"You can only call yourself a pasta-maniac only when you can differentiate a chicken bolognese with linguini and a beef bolognese with spaghetti in only one glance!"

The clock was ticking. Twenty two.

"Dhoby Ghaut station."

ZOOM!

Can't be late... Can't be late!

It was the first day of work in PastaMania.

Hurried footsteps brought Don into a fatigued stupor as he entered the frosty ambience of Plaza Singapura. Damn, when was it ever so cold in here? PastaMania was just around the corner of Watson's.

Five twenty-eight beeped on the analog watch. So many unfamiliar faces!

"Hey, are you the new guy?" A familiar voice quavered through the radio-ed music.

Don turned around, and saw Edward. The boss.

"Uh, yeah. Hi."

"Hi, what hi. You're almost late. Go punch in your card, then go change. Don't be late the next time, okay? We'll deduct your pay by doubling your lateness." Late for a minute, deduct fifteen minutes of pay. Late fifteen minutes, deduct thirty minutes. Thirty minutes, an hour.

"That means that if you're late for two hours, don't bother coming to work at all!" A finger prodded Don.

Huh?

"Wei, Maggie, don't teach the new guy bad things, la."

"New guy? Where?" A cook popped out from the kitchen.

"Hey guys, there's a new guy here!" One said.

"Where? Woah. This kid is tall," another commented.

"Hey, hi, new guy!"

"Hi," Don grinned sheepishly.

Ew, I'm the NEW guy.

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"Oh, hey. I'm Maggie. Boss told me to teach ya."

"Mmhm."

"Okay, so the job is pretty simple. You've done this before, haven't ya?"

Don thought of his time in Terra. He nodded his head.

"Great. So it's just serve plates, clear plates, and crowd control. As for now, you'll learn clearing. You'll have to learn the different dishes we have here, first. Now, gogogo. See that guy with a tray on the table? Go clear it. And that woman there, at table 72, with the finished Mussels and Clams."

Wait.

"Howja know it's Mussels and Clams?" Don squinted at the table over at the other end of the restaurant.

"Of course I do, silly. There are two large shells on her side-plate. I'll tell you more about serving later."

Impressive.

"Maggie here is one of our best employees, la. She's been here for more than a year, already! You should see her closing later. Girl's so fast, you won't even notice she's been doing it."Boss quipped before nudging Don in the direction of Table 72.

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Spaghetti is just like sek mee.
Linguini is broader and flatter, like mee pok.
Penne has a hole in its long, pointed structure.
Fusili is spiralled.
Farfalle is shaped like a ribbon.

Right.

"Okay, test time. What's this dish?"

It's a plate of noodles splattered with tomato sauce.

"Uh, bolognese?"

"Nope. It's Pomodoro. Just tomato gravy on it. Bolognese has chunks of meat in it. Now, this is bolognese," Maggie showed Don another dish. There were white chunks of meat on the rich tomato-gravy complementing the stringy noodles.

Still looks like a plate of noodles splattered with tomato sauce.

"Chicken, right?" Don looked at Maggie for confirmation.

"Yep. Hey, you learn pretty fast!"

Because there's only two kinds of bolognese served here, and beef is certainly not white and chunky!

"Okay, then what's this?" Don was shown another plate.

The dish had a soupy texture to it. Two mussels adourned the sides of the dish. Clams laid hidden beneath the hot, piping exterior.

Two shells? Mussel shells...

"Mussels and clams."

"Great! What about this?"

Same thing, just with only one mussel now.

Seafood something...

"Seafood surprise?"

"No, la!" The girl giggled. "Seafood MANIA!"

Ohh!

"So, two mussels, M&C. One mussel, Seafood Mania. No mussels and only clams, Vongole."

Right!

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Time passed quickly, and it was time for closing. Don had to fill up the jars of cheese, wipe the tables and chairs, clean the counters, collect the condiments...

... And most of them were already done by the time Don got to it.

"Told you Maggie was fast," Boss looked over the counter at dumbfounded Don.

Hell yeah, she is.

"Just go refill tabasco and stack the chairs up. Then you can call it a night."

"Mmkay."

Ten forty PM, and it was time to go home.

"Wei, Weiwen, don't forget to punch in your card before you leave! Then pass it to me for signing."

Hey, he remembers my name, now!

"Anyway, good job today. Could be faster, though. You'll be fine in a few weeks. Welcome aboard Pastamania."

Hurrah.