RENT

"Don't smoke, Mick," both Eric and Martin replied at the same time before going back to discussing which would be better, the nightclub or a garage party.

Jenny gave a small nod and jotted down his order. "I've been here...almost two years now I guess," she said as she gave a small smile. "Would you like anything else? Or do you want a moment to look over the menu? Our special today is clam chowder with BLTs."

(How can I jump in?)

*shrugs* how ever

"Do you mind if I look over the menu?" He asks, still smiling. His voice sounds weird in his own ears, as though he doesn't know whether English or American sounds right.

Jenny smiled and gave a small nod. "Alright, the menu is right there," she said gesturing to the one she had set in front of him. "And my name is Jenny, let me know if you need anything." With that, she turned on her heel and went to prepare his tea. She sighed, briefly tuning in to the conversation over at the bar counter as she readied the tea, but soon was lost in her own thoughts again. Her notes for her latest project seemed to swirl through her head, begging for her attention which she gladly gave.

Joe tries desperately not to stare at her as she crosses the room. He buries his head in his books and starts writing again, only to find himself thinking of her. He clicks a pen and scribbles down a few lines of poetry before continuing with the spider diagram in the front of the book. It's not long before his gaze drifts upwards and he finds himself once again staring at her.

Jenny came back a few minutes later, carrying a large mug filled with steaming Earl Grey. She set it down in front of him and smiled. "Here you are," she wiped her hands on a towel that she had slung over her shoulder. "Anything else I can get you?"

Taylow wrote:Alex sighed and saw Annaleah sitting in a booth. He couldn't help but wonder if she ever got her order taken. He grabbed his notepad and flung the towel he had been using over his shoulder before quietly stepping away from the heated debate that was raging between Martin and Eric, and walked over to Annaleah. "Have you been helped?" He asked with a smile.

Annaleah looked up and shook her head, a small smile lighting up her face. She brushed her hair back and ordered a mug of Red Madagascar with lemon and honey and a slice of pie. Despite the smile she was holding, her eyes were tinged with an implacable lost look, a quiet sadness.

"Oh, yes that's good," sighs Joe, clutching the steaming mug of tea. "Do you know how hard it is to get a decent cuppa over here?"
He thinks for a moment.
"Do you do scones here?"

Jenny's smile almost touched her eyes as she gave a small nod and pulled out her order pad. "We have regular, strawberry, blueberry, and chocolate chip. Would you like one? I can even top it with honey if you'd like."

Alex gave a small nod as he took down her order. "I'll be right back with your tea," he said with a smile. He then disappeared behind the counter and began to put together her tea with a sigh.

Joe looks puzzled. "No cheese scones? No jam and cream? Hmm."
He frowns for a moment.
"In that case, I'd like regular topped with honey, please."
He smiles again to show that there are no hard feelings.

(Mhm....)

Alice walked into a interesting little apartment building. She needed to find someone to give her a key to her new appartment. She wandered around trying to find the clerck but no one was there. "Odd.." She said with a groan. She looked around and sat in the lobby waiting for someone to help her.

Jenny smiled at him and shrugged. "I'm sure I could get the cook to make you one if you really wanted one." She felt like his smile was contagious. He was kind, kinder than most of the customers that she had to deal with.

He raises both hands in a gesture of supplication.
"No, no. It's quite all right. i wouldn't want to put you to the trouble. And anyway, I fancy trying some American cuisine."
He isn't smiling any more, but he still looks friendly enough.

Annaleah nodded as he disappeared into the back. She took a sugar packed from a little basket on the table and spun it around on the table, staring at it intently. Then, she was sidetracked on the tattoos that littered her arms and shoulders. It was what she was proud of, her own decisions.

Jenny gave a small nod and jotted it down on her order pad. "Alright, I will have that right out for you sir." She then turned on her heel and disappeared once again into the back to get his scone. Her mind wandered again, running over course schedule in her mind.

Alex came back with a tray that carried all of her food. He set them down carefully in front of her and smiled as he tucked the empty tray under his arm. "Anything else I can get for you?"

Joe leans back, his mind whirling. He opens his notebook and starts writing, the pen scratching faster and faster over the pages until his handwriting becomes almost illegible. he feels light-headed, as though he's been drinking, although he never drinks before dinner.

Jenny came back a little bit later with his scone that was drizzled in honey. It was warm and soft, still steaming slightly as she sat it down in front of him. "There you are, just let me know if you need anything else." She smiled and then went over to another booth that had been abandoned and began to clean it.

Annaleah thought for a minute, then shook her head, looking down at her tea. She gabbed a spoon and began to stir it slowly, her eyes far away. She probably looked down, but she couldn't help it. "Thanks," she said with a small smile before she forgot.

((anyone can talk to any of my charries... except of course Clarrissa for obvious reasons...))

"Oh, thanks awfully," says Joe, grinning widely. "It looks lovely."
He watches Jenny as she cleans the tables. She'd make a fantastic heroine in a fantasy novel. He imagines her slaying dragons and delving into political intrigue. Yes, definitely. She would be the perfect character. He writes a couple more lines, then realises that he is imagining her sitting across the table from him at breakfast.

Jenny sighed as she continued to clean off the tables, gather dirty dishes, and chat with the customers with her "friendly" smile. In all reality the smile was just something she had to shove into place each time she came to work. She glanced at Mick and sighed. "Do you want something to drink? Or you gonna go bum smokes off of someone?"

Joe finishes his scone and asks Jenny for the bill. It is almost by accident that he blurts out "So when does your shift end?"

Jenny looked up from her ticket book and gives a small smile. "Why do you wanna know?" she asked teasingly, as she took the ticket with the total and set it down on the table. "I'll get you up front when you're ready," she said with a grin. She took the bucket of dirty dishes that had been sitting on her hip, and dumped them in the back before coming back to the front, just behind the counter.

Martin looked up. "Mick, help us settle this debate. Which is better? Night club, or garage party?"

Joe fills out the bill as fast as he can and slips a ten-dollar note in as a tip. he takes it up to the front.
"Here you are," he says. "I'd like to, erm... I'd like to get to know some people around here. And, well, you seem like a nice person."