Booths

Seats for people who wish to dine in and eat as they drink

A rather nice blue and black Ninja sped down the streets, its rider bent easily over the handles so that the bike was under control of the being's weight. The rider may have been doing over the speed limit, but it wasn't enough to get in any trouble for. Melinoe knew that. She wouldn' risk getting in trouble for such a thing. She was a teacher after all, and a teacher had to have some responsibility. The bike slowed as it turned into a parking lot, and then finally came to a stop as it slid easily into one of the spaces. The rider reached and turned the key in the ignition off before setting it to stand on its own. The bike was rather low-tech for this time in age, but that didn't stop Melinoe from being absolutely in love with it.

Slowly she reached up and in a fluid movement pulled the sleek black helmet from her head. A quick shake and her long brownish-black hair fell into its proper place, laying straight down past her waist. After placing the helmet on the bike she tucked the keys in the pocket of her leather jacket and walked forward towards the entrance. A few of those waiting outside blinked as they looked her over. She was an actress, and while she wasn't so famous that everyone knew her she was certainly known by enough to keep her happy.

As soon as a leather gloved hand pushed the door open she looked around with calm brown eyes to find a spot to sit, and upon finding an empty booth she headed over and sat down; immediately ordering a drink before beginning to look through the menu to find something to eat.

What a week, that painting to the hospital was finished and they had loved it (thank goodness). No matter how hard she worked on a piece she always worried if they would like it or not. Now that it hang comfortably in the children's wing of the hospital Esme could afford to relax for a little bit before her exhibition next week. The thought of going with her new friend Reino made her smile, she was excited for next week to come.

Silently she scanned the menu, dark pink hair hanging loose down her back instead of it's usual up. Esme was an artist, two of her paintings hung in the very home of Reino Aikawa, and a huge art exhibition was planned for her next week. From the call she received at home the turn out not including her and Reino would easily be over 100 people. She was going up in the world, that made her happy.

Esme however was not going to lose her modesty, she was an artist, this was her craft and she loved to do it. Her boots tapped to the rhythm to the song playing overhead, she licked the salt off the rim of her glass before sipping at her margarita, sighing contently at the salty flavor. She was only having two drinks, she knew her limits. Now she turned back at the menu, scanning it happily to look for something to eat.

Trying to read the menu Melinoe kept finding herself becoming distracted from actually finding what it was she wanted to eat. The whispers and occasional glances weren't what was pulling her attention away so easily though. What it was that caught her eye was a head of pink hair. Pink...It was interesting and lovely to Melinoe, and she found herself glancing repeatedly before looking back to her menu each time. It was rude to stare, and so she wouldn't do that. After one more glance though she moved her eyes to stare at the table in front of herself while moving a hand to hold her chin gently between her thumb and forefinger while her eyebrows lowered slightly.

It was a rather thoughtful look...One that she was known for. Melinoe often found herself in deep thought, and even if she weren't in thought such as now her face no matter the expression almost seemed to have a contemplating look on it. She was startled out of her thoughts though when she heard the shot glass being set down onto her table before the bottle of Jack was placed beside it. Looking up the expression of extreme thought faded from her face and she gave a kindly smile to her waiter. "Thank you..."

The question that came next was the one she scolded herself for not being entirely prepared for. What it was she wanted to eat. Her brows lowered some once more in a look of slight thought, but not to the degree it had been before. "I suppose...I'll just have a salad?" She watched the waiter curiously a moment before thanking him once more and moving to pour herself a drink before quickly taking the shot.

Esme scanned the menu in content silence, but every now and again she felt like someone was watching her. Oh well, this bar was full of people it could easily be anyone. The waiter at the bar came up and she smiled, setting the menu down softly before placing her order.

"I'd like to try the five alarm cheese burger you have advertised outside. And add extra jalapenos, I like it spicy."

The waiter seemed shocked at first, before writing down her order and turning to walk into the kitchen. This lady wasn't ordinary at all, she loved food, and hot didn't bother her at all. She sipped again from her margarita, planning on ordering water before she left so she could definitely be sober enough to drive back home. Last thing she needed was a DUI, nobody wanted to buy from a seemingly drunk artist.

After a few moments of sitting and staring at nothing Melinoe realized that she still had her gloves on, and with a soft sigh she moved to remove them from her hands. For now she sat them on the table, but she was planning on getting up soon, and when she did she was going to put them into the back pocket of her perfectly fitting jeans. They were nice and tight, but not so she couldn't move. It was more to show off the slight curves that she did have than anything else. Casually she bit the edge of her lip slightly so that she could pull on the hoop that pierced the skin there. It wasn't like she was hurting herself. She was just bored, and so she played with her piercing by running her tongue along it, and it didn't even bother her that her tongue piercing hit off it once in a while.

