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 Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:40 pm
Kent’s job wasn’t especially stressful most of the time, which was just the way he liked it. It left him with time to work on things he enjoyed, or to hang out with friends and family. And when he got out early, he had time before going home to stop and grab a bite to eat. Just because his job wasn’t difficult didn’t mean that he didn’t work up an appetite. Though he enjoyed cooking, sometimes it was nice to let someone else take over and just relax. Especially on those days when he didn’t get out early. When all of the computers in the billing department were sending faulty invoices, or a new legal aide downloaded a case file that turned out to be a virus.
On a day where he had to deal with both of those problems, Kent found himself staggering into one of his usual eateries much later than his usual time. He had already called Tara and instructed her to find her own food. Much as he hated missing dinner, sometimes he couldn’t help it. In those cases he brought home dessert, which helped patch things up. At least, when he remembered. Sometimes he was too wiped to do much more than chew, and when he came home empty-handed, Tara would sulk for days. Better to do the little things that kept everyone happy.
That night he’d chosen 17 Waverly, and he all but collapsed at the counter, dropping his bags next to him. What he needed was protein, and this was the place to get it. He didn’t even bother looking at the menu. He did look behind the counter, giving a friendly nod to the owner standing behind it. “Hey there, Noah. Could I get a shroomburger with Swiss, side of waffle fries? And two slices of whatever you recommend, to go, please and thanks.” Kent took a gulp from the water glass that was set in front of him. “Last time I forgot that and wound up in the metaphorical doghouse.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 6:25 pm
17 Waverly had a growing reputation as more of a family place, Noah noticed. The majority of his customs seemed to range from high schoolers to twenty-somethings running through after class or school, which meant their peak time happened just before a dinner rush, and then there was a moment on week days that ticked by and things cleared out fast.
He could never get Marco to stay one minute after six, and occasionally they had some groups float through looking for a late night bite to eat that was a step above the drive-thru and stragglers.
And then there was Kent.
He looked up from what he was doing to give him a quick wave and then he ran to go abort the fryer and grill shutdown. No, sir, not when a shroomburger was needed and local burgermaster Marco had left him for the night.
"It'll take an extra few minutes," He said, still sounding lazy about it as he dug around under the counter near the display case to see how well stocked they were on to-go boxes.
"Rough night?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:42 pm
"I'm in no hurry," Kent replied, feeling like he was oozing all over the counter when in fact he was just leaning on it. Funny, what exhaustion could do to a guy. "Wait, what time is it? Are you closing up shop?" Just because he had nothing better to do than gorge on waffle fries didn't mean Noah needed to accommodate that.
Still, he made no moves to get up. If he was told to get out, he'd get out. In the meantime, he drained the water glass and plunked it back down. "Rough everything. Bosses are on me about system backups, professors are on me about final projects. And that's the easy stuff." None of those problems compared to the giant mess that awaited him at home. He still wasn't sure what to do about that. Pie could fix the little snags, but not the real issue.
But Kent hadn't come to rant. He wasn't the ranting type, and Noah wasn't a bartender. Which was a shame, since after a burger, the thing he wanted most was a stiff drink. "How about you? Long day?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:41 pm
"Not really," Noah said with a shrug. He half lied. There was a point in time when there was no point in keeping everything running at full force and the staff around when there was hardly anyone, if anyone, to serve.
But Kent was here and while it was mildly inconvenient to skate through and turn on the fryer and the grill again, he would much rather service someone and get paid.
Kent was the one who was going to have to wait anyway.
"Ah ha, that's rough, buddy," Noah said with a dry and piteous laugh as he opened a box and pulled out some flat to-go bakery boxes and got to work fiddling with assembling them into something more box-shaped and capable of holding pie.
"I have actually had it fairly easy, in comparison."
This time last year he had been half dead from the holiday rush but he wasn't as short on staff anymore, he had increased his manager skill set, and even though he was a little beat what with his main gofer boy being an amnesiac purified knight and whatnot, he was doing relatively well.
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 11:53 pm
"Really?" Kent was too wiped to raise his head, but he did raise his eyebrows. "I dunno man, this job's never looked easy to me. Long shifts, fussy, angry people... and then when you're almost done, you get guys like me." Then he did raise his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "Thanks, by the way." Because despite what Noah said, he knew he was probably on the late side. Even if he was a paying customer, it didn't hurt to show his gratitude.
