Turtle & Canary; Monday [06/20].

[somethingwithturquoise]

Every so often, there was something that just....caught Summer on her inventory walks that, when she returned to the counter with her laptop to start working on orders and all the other administrative tasks required of her because her boss did fuck all around here, she just had to ask about it.

"Soooooo," she ventured, "Apuuuuuuu....did you switch out literally all the yogurt we have in stock to plain yogurt, or is the store just having kind of a moment?"

He mostly shrugged and shook his head in response and returned to his sweeping, and Summer narrowed her eyes and hated the fact that sometimes, she really couldn't tell when he was genuinely innocent or just badly pretending he was.

Well. Hopefully no one was really jonesing for some mixed berry or strawberry banana, because they'd be shit out of luck.

Today's Squishy Flavors
Kouign Amann
Vanilla Milkshake
Red

Turtle & Canary is open!

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

Steven was actually able to listen to radio that day without some people thinking it needed to be hidden from him. As such he thought it might be nice to duck his head into Turtle & Canary if only to wish Summer a belated happy birthday.

Whether Steven would have done this if he had any other information about what Summer's past week or so had been like, as for example even a hint of any of the sorts of conversations she'd been having recently with Liz, is an exercise for the reader to determine because sadly he very much did not have that information.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Well, well, well. So the handsome homewrecker finally did decide to grace one of the many fine establishments that employed Summer Smith again after all. Bad choice, though. At least Caritas had booze.

Well, actually, there was booze here, too. They had everything here. Except duct tape, apparently.

"Steven," she greeted him with a nod as she looked up from her laptop at the counter. "How you been?"

Especially since it sounded like he'd kept pretty busy since that one time he stopped by the bar.

[hasaknightjob]

And here it was just as well that Steven did not have access to reading narrative because he would have protested that Marc was the handsome one, obviously and that would've only increased the cumulative headache Marc had been having for about the same time as Summer's, thanks for asking.

Instead Steven smiled and gave a friendly wave as he came over. "Summer! Hello! Heard on radio it was your birthday yesterday. Happy belated and all that."

[somethingwithturquoise]

Well, Summer didn't know who Marc was, but if she did, she was pretty sure she had a pretty good counter to that argument, actually.

(Poe blew the both way out of the water, anyway).

"Thanks," she said. You heard right."

There was a small pause at this apparent gesture of good will before she asked, "Did you you need help finding something today?"

[hasaknightjob]

"I hope it was a cheerful one," Steven said. "Someone bringing you jellies for a change, maybe?"

He'd mostly ducked his head in for the quick birthday message but since she asked, "Actually, don't suppose you've any notebooks for sale?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

Also, Summer's narrative would have found it belatedly interesting that handsome seemed to be the more objectionable part of that particular descriptive flair.

"We have nearly everything for sale," she noted, almost automatically and quirked her chin in the general direction. "Aisle Handwavey. We usually have a bigger selection at the start of the semesters, but I don't think you'll be disappointed with the options."

[hasaknightjob]

Summer's narrative was rather perceptive that way.

"Cheers," Steven said. Then, not that she'd asked, but he felt a need to add, "thinking of doing a bit of writing. Help keep my mind off everything, you know. Lately."

He knew that Summer and Liz were friends so he assumed Summer would understand what he meant by needing to keep his mind off things. Really was a shame he never thought to go back and listen to all those radio broadcasts he missed to maybe have some clues to piece together which might be helpful here.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"For sure," said Summer. "Writing can be great for that kind of thing! Say, you know what? If you wanted to pick up a few of them, you know, maybe I could hook you up with, like, a sweet two-for-one discount, even! You seem like the kind of guy who would have a lot on his mind."

Maybe he could use them all to keep track of other people around the island in incredibly vulnerable emotional states to take advantage of, too! He could even color code it! Make a whole system out of it!

[hasaknightjob]

Thing is you say "two for one" and "on his mind" and Steven Grant of all people was not going to start thinking about his love life particularly since this isn't one of those fanfics.

Thus one wouldn't need to be particularly perceptive to notice a flash of panic in his eyes as Steven then said, nervously, "Why - why would you say two?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

...wow, yeah, okay. That definitely didn't deepen Summer's burgeoning beliefs regarding Steven's particularly sus nature. No. Not at allllll.