A moment longer of sitting and Melinoe finally stood up, grabbing her gloves off the table to put them securely in her back pocket, but they still hung out one folded neatly over the other. She went to make her way towards the restroom but found herself stopped by a child that stood in her path. "Hm...?" Was this a family place? It didn't seem like the kind of place to bring a child to. "Excuse me." Her voice was soft as she spoke to the small boy, but he simply stared up at her. She glanced around the bar as she spoke to him once more, "Excuse me...?" No one seemed to be coming over for the child. Was he lost? She turned her gaze back to him before reaching her hand out for him to grab onto. "Well...How about some chocolate milk?"

She turned then, holding somewhat securely onto the boy's hand so he wouldn't get lost once more and went to the bar. "Can I get a chocolate milk please?" She smiled as the bartender went and retrieved what she had requested, and as she took it with her free hand she thanked him. Slowly she turned and led the boy to her booth, situating him so that he sat across from her before she set the milk down in front of him and placed a straw into the cup for him. Casually she moved back to the spot she was at before and tilted her head to the side slightly as she watched the child across from her.

Waiting for her food Esme glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing a strange walk over with a child. This was no place to bring a child, but looking at the two she could tell they weren't related. With a drink for the young boy in hand she went back to her table, Esme paying no further attention as her food was placed in front of her along with a second margarita.

The crusnik lost herself in the food, it was spicy but that was just the way she wanted it. Picking off a few jalapenos she ate them contently, feeling the hot bite at her tongue and she took the first sip of the new margarita. Dipping into the fries beside the burger she stopped the bartender and asked for a glass of water, thanking him once he placed it beside her other drink.

She planned on going home soon, getting in some more work for the final piece for her exhibition and spending time with Maya. The cat was probably snoozing somewhere, content as could be...Esme hoped she remembered to lock the door to her studio. The last thing she needed was all her charcoal being gone and having to take that Bengal to the vet.

Eyes narrowed slightly on the child that sat in the booth but in a scolding way and not an angered one. "Hey, kid...Don't play with it." The boy was blowing bubbles into the drink with the straw, and when he didn't stop she simply sighed. This wasn't her child, and so it wouldn't be right for her to punish him at all, and so she looked over elsewhere so that she wasn't distracted by the fact that he was playing with his drink and not drinking it.

Blinking slowly her eyes started to readjust to a new object that stood in front of her. A young couple. "Hey...You're Melinoe, right?" Melinoe watched the girl who spoke curiously for a moment before answering. "Yes, that's right." The woman's eyes lit up "I didn't know you have a child." The woman's breath caught in her chest for a moment before she cleared her throat some to speak. "Oh, no...You're mistaken. He's not mine." She glanced towards the boy before reaching over to move the drink since he was still blowing bubbles.

"Oh. My mistake." The couple left shortly after and Melinoe was left with the child once more, and she stared at him while he stared back. Her child? Not likely. She didn't even want any kids. She broke eye contact with the boy when a salad was placed in front of her, and she lifted her fork to push it around her plate some while staring at it. Why had she gotten a salad? Where was the meat...? Looks like she'd have to buy something on the way home after all. She supposed she'd just get something to share with Chompers then. "Hey. Do you like crocodiles?" She didn't look up from her plate.

With the food gone and the margarita downed Esme simply sat facing away from the bar and sipping her water. She would be leaving soon to return home, once the water was downed and in her system. she looked over to see the woman form before with the child, a couple approached them and after a few words they left. Esme had an idea, seeing the woman having trouble with the child. She quickly turned, grabbing a napkin, and a pencil from her bag.

A few lines here, a bit of shading and stippling there...and done! Esme stood, walking to the back of the table and leaning over hanging the napkin over in front of the boy. A picture of a dinosaur running after an egg was on the fabric, seeing made him laugh and brought a smile to Esme's face.

"If you behave for the nice lady this is all yours."
The boy gaped at her and nodded, taking the napkin and beginning to play with it. He make soft roaring noises and laughed before putting the napkin in his pocket. Esme turned to the lady across the table.
"You looked like you could use a little bit of help."

Hm...? Slowly Melinoe lifted her gaze to glance up at the woman that now stood by the boy. "Oh...It's fine. I'm just not used to dealing with young children like this...But thank you." She moved her gaze to the boy once more and watched him with a gentle but thoughtful face. "He seems to be separated from his parents...So I thought I would keep him company."

