The Perk - Sunday

[spectre_alenko]

Still bothered by his discussion with Seivarden, Kaidan headed to the Perk on Sunday. Observing the cashiers while he waited in line, he didn't see anything that could be considered less than pleasant, prompt service. A few people even ordered tea, though he couldn't hear if anyone had ordered it loose.

When his turn came, he was greeted cheerfully, "Looking for a different flavored coffee?" "No, thank you. It's Canada Day, so I'm ordering tea. Could you tell me what you have available loose leaf for tea?" Kaidan asked politely with a small thoughtful frown at the beverage list. It just said 'tea' and gave a hot or cold option. The cashier chirped helpfully, "Sure! Right now, we have a spiced Rooibos, Earl Grey in a white tip, a chamomile/peppermint blend, an Asamushi Sencha, Lychee flavored black tea, and a roasted green Mate. Anything sound good?"

Well, that didn't clear anything up. Kaidan nodded, "Sure, could I please have the roasted green Mate, iced?" He apologized, "It's already too warm out for hot tea." "Not a problem," the cashier assured him as he paid.

Standing off to the side, he watched curiously as they made his tea. The mate was scooped out of a can and placed in a fiber tea bag. Scalding but not boiling water was added for the steep. It sat a few minutes, and the barista explained, "We added more leaf to make it strong, so it won't dilute too much when we pour it over the ice." Which he did as he said it, stirring vigorously to chill the liquid before the ice diluted. He handed it over with a smile. "There you go." "Thank you," Kaidan replied with a smile, dropping a few dollars in the tip jar.

He claimed a seat at an empty table, turning things over in his mind. They sold loose leaf tea, but put it into fiber sacs - maybe that was Seivarden's problem? There'd been no rudeness; they'd gone above and beyond for polite, friendly service. Something was off.

Comments

[myownface]

Sparkle had gone so far as to come to the island today for his shift. Which he'd been intending to work, because what the hell else was he going to do when he couldn't go back home for home's 151st birthday?

Only he'd come to a stop outside of Demon Marcus, kind of stood there for a minute, and then sighed and muttered, "Don't wanna."

So, now he was heading for the Perk instead, to kill some time before his scheduled portal back to Coruscant. Maybe he'd get something stupidly sweet with, like, maple shots in it, and pretend he was being patriotic or something?

He kind of stopped short when he made it a few steps in and noticed Possibly-An-Alenko sitting at one of the tables, but gave a polite nod before going to order an order that was nothing shy of ridiculous, standing at the counter and explaining his grand vision for the most stupid Canada Day drink possible for what was probably a solid minute. Once again, the staff seemed eager to please, even excitedly throwing in suggestions here and there to imrpove on what turned out to be a very absurd white chocolate maple iced latte monstrosity with whipped cream and red sprinkles on top.

Heck, Sparkle even leaned in to give the barista a fistbump before making his way back in a kind of ambling, uncertain trajectory for the door, looking for a place to sit.

[spectre_alenko]

Kaidan nodded politely back at Sparkle. He'd noticed how the boy had stopped dead in his tracks and it was really only training that kept the wince from showing on Kaidan's face.

He listened in on Sparkle's order, mouth quirking as the ridiculousness of the drink grew. Kaidan was a fan of ridiculous coffee drinks, but this one was beyond the pale even for him. It wasn't coffee so much as it was pancreatic punishment in a cup.

[myownface]

Look, sometimes a guy just had to punish his pancreas, okay? Sparkle found himself a seat to a table all his own not terribly far from Kaidan's, and then rummaged through his bag for a moment before surfacing with a sparkler and a lighter.

The sparkler was immediately stuck into that whipped cream nightmare. The lighter, of course, was being used to ignite it. And then Sparkle just kind of sat back to watch, humming a little O Canada under his breath.

[spectre_alenko]

Kaidan did grin openly at the sparkler. Go big or go home when going ridiculous, he guessed. The Perk staff didn't seem to be making a fuss or rushing out with extinguishers or anything, so he figured it wasn't a big deal.

Might've hummed along with O Canada, though.

[myownface]

Oh, the sparklers were normal for him. If anything, the staff was mostly just impressed that Sparkle hadn't pranced all around the shop handing them out to everyone else, first. He did glance back up at Kaidan when his sparkler had burned down, though, and paused for a moment before calling, "Hey, Vancouver! Want one?"

A sparkler. Not the monstrous creation he'd stuck one in.

[spectre_alenko]

Yeah, Kaidan would stick with his nice, plain, cold tea. "Sure, toss one over," he answered.

[myownface]

"I'm a lousy throw," Sparkle replied, pushing out of his seat and grabbing his drink before making his way over. He set the whipped cream nightmare on Kaidan's table for a moment so that he could rummage through his bag for yet another pair of sparklers, offering one over. "So, Canada Day? That still a thing when you're from?"

