Post by Yukino Haruno on Apr 13, 2008 11:56:09 GMT -5
Time was inching on, as the quiet ticking of the cheap watch around Reiv's wrist constantly reminded him. As his boss at the small electronics store reminded him every time he made a comment about working for six out of the seven days of the week, rushing around the town whilst the people they worked for complained about how they weren't doing their own job correctly, time stops for no man; and this seemed to include the Rebmevon. He had to earn his keep somehow, and as his boss so adequately put it, he had to get off of his lazy arse to do so.
But even so, he was wishing for just another hour or two to lie down and rest. Recently, he had heard increasing amounts of rumors about people disappearing without warning; a particular Rebmevon woman in her forties he had become acquainted with recently had vanished less than a week ago. It would only be a matter of time before he was a target, but not being aware of exactly when that would be, he had taken to sleeping less, and remaining invisible for as long as he could-- just in case. Invisibility wasn't necessarily hard to use, but after a while it ate up quite a bit of energy. And even though he was due back at the shop after already fixing someone's microwave (the fact that someone couldn't wait to have their microwave fixed until later was just a little irksome), he found himself craving food.
A nearby restaurant caught his eye. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that a convenience store would be cheaper, not to mention faster... But then another voice was telling him that there wasn't any convenience store as close as this place was, and if he went to a convenience store he'd just end up buying as much chocolate as he could. This could be the healthy alternative, Reiv assured himself as he approached the entrance. As he did so, a middle-aged man opened the door, which narrowly missed Reiv's nose. He was about to shout something sarcastic at the man's back as he walked away, but remembered that he was still transparent, and unlikely as it was that the man would have noticed either way, it would probably be a little weird to have a disembodied voice shouting to watch where you were going.
Instead, he swallowed his words, and walked through the slowly closing door, making sure that the small toolbox he held in one hand didn't come in contact with it. Grateful that the box was made to reduce all noises of rattling to nothing, Reiv walked through the restaurant unnoticed as he cast his eyes around for a good place to become visible without catching anyone's attention. He was so absorbed in the task that he walked into a waitress just finished giving someone's order to the kitchen's cooks.
The collision practically nothing to disturb her, but the manners his mother had drilled into him at a young age kicked in, and before he knew it he had muttered an apology to her as he passed. As soon as the 'sorry' had escaped his lips, he cursed himself for being such an idiot. So much for no disembodied voices he thought, though as he moved away from her as quickly as possible he was happy to note that no one else seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
A free booth wedged in the corner caught his eye. Reiv moved as fast as he could towards it without making any noise. Breathing a sigh of relief that he could finally stop using his powers, he slid himself far enough in so as to be concealed by the barriers on either side. Laying his head on the table, hair already fanned out over the glossed surface as well as his face, Reiv became just another customer, blending in to the casual atmosphere of the restaurant.
Hana greeted another regular customer: a middle-aged woman who was having marriage trouble with her husband and, consequently, never failed to tell everyone who would listen. She then took her order, and slowly made her way back to the kitchen.
The restaurant's door opened, more customers entering and a cool breeze of wind nipping at her arms. Rubbing her forearm slightly, Hana then bumped into something seemingly not even there; her eyebrows knit together in confusion, looking in all directions to find the source. I could have sworn I heard someone apologize...., Hana's thoughts drifted off as she gave the order to the cooks and walked back to see another man sitting in a booth, apparently waiting for his order to be taken.
I don't remember him being there before...I guess he must have come in when all the other people did..., Hana figured, reassuring herself and walking over to his booth.
"Hi, my name is Hana and I'll be your waitress," Hana greeted, smiling and resting her pen against the ordering pad. "Are you ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?," Hana asked redundantly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the question she had to ask every customer all day.
Reiv had almost forgotten why he had come into the restaurant in the first place, his mind having drifted off to other thoughts entirely. His back was turned to the waitress, and didn't see her coming. As her voice disrupted his daydream, he jumped up in surprise. It took a couple of seconds of squinting at Hana's freckled face and apron before his confused mind returned to the present moment.
"Oh, uh, sorry," he muttered in embarrassment as he looked away, realizing that it probably wasn't considered terribly polite to stare at someone in such a way. It took another few seconds before her initial question was considered, by which time the situation seemed to be becoming yet more awkward. He stole a side glance at the menu, which hadn't been touched since he had sat down, but the writing was too small to read from where it was; and seeming like even more of an idiot than he already appeared by showing that he hadn't given a thought to the food wasn't an idea that held appeal, either.
