Sidestory:
Starstruck at Starbucks
by Sky
Night had fallen on a cool and breezy late spring evening.
Rian Saied sighed and pushed a strand of hair out of her face, inconspicuously checking the clock by the main entrance again. Her shift wasn't over for another half hour. She hated the closing shift; if anything was ever going to happen, it was then. Punks hoping for a quick stop-and-rob, bums looking for change, rowdy kids ...
Enemy senshi.
She'd been lucky to run into a batch of her own 'teammates' that one afternoon at Wendy's. She wouldn't be that lucky again. It was as if they all sought each other out against their will, and the crafting class earlier that spring had been glaring proof of it. She'd had the time since to think about the Graikos and read up on what the mythology was supposed to be, and it still made no sense to her. Why go looking for trouble, why fight with anyone at all?
Then there was the matter of Kanene. Dead, now, in that street fight, with another girl, according to the paper. She had a feeling there was much more to it, and remembered Veta's words to her at the junkyard. Welcome to the Astronomia. Hope you survive. What had become of Tycho? Who would he mentor, now? How had things become so dangerous, so deadly, with so little warning?
She'd be putting in another term as a camp counselor in a couple of weeks, and would be using her vacation to do it. She'd get away from all of it for awhile, and not think about war or whether she should try calling the other Astronomia she knew of.
She turned back to the main machine and turned the steamer on again, running it long enough to make certain the inside was clean. Then she began soaking the steamer wand in hot water, ducking under the counter to refill the Columbian House Blend(TM) container. Same old closing procedures, one more late spring evening. It had been a long day; that afternoon had seen more rude people than she was accustomed to. Three spills, seven screaming children, one disgruntled Health Department employee who had tried to tell the afternoon shift that they were being marked down for 'not enough paint on the shelves' in the men's room. Holy God! People were always in too much of a hurry, never realizing that things should be enjoyed, not rushed through.
Satisfied she was all set to go and only needed the clock to hurry up and help her get out of there, she braced her elbow against the counter and rested her chin in it. On nights this slow, there was no reason why she couldn't catch up on her reading. She needed to start bringing a book. Finals were over, she'd done well, there was no homework, and she was bored. The place was spotless, the night deposit was locked away, and she had a whole half hour to immerse herself in...watching the traffic outside.
Rian yawned.
She heard them before they even got to the door; chattering girlish voices, raised in the exuberance of being young and obnoxious. Then two Vietnamese girls swung in, talking animatedly in Vietnamese, the body language and tone of voice indicating it was gossip. Viciously mean teenage-girl-type gossip. Rian stilled the urge to roll her eyes, but just barely. She straightened, situating herself back by the register so she could take their order.
A small voice in her head said *get out, get out getoutoutout. I wanna go home.*
The girls burst into laughter, then stopped abruptly and stared at her.
Rian put on her best plastic retail happy-voice and said, "Hi, how's it going?"
One girl folded her hands in front of herself demurely and smirked. She had chin-length black hair that shone in the fluorescent lights and looked barely tall enough to see over the counter. She seemed almost childish except for the too-knowing sarcastic gleam in her black eyes. Her friend was slightly taller, with longer hair and a less jaded expression on her face. Both were well dressed, obviously high school girls out slumming on a school night.
"What kind of coffee do you have?" the smaller girl said in a lilting, 'hey I grew up in Roanoke' accent.
Rian stilled another eye roll and gestured with a sweep of her arm at the pricing boards behind and above her on the back wall. "It's all listed here, including the featured coffee of the day." She knew right then she was being messed with, but explaining to a supervisor why she threw a nice minority out for asking a simple question was not on her agenda.
"I can't read English," the girl said slowly, as if Rian were a small child. Her friend giggled.
Rian nearly said 'neither can I', but gritted her teeth and began reading every tortuous item on the board. When she was through and turned to face them again, she found both girls sitting at a table in the back, ignoring her completely.
She stared at them for a long moment, then decided against pulling the fire alarm. She could handle one more rude customer, even if it was a snot-nosed, immature, pint-sized....
