She was selected to try out the employee uniform.

"Section 2 today, Mackenzie." said the blonde haired woman who worked as the restaurant's hostess.

"Thanks, Allison!" Mackenzie replied cheerfully.

She was about to head over in that direction when a shrill voice cut through the air. "Ah, Mackenzie! You finally decided to show up for work, I see."

Mackenzie stifled a groan and slowly turned to face the restaurant's evening manager, Janet. A stern woman with short black hair in her early 40's, she had seemed to have an axe to grind with Mackenzie ever since she'd been hired. She was always hypercritical of Mackenzie's uniform, and seemed to love dumping the overly rude diners onto Mackenzie's plate whenever she could. Sure, she was a strict boss with all the employees, but Mackenzie always seemed to get the absolute worst side of her for whatever reason.

"Sorry if I'm a few minutes late, Janet." Mackenzie offered, already turning towards her tables. "I'll get right to-"

"Don't bother. We need to have a talk first, in my office please." Without even waiting for a response, the older woman strutted towards the back of the restaurant. Mackenzie gulped, worried that she might finally be fired by the woman who had seemed to hate her guts from day one. But with no say in the matter, she followed Janet back to the small office in the back corner of the building.

"Close the door, please." Janet said, sitting down across the desk from Mackenzie. The redhead reluctantly did so and sat down as well, her heart pounding in her chest. "This is the third time you've been late this month. Ordinarily, you'd be fired on the spot."

Mackenzie's heart lurched. She was about to object when Janet continued, "However... I'd be willing to overlook your tardiness today if you were to volunteer to try out one of the potential new uniforms for the waitstaff."

"Definitely!" Mackenzie agreed without hesitation. She felt herself relax slightly, she wouldn't be fired after all!

"Excellent." Janet replied, producing a large plastic bag from underneath the desk. "The owners are testing out three new uniform designs to garner more interest from customers. If they're popular enough, they might be made permanent down the line. Kara and Olivia already agreed to wear the other two tonight, so you won't be the only one serving tables wearing something different."

Janet rose and moved to the office door. She looked back and gave Mackenzie a sly smirk. "I'll give you a few moments to get changed." She exited and closed the door, leaving Mackenzie alone in the office with the bag and its contents.

Mackenzie gulped again. It wasn't exactly comforting that Janet had seemed pleased at her acceptance to wear the uniform. Now more than a bit apprehensive, Mackenzie peered into the bag.