Leaning ever so slightly to one side so that he could see behind Hana to other tables, at the same time bending a paperclip from his pocket entirely out of shape, Reiv could only see a very tired woman half-heartedly munching on a piece of toast.
Reiv breathed an internal sigh of relief that someone had given him an idea, focusing his attention again on the waitress, whose practiced smile he had the feeling was concealing a rather more annoyed feeling at having to wait so long.
"No, it's okay, thanks... Could I have some toast, please?" He paused, as a gaggle of teenage workers giggled at something or other in the background. Given her co-workers, he was impressed that the waitress was actually one of the bothered ones. "Are they always this lively so early in the morning?" Reiv continued with a wry smile.
The man peered curiously over Hana's face, squinting while studying her face intently. Hana resisted the urge to furrow her eyebrows, instead choosing to bite her lip. What is he doing? Hana thought, wondering what the man was staring at. Had she messed up her makeup? Did she have an unsightly mark on her face?
A look of realization dawned on the man's face as he muttered an apology. He then seemed uncomfortable, glancing around nervously like he were looking for something. Is it so hard to look at a menu? Or at least tell me you need more time, Hana thought to herself, becoming somewhat agitated.
He then noticed the problem-ridden woman, munching half-heartedly on her toast and decided to order some for himself.
She suppressed a small chuckle, an amused smile on her lips as she wrote down the single word on her notepad. "Are they always this lively so early in the morning?," the man then asked with a smile, gesturing to the gossiping and giggling group of girls whose sole mission in life seemed to be providing constant annoyance.
"I wouldn't know," Hana replied evenly, a grim smile tugging at her lips. "I normally don't work today, and when I do work none of them are here," Hana explained, running a hand across her eyes. "Though I'm surprised they're so energetic. I figured a bunch of young teenagers would hate getting up so early, especially on a Saturday," she then remarked, chuckling lightly. "Well, let me go get your toast. I'll be back in a couple minutes," Hana announced, walking towards the kitchen and tossing a couple pieces of bread into the toaster.
More customers like him and my day would be a lot easier, Hana thought, smiling to herself.
Only the wonders of coffee or the energy drink could perform such a miracle Reiv thought, though he kept the comment to himself as Hana retreated too quickly, and he didn't want to hold her up anymore than he had already done.
"Thank you," he called instead to her receding back, which soon after disappeared behind the kitchen doors.
The restaurant may be taking longer than a convenience store would, but the waitress was at least a little more filled with life than the partially zombified people caught on the wrong end of a till. The response of actual words was an improvement on the grunt that came with his change on most mornings.
Remembering once again the Rekarts, Reiv glanced quickly around the room to look for anyone who looked particularly out of place. The lack of people in excessive amounts of black, wearing sunglasses or attempting to hide gun-shaped lumps in their jackets was comforting, and he relaxed ever so slightly. Maybe it was better just to hide out in the open, after all. Even if someone was watching him right now, a big heat vision something-or-other to detect an invisible man plus a bunch of weapons while there were people around would just send people into a panic, even if there were only a few people here to panic in the first place.
With his mind slightly soothed, Reiv leaned back against the padded back of the booth, thoughts drifting once again to toast. With just a bit of luck, the stuff would give him a bit more energy to keep himself awake, and not babbling as he was prone to do in a tired state of mind.
"Ooooh. Who's he?," a couple girls giggled, peeking out of the kitchen door and black Hana's path. Hana then sighed heavily, a plate and mug in her hands.
"Do you mind?," she asked, shoving her way through, wondering who they were giggling about. I don't see anybody..., Hana's thoughts drifted off, making her way to the man's table.
She arrived at the man's table, set down the plate and said, "I brought you some coffee, too. I hope that wasn't too forward of me."
Giving him a smile, she asked, "Is there anything else you want?"
As the waitress arrived with the extra drink steaming in a contented manner in one of her hands, he wasn't quite sure if he should let her know that he found the liquid far too bitter, and the amount of sugar that was required to rectify this could probably incapacitate a baby elephant. This not even considering the fact that the caffeine made him bouncy for the first part of the day, before it lost its effect, and sleep seemed even more appealing.
Maybe I'll just pretend to drink some he decided.
"No, that's great, thanks," he replied with a slightly forced smile, eyes moving away from the toast, which they had previously been gazing at distantly.
Hana lifted an eyebrow slightly; Oh well. Coffee...not such a good choice.
