He’s a Trap

Oliver wished it were still the holidays. It gave him more time to think and work on his art. But Cyrus was opening the restaurant soon and he didn't want Cyrus or Sierra to yell at him. So he emerged from his sleeping bag and switched to his work clothes before stumbling out of the attic.

"Morning, Cyrus," he yawned as he headed for the bathroom to finish getting ready. Cyrus looked half dead with a cup of coffee in his hands, standing behind the bar.

"Agate."

It was a little surprising to see Anita already in and ready for work, putting money in the cash register.

"Morning, Anita," he yawned as he turned the corner to the bathroom. Anita nodded, still focused on the till. Oliver proceeded to get ready as best as he could before returning to the floor. Anita was still working and Cyrus was gone. Sierra entered the back of the building as Oliver moved to continue his morning regime.

"Morning, Sierra," he greeted.

"Good morning, you're up earlier than usual," Sierra followed.

Oliver shrugged, heading up to the attic when something pulled his body off the table.

"What's that?" Sierra poked a spot on his back. Oliver twisted to see what it was, catching a glimpse of a brown stain.

"Coffee."

"And that?"

There was another brown stain on his sleeve.

"Coffee, or is that soy sauce?"

"That one?"

There was a red stain on the tip of his sleeve.

"Either hot sauce or ketchup. Not sure."

Sierra groaned and dragged him to the back, where Leigha was entering, and knocked on Cyrus' door.

"What," he snapped as he opened the door.

"Oliver needs a clean uniform. Do you have any spares?"

Cyrus glared at Oliver before turning to the cabinet. He opened the drawers to find no men's uniforms.

"Nope, as I remember, Oliver has already used the spares."

Sierra glared at Oliver; despite him being taller than her; it was intimidating.

"Do you have any women's uniform's left?" asked Leigha. She looked at the others with a wicked smile that sent a bone-chilling shiver down his spine. Oliver looked to Sierra, who seemed to understand Leigha's meaning and smiled a Cheshire grin. He looked to Cyrus for help, but he had already pulled out the women's uniform.

"I knew it was smart to keep a women's large here for safety," he smirked.

"And I have a spare pair of tights," offered Leigha, pulling the item out of her bag. It would fit him since she was the tallest girl working at the restaurant. Sierra snatched the uniform from Cyrus. Leigha followed as they took him to the breakroom. Oliver was pleading for his life the whole way over. Anita remained in the hallway with Cyrus smirking into his coffee cup as they listened to the commotion.

"Are you sure it's alright?" she asked, looking to the manager. He wasn't this sadistic.

"It is since he can't keep his work clothes clean. There's a laundromat one block down. He can take the clothes over there to wash during his break if he doesn't want to dress like this for more than one day."

Anita frowned, uncertain if this way was right or not, but she supposed being dirty at work was worse.

"Put his hair down; it will look better that way," instructed Sierra.

"Not the hair!"

"I have a clip we can use to get the bangs out of the way," added Leigha.

"Perfect!"

"Should I be concerned?" asked Shasta, who had entered the diner upon hearing the yelling?

"Oliver didn't clean his uniforms, so we found a substitute. Make sure to keep your uniform clean."

"Right." Shasta headed down the hall to change, as a girl collided with him, sending both crashing to the ground. Oliver sat up in the female uniform when he realized he was on top of Shasta. He jumped off and stood against the wall so everyone could see the change. The tights defined his legs, so Oliver was trying to pull down his skirt to cover them. His bangs were pinned to the side with a flower clip; the rest of his hair was out of the usual ponytail.

"Do you think anyone will notice the shoes?" asked Sierra as she appeared with the dirty uniforms in her arms.

"No," answered Shasta before heading back to change, mortified by the whole experience. Anita looked at Shasta as he left before looking back to Oliver.

"You look… nice" offered Anita. She looked to Cyrus for help, but he had shut his office door. But they could still hear cackling from inside.

"I think he looks hot as a girl," came Leigha's voice from the breakroom, causing Oliver to choke on his spit.

"What should we call him for today?" asked Sierra. "He can't go by Oliver in that."

"Olivia," answered Leigha, skipping out of the breakroom to the front door to open the restaurant. Anita nodded before retreating to the front as well.

"Olivia sounds good. Oliver's sister, who is stepping in for today."

"I have never been more thankful that I don't know anyone in the area more than today," he whimpered.

"Come on, Olivia," Sierra said, pushing him to the front. "Time to earn the right to clean your uniform."

Oliver whimpered as she pushed him.

"To be nice, we'll keep you here at the bar, okay," offered Sierra. She went back to the breakroom to change and put the dirty clothes on the table.

"So you know," commented Leigha as she came to grab some sauces to put on the tables, "the skirt is doing wonders for your butt." She moved out of his area with a wink.

"Stop doing that," he whimpered, turning to put sauces along the counter. Shasta had already started meal prep.

"Shasta, help me."

Shasta looked up at him, traumatized by the whole thing.

"Clean your uniform."

Oliver pouted but continued to get things ready for the day.

---

Miles made it to the corner where he and Ramona usually met a little earlier than usual. While waiting, the back doors of the restaurant opened in a flurry. Oliver stormed across the parking lot, dressed in his regular clothes, and holding a bag. He looked mad.

"Hey, Oliver," offered Miles, with no return greeting in store. But he did see Oliver's hair out of its ponytail, and something keeping his bangs out of his face.

Oliver brushed past Ramona, also rebuffing her greeting. Miles jogged up to Ramona to help her along the icy sidewalk.

"Was that Oliver wearing a flower clip in his hair?"

Miles looked back to see Oliver cross the street behind them and enter a laundromat.

"I think it was."