“Welcome to Big Joe’s Burgers,” said Sora Genjo with every dignity he had left. “May I take your order now?”

The old man wiggled his glasses, glaring at the menu above. “Yes, I would like to have the sausage biscuit sandwich with hash browns and a cup of coffee.”

Sora blinked his eyes behind his glasses and stared at the clock. It was only five pm. 

“I am sorry sir,” he said. “We only serve breakfast around nine a.m till noon.”

“What?” the old man dropped his mouth as if an anvil landed on his toe. “You are no longer serving breakfast?”

“No… We still serve breakfast, but only in the morning.”

“The morning? This is the morning!”

Are you kidding me, Sora thought. The sun is setting outside!

“This is the afternoon. We are serving dinner right now.”

The old man looked at his watch. “But my watch said it is 5 a.m.”

“It is actually 5 pm, sir.”

The old man grunted. “This is outrageous! I came here for breakfast! Why don’t you have breakfast!”

Sora rubbed his forehead. 

This was getting out of hand.

Big Joe’s Burgers focused on the customers’ expectations during specific times to earn more money. In the morning, most people want breakfast, and at noon, most people want lunch. The method also helps employers save leftover ingredients for the next day. People who want breakfast too late just have to deal with it.    

“Sir, it wasn’t my idea we only serve breakfast in the morning,” said Sora. “You can still buy coffee.”

“Then why do you still have the breakfast menu, hanging up there?” he shouted, pointing his finger at the board.

“Because nobody wants to take it down every day.” 

The old man gritted his yellow teeth. “Stop bullshitting me!”

“I am telling you the truth, sir.”

The old man waved his crane in the air. “Bullshit! I have been fighting in the Vietnam War for five years! All I ate were snails, grass, and other things you wouldn’t even imagine! I deserve breakfast!”

Oh, my god…

Veterans who used their suffering as an excuse to get what they want were the worst. But Sora doesn’t hate all of them. 

His grandfather was a vet from the Pacific War. He served as a soldier until he lost his legs in battle. When he returned home, he never complained about his suffering in the war for so-called charity. 

God blessed his soul. 

“How many times do I have to tell you, we don’t serve breakfast now!” Sora shouted.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me!” the old man shouted. “If you don’t serve me, then you don’t serve your county?”

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Sora glared. “What does servicing you have to do with my county?”

“I will consider you a traitor if you don’t give me breakfast!” He smacked his crane on the counter. “Give me my goddamn breakfast!”

Sora shook his head. “Let me speak to my manager.”

“You better speak to your manager, or I will kick your ass from kingdom come!”

Sora walked away from the counter. He approached the door and pushed it open. His boss, Mr.Duncan, was sitting behind his desk, reading a newspaper.

“Sir, can you help me for a second?” Sora asked.

Mr.Duncan placed his paper down and sighed. “What is it now, Sora?”

Sora pointed his thumb at the cashier counter. “There is a stubborn old man, demanding for breakfast. He won’t listen to me!”

“Damn, that must be Mr. Pearson. He always comes here late for breakfast.”

“Why didn’t you warn me about him?”

“I thought he died. He was gone for three months.”

Old people are weird.

“Let me handle him, Sora. You can work on the grill with Amy.”

Sora sighed. “Thank you, sir.”

He strolled into the kitchen where Amy was flipping burgers on the grill.

Amy was the only girl working at Big Joe’s Burgers. Everyone thought she was a boy with short orange hair until she spoke in her sweet feminine voice. Maybe her tomboy look kept the men off her back, but that didn’t stop Sora from talking to her. 

“Hey,” he said as he approached her.

“Hi,” she said back.

Sora could smell the coconut shampoo from her hair, and a vanilla perfume from her skin. It probably helped her to avoid smelling like hamburgers. “The manager told me to grill here now. If… You don’t mind…”

Amy giggled. “Are you having trouble with the customers again?”

Sora smiled with red cheeks. “Yeah…..”

“I heard you shouting, but I have no problems with you working here with me.”

“Thanks.” Sora grabbed a spatula and stood next to Amy. He slid it under one burger and flipped it.  “So….. How have you been?”

Amy flipped a patty next to mine. “Oh, the usual. Are you still playing SCO?”

“Not for a while.”

SCO (aka Sword and Claw Online) was a popular virtual MMORPG where players roleplay as anthropomorphic animal characters. Apes, armadillos, badgers, bats, bears, boars, cats, coyotes, dogs, elks, foxes, goats, horses, mice, monkeys, moles, otters, porcupines, rabbits, raccoons, rams, rats, rhinoceros, sheep, skunks, squirrels, weasels, wolverines, and wolves. The non-playable races were reptiles, bugs, and rare animal species from unexplored regions.

The furry community loved the game because they can roleplay as their virtual animal counterparts. Apparently it was better than wearing hot fursuits.

Sora only played SCO because Amy introduced him to the game. He became intrigued with it because the game differed from the other fantasy role-playing games. As an example, playing as a barbarian tiger was better than playing as an elf archer.

There were many unique kinds of animals to play with their own natural skills. Way better than playing as your standard fantasy tropes. 

Maybe some people weren’t comfortable becoming furry non-human characters in an immersive virtual world. But gamers who wanted to play something new and different would find Sword and Claw the best game ever.

Sora couldn’t even stop playing after Amy guided him into the game. She played as a barbarian rogue fox girl while Kyle played as a warrior wolf. They slew monsters, completed quests, and sometimes they dueled other players to show off their skills. 

It was fun.

“Last week, Vicky and I finally raided a hidden dungeon at the jungle region,” she said. 

“Wow, really?” Sora asked.

Hidden dungeons were hidden tombs, hard to find and raid. They contain rare loot, which couldn’t be brought at in-game town shops. Sora was surprised Amy and her friend had found one.  

“What did you get?” he asked.

Amy sighed. “Unfortunately, I had to leave it so Vicky and I could escape. It was a total drag.”

“At least you entered a hidden dungeon.”

Amy flipped a burger. “Umhm, but fortunately I met a party who found another one! We are going to raid it tonight. Wanna join us?”

“Sure! What time?”

“Before ten, after we get off work.”

“Perfect! I’ll call you when I get home.”

Amy smiled with excitement. “Sweet! This raid will be the best!”

Sora agreed. This will be his first time raiding a hidden dungeon ever since he began playing SCO. What will they find inside the dungeon?