"Sorry if you don't like coffee. I guess that was too forward of me. Anyway, I'd steer clear of the them," Hana said, indictating the not-so-subtle group of teenagers still giggling and not doing any work.
"They seem to like guys like you," Hana added with a chuckle, winking. "I'll be around if you need anything else," Hana said finally, walking back towards the kitchen.
But even so, he was wishing for just another hour or two to lie down and rest. Recently, he had heard increasing amounts of rumors about people disappearing without warning; a particular Rebmevon woman in her forties he had become acquainted with recently had vanished less than a week ago. It would only be a matter of time before he was a target, but not being aware of exactly when that would be, he had taken to sleeping less, and remaining invisible for as long as he could-- just in case. Invisibility wasn't necessarily hard to use, but after a while it ate up quite a bit of energy. And even though he was due back at the shop after already fixing someone's microwave (the fact that someone couldn't wait to have their microwave fixed until later was just a little irksome), he found himself craving food.
A nearby restaurant caught his eye. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that a convenience store would be cheaper, not to mention faster... But then another voice was telling him that there wasn't any convenience store as close as this place was, and if he went to a convenience store he'd just end up buying as much chocolate as he could. This could be the healthy alternative, Reiv assured himself as he approached the entrance. As he did so, a middle-aged man opened the door, which narrowly missed Reiv's nose. He was about to shout something sarcastic at the man's back as he walked away, but remembered that he was still transparent, and unlikely as it was that the man would have noticed either way, it would probably be a little weird to have a disembodied voice shouting to watch where you were going.
Instead, he swallowed his words, and walked through the slowly closing door, making sure that the small toolbox he held in one hand didn't come in contact with it. Grateful that the box was made to reduce all noises of rattling to nothing, Reiv walked through the restaurant unnoticed as he cast his eyes around for a good place to become visible without catching anyone's attention. He was so absorbed in the task that he walked into a waitress just finished giving someone's order to the kitchen's cooks.
The collision practically nothing to disturb her, but the manners his mother had drilled into him at a young age kicked in, and before he knew it he had muttered an apology to her as he passed. As soon as the 'sorry' had escaped his lips, he cursed himself for being such an idiot. So much for no disembodied voices he thought, though as he moved away from her as quickly as possible he was happy to note that no one else seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
A free booth wedged in the corner caught his eye. Reiv moved as fast as he could towards it without making any noise. Breathing a sigh of relief that he could finally stop using his powers, he slid himself far enough in so as to be concealed by the barriers on either side. Laying his head on the table, hair already fanned out over the glossed surface as well as his face, Reiv became just another customer, blending in to the casual atmosphere of the restaurant.
Hana greeted another regular customer: a middle-aged woman who was having marriage trouble with her husband and, consequently, never failed to tell everyone who would listen. She then took her order, and slowly made her way back to the kitchen.
The restaurant's door opened, more customers entering and a cool breeze of wind nipping at her arms. Rubbing her forearm slightly, Hana then bumped into something seemingly not even there; her eyebrows knit together in confusion, looking in all directions to find the source. I could have sworn I heard someone apologize...., Hana's thoughts drifted off as she gave the order to the cooks and walked back to see another man sitting in a booth, apparently waiting for his order to be taken.
I don't remember him being there before...I guess he must have come in when all the other people did..., Hana figured, reassuring herself and walking over to his booth.
"Hi, my name is Hana and I'll be your waitress," Hana greeted, smiling and resting her pen against the ordering pad. "Are you ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?," Hana asked redundantly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the question she had to ask every customer all day.
Reiv had almost forgotten why he had come into the restaurant in the first place, his mind having drifted off to other thoughts entirely. His back was turned to the waitress, and didn't see her coming. As her voice disrupted his daydream, he jumped up in surprise. It took a couple of seconds of squinting at Hana's freckled face and apron before his confused mind returned to the present moment.
"Oh, uh, sorry," he muttered in embarrassment as he looked away, realizing that it probably wasn't considered terribly polite to stare at someone in such a way. It took another few seconds before her initial question was considered, by which time the situation seemed to be becoming yet more awkward. He stole a side glance at the menu, which hadn't been touched since he had sat down, but the writing was too small to read from where it was; and seeming like even more of an idiot than he already appeared by showing that he hadn't given a thought to the food wasn't an idea that held appeal, either.
Leaning ever so slightly to one side so that he could see behind Hana to other tables, at the same time bending a paperclip from his pocket entirely out of shape, Reiv could only see a very tired woman half-heartedly munching on a piece of toast.
