Luke's Diner, Friday, 11/21

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Achoo! Ella sneezed wetly into a handkerchief as she opened the diner. She felt miserable.

"I have the plague," she informed the kitchen staff. "I'm staying out front today and not touching the food.

None of them seemed inclined to argue the point.

Ella slumped behind the counter, sipping from a mug of tea and not going near the food. It would be a long shift.

Specials
Salmon with Mango Salsa
Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche
Black Forest Cake

[OOC: Open but OCD-free.]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

After a quick trip to say hello to Kaylee, Ben wandered into the diner.

"You're sick," he said with a worried frown.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"I know," Ella said, with a weak little cough. "I'm staying away from the food. Some of the other cheerleaders are sick and I think they passed it along."

[momslilassassin]

"That wasn't very nice of them," Ben replied. "They should keep their germs to themselves. Are you having soup? My nanny droid always insisted on filling me to the brim with soup."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"I should make them bring me some," Ella said. "It won't do as much good, though, not without unicorn mane, and I've no idea where to get some on the island. I haven't seen Jan in weeks."

[momslilassassin]

"Unicorn mane?" Ben wrinkled up his nose. "You want hair in your soup?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"It's disgusting stuff," Ella admitted, wrinkling her nose a little at the memory of the tendrils floating on broth. "But it's the secret ingredient in our housekeeper's healing soup, at home, and it's never failed."

[momslilassassin]

"We don't use that," Ben said. "We use pharmaceuticals."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Do you have unicorns?" Ella wanted to know, in a tone that suggested she thought drugs might almost be an acceptable substitute if no unicorns were handy.

[momslilassassin]

"We have Quarfs, but they're not really the same," Ben replied. "They're more like shape-shifters."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"See, we don't have those," Ella noted. "Shape-shifters, or Quar - achoo!" There was another bout of sneezing, and she buried her face in her hands until it passed, looking up with red-rimmed eyes. "Would you like anything to eat? I'd go nowhere near it, I promise."

[momslilassassin]

"I could eat," Ben said. He was fourteen. He could always eat. "What do you recommend?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"We sell a lot of burgers most weeks," Ella offered. "Or anything on the specials board."

[momslilassassin]

"I'll try a burger," Ben said with a smile. "Thank you. How long have you worked here?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Since this summer," Ella said, as she went to put in the order. "Middle of the summer term, I suppose. I like it. I always helped in the kitchen at home, when I could."

"You just got here this fall, didn't you?"

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "A little after my birthday."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Our birthdays must be close," Ella realized. "Since mine was right at the beginning of September."

[momslilassassin]

"The very end of July," Ben said. "It took some time for me to get here."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Long trip?" Ella guessed. "That must have been boring -- not the getting here, but the travel itself. It only took my carriage a few hours."

[momslilassassin]

"I'd been on a different planet for my birthday and had to say goodbye to a bunch of family spread out across the galaxy," Ben said evasively.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Ella took the evasion at face value. "At least your grandfather is here with you, isn't he?" she said. "That must comfort them a little."

Poor, naive Ella.

[momslilassassin]

To his credit, Ben didn't look too incredulous. "Sort of," he said. "I'm from a different part of the timeline. Granddad's been dead for decades in my world."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"That would explain why he looks so young," Ella mused. "Though of course I'm sorry to hear that."

[momslilassassin]

"You are?" Ben looked confused. "Why?"

Ben and Anakin weren't exactly close.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Because that's what you say when someone says their grandfather is dead?" Ella said slowly, wondering if she had this wrong. "Isn't it?"

[momslilassassin]

"Oh!" Ben said. "He was dead long before I was born," he explained, "and wasn't exactly around for my dad when he was growing up. I hardly even thought about him."

That last part wasn't true.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Then the reunion would be more awkward than joyous, I would think," Ella decided, blushing the tiniest bit. "At least you get to meet him now?"

[momslilassassin]

"He's not exactly what I'd expected," Ben admitted.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Ella asked. "How is he different? I like him as a teacher, at least."

[momslilassassin]

Ben really should've thought this out before going down this path.

"He's really tall," he said. "And we have the same eyes. It's weird."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Those didn't seem like incredibly fascinating differences to Ella, to be honest, but who was she to judge?

"Seeing where your eyes came from would be strange," she said. "There's a boy here, Karal, who looks like a dear friend at home, and that threw me for a loop. And he's not related to me."

[momslilassassin]

"There's a girl here that could be Jaina's twin if Jaina's twin was identical and a girl," Ben said.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"She's in cheerleading," Ella said. "That is, unless you don't mean Brooke. I don't know her well, but she seems to have good ideas for the squad."

"What's Jaina's real twin like?"

[OOC: Crashing, night!]

[momslilassassin]

"He's a dick," Ben said, eyes flashing.

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

That sounded like dangerous ground to ask more about. "You have a complicated family," Ella noted, because it seemed like a better idea than telling him sthe was sorry again. "And I think your burger is ready, let me check."

[momslilassassin]

Ben flashed her a smile. "Thanks."

For more than just the burger.