Yes, Melinoe was a teacher...but she was a high school teacher. Older kids were fine with her, but young ones she didn't know how to handle. They couldn't comprehend a lot of things that older children could. She certainly wouldn't want to have her own child and have to deal with that. She pushed the salad around a bit more though she wasn't looking at it anymore. It was rather interesting that the woman she had been so interested in before was now helping her out.

Esme smiled softly, she didn't seem like the motherly type to her. She leaned over and wiped some of the chocolate milk off the side of his face, giving the glass back to him and he sipped it quietly and happily.
"Kids can be a handful I understand that, I don't have any myself but I have a baby brother so I was around a little kid a lot when I was young. Strange that someone would bring a child here, I wonder where his parents are?"
Esme lifted her head and looked around, trying to find anyone who looked like the little boy did. Seeing nothing she hummed softly in thought, where were his parents?

"I have no younger siblings." Melinoe adjusted herself slightly and watched the woman in slight curiosity as she cleaned up the child's face. "They're quite a mess aren't they?" She shifted yet again so that she slumped slightly as she sighed. "I'm too old for this..." Melinoe could barely remember her childhood except for the traumatizing bits. She really was too old to be bothered with children so young. They seemed like a nuisance.

Slowly she moved her gaze to the boy and smiled softly. Certainly she could handle dealing with a child temporarily. "I will never understand how someone could leave their child in a place like this. I don't care how nice it seems now...Places always get rough at some point." She flagged the waiter down and asked him for some fries for the child, and after thanking him yet again she turned her attention back to the woman once more. "Oh, I'm sorry for being rude. I'm Melinoe Kokytos." She had stood up from where she was sitting and reached a hand politely out to the woman.

The stranger went on to ask how anyone could leave a child in a place like this, and Esme had to agree. This place was calm now but bar fights started in a heartbeat, she ordered fries for the young boy then stood reaching out a hand and introducing herself. Esme smiled politely, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Nice to meet you Melinoe, my name is Esmeralda Keller, but everyone calls me Esme."
She turned to the bar quickly and grabbed her water before turning back to the two of them.
"I was about to head home, I have some more work to do before next week's exhibition and I wanted to get a head start on it."

"An exhibition...? I see..." That extremely thoughtful look crossed over her face once more. "I take it you're an artist then." A soft smile crossed over her face. "I'm not an artist in that sense. I'm an actress...mostly a teacher, but still." Slowly she sat down before looking over the woman and saying softly, "I don't want to keep you away from your job."

She reached out as the waiter brought over the fries. She smiled at him and then put some ketchup on for the child before reaching them out to him. "Here you are. Try not to make a mess though. I don't need your parents killing me when we find them." A bright smile was flashed at the child.

"An actress, I've been meeting actors a lot lately."
Esme smiled and downed the last of her water, sighing happily as she placed it back on the counter for the bartender. She grabbed her bag in the same motion and nodded to Melinoe.
"Well I better get home, have to make sure my cat hasn't eaten any of my paints or charcoal. It was nice meeting you, behave for her alright?"
she softly ruffled the little boy's hair, making him laugh before he began eating his fries politely. Esme smiled once again to Melinoe and walked to the door. Her head was clear, she was safe to make it home. She grabbed her keys and unlocked the drivers side door of her convertible. With the door shut and seat belt on, she revved the engine and drove away, back home to continue what she loved.
(Exit)

Keaira sat at one of the booths with her head down so that her long white hair hid away her face. She wasn't really hiding anything since her scar was already covered up with makeup, but she found people tended to keep from trying to interact with her. The waiter came over and she lifted her head to look up at the man's face. Without saying anything she simply pointed to what she wanted on the menu and the man nodded. He was used to her odd behavior. With him gone she looked down and opened the sketch pad she had sitting in front of herself and started to doodle.

Usagi's body appeared out of her dune buggy since she had drove here with her own two hands and feet. A rather noticable yellow and black bookbag was slung over her left shoulder while her normal upper bag which went around her remained where it was. Checking over things within her ride did she simply leave it alone as she placed her keys into her left pocket of her white cargo pants. Briskly she entered the bar and found herself a seat in a normal booth quite aways from normal people. Usagi's eyes of brown scanned around the area before noticing the menu and simply opened it and looked at it curiously while using her right hand to right the bookbag and sat it down beside her.

