With Sonata…
The youngest of the sisters made her way to the diner where she worked. As soon as she got there, she put on her uniform--the blue dress and roller skates that the other girls wore.
“Okay…I can do this…” she slowly stood up and started rolling on the skates. And wouldn’t you know it? Sonata was actually doing it. “Whoo! Yes--I’m getting way better at this. Wonder if I can start waiting tables soon…”
With her new found confidence, Sonata skated out to the front of the restaurant and took her place at the register. Nearby, Pinkie was busy prepping the ice cream machine.
“Ooh! You’re doing great, Sonata!” Pinkie praised her, “You might be able to wait tables soon!”
“M-maybe!” she nervously replied while rolling her feet back and forth in order to maintain her balance. “But I think I’m good behind the register for now.”
“How was your Thanksgiving?” Pinkie asked, and started to pepper her with questions, “Was the turkey good? How ‘bout the ham? The mac and cheese?? The--”
Sonata cut her off by putting a finger over her mouth. “Shhhhh. I’ll tell you if you promise to let me get a word in.”
Pinkie slowly nodded and waited for Sonata to remove her hand to say, “I’m listening.”
“It was awesome,” she went on, “My sisters and I had the best Thanksgiving ever thanks to both you and Sunset’s help. You really know how to cook, huh?”
“I dabble a bit in the culinary arts,” Pinkie replied with a smug, expression and half-lidded eyes, “Toldya that butter is better on everything.”
Sonata responded with a giggle. “Yeah you do have a point. But that’s totes not something we should be eating more than once a year. You humans have like, the weirdest types of food.”
“But that’s the best part,” Pinkie said with a sly grin, “All these different types of food is what makes life worth living!”
Sonata tilted her head. “Uh…I thought it’s because you can’t live without food.”
“Exactly!”
“...what?”
But before Pinkie could elaborate on her stance, it was time for their shifts to begin as noted by the pink girl’s beeping watch. “Oops! Gotta get going!” And with that, she rolled backwards on her skates while making fingergun gestures. “See ya, bestie!”
“Oh, uh…see ya!” “...Bestie?”
Meanwhile, outside…
A pair of teenagers were walking down the sidewalk towards the diner.
“So that’s what my mom told you to do? Just because she thinks I’m not getting out of the house enough? Dgggh! She can be so nosy sometimes.”
“This ain’t exactly my favorite pastime neither. But your ma’s paying me good money so I ain’t exactly gonna turn her down.”
“Uch--classic mom. Always throwing money at her problems.”
Diamond Tiara was walking alongside the boy who was living in one of her mother’s apartments. It would appear that this was one of the ‘jobs’ that Spoiled Rich wanted him to work on: Getting Diamond Tiara out of the house and away from her phone for at least an hour.
Instead of his labcoat, the dark green boy with silver hair was dressed in more casual clothes on this day: A neon green and black, horizontally striped T-shirt with dark, stonewashed jeans that had small tears along the knees, and a pair of brown tennis shoes. “You callin’ me a problem?” he asked while raising an eyebrow.
Tiara casually flipped her hair as she kept walking. “I’ll call you whatever I feel like calling you.”
The boy stopped for a moment, and kept walking with a fang-y grin. “You don’t screw around with your words. I can get behind that.”
“Ugh--quit smiling at me with those weirdo teeth of yours,” she glared, then rolled her eyes. “Whatever. At least we’ll be getting something good. I haven’t had a burger in forever.”
“...Burger?” the boy tilted his head, “I’ve never heard of such a delicacy.”
Tiara raised an eyebrow. “Uh, where the heck are you from again?”
“...Yeah, I’m not telling her that just yet.” He responded with the closest equivalent he could think of. “Transylvania…Romania.”
“Uch. That explains it,” she said with dismissive shake of her head, “You’re one of those high-class boys from Europa, aren’t you? Refusing to eat anything unless it fits your exact palette, hm?”
While he had no idea what she just said, he wasn’t one to back down from a challenging statement. “So what if I am?”
“Nothing’s wrong with that,” she replied as they walked up to the door of the restaurant, “I can relate.”
