𝕸𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖞 𝕭𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖘

chapter ii

alice "blue" veradin.
a raven-haired, black-eyed woman on the shorter side. ear piercings and tattoos on tanned skin, sharp cat liner to make her seem more intimidating.
working at a retro diner by night, she lives off her stresses with the burning ease of cigarettes and weed. but her pricy problem with nicotine, marijuana, and not to mention, caffeine, roots in her constant problem of worrying and paranoia.
blue, the worrier.

  -

after a refreshing cup of good coffee, the duo slipped back into the empty apartment and blue grabbed her black backpack for her uniform to change. a red and white striped apron with a frilly white button-up dress and a pair of black mary janes and white linen socks. her long curls were tied up into a ponytail with a few strands framing the sides of her face. a dab of foundation here, some mascara there, but the inevitable look of her tiresome expression with her signature eye bags was hard to hide.
before departing, she grabbed a separate purse to store her wallet, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, her keys, her phone, and a taser just in case.

the busy bee was finally ready for her long dinner shift, which was barely a rush with the senior citizens that wandered inside on a daily basis. it was strictly serving semi-warm plates of unappetizing mush and pouring pots of coffee for several hours behind a rusty, outdated silver counter. the only thoughts that kept blue at the same job for so long were the consistent hours that fit her online school schedule, and now that she and nat owned an apartment, she couldn't afford not to work. it would have to do for now.
whilst blue got ready, nat sat with her back pressed against the wall in the living room on her phone. all dressed up in her uniform, blue was jealous of nat, who didn't have to leave until 7. but natalia's shift wouldn't end until 3, so she couldn't tell which was better.

"texting someone?" blue asked, foreseeing the answer ahead of time. nat looked unamused, which meant it was milo. milo was a long time love interest of natalia's, but she never got around to have intimate feelings for him. apparently, the nights were sweet and the dates were fun, but the kiss had no spark. she's just not attracted to him.

"eh, milo. but, he's bugging me."

"again? why don't you just break it off with the guy?"

"i don't know. he's offered to go on another date, but i never have time to actually schedule one." natalia took a deep inhale, staring into the bright screen of multiple white text bubbles.

"excuses, excuses. you know you don't like the guy already, so why keep it up?"

"he's just so sweet, i don't know if i can break it off."

"hm, well it'd be better to break it off early than to lead him on. you know?" blue leaned herself against the wall across from her.

"yeah, i know. maybe i'll tell him on that date he's talking about."

"i'd say that's a good idea."

"it's gonna be so awkward though,"

"i know." blue pursed her lips together as to make an unsure expression, then lifted herself off the wall. "well, i gotta get going."

"alright. don't forget to bring leftovers if there's any," nat reminded her as blue dragged her feet in the direction of the door.

"i won't. i'll try to be up when you get back," blue jingled her keys, found the right key, and unlocked the front door.

"mmkay. be safe!" nat waved her hand as blue flashed her a reassuring smile and left. locking the door behind her, then checking twice, she sighed, thinking about the commute and the long night ahead of her. the small white camry, the old and reliable automobile she'd received for her 16th birthday, waited for her signal to unlock itself and looked clearly desperate for a decent car wash.