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Cafe Luke's | Friday | September 23

Bod still wasn't feeling too great when he arrived at work today. He'd been sleeping slightly better and he hadn't been distracted enough to stop eating but he was still dragging somewhat and he was still bothered by things that shouldn't be bothering him. He made some idle small talk with the staff before heading out to prep the diner for opening.

TODAY'S SPECIALS
Margarita Chicken Skewers
Chipotle Shrimp Taco with Avocado Salsa Verde
Ricotta Spinach Tacos

Cafe Luke's was open for business!

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Bod's there, if needed!

Ender strolled in a little before lunch - he had to pick up some food anyway, and it didn't matter much if it was off some barrista he didn't know or from Bod. It was a nice walk, anyway.

"Morning, Nobody," he called. "Do you do take-out?"

"Hullo there, Ender," Bod said, smiling over at the other boy. "We do, indeed. Was there something in particular I could get for you today? The staff's not too busy at all so they'll be happy to do special orders."

"The skewers look good," Ender supplied. "Otherwise, I have no idea. But I'm grabbing lunch for Ben right now - he's kind of a black hole, so the more suggestions you've got..."

He waved a hand to imply the better.

"That's an interesting way to describe someone's ability to eat," Bod said, chuckling. "I can put in an order for the skewers and perhaps a dessert to go with it? I can have the staff double the skewers order too so he has more."

"And maybe a burger or two if you can manage it," Ender said, wryly. "But I wish I was kidding. That sounds good, though."

And in the mean time, he'd have a few moments to check in on Bod.

"That really is quite the appetite he has," Bod said, scribbling the order down before handing it back to the chef. The chef laughed and shook his head but got to work.

"How are you?" Bod asked, returning to smile at Ender. "Week going well?"

"Nothing traumatic has happened so far, so for Fandom's standards, I'm doing pretty well," Ender said, amicably. Which didn't mean his own mind was leaving him alone, but mentioning that constituted 'sharing about himself', and... no. "How about you? I don't think I've seen you out and about that much."

"I haven't been," he said sheepishly. "I had a bit of trouble really getting past the events of that weird weekend because I hurt someone I love so I've been mostly staying to myself. I've been a hermit for lack of a better term."

Ender looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Nobody came out of the weekend with any permanent harm...?"

"Not that I know of," he said and shook his head. "She's forgiven me or rather she's assured me that I don't have to apologize but it's one of those things where it's a shock to the system. I didn't ever want to put my hands on her like that."

"You don't strike me as someone who would destroy something so easily," Ender agreed, though he of all people knew how deceptive that could be. "Winding up doing so in any capacity... that's always a nasty surprise."

"Indeed," he said and shook his head. "I also pushed someone I don't even know off the roof of the dormitories. I...assume she wasn't really injured but that's an unpleasant memory to have up there."

Ender winced, and leaned his arm on the counter. "What were you that weekend?" he asked, because he needed context now.

"Apparently an evil twin with amnesia," he said and winced. "I kept regaining memories as time wore on and they were worse and worse each time. I guess that version of me wasn't a very nice fellow."

"Well, it was your evil twin," Ender said, only a little dryly. "I think that precludes being a nice guy."

"I apparently killed the good twin and stole his identity at some point," Bod recalled, shaking his head. "If I could wish amnesia on myself for that weekend, I would."

"There's enough people around the island who've certainly managed a workable facsimile of amnesia," Ender offered. "It helps that we were behaving so much unlike ourselves, I think."

"It does and that's helping me finally start to move past it," Bod agreed with a nod. "I know I wouldn't ever do that without some island influence. It's just not letting the memories bother me that I'm working on."

"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here. I know a few things about unpleasant memories," he replied, then quirked a smile. "And who knows, I might wind up tempted to take more food off your hands."

"Thank you," Bod said appreciatively. "Did you have an easier time that weekend than I did?"

"I was the plaything of greater forces, as I always seem to be during these weekends," Ender said, with a snort. "It wasn't a hard time, just annoying - I think I tried to get married to one of my friends, and my roommate crossdressed in a way I'd like to wipe from my memory, but that's as far as it goes."

"That...sounds interesting," Bod said, eyes widening just a touch. "I'm glad to hear it wasn't too off putting or strange for you though. And I guess what happened to me could have been worse as well. The radio podcasts were quite...informative as to other events."

"Think of it this way," Ender said, with a little smile. "It wasn't you at the wheel, and whatever that other person did that inflicted you with these memories, there were no real consequences. The whole thing was just one big burst of hot air."

"That's...a good way to look at it," Bod said after a moment. "I think it just took me time to forgive myself. I have a difficult time with that."

Now there was something Ender could sympathise with. "I can get that," he said. "It still feels like it was your hands putting them all through hell."

"Yes," he said, nodding. "And even knowing that it wasn't me doesn't make it easier to reconcile that in my head. I think that'll come with time but I'm apparently a tortoise and everyone else is a hare when it comes to that. I'm slow."

"I'd say a good chunk of the population of the island is very good at repression," Ender said, snorting a little. "My roommate is practically an Olympic gold medalist. But there's nothing wrong with taking the time to work your way through, either - sometimes I'm worried we have a bunch of emotional time bombs walking around the island."

"I've never been very good at repression," he admitted with a shrug. "I tend to think too much, if anything."

Behind him, the cook put the bags of food Ender had ordered on the counter. Bod retrieved them both and slid them towards Ender.

"I'm a black hole of thinking like your friend is a black hole for eating."

"Much closer to my end of the scale, in other words," Ender said, with a brief quirk of his lips. He was good at pretending to be fine on the outside - repressing was something he'd never quite managed to do well. "But that also means you can't get out of approaching this one rationally, Owens."

He took the two bags off the counter.

"I know," he replied, nodding. "I know what I have to do to get past most of this. It's just a matter of going through it. I'm working on it. I hope the food's good and that your friend doesn't get sick from eating too much."

Ender chuckled. "'But please leave and leave me to my 'black hole of thinking'?'" he guessed.

"It's hard to be a black hole of thinking at work," Bod laughed, shaking his head. "It tends to keep me busy which means I don't think which I think is good in a way too."

"You need copious amounts of both," Ender agreed, setting the bags down for the moment. "Sometimes a little peace and quiet is hard to find."

"It is," he agreed. "I've taken to finding out of the way places off island to read and just sit and listen to the quiet. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. It all depends on my mood, I think."

"Sometimes there's just too many questions," Ender mused.

"And then there's that," he said and laughed ruefully. "I think this weekend will be spent sorting through the remaining questions and just putting that weird weekend to rest."

"And hope there won't be another one any time soon," Ender added. "Fandom has spectacular timing. Though, at least we've got Parents' Weekend coming up next week - that should at least keep us in our own bodies."

"I doubt I'll have anyone coming for me this time so maybe I'll just have a quiet weekend," he said hopefully. "It'd be a nice change of pace."

"How's Silas?" Ender asked.

"I haven't spoken to him in awhile but the last time I did, he was fine," Bod replied. "I'm hoping the Honour Guard's just keeping him busy since I'm not sure what else he does in this world. I've known him for almost eighteen years and he's still quite a mystery for me."

If you'd rather go at it alone, here's the place for you!

I could go for some tacos right now.

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Cafe Luke's | Friday | September 23

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