Claude brought his coffee cup to his lips and took a sip. His tea was nearly cold. He had hardly touched it. He lowered his eyes to the notebook he had cradled in one arm, and then back up at the subject of his attention. An elderly man sat at the table next to him, slowly buttering his toast. He smacked his lips and toothless gums as he went to the meticulous work of opening the small packet of jam with his large clubbed fingers. Claude took a deep breath and then let it out. He loved watching people.

He doodled a little bit until his words came to him, scribbling a little note about the way the man's feet shuffled and how he straightened his posture in his seat only to slouch forward and begin eating his food. He noted the peculiar way that the man held his fork, even observed the white scar on his thumb, deciding mentally that there was an injury that caused him to function in such a way... And with that, his ideas took off... The war... The workshop... The bar fight... His possibilities were endless. He shifted in his seat, placed his notebook on the table and began to write.

It was eleven when the old man left, and when Claude felt he could no longer wait to go to the bathroom. He closed his notebook and put it in the pack beside him in the seat, and then stood to go to the men's room, leaving his tea and pack behind.

One last cleaning of the empty tables.

Skylar sighed softly as she headed back out onto the diner's eating area. But it was a quiet night, so there was only one other guest that she'd seen.

Huh? That was odd. No one was out here.

Well there had to be someone, because there was a backpack or something in one of the booths. Well then he was probably in the bathroom. After all, who would leave their stuff there?

So cleaning all the other tables she continued as fast, though still as throughly, as she could. Skylar wanted to go home, but she wasn't going to do a half ass job. Besides, she was kind of hoping that Jason would turn up and walk her home. But something was telling her not to expect too much, but that was okay.

Well now though she also wanted to make sure that whoever left their bag here got it back. So as she neared the end she began to slow down. Weeeell and this way maybe she could squeeze the clock or something. Get a few extra minutes.

Claude wiped his freshly washed hands on his jeans as he left the restroom. The place was quiet save for the tinkling of cheap coffee cups and the dishwashers in the back room. He peered into the kitchen as he walked by the door. He had never worked in a restaurant before, but had always wanted to. Then again, there was nothing he really wanted to do. He hated washing dishes, and he wouldn't make enough as a waiter but, these days, any cash he could get his hands on was helpful.

He continued on his way back into the main dining area, passing by the manager as he counted the days till. He looked up as the waitress hovered over his table. The rest of the place was empty. He approached the table and reached down to pick up his pack. "Oh, er... Sorry, this is mine." He smiled at her softly, his brown eyes immediately catching her blue. She wasn't the same waitress as before, but rather a younger and much prettier one than the rude crow who was serving him earlier. "You're not closing are you?"

(I just realized, after looking at Skylar's profile that she and Claude might actually know each other because he went to high school in Toronto also. Whether or not she recognizes him is up to you. We'll see how things go.)

((Pss... Next time just edit your previous post, no need to make another. But that could be interesting. Asking why she moved and all :) ))



"Closing? Oh, no. We're open twenty-four-seven." Skylar said with a grin. The young man looked familiar, but she couldn't exactly place him...

"I'm just getting off in a few, so gotta clean down the tables here before I head off. I mean we're open all the time, but this place is pretty much dead from midnight to about five in the morning. I've only worked that shift once thank God." She chuckled as she sprayed down one table and wiped it with the hand towel she had.

"Just wanted to make sure no one left it or someone was trying to blow this place up." she gave him a little wink as she went back to the tables, trying to figure out where she had seen him before. It wasn't someplace odd... Someplace she went to all the time.... Well the only answer for that was school.

But then again, he could just look like someone she knew so... Yeah, for the sake of not looking like an idiot she'd just keep her mouth shut. After all, if she couldn't remember him then they mustn't have been very good friends right? Maybe they'd just had a class or two together or something.

It wasn't until she spoke that the spark of recognition struck him. He slung his pack over his shoulder as he listened to her talk, watching her closely. "No, I'm not trying to blow the place up," he chuckled. He could have sworn he knew her from somewhere, but he had only met about five people since he had arrived in Demaitre, and she wasn't one of them. But that voice... He knew that voice.

As she stepped aside to move to another table, he moved along with her. "Hey, er... Have we met before? I mean, er... I dunno, you just seem familiar to me."

"Well I gotta check you know. I'm sure there's a whole bunch of people mad at us since we got rid of our hazelnut coffee." She laughed.

But then again, she was trying to get out of here. Ever since that night week ago or so now... She'd wanted to get home as fast and as early as she could.

"Huh? Well I dunno. I was actually just wondering that myself." She said biting her lip slightly. "I haven't been here long though, so I doubt it. I mean... I just moved here at the beginning of last summer, and I kind of keep to myself." She gave a little shrug as she moved to the next table.

"I'm from Toronto actually. I live with my grandparents here now though." Skylar gave a little shrug, spritzing down the table. "And Toronto is a really big place after all."

