"...just unacceptable!" ranted the red-faced man.  "I [i]demand[/i] to speak to a manager!"

"I'm very sorry for the trouble, sir!" replied a flustered waitress, bowing repeatedly in apology.  "Can I offer you a free dessert for the trou-"

"I don't want your damn dessert!  I [i]want[/i] to speak to your [i]manager![/i]"

"Yes, of course, sir!  I'll go get him right away!"  She scurried off quick as she could, disappearing behind the Staff Only door to the kitchen area, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.  It had been a busy day, and with two employees out sick today, she'd been saddled with extra tables.  Some customers didn't appreciate the extra few minutes it took for her to deliver their food.  And some, like Mr. Angryface back there, were being very vocal about it.

"Trouble, Abby?" came a familiar voice.  Abby looked up to find the manager himself standing over her.  Despite his looming 6'6" height and very muscular build, he was a kind man, speaking softly and only using his Death Glare when absolutely necessary.

Abby sniffled.  "Just that guy at table 15.  He asked [i]very politely[/i] to speak with you about his wait time."

"I see."  The manager smirked, which drew a smile from Abigail as well.  He was a very professional man, never letting customers see him frown.  Even so, he knew how some people could be.  "I'll take care of him, then.  Your order for table 7 should be up, by the way."

Abigail opened her mouth to thank him, when very suddenly, her phone began to loudly ring in her pocket.  The manager raised an eyebrow at her.  "You know phones aren't allowed on shift."

"I'm sorry, sir!  I...  I could have sworn I left it in my bag."

"Well turn it off and keep it out of sight for the day, hm?"  Giving her a pat on the shoulder, he walked past her and headed for the dining room, leaving Abby to puzzle over her phone.

She was [i]sure[/i] she'd left this in her bag.  She always did!  And hadn't she turned it off, too?  How did it get into her pocket?  She frowned down at the screen.   "Unknown Caller: Unknown Number".  She rolled her eyes and hit the End button.

Only for the caller to [i]immediately[/i] call back!  "Huh??"  She hit End again.  Once more, her phone immediately began to ring again!  She hit the End button three more times, and every time, the same unknown caller was immediately ringing her again.

Now she was getting freaked out.  Who was doing this?  And how?  She slipped through the kitchen and into the break area, away from the rest of the staff, and stared down at her pbone once more.  It was still ringing... and she was starting to get the feeling it wasn't going to stop.  She bit her lip nervously, but she could ultimately see only one way out of this.  Taking a deep breath to steady herself... and then another one... she finally hit Accept and put the phone to her ear.  "...Hello?"

...Static.  There was nothing on the other end of the line but static.  And then, suddenly, the static was all around her!  Like a wave of energy, it washed over her, making her hair frizzy and her senses... well, weird!  Suddenly, she felt like the firm tiles beneath her feet were giving slightly under her weight, and the sounds of a noisy kitchen were gradually washed away by the growing sound of crashing ocean waves.  The lights around her were suddenly so bright... bright enough that she couldn't see at all!  "Oh god, am I having a stroke?  Is this what a stroke feels like?!"  Even her own voice sounded distorted, like she was hearing herself through a very old, crackly phone line.  And just when she thought she might actually pass out...

It stopped.  The lights were no longer blinding her, the odd wave of static had passed, and her phone had gone silent.  However, something else had gone with it; namely, the restaurant!  No longer was she in a poorly constructed supply closet turned into a break area.  Now, she found herself in a small but cozy room, with walls made of... straw?  It looked like a straw hut!  Sure enough, the floor beneath her was straw as well, firm enough to hold her, yet soft enough to sink slightly beneath her feet.  "Wha...?  What just-"

"BOO!"

"EEEEEEEEEK!!"  From above and behind her, there suddenly appeared a strange and very-up-close upside-down face!  Abby almost literally leapt out of her shoes, going stiff as a board in sheer fright!  Much to the curious creature's amusement.

"Aaaahahahahahaha!  Oh, oh my gosh, your FACE!" the little creature laughed, hovering in the air and slowly turning right side up.  "Oh man, that was PRICELESS!  Ahahahahahaha!"

Abigail pressed her back against the far wall, eyes wide in fear and confusion.  Mostly confusion!  "I-  Wha-  Who-  Where-  I don't-" she sputtered helplessly, a dozen questions all clammering to be spoken at once.  Finally, she managed to get one out: "What is happening?!"