"Because two-for-one is a very popular and frequently used sale tactic?" she offered. "But if it makes you feel any better, we can just mark them all half-off."

[hasaknightjob]

"Oh, like - like sales," Steven said, looking far too relieved for someone who was being told notebooks were half price. "Of course. What else would you have meant? Only me here. No one else. Well you. Also. Here."

Steven cleared his throat and pointed at random. "That aisle over there, was it?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

Dude.

Dude.

Summer was just going to let that sit for a moment to see if Steven actually realized that wasn't fooling anyone before she said, hitching the thumb that way, "And Apu. And the cheese panda. These guys, as well," her thumb went to the turtle and the canary with a very pointed word choice; wouldn't want to accidentally set him off even on a homophone. "There's also a small chance that Shunsui's actually asleep in the office. So that could actually be as many as seven people!

"But yeah," she concluded. "That one, over there. Just past Aisle Two."

Okay, maybe she couldn't help herself with that one.

[hasaknightjob]

"Right, yes, cheers," Steven said, like the perfectly normal buyer of notebooks he was completely embodying at this time. He managed to not entirely stumble as he turned away from the counter to find the right aisle and -

- and while anyone watching him would have seen him become momentarily rather brisk, sharp, and efficient while finding and grabbing the books from the shelves, to Steven it was a blink. One moment in front of Summer, the next in front of the display.

With three books in his hands. And no memory of how he'd found them.

Well nothing wrong there, he had moments like that all the time. Didn't even register as a worry. Plus what could possibly be suspicious about the number three?

"Success!" Steven called out. He returned to the counter. "No problem finding them at all. Who's helpful, eh? You."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Well," said Summer, "they've got to pay me for something, right?"

A little this whole place would collapse with out me humor for you there, and Summer set to scanning the notebooks and adding the fifty-percent off at the till.

"Really just couldn't spring for that fourth one, though, huh?" she asked mildly.

[hasaknightjob]

"For the what?" Steven asked. He noticed the price Summer had rung up with visible confusion. "Oh no - Summer, there's been a mistake there. They're twice as much that."

Steven pointed to the number, helpfully, while flashing her a friendly smile. Any sign or hint of the nerves he'd shown moments ago was completely gone, almost as if it had never been there.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Riiiiiiight," said Summer, nice and slowly. "Except I'm giving you half-off. Because you got all squicked out when I said, "--the slightest of pauses there, of an expectant variety--, " two-for-one. And so you could save, like, a negligible amount by getting an odd number instead, apparently."

[hasaknightjob]

"What? First time customer discount or something?" Steven said, delighted at this news as he did whatever was needed to take care of paying. "Cheers, that's kind of you. Shame I didn't think to pick up some diamonds while I was here, yeah? I don't need a bag, they'll fit in the old satchel just as easily, thanks."

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer just....squinted.

"You taking any medication for that short term memory loss, there, bro?" she asked, sliding over the notebooks and his receipt. "Might want to get that looked into."

Either that, or he was really playing it up to avoid that whole two business, which just....why?

[hasaknightjob]

"What?" Steven asked. Then a look of understanding crossed his face as he realized what she surely must be talking about. "Oh no. Summer, I am an absolute - I forgot to wish you happy birthday! Came all this way for it and everything. Who's looking like the rudest person, then? Me. Honestly, I would forget my own head if it wasn't attached, some days. I hope you had a lovely one, yeah? Many more and all that."

Purchase done, Steven pushed away from the counter and went to leave. He gave a jaunty wave goodbye as he got near the door. "Cheers again for the discount. Laters, gators."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Pretty sure you're forgetting more than just your own head," Summer muttered to herself, as she just sort of watched that mildly unhinged word salad just get tossed around right in front of her very eyes, with that faint little tickle in the back of her brain that if it wasn't a memory loss thing, then this guy seriously had that cheerful verbal train of deflection thing down solid, fuuuuuuck.

But since it appeared that he planned on taking off as quickly as humanly possible and leaving absolutely no words edgewise from Summer in the meantime, apparently, she just let him ramble off and met that jaunty wave with her most absolutely stunning customer service smile and a cheery little wave back.

"You take care now, Steven!" she called back, her voice an absolute sing-song of charmed appreciation. "Thanks for dropping in!"

And then was going to seriously consider texting Liz to let her know that her new boyfriend over here was starting to give Summer some major serial killer vibes.