"Oh, well I just moved here, like, three days ago." He smirked, taking a few more steps to follow along with her, now that his interest was peaked. "Toronto? Yeah, that must be where I know you from. I went to high school there. I just graduated last may. I used to work in the pizza parlor on Flint Street." He eyed her, hoping for a hint of recognition. He was growing more certain by the moment, excited by the fact that there might be somebody here that he knew. She couldn't be too far from him in age, and he was almost certain now that he knew her from school; either that or she was a regular at Joe's Pizza.

"Flint Street? I lived maybe ten blocks from there... " She said casually, still thinking. He was a bit older it looked like. But not by four years or more. So maybe they had gone to school. But if he was older, they probably didn't have any classes together.

"Wait.. Pizza Parlor? Oh! Joe's you mean!" She said with a grin. "Yeah! I used to hang out there all the time after Band Practice and everything! My friends and I use to hang out there all the time!" She said as she looked at him.

"Okay, now I remember you. I saw you there a lot. You were our server a good number of times. I was the one playing all the old eighties songs on the Jukebox." She said with a laugh.

"So... What brings you out this way? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

Claude leaned against the side of the booth, grinning widely as all the pieces fell into place. "My manager used to joke with me about how that pretty little blond was wearing down the buttons on the jukebox. You were one of my best customers. You guys always left me great tips." She used to sing to the songs at the top of her lungs. That's how he knew her voice.

"My god... Wow, what a small world eh? And we're what? A couple hundred miles from there?" He shook his head disbelievingly. "I think I saw you at school a couple of times too. James Lindberg... He was always going after that one girl you hung around with... What was her name? Alice? Ashley?"

"I'm going to school at DU next semester. I came early to get acquainted with the place and.. maybe get myself an apartment for when I do start school. How about you? Why'd you leave?"

"Oh, er... By the way.. I don't think we ever actually got introduced. I'm Claude." He took his hand out of his pocket and offered it to her. It was such a pleasure to meet somebody he knew... Even if he didn't really know her.

"Well come on, first off, it wasn't our money." She grinned. "And secondly, we knew what it was line to be a student and working all those hours." She said as she continued to finish off the tables.

"Oh, Aston. The girl on the dance team with me? Yeah. God he was irritating. He's lucky I never saw him outside of school... Really." Nodding as he said why they had moved she gave a little smile. At least he seemed to be doing okay for himself.

"Oh... uh... My parents are in a nasty divorce. So I came to live with my grandparents until I'm eighteen and it doesn't involve me anymore." She said casually, as if it were no big deal. "But I'm Skylar. And I've actually applied to start at DU in the fall after I graduate too. Still waiting to hear on that though." She gave a little shrug. "So we might have some classes together or something then."

"Yeah, James could be a real pain in the neck sometimes." James was really the only friend that Claude had gotten to know. He was always kind of shy in school, focusing mainly on his studies rather than socializing. It was no surprise that she only knew him from Joe's. He went straight from school to work and then home.

He nodded in understanding as she explained her parent's divorce, feeling the compulsion to help her clean, though he made no move to do so. "Yeah, that was me about twelve years ago. I know how that goes." He smiled weakly.

"Well... Look, I don't want to keep you from your job. I'm sure you want to get out of here." He walked back to his table, gulped down the rest of his tea, pulled out his wallet and sat down. He placed a ten on the table, more than enough to pay for his cup of tea and scone, and wrote his cell phone number down on a napkin. He knew how nice it was to receive a big tip. He stood back up and brought the napkin and bill with him. He handed them to her. "Be sure to keep all of this from that Sheryl woman. She's ghastly." He winked at her.

"Sometimes? He was always hanging over us when we were trying to eat!" She said with a laugh. "And I swear he'd jerk of behind the counter. He'd stair at Aston for like ten minutes with a blank stupid grin on his face." She rolled her eyes slightly.

But she gave a reassuring smile as he said that he knew what was going on. "Well... I was having some problems, and my councilor, Mr. Beckwall, he talked to Social Services and my grandparents. Said it would be best if I moved out here to get away from everything." She said as if it wasn't really anything important. "And so here I am. Better than before really. And soon enough, I won't have to worry about either of them anymore."

She went about cleaning the last of the tables that she had and nearly jumped as he came back.

"Oh! Hah. Okay." She smiled as she saw the money and the number. "Thanks Claude. It's been nice really, getting to meet you and all. If you ever need me I'm hear about three or four days a week after school. Feel free to stop by." She said with a soft smile.

"Take care, have a safe trip home."

Claude stared at her, amazed at some of the things she said. He blushed a little bit, embarrassed for both her, and for his buddy James. She wasn't entirely wrong. James would say some of the most vulgar things once the girls would leave, but still it was embarrassing to have heard it from a young woman like her and to have recalled such a memory in such a fashion.

She liked to talk, he could tell. He wondered if they were to sit down, if he wouldn't have her life story in an hour. He smiled at her. She was so young. She would learn. He wasn't much older, but he had learned long ago that talking about your problems did you no good. It just changed the way the world viewed you as an individual.

"Alright, I'll see you later. Take care." We waved and left.