Humiliating. That's the first thing Adagio thinks, every day, when she steps into the back and puts on her apron. It's humiliating just how far she's fallen. How effectively Starswirl's little trick of tossing her and the rest of the Dazzling's has worked in seeing them brought low. Oh, sure, for a while she lived like a goddess, but now? Her magical necklace shattered, her voice so broken she couldn't give so much as a falsetto, and her signature smugness smashed into the ground and shattered so thoroughly that she may never, ever, ever recover it. Their riches dried up in but a few days, the charity of her patrons gone with their voices... And all of it done by one Sunset Shimmer.
...Who seems to have promptly forgotten she existed. Just one more indignity to add to the count, she supposes, alongside downgrading from a mansion to an apartment and having to pay rent (a phrase that elicits a myriad of unique and interesting types of disgust both on Adagio's features and in her soul.) Pale yellow hands grip her voluminous hairpoof, squeezing it together and tossing it into something vaguely approximating a ponytail. As much as she'd love to wear it down, people complain when their sandwiches come with half their weight in hair, and as much as she loathes every single person who comes to this overpriced shack for their daily dose of sugarmilk, even she can understand why they'd not be particularly pleased by that. Over her head, her apron goes-- Nametag straightened, sharpies checked, and off to the proverbial races she goes.
"About time," her shift lead says beneath her breath as she steps out.
"Bite me," she responds, a snap that she quickly steps away from before the retort can come-- Quickly sidestepping the new hire running a handful of croissants down to handoff as she casts a look askance, over towards her nominal boss. She's made a point of not remembering any of their names. They don't matter, anyways.
"You're on handoff," she says, waving her away with a roll of the eyes. Fortunately for Adagio, they don't have anywhere near enough staff to think about actually firing her for her attitude-- For all her sourness, she shows up on time and shows up when she's scheduled, and quite honestly that's more than can usually be expected for the sorts of people who have a job here.
Her thoughts get interrupted by a latte being pressed into her hands. Quickly, she steps over to the counter... And calls out the name. And then the next. And the next. And the next...
"Have a cafe order for Firecracker, here!~"
"Mobile order, Aloe Vera!"
"Mobile order, Buzz!"
"Cafe order, Blueberry!"
It's a rote. Easy to get into. Grab a drink. Pull down the sleeve. Look at the tag. Call it out. Set it up. Repeat. Keep doing that for around eight hours and she can go home and stop debasing herself for money. At least the pay's pretty decent...
"...Mobile order, Batmare!"
$14.75 an hour is not worth this.
...
It's only after the morning rush is over that Adagio gets a chance to relax, grabbing a wet rag from the sanitizer bucket and setting to work wiping down what spills and stains remain on her counter. Her shift lead's stepped into the back to pull out more food-- Her bar barista's squatting down, checking her phone behind the counter while nobody's looking... And she's just enjoying the chance to finally have some silence. No weird old dudes telling her to smile more. No people shouting into their phones and snatching their drinks out of her hands. Just plain, normal, everyday silence...
...And then the door's bell rings, as two girls step in. Of course. She had to jinx it, didn't she?
"Hi there! Welcome to Starbucks, Blaze'll help you at the register right over there!" She greets, her face lit up with her most inauthentic retail grin, voice a thoroughly saccharine tone that utterly belies the sheer, seething bitterness of the woman beneath. The two offer their own quiet platitudes in response-- A girl with green hair and a woolen coat, and another with long, streaked blue hair and a dress. The first one is, in some extremely vague way, familiar to Adagio-- But then again, she doesn't keep track of the people who adored her, once.
"I swear to god, Wally, you'll love it," the blue-haired girl starts. "Like, I get that you don't like coffee, I totally get it!"
'Then you're in the right place because coffee's practically an afterthought here,' Adagio muses to herself as she cleans...
"But they have suuuuuch good drinks. Like, even if you don't want espresso, they have fruity stuff, or-- or hot chocolate, or milkshakes!"