A middle aged couple strolled in then, ordering tall decaf mochas and strolling back out hand in hand. Rian began cleaning again, and as she did the smaller girl strode up to the counter. "Give me a Frappacino," she said.
Rian straightened. "Excuse me?"
"FRAPP-A-CIN-O," the girl said, over enunciating. "Didn't they send you to coffee school, whackadoo? You had to earn that name tag somehow."
"What size would you like?" Rian said in her happiest voice, making certain her hands stayed on the counter.
"I already told you," the girl said.
"No," Rian said, her voice still maniacally happy. "Please choose from short, like yourself, tall, unlike yourself, or grande, like your mouth." She heard a giggle from the back of the store; the girl's friend.
The girl drew herself up slightly and folded her slender arms across her nearly nonexistent chest. "I am Nhin-Cao Noc, Ai for short, and you will address me with respect, camel jockey."
"Fantastic," Rian said between her teeth. She found herself thinking about the key she wore on a chain about her neck and how badly she wanted to transform just so she could whack the brat with its alternate form. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd heard such a thing, but it never felt any different. "Now that we've gotten the racial epithets out of the way, what can I get you?"
"I'm still waiting for my mocha Frap," Ai said. "I'd like a tall one, if you're capable. And I will watch you to make certain you don't spit in it."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Rian said with a smile. She turned away to begin preparing the drink when she felt something small but hard hit her back. She spun back around and found two things: the pen that was usually on the counter for customers to use was at her feet, and the tip cup had been emptied. Ai blinked at her expressionlessly.
"What was that for?" Rian said, desperately trying not to lose her temper.
"I'm just waiting," Ai said.
Rian knew she couldn't accuse her of stealing the tip money, but she'd had more than enough. "I'm asking you to leave," she said, pointing at the door.
"Are you dense?" Ai said. "Where's your manager?"
"Fucking your mother," Rian said. "And it's gonna take awhile, because both ends look the same."
The girl shrieked with laughter, and it seemed genuine. Nothing but shocked silence came from her friend.
"Anything you order tonight will be $89.99, plus tax," Rian said.
Getting over her laughing fit, Ai said, "I think this is my new favorite hangout. I think I'll see how many smart comebacks you have stored up under that ridiculously colored hair."
"I can't wait," Rian said drily. "Thank you for dropping by! Have a great evening."
"I am not ready to leave," Ai said.
"You are," her friend said, walking up from the back of the store and grabbing at Ai's elbow. "This is going too far."
Ai turned to her and they began to converse heatedly in Vietnamese, talking over each other. Rian took the opportunity to go into the back room. Once the swinging door was behind her, she screamed. It was a good, cathartic, lung-clearing scream, one of her specialties.
There was silence out by the counter.
When Rian had taken a nice, deep breath, she walked back through the swinging door and found herself being regarded with amazement.
"I believe you are mentally ill," Ai said.
"I believe we're closing now," Rian said, matching her tone almost perfectly. "Please feel free to fill out a comment card, on your way out." She paused. "Enjoy your evening."
The two girls across the counter from her looked at each other, then walked to the door. Ai glanced over her shoulder. "See you around, whackadoo," she said.
"Not if I see you first," Rian said. "And my name's Rian. And I don't have a camel."
Ai grinned as she followed her friend out into the parking lot. Her sardonic laughter was as bad as any parting shot she could have thrown.
Rian walked over and locked the door, pulling the chain on the neon OPEN sign to shut it off. She grumbled her way back behind the counter to flip the main breakers. There were ten minutes left to go, and she couldn't have cared less. She was tired, angry, and most of all disappointed with herself for rising to the bait. If she couldn't put up with heckling from kids, how would she survive in a real fight? What good was she, really?
She didn't want to find out. Why did people always have to antagonize each other?
She made certain the girls were long gone before she got her stuff and headed for her car. She'd already decided to go patrolling after she got home, knowing vigilance was the only thing she gained from it.
Vigilance would have to do.