Reiv breathed an internal sigh of relief that someone had given him an idea, focusing his attention again on the waitress, whose practiced smile he had the feeling was concealing a rather more annoyed feeling at having to wait so long.
"No, it's okay, thanks... Could I have some toast, please?" He paused, as a gaggle of teenage workers giggled at something or other in the background. Given her co-workers, he was impressed that the waitress was actually one of the bothered ones. "Are they always this lively so early in the morning?" Reiv continued with a wry smile.
The man peered curiously over Hana's face, squinting while studying her face intently. Hana resisted the urge to furrow her eyebrows, instead choosing to bite her lip. What is he doing? Hana thought, wondering what the man was staring at. Had she messed up her makeup? Did she have an unsightly mark on her face?
A look of realization dawned on the man's face as he muttered an apology. He then seemed uncomfortable, glancing around nervously like he were looking for something. Is it so hard to look at a menu? Or at least tell me you need more time, Hana thought to herself, becoming somewhat agitated.
He then noticed the problem-ridden woman, munching half-heartedly on her toast and decided to order some for himself.
She suppressed a small chuckle, an amused smile on her lips as she wrote down the single word on her notepad. "Are they always this lively so early in the morning?," the man then asked with a smile, gesturing to the gossiping and giggling group of girls whose sole mission in life seemed to be providing constant annoyance.
"I wouldn't know," Hana replied evenly, a grim smile tugging at her lips. "I normally don't work today, and when I do work none of them are here," Hana explained, running a hand across her eyes. "Though I'm surprised they're so energetic. I figured a bunch of young teenagers would hate getting up so early, especially on a Saturday," she then remarked, chuckling lightly. "Well, let me go get your toast. I'll be back in a couple minutes," Hana announced, walking towards the kitchen and tossing a couple pieces of bread into the toaster.
More customers like him and my day would be a lot easier, Hana thought, smiling to herself.
Only the wonders of coffee or the energy drink could perform such a miracle Reiv thought, though he kept the comment to himself as Hana retreated too quickly, and he didn't want to hold her up anymore than he had already done.
"Thank you," he called instead to her receding back, which soon after disappeared behind the kitchen doors.
The restaurant may be taking longer than a convenience store would, but the waitress was at least a little more filled with life than the partially zombified people caught on the wrong end of a till. The response of actual words was an improvement on the grunt that came with his change on most mornings.
Remembering once again the Rekarts, Reiv glanced quickly around the room to look for anyone who looked particularly out of place. The lack of people in excessive amounts of black, wearing sunglasses or attempting to hide gun-shaped lumps in their jackets was comforting, and he relaxed ever so slightly. Maybe it was better just to hide out in the open, after all. Even if someone was watching him right now, a big heat vision something-or-other to detect an invisible man plus a bunch of weapons while there were people around would just send people into a panic, even if there were only a few people here to panic in the first place.
With his mind slightly soothed, Reiv leaned back against the padded back of the booth, thoughts drifting once again to toast. With just a bit of luck, the stuff would give him a bit more energy to keep himself awake, and not babbling as he was prone to do in a tired state of mind.
"Ooooh. Who's he?," a couple girls giggled, peeking out of the kitchen door and black Hana's path. Hana then sighed heavily, a plate and mug in her hands.
"Do you mind?," she asked, shoving her way through, wondering who they were giggling about. I don't see anybody..., Hana's thoughts drifted off, making her way to the man's table.
She arrived at the man's table, set down the plate and said, "I brought you some coffee, too. I hope that wasn't too forward of me."
Giving him a smile, she asked, "Is there anything else you want?"
As the waitress arrived with the extra drink steaming in a contented manner in one of her hands, he wasn't quite sure if he should let her know that he found the liquid far too bitter, and the amount of sugar that was required to rectify this could probably incapacitate a baby elephant. This not even considering the fact that the caffeine made him bouncy for the first part of the day, before it lost its effect, and sleep seemed even more appealing.
Maybe I'll just pretend to drink some he decided.
"No, that's great, thanks," he replied with a slightly forced smile, eyes moving away from the toast, which they had previously been gazing at distantly.
Hana lifted an eyebrow slightly; Oh well. Coffee...not such a good choice.
"Sorry if you don't like coffee. I guess that was too forward of me. Anyway, I'd steer clear of the them," Hana said, indictating the not-so-subtle group of teenagers still giggling and not doing any work.
"They seem to like guys like you," Hana added with a chuckle, winking. "I'll be around if you need anything else," Hana said finally, walking back towards the kitchen.