"Full House - Sisters 03 - And the Winner Is... - Nina Alexander" - читать интересную книгу автора (Alexander Nina)

Michelle shrugged. "It's the only way I could make enough money to buy Stephanie that silver bracelet she wants."
"You're lucky your neighbor decided to open a taco stand," Cassie said.
"I know," Michelle nodded. "It's called El Taco Loco. 'The crazy taco.'"
Danny came out of the store with Cassie's parents. "Ready to go, Michelle?" he asked.
"I'm ready." Michelle crossed her fingers. "Wish me luck," she told her friends.
"Good luck," Mandy said.
"Buena suerte," Cassie added. "That means 'good luck' in Spanish. I saw it on TV."
"Thanks." Michelle giggled. "I mean, muchas gracias!"
She and her father left the others in front of the music store and continued down the aisle. Just before they reached the taco stand, Danny stopped.
"Now, remember," he said. "Mrs. Cruz is doing you a favor by giving you this job. You need to show her you're a hard worker."
"I will," Michelle promised. Then they hurried to the taco stand. Mrs. Cruz, a plump woman with short black hair and a friendly smile, stood behind the counter.
"Hello, Mrs. Cruz," Danny said, shaking the woman's hand. "I'm here to deliver your new part-time worker."
"Wonderful." Mrs. Cruz beamed at Michelle and held out her hand. "Welcome to El Taco Loco, Michelle."
Michelle shook her new boss's hand. "Thanks for giving me this job," she said. "I really appreciate it."
"You're quite welcome," Mrs. Cruz replied, smiling again. "Now, let's go in the back and get you started right away, okay?"
The woman's expression was so sunny that Michelle couldn't help grinning back. "Okay, Mrs. Cruz."
"I'll be back to pick you up at the end of your shift," Danny told Michelle. "Good luck!"
Michelle and Mrs. Cruz said good-bye to Danny. Then Mrs. Cruz gestured for Michelle to come behind the counter. "Let me show you around," the woman said.
Two cash registers rested on the long front counter. At one of them, a young woman in an apron was making change for a man who was buying a soda.
"What do I do first," Michelle asked, eagerly. "Learn how to use the cash register? Take some orders?" She could already picture herself ringing up sales, punching a button to make the change drawer pop out, and handing out food to happy customers.
"Oh, no, no, dear," Mrs. Cruz said with a chuckle. "You won't have to spend much time up here in the front at all. The full-time employees and I will take care of working the cash register and taking orders."
Michelle nodded but felt a tiny bit disappointed. Still, she was sure there were lots of interesting things to do in the back, behind the scenes.
She followed Mrs. Cruz through a narrow doorway. The kitchen was laid out in a square, with shiny steel counters along three sides. The other wall held a big refrigerator and a closet.
Michelle looked around curiously. A man with dark hair and a bushy mustache was stirring a bubbling pot of melted cheese on a large stove. "I'm Charlie," he said to Michelle.
"Hi, Charlie!" Michelle replied. "I'm Michelle."
"And I'm John," a short blond man chopping lettuce on a wooden chopping block said. "Welcome to El Taco Loco!"
"Thanks!" Michelle smiled. She couldn't wait to get started. She saw herself standing at the counter, dicing onions into perfect little cubes with John and Charlie. This was going to be fun!
Mrs. Cruz turned to Michelle. "Are you ready to start your first job?" she asked.
"You bet," Michelle declared, pushing up the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "What do you want me to do? Help Charlie melt the cheese? Chop some lettuce and onions?"
Mrs. Cruz chuckled. "No, no, dear," she said, patting Michelle on the, shoulder. "That's not the sort of thing you'll be doing. John and Charlie will take care of the cooking."
"Oh." Michelle felt another twinge of disappointment. If I'm not going to cook and I'm not going to take orders or use the cash register, then what am I going to do? she wondered. But Michelle didn't want to seem ungrateful. She smiled at Mrs. Cruz. "Okay," she told her. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it!"
"That's the spirit," Mrs. Cruz said. "First, let me give you your very own El Taco Loco apron just like the rest of the crew."
She bustled over to the wall near the refrigerator, where a row of white aprons hung. Mrs. Cruz held one out to Michelle. It had a picture of a taco with little arms and legs waving wildly. EL TACO LOCO was printed above it.
"Cool." Michelle took the apron and tied it around her waist. It made her feel as if she were wearing a uniform, just like a real employee. "How do I look?" she asked.
"Wonderful!" Mrs. Cruz leaned over and pulled something out of a small box on the counter. "Now, one more thing before we get you started," she said cheerily. "Let's put your hairnet on."
"My what?" Michelle stared at the item in Mrs. Cruz's hand. It looked like a tangled clump of string.
Mrs. Cruz stretched it out, and Michelle saw that it was a net shaped like a cap. "You need to wear this when you're working near food," she explained. She helped Michelle slip it on over her hair.
The hairnet felt weird. Michelle didn't even want to think about what she looked like wearing it. Oh, well, she thought. It's not as if any of my friends are going to see me in the kitchen.
Michelle turned to Mrs. Cruz. "Okay," she said, tucking the ends of her hair under the hairnet. "Now what?"
Mrs. Cruz reached under the counter and dragged out a large cardboard box. "This new shipment of paper cups came in yesterday," she explained. "All the sizes are mixed up together. I'd like you to sort them by size—small, medium, and large. Then count them to make sure they're all there."
That's it? Michelle asked herself. She glanced at the big box of paper cups. But counting cups is so boring!
"When you're finished, I'll show you where to put them away." Mrs. Cruz smiled. "Good luck, dear. I'll come back in a few minutes to see how you're doing."
"Okay. Thanks again for giving me this job, Mrs. Cruz," Michelle said. She had to give the job her best try—even if it wasn't very exciting. "I won't let you down."
"I'm sure you won't." Mrs. Cruz patted Michelle on her hairnet, then headed out to the front of the taco stand.
Michelle pulled out a handful of paper cups from the box and sighed. Wearing a hairnet and counting cups wasn't exactly the most glamorous job in the world. But that didn't matter. I'm going to be the best employee El Taco Loco has ever seen, she decided. And I'm going to buy Stephanie the birthday present she really wants!


STEPHANIE
Chapter 3