fandomtownies | The Perk, Tuesday Afternoon

He was thirsty after a couple of hours rummaging in the junkyard for scrap metal and circuitry, and all Anakin had wanted to do was get something cold to drink. Unfortunately, his decision to stop in at the Perk in pursuit of the aforementioned chilled beverage turned out to be a bad one: the barista kept trying to persuade him to try one particular brand of coffee.

He said that he wasn't sleepy and therefore didn't care if it had the highest caffeine density legally available in the marketplace; she countered by telling him they had an adolescent blend that'd help keep him from getting distracted "you know, the way teenage boys do." He told her that he had no idea what she meant by that, and besides, it was too kriffing hot out for coffee; she tried to sell him on their refreshing summer blend.

In the end he came really close to mindtricking her to get her to stop, but decided against it. Which was why Anakin was now sitting at a table with a cup of iced WorkJuice, looking slightly put out.

. . . all right, it was pretty good stuff, he'd reluctantly admit to that.

[OOC: I basically dared

fates_jaye to do the Chilly Boulder post yesterday, so I'm holding up my end of the TAH-inspired bargain. Open!]

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There were a lot of products Stacey couldn't have, but ~~who better to awkwardly almost-kiss over a microphone?~~ sometimes a girl just needed a sugar-free iced coffee, you know?

Though after being upsold kind of a lot at the counter, that gave her a perfect reason to come over. "Hi, Anakin," she said with a smile. "Is it me or are they really pushing the product today?"

"You too?" Anakin asked, glaring at the incriminating drink in front of him for a moment before he sighed. "I don't even like whatever this is that passes for caf around here."

Pretend there was an actual 'hi' in there somewhere, Stacey.

"It's an acquired taste," she assured him. "Everyone drinks it all the time in New York."

Of course they did.

"What's caf?"

"A lot like this, but . . ." Anakin tried to figure out how to explain the difference and realized he really couldn't. "Not quite the same, somehow."

It was just different, okay?

He took a sip, made a face (but at least it was cold, which was something), and asked, "What makes this stuff so great that they're trying so hard, anyway?"

"Apparently it's the most caffeine-dense coffee legally available on the market," Stacey replied. "Which I think means we'll be up till it's time for class tomorrow?"

"That's what worries me," Anakin agreed, still frowning. (Lighten up, Anakin.) "The legally-available part, that is."

That one sip had kind of pepped him up, though. Huh.

"Besides, I don't even have class until Friday."

"I don't think it matters when you actually have class," Stacey said, sipping her coffee. "I kind of like this stuff. It feels like my get up and go can go on forever."

"That's a funny way to put it." What? It was. Anakin took another sip, thoughtfully. "You know, you're right. It's not bad at all."

Another sip.

"Actually, wow."

Stacey sipped again, too. This coffee didn't even need sugar.

"If only I had college entrance essays to write right this second."

No, not for a couple years.

Anakin propped his chin up on his hand and stared half-distractedly in her direction. (Saying he was staring at her would imply he knew what he was doing.)

"I could really go for a long run right about now, too," he added, sounding a lot more cheerful now. "And then clean up my side of the room. And then try to build a new droid."

Yes, today. All of it.

"Can I help? I feel like I can learn how to build a... whatever a droid is," she decided.

"I don't think I'd even mind showing you how," Anakin agreed.

Who knew caffeine affected your patience level?

"That's just what I wanted to hear!" Stacey said happily, even laughing for some reason she couldn't explain.

This coffee was really good, everyone.

And this was after only a couple of sips.

"But if you mess up any of the circuitry," Anakin went on, just in a frighteningly cheerful voice, "I'll . . . just start all over again. As long as I have more of this coffee."

Across the coffee shop, Alec was struggling with a similar situation. "No, I don't want it," he said loudly -- actually, more loudly than even people who knew him were probably used to hearing from him. "I'll have water. Thank you."

A minute later, after a cup had been handed to him: "WorkJuice. Really?"

Visibly annoyed, he stalked over to a table to scowl at the drink he'd been given.

"Tell me about it," Anakin grumbled. "I don't even remember what I actually wanted now."

The Perk, Tuesday Afternoon

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