The floating creature suddenly rushed toward her again, pulling its cheeks out to show its fangs while its tongue wiggled about in typical "Ooga Booga Booga" fashion, prompting another scream from Abigail and sending the creature once again into a laughing fit.  "Hahahahahahaha!  Oh, oh, my sides!  My siiiides!  Ahahahahahaha!"  It finally managed to stifle its laughter long enough to grin at her - not the most reassuring thing, given the circumstances.  "Oh man, they never told me you'd be such a scaredy cat!  You're already the most fun I've had in years, partner!"

"P-Partner?!" she exclaimed, finally at wit's end.  "What are you talking about?  [i]What[/i] is going on?  And who are you?!"

The creature tilted its head at her.  "Wait, you don't know?  They didn't tell you?  Ha!  That's even more hilarious!  Well then!  I guess it's up to me!"  The little creature puffed out its chest and "stood" in the air with a very fancy-looking posture.  Or maybe just a patronizing one.  "First off, my name is Impmon!  I'm very powerful, very important, and best of all, I'm your new partner!"

"What?!  Partner for what?!"

Impmon shrugged.  "I dunno.  For... whatever!  We're partners now!  So I guess we're gonna do the kind of stuff people with partners do!"

"That...  That makes no sense!  And you still haven't told me where we are!"

"Well that part is, uh... kind of hard to explain.  We're in the Digital World, see.  That's the simple part."

"No it isn't!  What does that even mean?"

"It means the world around you is digital!"  Impmon seemed to think that cleared it all up.  Abigail clearly did not.

"What...  You mean, like, inside a computer or something?"

"What?  No!  Pay attention, okay?  I don't know what a computer is, but we're in the Digital World, okay?  Di-gi-tal.  The word 'computer' isn't even in it!"

Abigail blinked a few times.  That... didn't help her at all.  But she could... maybe go along with it?  "Okay...  And, uh, what exactly is the Digital World?"

Now it was Impmon's turn to blink.  "It's... you know... the world.  Like, this."  She made a motion to indicate the entire area around them.  "This hut, the stuff outside, outside in general...  I dunno how else to explain it.  It's just... the world!  ...Well, okay, it's [i]our[/i] world.  You humans don't usually come here, so I guess it's not exactly...  Huh.  Okay, uh...  Think about [i]your[/i] world, but... digital?"

Abby just stared at her, then took her own head in her hands.  "This is insane.  Am I dreaming?  I must be.  How else could this possibly- YEOWCH!"  She jumped back as Impmon gave her a firm pinch on the side, grinning all the while.  "What was that for?!"

Impmon snickered.  "Well, you said you thought you were dreaming, so I pinched you!  And guess what?  You didn't wake up!  Hahahaha!"

Abigail went wide-eyed again.  "So wait...  You're telling me this is real?  But that...  None of this makes any sense!  How did I even get here?  Where [i]is[/i] here?"

"That..."  Impmon went quiet.  "...Uh...  You know what, it's probably better that you ask someone else.  I totally know it, of course, but someone else could probably explain it better."  It was a complete lie, of course, but Abigail was in no shape to call it out.  Besides, she [i]did[/i] need some explanations.

"Hey, by the way," Impmon added, suddenly floating up close again.  "What's your name, anyway?  I told you mine, so you have to tell me yours now!"

"Huh?  Oh!  I'm, uh, Abby," she amswered, taken offguard momentarily by such a casual question.  "Abigail Muren is my full name, but everyone just calls me Abby.  Nice to... meet you, I guess?"

Impmon gave a big grin and nodded.  "Mhm!  Nice to meet you too, Abbymon!"  She took Abby's hand and gave it a friendly shake!

"Wha?  Oh, no, not Abbymon.  Just Abby."

Impmon paused again.  "...Just... Abby?"

"Yeah."

"...Humans are weird."  Shaking it off all the same, Impmon floated up to rest her elbows on Abby's shoulder.  A literal shoulder devil!  "Anyway!  Let's head outside!  I think they were planning to throw you guys a party or something!"

"A party?  ...Wait, 'you guys'?  Are you saying there are other humans here?"

"Well there're supposed to be!  I bet we find out if we go outside!"  Despite her teasing, Impmon did have a point.  Abigail was unlikely to get any more answers in here.  So, taking a deep breath, she nervously took hold of the knob on the door and pushed.  The door slid neatly open, and she stepped outside, her mischievous new partner happily floating along with her.  Who else could be here?