"Frappuccinos," the massive woman standing behind the register corrects. "Similar but distinct. Made with coffee or cream. Blended with ice. Want to try one?"
"...no," the green-haired girl mumbles.
"Awh... Alright, well! Here, let me demonstrate." Her companion responds, clearing her throat, straightening her back, and broadening her shoulders as if she was about to march into battle in order to order a drink.
"...I'll have a taaaaall hot white mocha, with two shots of espresso and half pumps mocha!" She says, a polite smile on her face as she lists off. Her delivery, if you ask Adagio, is a little bit overblown-- Confidence stressed as if she went over the sentence in her mind beforehand just to ensure that she didn't stumble over any words and sound less certain.
"And what'll you have, Wally?" She asks, stepping out of the way... And letting 'Wally' take the till. The meeker of the two gives the register partner a look very similar to that a deer gives a car shortly before being hit... Before immediately, her eyes shoot away, to latch onto the menu and let her very, very obvious social anxiety fade beneath the much more familiar feeling of decision anxiety.
Adagio leans forward, one hand drumming against the countertop while her other rests her cheek in her palm, staring boredly at the two as she waits. The girl raises a hand. She lowers it. She goes 'ah!', but never continues. She can almost see her start to sweat. For a moment, it looks like she's about to apologize and step away...
...before the blue-haired girl offers her hand. She takes it... Takes a breath, and points. "Uh, I'll-- A grande, uh, Mango Dragonfruit with Lemonade, please."
"Understood," Blaze responds, brushing back her long golden mane as she taps it in. "A name for the order, if you would?"
"Juniper," the blue-haired girl responds, quickly slipping her card into the reader and offering her thanks to the massive mare behind the till-- Gently pulling 'Wally' away. Adagio watches them as they approach, turning her service industry smile back on once she's confident she's in their view... And, after casting a glance askance to ensure nobody else is planning on walking in, she listens.
"You did great, Wally...!" Juniper says, voice quiet yet full of enthusiasm, eyes shining with excitement and pride.
"I-- uh, I don't, really follow. I still froze up," Wally responds, one hand gripping her elbow as she clearly struggles to maintain eye contact with the other. Adagio's fingers drum, her thoughts running through what sort of relationship these two have. Are they friends? No, a little bit too familiar even for that-- Skinship's fine and all, but they're acting maybe a bit too close for what she understands to be considered conventionally friendly. Roommates, maybe...?
"You did -fine-. More than fine. Give it a few more tries and you'll be able to do it without me or anyone else there. I believe in you." Juniper continues... As she reaches down, takes Wally's hand again, and leans forward to give the other a gentle kiss. Just a peck on the lips. It's still enough to make Adagio's brow quirk.
Oh. They're roommates. In the 'historian' sense, just like how Sappho was close friends with many a woman. All that being said, the saccharine sound of supportive girlfriends is starting to wear on her nerves... And so, she does the only thing she can think of to make it stop. She clears her throat... And leans forward.
"Hi there. You two are cute, can I just say," she drawls, voice low and drawn out, "but I gotta ask-- You sure Starbucks is the place to take such a pretty lady on a date?"
"Oh-- Oh, no no, this isn't where we're going for a date," Juniper responds, glancing between the two of them before releasing Wally's hand... "We're just stopping in for a drink on the way to the date. Juniper Montage, I'm, uh, I'm bringing her to see a movie."
"I'm excited," Wally says, quietly, in the background. Adagio responds only with a momentary glance, eyes lidded with disinterest and boredom that heavily contrasts the fake smile she's wearing.
"A movie. Rrrreally. Now, stop me if the advice is unwanted," she's hardly wanting to give it, anyway, but she'd be even more bored if she wasn't talking, "but movies tend to be pretty crap dates. Sitting elbow to elbow with some random schmuck, listening to the screen boom, getting shushed every time you say a word-- They're fun, yeah, but isn't the point of a date to get to know someone, spend some time with 'em? Kinda hard to do that and still follow theater etiquette."
