Chapter 1 | Zoe

Chapter 1

Zoe

I hum a song as I haul the shopping boxes with me. It will be a great day with an amazing time spent decorating the bakery. After that, I'll teach Stodax how to make Christmas log cakes. He will enjoy his time, even though he is new to the planet and the city. Christmas is for everyone.

I kick open the door to the bakery. The welcoming bell rings, music to my ears. The air screams doughnuts and croissants, which are always perfect.

"Boss..."

"Oh, hi." It is Stodax. He's a ricod, a big blue guy with long curvy horns on his head. I can't even see him when I have boxes stacked in my hands. "How's it going?"

"What are these for?" He comes over and takes the boxes off my hands. Our hands brush against each other, sending a spark down my arms even though he seems oblivious. "Boxes. Bags."

"Come on, you can't be that oblivious. Did you look at the streets when you came in? Everyone's decorating."

He blinks and doesn't seem to catch on. Somehow, he always has a grumpy face, which is not fitting for the bakery. But he makes pretty cool food, and that's the reason he gets to stay working for me. Not to mention, it is lunch hour for us and then the bakery will be on pause for half an hour. This is also the only time he'll be out here instead of inside the baking area.

He clears his throat as he heads to the storage room with the boxes. "I don't understand. I saw green and red stuff, alongside an old human male with a white beard in red clothes. What does that mean?"

"It means Christmas is almost here."

"Christ what?"

"Do you guys not celebrate that on your planet? Like, not even a thing?"

He gives a soft cough. "No, I've never heard about that."

"You have to have seen it on the calendar here, right?" I hand him the boxes and he puts them on the big, long table inside the storage room. "Aren't you even curious about that?"

He huffs now that we're in the room instead of the storefront. "No. There are too many things on the calendar."

I shrug. I get it. When we're in a city with a lot of species, it can feel like there's a thing every other day. "But Christmas is different, at least in this city. There are plenty of humans around, so it's quite a big thing here, especially in this district."

"It's a human thing."

"Yes, it may as well be the biggest holiday of the year for us."

He rolls his eyes. "Fine."

I rest my hands on my waist. "You should be at least slightly more excited than this."

He forces half a smile. "Ayo... Christmas, yay..."

That's the most grumpy version of a cheer that can ever exist. But I'll forgive him. This is his first Christmas, after all. When he has a taste of Christmas magic, he'll understand.

He turns around towards me. "Anything else to put here?"

I shake my head. "That's all. I'll start decorating the place after we close for the evening."

His eyes widen at me. "Decorate what? Here?"

I go to a box, open it, and pull out a Santa's hat. He is a lot taller than me, so I climb onto a chair, putting the hat on his head. He stares at that, and doesn't seem to be too happy. I tap the white fluffy top of the hat. "And we'll be putting this on until Christmas is over."

He grunts and pulls that off his head. "This kid's thing? For almost the whole month?"

"It's Christmas month and it'll be the dress code for the bakery."

He sucks in a breath, opening his mouth to argue with me. I lift a finger and shake it. "No arguing. I'm the boss."

"But this isn't going to help in the baking room. Not to mention, you're going to think that wearing the red robe thing is a good idea next."

I laugh. "You know me, Stodax." I pull out a set from the same box. "This is mine. I got a set for you, too."

He... is fuming, but he humors me. "Are you expecting me to put these on while I bake?"

"No, but you're expected to wear these when you are in the storefront, where customers can see you."

He stares at me with eyes so wide that his eyeballs may fall out. I pat his shoulder. "It's okay. You'll learn to enjoy the holiday."

He watches me for a few more seconds before he sighs and turns away. "Fine, boss. The bread's waiting for me."

"Sure. Don't forget to look up log cakes when you have time!" I shout at his back as he heads out of the storage room. He seems upset about the Christmas arrangement.

He has been a grumpy one anyway. Maybe he is in need of some Christmas vibe.

Speaking of which. I have no idea where he came from. He has been super secretive about that. All I could do was pull up his background check, which was pretty clean. But he is new to the planet, still in his first year, so... Maybe I'm overthinking it. He's not the first one I've met who doesn't like Christmas anyway. I won't mind if Christmas really isn't his thing, but he should give it a try.

I make sure everything's put in the right spot before I put on my Christmas costume and head to the counter. Usually, Stodax and I work together to prepare the bread and pastry needed for the morning rush hour, and then he prepares what we need for the remainder of the day on his own. I'll be at the counter preparing coffee and drinks.

I used to do everything myself, but it was wild for everyone involved. As the business grows, I need help. On a random day, he showed up out of nowhere for me and promised that he used to be a chef, but he has nothing to prove that.

I have no idea why he showed up at my doorstep when there are a lot of other places to work. But he proved his skill with baking, so I let him stay. Weird, and remains weird every time I think about that.

He is inside the kitchen already. Unless something special comes up, I just leave him alone and he takes care of everything.

My phone buzzes when it is almost time to open up the shop again. The afternoon rest hour is over.

The bakery smells amazingly well. For a small business, I think I'm making progress.

I get behind the counter, taking a breath as I get ready to greet customers.

It is getting colder and colder recently, which smells like Christmas. On the door across from me, I'll put on the stripes. The flower ring will go on the door. The Christmas tree will be at the corner, taking the spot of the smaller fridge when sales of cold drinks will decrease when it gets cold outside.

The shelves will be replaced by our Christmas special, and everything will be perfect.

"Boss..."

"Yes?" I turn around to Stodax's light frown. "Is everything fine?"

"In the baking room, yes. But I think you have to unlock the door for customers to come in."

I spin around and hurry to the door. There are a few waiting outside already. "You're right!"

I bet he's rolling his eyes behind me, but late is better than never!