Pepperoni Pizza

Chapter 1

J.C. sighed and eyed the pizzas sizzling away in the large ovens. She leaned on the counter and sighed again.

"This is so damn boring," she said aloud.

"Well, Friday's usual are," Gary, the manager, said sympathetically, patting her on the back.

J.C. looked around the empty restaurant. There was only 2 couples. An elderly couple, and two men.

"Wanna bet they're gay?" she mused, shifting her elbow.

The harsh clanging of the phone pulled her out of her dreaming, and she picked it up. "Pizza Hut," she said automatically.

The other person on the line laughed. "Stop it, man."

J.C. stared at the phone in her hand. She put it back to her ear. "Uum."

The laughter came again. "Sorry. I'd like 2 large pizzas." Someone hooted from the background.

J.C. raised an eyebrow and got her pen and pad out. "What kind?" she askeda, pencil poised.

"Umm..." the voice grew muffled and she could hear someone yelling.

J.C. jumped as the phone clanked painfully in her ear.

More scuffling noises. "Sorry, dropped the phone. Can we have a supreme and a pepperoni?"

"No," she muttered sarcastically as she scribbled the order down.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Phone and address, please?" she asked and then recorded the info down. "Okay, it'll be $12.50, and they'll be ready in 20 minutes. Thanks."

More laughter. "Um, yeah, thanks."

J.C. rolled her eyes and hung up. "Weirdos," she said to the phone.

"Aren't they all?" said Janet, another employee, from behind the counter separating the front counter and the kitchen.

J.C. rolled her eyes. "Yeah. We need a large pep and sup, okay?"

Janet nodded and got to work on the pizzas.

J.C. leaned against the counter again.

"Hey, I don't pay you to stand there. Help Janet," Gary glared at her.

"Yessir," she saluted.

"It's about time to knock off. You can deliver these pizzas and then go home," Gary told her as he opened the cash register.

"Thank you!" J.C. cried out. It had been a long, long night.

---

"41 Redfern. 41 Redfern." J.C. chanted as she turned onto the small road. She peered through the darkness to find the numbers on the houses.

"21... 23... Well great, I've got another 100 miles until I get to this damn house," she stepped on the accelerator a bit more.

The pizzas sat on her knees, keeping her warm in their little red bag. They oozed their mouth watering smell.

J.C.'s stomach rumbled. "Oh, don't you start. You think you'd be immune to pizza working in that joint for ages."

J.C. slowed down. "45. Oh shit," she cursed and pulled into a driveway to turn around. Driving slowly, she found the house and pulled up.

"Must be a party." she told herself as she opened the door. She could hear music blaring and see lights flashing within.

"Well, at least you won't suffer for long, guys," she told the pizzas as she made her way up the drive. Shifting them in her grip, she pounded on the door.

The door flew open. A tall, dark youth of about 16 stared at her. "Oh, thank God! I'm starving!"

"That's $12.50," she told him.

He stared at her blankly. "Oh damnit. Let me get Ike," he turned to dive into the pounding house and then stopped and came back. "Come in."

J.C. sighed and stepped into the house, shifting the hot pizzas from one arm to another.

The boy closed the door and then passed her up, looking around.

J.C. stood awkwardly as 3 boys came in from another room and stared at her.

"Pizza!" one boy with long black hair cried out.

"No shit, Sherlock," J.C. mumbled.

More guys came from that room and she was suddenly aware that she was alone in a house full of guys.

The dark guy came back, followed by a tall lanky guy. His long, curly brown hair, brown eyes and goofy smile stunned at her.

"Hi. Uuum," he colored "we can't find any money..."

J.C. nodded, rolling her eyes. "Well, I get this all the time. Have fun playing tricks on us poor delivery guys."

She turned and opened the door, walking out into the cold night.

"Wait."

J.C. turned and found Isaac Hanson trailing behind. "What?"

"Um, can I pay you later? The guys are really hungry."

"Oh so you're going to promise you'll pay and then 'accidentally' forget to? No go, Isaac." She flicked her gaze over his shoulder and glared at the grinning faces at the window. They disappeared behind the flicked curtains.

He smiled slightly. "Well, J.C., I will pay you back."

She gaped. "How do you know my name?"

He hand reached out and she stepped back involuntarily. "Your name tag," he said simply.

J.C. stared at her name tag as if it had told him a big secret. She looked up into his grinning face. "Grr."

His smiled fell off. "What?"

"I'm tired. I want to go home. I don't want to deal with stuck up pop stars, and I don't want to deal with so called poor customers. I don't need this right now. So I am going back to the Hut, dropping these babies off, and then I'm off to bed. So goodbye."

He sighed as she opened the car door. "J.C., I swear I'll pay. It's Taylor's 16th, and we haven't got anything else to eat."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me another one."

"It's true," came another soft male voice from behind.

J.C. turned around and saw, well, Taylor Hanson. He stood awkwardly, with a stupid party hat perched on his long blonde headed head.

She leaned against the car and covered her face. So what to do? Play savior and feed a bunch of ravenous teens and cop it for losing 13 bucks, or be a major bitch and go home?

One of them cleared their throat. Probably Isaac.

She turned and grabbed the pizzas out of their bag. "Here. I'm going back and telling Greg I got jumped by a horde of hungry hormonal guys, okay? If he wants to know the address, there's nothing I can do," she shoved the pizzas into Ike's chest.

He sighed and shoved them back. "Look, if you're going to get into trouble, then I won't bother."

J.C. growled. "Look, you said you were all hungry, and if I wasn't in such a mood, I'd be doing the same as you are. So take them and I'll handle the payment."

A light flashed from the house, and she covered her eyes to find a bunch of guffawing guys holding a halogen light in their direction.

"I'm getting close to changing my mind," she held the pizzas out to Taylor.

He took them uncertainly.

"Happy birthday," she told him bluntly and turned to get into her car, blinking in the bright light.

The lights switched off as Taylor yelled at the house.

"Well, have fun," J.C. said and got in, pulling the door shut. She started the cold car, and ignored Isaac standing at her window.

He tapped on the glass.

She ignored him and started to back out, turning on her high lights, enjoying the mass of shocked and blinking boys.

'Thank you', he mouthed as she drove off.

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