Then came the wait. This wasn't usually a big deal; he often had a newspaper in his bag, or an assignment to work on. But that night, he wasn't up for anything that required concentration. The controlled part of his brain switched off, the rest took over, and he opened his mouth before he realized what he was doing.
"So, you had any run-ins with those crazy costumed terrorists?"
It wasn't so surprising that it was on his mind. Ever since his encounter with the hooded girl, Kent's thoughts had been on the terrorists more often than not. Especially since he suspected that Tara was mixed up with them somehow. But he hadn't planned on bringing it up in what was meant to be casual conversation. Noah would probably think he was nuts.
Still, he'd spoken of it. Rather than backtracking or laughing it off, he sat up straighter and waited, curious as to what the answer might be.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 2:15 pm
Noah just kind of let his head bob slightly to the side and shrugged.
Honestly he found menial and routine work soothing in a world where he had to squeeze every last cent out of his books to keep the business afloat and survive crazy monster attacks.
By comparison, following solid recipes or cleaning off tables in repetition was almost calming. You knew what you were doing, what was coming, and a steady pace showed obvious accomplishes and changes in the environment. This stack of dirty dishes is now a stack of clean dishes.
Much less stressful than flailing through a war he had no idea he was even going to survive.
Oh, and speaking of, Kent was asking about costumed terrorists. Welp.
"No." Well that was the knee jerk reaction.
But then he stopped what he was doing and just kind of glanced at Kent, and then at the half of the dining area that was newly constructed from the giant ant youma that crashed in and initiated his awakening two years ago.
"Well, I mean, not for a while," He said, trying to ave the fact the diner had been publicly 'attacked' by terrorists more than a few times since it opened.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:13 pm
Kent found routine boring. It could be restful from time to time, to let your brain turn off and to work on autopilot. But it was boring. He much preferred the challenge of being in uncertain terrain, of having a puzzle you weren't quite sure how to handle. It was thrilling, enticing.
It was also exhausting, and one of the reasons he was sitting at the counter feeling like something that could be spread on toast.
The terrorist issue was just another puzzle. One that Noah didn't seem to have an answer for. Or did he? Kent followed his gaze to the other side of the diner, then looked back. There was a story there, but he wasn't sure he could ask what it was.
"Fair enough," he replied. "They seem like a secretive bunch. Makes sense, considering their line of work. Whatever that is." He'd find out, one of these days. Whatever the answer was, he doubted Noah had it. What kind of terrorist worked a burger joint?
That left him without a topic, though. He opened his mouth, hoping one would come, then closed it when he realized he probably looked like an idiot.
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 10:04 am
The sparkliest, most pretty elven terrorist ever, Kent, that's who.
Not that Noah saw it that way. He just pressed his mouth in a straight line and kept busy until he could properly assemble a shroom burger for his late night buddy.
He seasoned the small, non standard batch of fries right there on the plate before he slid it down the counter to Kent, and figured the faint waft of steam and heat radiating off the meal was warning enough that it was still molten hot and not yet suitable for human consumption.
"You see that Tag Swagger documentary?" He asked with a lazy shrug. He hadn't. He had no real interest in watching senshi villainized and the Negaverse praised, but it was the first 'civilian safe' thing that came to mind when he though of how they were viewing 'terrorists'.
"Er, I mean. If you're looking--... You know what, nevermind."
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:38 pm
Kent wasn't a particularly religious guy, but to him, the steam coming off of the food smelled like heaven. He took one of the freshly seasoned fries and crammed it in his mouth before the temperature really registered. Then he spent the next several moments sucking on scorched fingers and lightly biting his burnt tongue.
Noah's suggestion registered, but only barely. "Tag Swagger? Sounds like one of the wrestlers at the Battledome." He tended to only put the news on when there was a total lack of other possibilities, preferring to stay current with newspapers and internet feeds. There was no way to get a totally objective view of what was going on in the world, but at least people couldn't talk over each other in print.
If Noah thought this documentary would help, though, he might need to look it up. "I wonder if I could find it online," he mused out loud, warily touching his burger. When it didn't burn his hand, he held it and took a big bite, and whatever else he'd meant to say was immediately forgotten. "Mmmmmmmmmm."
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