"All very good points!" Miss Montage responds, hands clasped together-- Eyes alight with joy at the opportunity to talk about something she's so - very - clearly passionate about. "Add in the fact that Wallflower's a bit of a, uh, aheh, wallflower... And normally speaking, a date to a movie theater wouldn't be a very good one. However," She reaches back to grab Wallflower's hand as she continues, almost using her as a prop to emphasize her point-- Make clear how well she knows her... "There are two things about us that change that up a bit. Number one! Wallflower feels a lot more comfortable in conversation when there's something to focus on and talk about. She has some trouble talking to others when it's just, y'know, her and them and nothing else, so having a movie to discuss'll really help her get out of her shell!"
Adagio stares. After a moment, she realizes her smile's dropped. She quickly re-adjusts it to its full, cheek-dimpling form, offering a polite nod. "Yes, but you still run into the problem of not being able to talk with anyone while you're in the theater."
"And that's number two-- I have my uncle's private theater all to myself today. It'll just be me - and - her!"
That gets an actual reaction out of Adagio. Her brow raises... And for a moment, her fake smile turns into a genuine smirk. As much as she'd be happy to laugh about how terribly this date looks like it's gonna go... It seems to her like the woman's actually got it pretty decently figured out. And then, of course, she remembers that she doesn't care about these people or what they're doing or if their days go well and also that she hates this job, and thusly her smile falls back into a fake one as quickly as her real one came.
"Pretty good thinking. What do you think, Wallflower?" Adagio calls out, towards the woman lurking back near the napkins.
"Uhm... I-- I already said I'm excited, right? Yeah. Still excited...!" She responds, after she gets through the split-second panic attack that is being addressed directly. Hearing that makes Juniper smile, casting a look back at her... And just missing the sight of their drinks being brought down. Adagio's quick to grab both of them and push them forward, straightening her back and rolling her shoulder.
"Here you are, you two. Enjoy your movie, now, and feel free to come back any time."
"We will!~" Juniper responds, her voice a singsong tone as she takes the beverages, offers a mock bow... And quickly ushers Wallflower out the door, offering little more than a 'thank you!' before the thing closes behind her. Adagio watches them walk away...
...And offers a sigh. Man. She hasn't thought about Sappho in a while. Good times, they had. Good times. With nobody else to chat with, she pulls out her phone... And starts doing what she does every day, when she's bored. Scrolling through cat pictures.
...
Outside, Wallflower casts a look back, towards the store. Juniper stops, tilting her head in a gesture of confusion. "...Uh, did you forget something back there, hun?"
"...No, no. She's just... Familiar. Feel like I've seen her before." Wallflower's expression is one of thought, lips pursed as she wracks her brain trying to figure out where, exactly, she remembers her from...
"Really! Not a lot of folks you know. Think she went to CHS, too?"
"...Maybe? Been a while. Doesn't matter. Let's go."
...Magical. It was something magical. She remembers that. Maybe she should send a text, just to be safe-- Ask one of her friends to send someone to check. Her hand runs over her phone, in her pocket... And after a moment, she pulls it out.
>To: Rarity
>{hi}
{Hello, Wallflower darling! How's the date been going?}<
>{pretty good, stopped @ starbucks}
{Oh, that's wonderful! I hope you found a good order. <3}<
>{yeah. hey, do you know anyone with really big puffy orange hair?}
{It... rings a bell, though the exact person who I've sadly forgotten. Why?}<
>{saw a girl behind the counter there who was familiar.}
>{remembered it was something magical. maybe visit and check?}
{Interesting! I'm a bit busy with a rush order, right now, though.}<
{Perhaps I'll send Sweetie Belle to grab me an order there soon.}<
>{kay thanks, good luck with the sewing}
{Luck is the last thing I need, dear.~}<