“Guess that’s something we have in common.” He then casually opened the door and walked in without waiting up for Tiara.
Which left the pink girl to open it again and follow in a huff. “Hey! You’re supposed to hold the door open for a lady, you dope.”
“Name-calling isn’t very ladylike,” he said with a crap-eating grin thanks to his serrated, shark-like teeth, “Surely you can set a better example than that.”
And all Tiara could do was grumble. “Dhh! Just--just find us a table,” she folded her arms and turned her head up, and away from him.
“Fine, fine. How ‘bout here?” he flopped into one of the empty booths near the middle of the establishment.
“Hmph,” she uncrossed her arms and sat across from him. “Sufficient. Anyhow--what was your name again? It keeps escaping me.”
He sat upright, and re-introduced himself. “Ketsuki, Keiji--the latter is my given name. So call me Keiji.”
“K…G?” Diamond Tiara repeated his name in an attempt to comprehend it, “What does that stand for?”
“Hm? No, it’s not initials,” he explained, and showed her his phone’s lock screen to let her see how it was spelled. “That’s my actual name.”
“Ohh…huh,” Tiara replied with a mildly interested spark in her eyes, “Sounds like something out of an anime.”
Keiji pocketed his phone and narrowed his eyes. “That’s because my mother is from the place where anime is created. Duh. Japone.” This wasn’t technically false as it perfectly fit the new narrative that Keiji had to pull to remain inconspicuous.
“Oh really?” she responded with a hint of interest, and quickly covered it up. “Er…I mean, that’s cool I guess.”
Kei sighed mentally as he picked up the menu. “Ugh. Too many mixed signals. I see why Lady Rich was willing to pay me for this.”
A few moments later, Pinkie rolled up to them on her skates to greet them. “Hey-hey! Welcome to--” and when she opened her eyes, she realized that there was a familiar face sitting there. “Oh, hey Diamond Tiara! How’s it hangin’?”
“...Fine,” she replied hesitantly, “Just fine.” She looked over at Keiji and spoke, “Order whatever you want, KK. I’m buying.”
Which is something that he was in no position to refuse, given his lack of funds in general. “Alright then…”
“Oooooh…” Pinkie leaned over, glancing at the two of them, “Are you two--”
And before she could say anything, Tiara would shut her down with a snap of her fingers. “Ahem. We’re just here as friends, thank you. Don’t make it look or sound weird, Ponk.”
“Suuuure,” Pinkie replied with a wink and stood upright. She then reached into her hair to grab a notepad and pencil, “What can I get ya? Friends?”
Tiara grabbed the bridge of her nose.
Keiji decided to order first. “I’m…interested in this burger thing you have here,” he said, pointing at the hot sandwich on the menu, “Is it possible to have this to where it’s still bleeding?”
“Rare it is!” Pinkie scribbled that down on her notepad, “What about you, DT?”
“Same thing. Make mine medium though,” she replied casually while putting one of her arms upon the back of the booth’s seat. “Just looking for something I haven’t had in a while. Oh, and to drink I want a cookies and cream milkshake.”
“Gotcha!” Pinkie leaned over the green boy’s shoulder next, “What would you like to drink, sir?”
“...?” he turned his head to look at the invasive waitress, and then turned to DT with a confused look on his face--in total silence as if to ask, ‘What’s with her?’
Tiara simply shrugged her shoulders--also without saying a word.
Keiji shook his head, and looked back down at the menu. “...What IS all of this stuff? None of these things existed in Trotsylvania.”
“Ugh, c’moooon…” Tiara groaned impatiently while turning her head up to the ceiling.
Pinkie glared at the rich girl, “Don’t rush him, woman! Let him think!” She patted the boy on his shoulder, “It’s okay. Take your time--first-timers always have trouble deciding.”
For the sake of simplicity, Keiji gave up and said, “Uhhh…gimme the same thing as her.”
“Ehehe! That’s perfect!” Pinkie thought to herself as she wrote that down. “Got it. See you guys in a biiiiit~” she rolled away from them while making the same fingergun gestures as before.
Now that she was gone, Keiji finally found room to ask Diamond Tiara, “Is she always like this?”
“Yes.”