[Private] Beauty and the Barista

It had been a relatively chill afternoon. A regular ol' Tuesday, nothing weird. Her hair was done up in a simple bun, little fly away pieces framing her face. It would be very pretty if it weren't so frizzy and the curls more... curled. But she wasn't about to take a hot iron to it. She's got her make up done with a simple winged liner and a dark purple lip. The lipstick was a bold choice, but it wasn't bad. Her little barista outfit was just a pair of jeans and a v-neck, short-sleeved black tee, a blue apron overtop. 

She is cleaning the counter, minding her own business when a new customer comes in. She hadn't had the chance to look up from her task when the familiar voice called out the order. When she heard them, she stopped dead in place before looking up to see none other than Archie. 

She gives him a squinty stare and then rolls her eyes at his comment on fire. Of course the Fire would be serving hot drinks. Honestly, she'd wished she was better at things like forging, but that kind of crafts, not so much. 

"Ha-ha very funny." she grumbles. "What are you doing here? And... what was that order again. It sounded annoyingly specific." Okay, the specificity was actually kind of funny, but only because it is a random addition to the day. Not that she liked it. She liked the fun drinks where people basically make up their own. This whole temperature thing though... 

She can't help but roll her eyes a little as she takes a cup, writing down the specifics on it. "Yeah, if you were a Karen, me just existing would be enough for a tantrum about drinks before I'd even begun to make it. ...Obviously, I speak from experience." 

"Yeah, you're looking at assistant manager, which really only happened because the last girl quit and I happened to be there, so," she shrugs. "Worse ways to get a pay bump, honestly." It's odd, you'd expect her to be more fiery, but she's actually rather calm when she's just putting things together.

And yet, even with a nice voice, she could antagonize in a friendly manner. "The degrees thing is ridiculous though, I hope you know that. The moment I get it to that level, it will drop. And how did you even figure out a specified temperature?" Again, she rolls her eyes a little bit, but she gets the process rolling even as she talks. 

"Blueberry, cran-orange, vanilla bean, pumpkin spice, chocolate chip, and cinnamon spice with little cinnamon chips in it." She rattles it all off as if she doesn't even need to think about it. "I get off in..." she looks at the clock, "Like an hour. Assuming Gloria shows up on time, which is iffy depending on how the drama between her and her roommate and/or boyfriend is doing. The tea is quality though." 

She takes out a thermometer from one of the drawers as she is steaming the milk and even the sweet work face she puts on can't hide how ridiculous she finds the temperature thing. But, eccentric is eccentric. Aren't they all? Then again, some things can be overcooked based on temperature. A thought. Still. "So, you can wait or we can just chat in between customers, or both. It's been rather slow today anyway."

"Oh science." She says simply, as she steams the milk before adding it to the cup. For good measure, she sticks the thermometer in it and says with a dramatic gasp, "Oh no. It's a whole 131 degrees. How ever will we go on!" And then she laughs before putting the lid on it and the little cardboard heat protector thing she never remembers the name of. But, she isn't the one putting in the orders for them when it runs low, so...

The Elemental cocks her head to the side a little as she hands Archie his drink before working on warming up the scone, "I still work as a bartender. I just do it on weekends. And, I'm a working girl, so of course I have a second job." She pulls out the warmed scone and places it in a little bag before carefully handing it over to Archie. 

She does roll her eyes again, "It's all good fun, yes. And tips aren't bad. It just isn't enough. I work most days when I can help it. Though it gets difficult when we go on weird excursions and I have to take a bit of time off. You never know with... things." Obviously she was talking about Hedge time. 

"Did you never work a second job or something?" She asks as she then moves to clean up from the drink. 

Fire looks up at the ceiling for a moment and rolls her eyes, "Oh my god. Archie you knew what I meant. I don't- not that there is anything wrong with that. It's just," she kind of references her body, "This, I'm not comfortable with. I admire people who manage to do things that require that kind of confidence. Also just not something I want to do." 

That was probably too much explaining for the comment, but it was true. 

She shakes her head though, "No. No. I enjoy working different jobs. It keeps things from feeling monotonous. I don't do stable, same thing every day kind of things. I get tired and then move on quickly. Not that I'll probably be doing this more than a year. I like moving around."

She shrugs and then moves to help someone who'd just walked in, quickly taking and fulfilling their order before they walked off. 

"It's also easy. I don't have to worry too much about giant screwups." I mean, who wants to work a job where you have to really worry about destroying your career? And it isn't that she's that worried about working to have a more expensive lifestyle. She's comfortable enough between the two jobs.

"And I get a weird feeling you are about to go all psychologist on me..."

"Well, now you've made me curious. Watch out, you might get buzzed in your sleep." She says with a laugh. "Just kidding."

The Elemental is probably joking.

"That's a giant load you are putting on your shoulders, but at least you're aware of it. Though, do you have someone who tells you when it's too much?"

She begins working on a drink, even though there is no one in the store, so one can presume it is for herself. Ingredients start going together, several syrups working themselves into a cup, some kind of powder. Milk is steaming. The way she works is so streamlined, it's kind of mesmerizing. 

"I'm the kind of person who goes overboard. I know I have a dangerous way of going all in for people, but I also know that part isn't going to change. Because of that, I know I need someone to hold me back sometimes."

That was Cecilia's job. And Erin's was to be secretly evil... but you know. 

Fire doesn't leave him hanging, of course, giving him a fist bump. Then she finishes making her drink, taking a sip even as it steams, fresh from the steamer. She looks to be thinking.

"Eh. I never said I was better at knowing my limits. I said I need people to hold me back - that's actually kind of the opposite. I know it is a problem, but I haven't figured out how to fix it yet. So, you're probably making off better than me." she kind of echoes him.

She didn't know why, but she was feeling like playing barkeep. 

She takes a minute to handle a couple of customers that come in and out of the shop, quickly making drinks, warming up food.

It isn't really until it gets to that point that it is actually obvious that Dani is working the shop alone. Not that that has ever bothered her. She also gives off enough of an intimidating resting face that even the Karen's waiting in line on busy days don't try to piss her off. Most of the time.

"Okay. But, Arch," She starts once it's gotten a bit quieter again, "What do you want? Like, that has nothing to do with helping other people."

Danica furrows her eyebrows at Archie. For some reason, his response just seemed defensive. 

"Everything you do has an effect on someone else, whether they know it or not. What was it...? Oh god, there is this Reading Rainbow book, Mole Music." She sips on her drink as she thinks about how to put the summary, "Basically, it's about a mole who decides he wants to learn how to play the violin and he practices for years and years while he also digs tunnels under ground. There is this little tree that grows above him and over time, it gets bigger and people start to gather around it. Going about their daily lives. One assumes the people can hear Mole's music, but he doesn't know it. 

"There is this line I distinctly remember: He wondered what it would be like to play for people. He dreamed of playing his music for presidents and queens. He even dreamed that his music could reach into people's hearts and melt away their anger and their sadness. But oh, how silly I am, thought the Mole, thinking my music could do all that when no one has even heard it? And it ends with him going to sleep, still unaware of the impact he is having on the world around him." Was Talia's favorite book as a child. 

"You're making an impact whether you are aware of it or not, making differences in peoples lives that they'll remember for years and you won't even recall. And you're right, it is better to spend that helping people, because you don't want that impact to potentially be negative."

She shrugs a little then and wordlessly begins working on a drink. She does roll her eyes a little though, "Pretty sure you owe me for my time. I just gave some hella good pep talking right there." She laughs, eventually handing him the hot chocolate and shaking her head. "You're lucky I'm nice at work."