The Depresso Expresso

by Q-22

Sad Person Discount: Part 2

"So, if I have this correctly-" Crux said while mixing a cup of chocolate milk, "-you got kicked out of your old apartment, and have found a new one with some friends. But your new landlord doesn't like you so you have to change a crap ton of stuff about you or you'll be kicked out again?"

The two had been talking for a few minutes, and the mare had been especially vague and skippy while describing her situation. She didn't seem too keen on sharing more detail, and Crux knew not to press for more. She'd tell if she wanted to tell. Maybe. Didn't always work like that but still, he didn't know her outside of being a first-time customer, so, he wasn't going to make any assumptions that might lead to conflict.

"More or less that, yeah, kind of," she replied, tapping a rear hood idly while she sipped on the warm, caffeinated beverage between her forehooves. She was seated at one of the bar stools in front of the far counter and Crux was just sitting back on his haunches. "That's not all of it, of course, but you'd just say I'm crazy if I told you everything." She drooped a bit, despite her tone having an acidic bite to it. Of course, that lingering bitterness she spoke with likely wasn't directed at him, so Crux did all he could to ignore it, keeping his composition, uh, composed.

"Bah, you don't need to tell me everything. Didn't need to tell me any of it, really. I'm just some bird behind a counter serving drinks and assorted food items to night owls stricken with the munchies," Crux mused before he tipped his cup back and sent a cascading waterfall of calcium-rich chocolaty goodness into his beak and subsequently down his gullet. He hadn't made much, and was done half of it in one sip.

The mare sighed, gingerly nudging her mug to the side before whumping her chin down in her hooves on the counter top. "Still, it felt good to talk about with someo- somepony...else. You know? Somepony you don't have to worry about ever seeing again?" she asked/blurted, wincing afterward. Harsh, but fair. He assumed (ha, hypocrite) that she was on the verge of an apology for sounding mean and cut in just after she finished speaking.

"Yeah, I understand that well enough. Plenty of folk come in and just vent. I end up forgetting most of it, not intentionally, so it's fine." He shrugged and took another swig of his milk, shuddering as it went down. He really shouldn't have been drinking it, but the unpleasant feeling it left in his gut kept him awake. Probably wasn't a very healthy habit, but still, overdosing on caffeine would probably be worse.

After that it was mostly idle chatter. Talk about the smoothness of the train ride, how Crux kept all his stuff in place when the train went on slopes, what it was like working the "graveyard shift", and so forth. Eventually the mare ran out of coffee and Crux wasn't going to break any more policy, so the two said their goodbyes and left each other at a nice, neutral standing.

The ringing of the traincar door's bell was the loudest thing Crux heard until his shift was over, when it rang again after he cleaned up shop for the morning shift. He didn't technically have to, but he had noticed that whoever ran the day shift swept up and kept things tidy before his shift, so, the least he could do was return the favor.

Author's Note:

Me fingers ache, arrg.

Comments

[Gyro Pony]

Oh come on people, give the author some feedback for this uniquely-set story !

Myself, I find this slice-of-life story a pleasant read. I appreciate the chapters that pop up.