[spectre_alenko]

Kaidan nodded as he took the sparkler. "Guess I'm gonna miss the tricentennial. I don't know how they do it other parts of Canada, but Vancouver still had a big show for it. Fireworks, bands playing, street food, sort of thing. We used to go into the city, when I was a kid. Until I enlisted."

[myownface]

"We just had one-fifty last year," Sparkle offered. "I missed it, I was here, but what you described sounds pretty much right. I guess street food is forever."

He pulled out his lighter again, flicked it open, and held it out for Kaidan to light his sparker with.

[spectre_alenko]

Kaidan let Sparkle light his sparkler and drew a maple leaf shape in the air with it. Didn't work really well.

"I'm still not used to the time shift," Kaidan noted, "but some of the things being the same makes it easier. Like the street food, the little paper flags, and the really crappy plastic necklaces." Something occurred to him and he chuckled a little, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen what Americans do for the 4th. Should be a time."

[myownface]

"As far as I can tell, it involves even more obnoxious fireworks and a lot more meat," Sparkle offered. "I haven't left the island for the fourth yet, and I really don't intend to."

Not without, like, a lot of alcohol in tow.

[spectre_alenko]

"I hadn't planned to, I figure we'll still probably have a pretty good show of the fireworks from here, even if the island doesn't do its own ..thing," Kaidan shrugged, "Besides, I work on Wednesdays, and I don't plan to close for it, so.."

[myownface]

"You figure you're going to get a lot of business on 'everyone is grilling meat and blowing shit up' day?"

Asked the guy who was totally going to come in to work for Iris that day, yes.

[spectre_alenko]

"I run a bunch of LAN suites and do electronics repair," Kaidan pointed out, "I figure I'll get a bunch of gamer introverts who want to avoid all the explosions and whatever by putting a pair of sound-cancelling headphones on and probably running around shooting things, or whatever. Even if not, I've a few projects to work on." He took a sip of his tea, then asked, "What are you up to on 'everyone is grilling meat and blowing shit up day'?" he asked, mostly just to make conversation.

[myownface]

Sparkle made a little snorting sound, lighting his own sprinkler and just kind of staring at it for a few moments before replying.

"Working," he admitted. "If the portals cooperate enough for me to make it in, I'll probably be at Pick Your Poison, selling, like, patriotic suntan lotion or something."

[spectre_alenko]

Portals again. Kaidan was going to sit Kanan down one of these days and make him explain them.

"Is patriotic suntan lotion an actual thing?" Kaidan asked warily, not real sure he wanted to see people on the beach wearing red, white, and blue zinc or whatever it was made of. The thought was horrifying. Americans were garish enough.

[myownface]

"I mean, I have no idea," Sparkle admitted, "but if someone mentions the idea to Iris, it very well could be. She can work friggin' magic with plant extracts, swear to god."

He paused a moment, then added, "Maybe something with red and blue glitter."

[spectre_alenko]

"Iris runs Pick Your Poisons?" Kaidan asked. He'd just met her, and the idea of a former ninja running a store with 'poisons' in the name, and making, of all things, glitter sunblock just amused him straight to death. "Glitter in sunblock sounds a little chafe-y."

[myownface]

"If it's fine enough glitter, it's mostly just a good method for sneak-attacking people just by stepping into the sunlight," Sparkle shared.

He wasn't getting into just how accurate the name of the shop could really be, no.

"I'm gonna have to give her that idea now..."

[spectre_alenko]

"Right, buying sunglasses before the 4th to spare myself a dazzle migraine," Kaidan mused to himself.

[myownface]

Sparkle gave his sparkler a little wave in the air just as it died out.

"Someties you just have to embrace the razzle," he decided. "But hey, sunglasses are good too."

[spectre_alenko]

"Guess it'd be different if I were wearing it, until I caught my reflection," Kaidan admitted, "I suppose there's a whole lot of people who'd really like the glitter, so, good call."

[myownface]

"Glitter's, like, an institution around here," Sparkle replied with a shrug. "You haven't been a resident of the island until you've had to look into a punch bowl at some public social thing and wonder if the amount of glitter you'll have to swallow is going to actually be a deterrent from drinking it after you know it's been spiked to hell and back."

Because why wouldn't you want to drink it after it's been spiked to hell and back?

[spectre_alenko]

"Yeah, I'm getting that. A bar on the mainland served a bunch of glitterized drinks to a friend and I awhile back," Kaidan noted wryly, "Though that punch would be a nope."

[myownface]

"See, and that's just the mainland," Sparkle laughed. "Back when I was StuCo president at the school," because some crazy bunch of idiots had actually voted for him, "we had, like, a glitter storeroom. Most iportant resource at the school."