Quite literally Keaira jumped in her seat when the waiter came back with her food. It was clear that she was not only shy, but skittish. A red blush had crossed over her face from the fact that she had jumped and the fact that her sketchpad was open. Swiftly she shut it and pushed it to the side and after a moment she slowly looked up to the waiter and while she didn't speak she simply made the motion for the sign of 'Thank you'. He nodded his head in response; still being used to the way Keaira acted and walked away. The girl glanced around with bluish-purple eyes before slowly lowering her eyes to the plate in front of herself and lifting her fork to eat, blushing once more as she accidentally knocked the sketchpad off of her table and set the fork down before leaning down to pick it up.

Usagi's eyes glanced over when she heard a light noise of something following and seeing someone else in a different booth did she look up to the other women and said. "Allow me.", her right hand left from her bookbag and simply lifted up what looked to be a sketch pad. Listening to common sense of not just looking through it did she place it up for the other to take out of her hand. A soft smile made way to her face as she looked to the other women. Confident was Usagi that she showed no such thing as embarrassment. As she waited did she take note that the waiter asked her on what she wanted and she simply blinked to the man before saying. "A normal beer is fine. Thank you."

Suddenly Keaira pulled her hand back away from the sketchpad as someone else reached for it. She looked up at the woman with a slight blush over her face as she hesitated. After that moment of hesitation Keaira slowly reached her hand up and took the sketchpad from the woman; glancing away as she placed it on the table. Still she said nothing, but she gave the woman the same gesture of thanks that she had given the waiter that had brought her food before. It wasn't that she couldn't speak, it was more just that she didn't.

The other woman took what was rightfully hers and Usagi simply smiled more as she nodded before returning her eyes to the bookbag that she had brought in with her. Using her left hand did she unzip the bag and simply reached into it with a rather normal looking smile on her features. Usagi took a simple newspaper out of the bag and placed it down on the table as she zipped the bag up with her right hand. Contently did she begin to read with her elbows respectfully off of the surface of the table as she read over certain topics of the paper that she had not gotten to yet. Usagi took out a yellow highlighter and began stroking different parts of the newspaper with yellow coloring.

A small sigh of relief came from Keaira's lips as the woman left her alone. Too many people tried to force her to speak, and while she was fine with speaking with people through body language, she didn't really like it when they tried to get her to use her voice. Slowly Keaira went back to her food, but a voice caught her attention and her head snapped up. It was one she remembered all too well, and it was drawing closer to her. "Oh, look here. Keaira I see fame has gotten to you. Why do you hide that pretty face my daddy gave you under all that makeup? Still don't talk? It's probably better that way. No one wants to hear your annoying thoughts anyway." Keaira flinched slightly as the person continued to pester her, but never once did she speak up. She hated this place, and she hated the people here. Ever since she was a child she's hated those two things.

Usagi's eyes simply looked over a few points of the paper before she glanced up by using her eyes and not her head. The women before that had dropped something was now being talked to in a bad way and that made her frown. The people here were not that nice which was what made her into what she was today, she had to protect those who can't protect themselves. This is what Jasper did when he was able and so now she was going to continue his legend on. "Hey, leave her alone.", was her response as she finally lifted her head and showed no fear. "Sure, she can't talk but I bet if she did she would sound better than you."

Keaira had been sitting there with a blank face until the other woman had walked up and started to try defending her. A frown slowly crossed over her face now and she stared down at her shoes as the other one turned on the one who had helped her earlier. "Oh please. She just doesn't. And it's good too, because she's a freak." Slowly Keaira lifted her face and said in a very, very quiet tone. "S-stop it..." The words were actually more towards the woman defending her than the other. She quickly dropped some money on the table and pushed her way between the two women before going out without even grabbing the sketchpad. She didn't go far, just went out and sat down against the wall.

Usagi's face went from serious to being blank as the one who she tried to defend left and she sort of glared toward the other who had said such bad things. "You know who is the real freak? People who pick on the innocent.", she didn't say anything else as she properly folded the newspaper into her bookbag and simply stood up while taking the sketchpad along with her. Noticing that she had left it again did she feel the need to return it again. Usagi thought back to the one women who she tried to defend and she frowned for she barely heard words come from her. Simply she stopped when the waiter approached her with the item she had requested and she simply nodded and took it. Usagi placed it into her bag and quickly gave the guy the money for her drink. Nodding did she briskly walk out the door and saw the women who was the owner of her sketchpad. Usagi frowned and simply placed it down near to other women's feet. "Sorry, I hate people who talk bad to those who are innocent or had nothing to do with anything. I understand though, I stepped over the line.", she softly smiled with her brown eyes looking down. Usagi simply turned around and began walking slowly to her ride, her left hand held the beer while her right was now holding her bag.