This is a continuation of 
...so ya might wanna read that first! 😉
It's also an entry for today's #freewrite, "makeup": @mariannewest/day-1936-5-minute-freewrite-thursday-prompt-makeup
...The crew stood in stunned silence, watching as the pantry chef tossed his (perfectly plated) salad into the sink, turned on one heel, and strode briskly out of the kitchen. The alley door slammed behind him.
The poaching pans continued to simmer along happily. A steady stream of water trickled from one of the faucets over a bag of frozen shrimp. Expertly battered tempura bubbled its way to perfection. And then slightly past perfection...
"Could we start over"? one of the poachers asked doubtfully.
The boss looked stricken. "We're going to have to", she sighed. "I won't have it getting around that our establishment serves 'floor fish'". She stepped into the walk-in freezer, brow furrowed, whispering something under her breath. The metal door swung shut behind her.
Then she burst out again. "What are you waiting for?" she snapped, "Hop to it! Toss everything and start over!"
The kitchen crew got to work. In the blink of an eye, overcooked quail's eggs and tempura were disposed of, and new batches were started. The dishwasher, who'd done it before, was recruited to plate salad. The waiter was equipped with several ready-made appetizers, and instructed to stall. The grill person disappeared into the walk-in to procure a brand new fish.
Everything was back on track.
Or it would have been, if every fish in the tub hadn't been wearing makeup.
Yes. Makeup.
Some lunatic had painstakingly applied pink lipstick to each little set of fish lips, and blue eye shadow around each little fish eye. They'd even cut fake eyelashes down to size and glued them in place. It looked like the work of a psychotic beauty school student slash taxidermist.
The grill person stared in horror at the tub of artfully painted fish. The fish stared back prettily from their bed of ice.
Who would do such a thing?
And why??!?
