to her week. It didn't help that Jenn had just demonstrated how insightful and
intelligent she was. Therese was already guessing that this wouldn't be the last time this topic would
come up between them.
  'That's okay.' Jenn said suddenly. She nodded to herself, then smiled and turned back to look
Therese in the eye. 'I'll just have to change your mind. Right? Show you how valuable equality is.'
  Therese nodded, then smiled back. 'I'm going to eat you.' She leaned forward and stared back at
the squirrel before her. 'First chance I get to legally hunt you, I'm going to catch you, drag you back
to my home or somewhere relaxing, and eat you alive. Not because I don't like you. Just because it's
how things should be.'
  Therese expected the squirrel to be put off. But Jenn simply leaned forward herself and continued
smiling as she replied. 'Deal. If you can catch me, I'm all yours. But until I'm in your belly, we have to
work here. And I will get through to you. Just wait and see.'
  'Don't hold your breath.' Therese smirked, lifting her burger and finishing the last few mouthfuls,
making a deliberate show of how much she was enjoying it. 'These are good, but I can't wait until I
have you between my teeth. I don't suppose you want to work overtime this evening?'
  'Maybe another time.' Jenn smirked back, slurping the last of her drink.
 
  The last two hours of the shift seemed to drag for Therese. Before, she had been able to distract
herself with the work. But now that all the cards were on the table between her and Jenn, the
squirrel had delighted in involving the cat as much as possible with her own tasks. The matter was
made all the more infuriating by the fact that Therese knew Jenn could handle them on her own,
and because Jacob had taken a shine to the girl and seemed to disapprove of Therese's scowling.
  Four o'clock came and at last the day was over. As Jenn retrieved her jacket and took a few
moments to check her phone, Therese caught sight of Jacob beckoning her into his office. Fearing
that her threat may have been reported, she immediately began thinking of excuses as she made her
way inside and shut the door.
  'So...' Jacob said, trailing off and falling silent as he slumped to his chair behind the desk. Even
sitting, the lynx was almost at the smaller cat's eye level.
  'So..?' Therese echoed, trying her best not to appear nervous and mostly succeeding.
  'She seemed pretty competent.' Jacob nodded, glancing at something on the monitor of his
computer before turning back to Therese. 'I was worried that her size might slow her down. She may
never be able to work the fryer, but she'll make a fine barista pretty soon.'
  'Barista?' Therese protested. 'Is this because Emily quit?'
  'Partly.' Jacob shrugged. 'Let's be honest, pretty girls sell more, that's why we want them up the
front. That's why you're up front, that's why I want her up front. Squirrel or not, she's not bad
looking and once she's had enough training out the back I want you to train her on the coffee
machines as well.'
  Therese was agitated but this time was well able to keep it hidden. 'Alright. I can handle this.'
  'Good.' Jacob smiled. 'And Therese, I know you're not exactly making a secret of your opinion
towards prey, but I trust you will be able to keep it buried during business hours, alright? For the
sake of co-workers and customers. We cannot look backwards on this issue, and as long as you're
wearing the uniform you need to remember that.'
  'Yes, Boss...' Therese nodded. 'Is... that everything?'
  'Yes.' Jacob nodded. 'Have a good night. If I survive I'll see you tomorrow.'
  'Alright, thank you.' Therese smiled. 'Take care.' She gave a small nod as she opened the door and
stepped back through. Making her way out of the Donny's and into the food court, she allowed
herself a quick sigh of frustration when she was sure nobody was looking. It would be good to get
out of here and out of the uniform as quickly as she could. The people walking around here meant
she was forced to keep wearing a smile, or at least a neutral expression.
  She hadn't made it much further through the mall when she saw Jenn waiting outside the Gracie's
outlet, one of the prime clothing retailers in the centre. She stopped short, pausing for a moment to
just watch. Jenn was looking at something on her phone, once more wearing the jacket that
concealed her Donny's uniform.
  After a few more seconds, nothing of interest happened. The squirrel was probably just waiting
for a friend, or maybe a parent, so there wasn't much point in lingering. Therese was about to keep
walking when Jenn suddenly looked up, making direct eye contact.
  The cat didn't know why Jenn had looked up at that exact moment, or in that exact direction. It
didn't matter though, Jenn simply stared back at her for a few seconds before winking and returning
to whatever she had been looking at on her screen. Therese tried not to let the squirrel get to her.
As soon as that little rodent made a mistake, it wouldn't be a problem.