Spreso's Cafe[OPEN]

[Buse]

Ah, another good day of work. After the usual morning routine, which involved waking up, showering, eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, so on and so forth, Khaldi put on his work uniform. Black slacks and dress shoes and a white button-up shirt... pretty formal, all things considered. He rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the top two buttons, then stopping to look at a black waistcoat hanging on his wardrobe. Should he, shouldn't he... Nah, not today. Deciding against it, he closed the wardrobe, heading for the door. His parents were probably in the shop already, as usual... he wasn't late, but they had to start earlier to organize it all. Not that he was one to complain about getting a bit more sleep, of course.

The walk to the store was always a pleasant one. Well, not always, of course, but it was often fun. The weather was good, the sun just warm enough to brighten up the day. The perfect weather to go out... and buy coffee, perhaps. Khaldi went on, whistling a happy tune, stopping only to greet acquaintances he met on the street. Indeed, that had everything to be a good day. After a bit of walking, he got to the shop, managing to before before it actually opened for the consumers.

It was a nice place. Tables were laid around the room, with varying numbers of chairs. Seats could be taken close to the counter, too.

He hurried to the counter, picking up his apron. It wasn't really anything too fancy, just a simple black apron with the cafe's logo in it. Truth be told, it wasn't really needed: pretty much everyone that went to the cafe already knew Khaldi(or, in some cases, went because of him), and those who didn't could very easily notice he worked there. But it was good to have a uniform, anyways. His parents were behind the counter, waiting for him.

Joe was a large man, not exactly tall, but... well, fat would be a good word, if only a bit hurtful, though he didn't mind. Balding, he had brown hair on the sides of his head, a thick mustache and, as always, a large, friendly smile. "Alright, your turn to pick. What are we playing today, son?" He asked the young man, who shrugged.

"How about some good old-fashioned samba?" Kona was a tall, slender woman, with long, wavy brown hair and the same amazing green eyes her son had. She was going through some CDs, seemingly aimless.

"Actually, I was thinking that french CD would go well. What do you guys think?" Khaldi asked, already picking a CD and inserting it in the player that was hidden under the counter, pressing play. An accordion sound filled the store. He started dancing around the tables, then going to the door and changing the "closed" sign to "open".

"Sounds good enough to me!" His father answered, adding a hearty laugh. "Now, let the customers waltz in!"

---

OFF: Pretty much all RPing will be done by Khaldi, since he's my character and the waiter. Just used his parents here to show he isn't taking care of the whole shop by himself.

[Aly]

Natalia had parked her obnoxious(to the people of Jump) van beside the park and decided she was going to go searching the town for a job. She had just arrived in Jump City not too long ago, and her tank was running low. Maybe she would stay here for a while, maybe not. She wasn't sure yet, but what she did know was that she needed money. So far, she had liked the people and atmosphere of this place, and the beach was great. Staying was quite a possibility. But either way, she needed a job.

She had picked up a newspaper out of one of the trash cans on her way out of the park, but the classifieds weren't much help. Some fast food restaurant needed cooks, which she wouldn't go near because of the revolting food they served, a business needed a secretary, and the newspaper itself needed editors. Nothing that she wanted to do, anyways. As she made her way down the sidewalk past a few shops, she folded the newspaper back up and put it under her arm as she looked in each window along the way. Nothing said "Help Wanted", but nothing so far was anyplace she wanted to work for anyways. There was a barbershop, but she had no experience. There were many little mom-and-pop restaurants, but the smell coming from them was revolting. It would probably smell great to anyone else, but a vegetarian not so much.

Getting a job was hard for the girl, one reason was that she had really long blonde dreadlocks. Most people thought they were disgusting and didn't want her working for them. Sucks for them, then. She was a pretty good worker, or at least that's what she had heard. She had worked many places in the country, from farms to animal shelters to trash collecting. She passed a music shop that looked promising, but the sign on the front said "closed". Chewing on her lip, she continued down the street. Her sandals thudded the pavement, which was pretty dirty, but this was a city, she reminded herself. Lots of traffic. The sun above was becoming warmer, which was great, considering she was down to her last few clean articles of clothing, which were some short jean shorts and a tie-dyed tank top.

The thought of turning around and going on the other side of the street back to the park crossed her mind, but something caught her eye up ahead. It looked like a little coffee shop. Spreso's Cafe. Seemed promising. Some tea sounded good right now. And perhaps they even needed help. Asking wouldn't hurt. With a new spring in her step, Natalia got closer to the storefront. She could see a figure through the glass, which looked to be dancing his way to the door. Thank goodness she wasn't a few minutes earlier or they would not have been opened yet, it seemed. The guy turned the open sign around and was out of the way just in time for Natalia to walk in. "You seem to be partnerless for your dance there, sir. Need a hand?" She smiled as the door closed behind her with another chime.

[Buse]

Just his luck. As soon as he opened the store, a pretty lady walked in, flirting with him. Or maybe she just had a habit of dancing with shopkeepers, who knows. Sure, he'd be lying if he said it was his first time dancing around the store with a girl, but it definitely wasn't a thing that happened often. Not that he was about to complain, of course.

"Now, now, I wouldn't use the word need..." He turned towards the girl, stopping for a few seconds for added drama before bowing and adding, "But I would definitely be more than delighted to have this dance." He smiled at the girl, holding out his hand. "Khaldi Spreso, ma'am." He waited for her to take his hand(or not, maybe the dance was a mere joke) before he could lead her through the room, around the tables, following the music.

All in all, he wasn't a bad dancer, and he had his friends to thank for that. Not that he was terrible, but he once met a guy that danced for a living, and some time later, a gal that lived for dancing. He picked up a fair amount of tricks from both, and it showed. All in all, dancing had always been a thing he liked to do, be it on a smaller or on a larger scale.

"Ma cherie, how come I've never seen you around before?" He asked, slipping a bit of french in there. Gotta make good use of the background music, after all. "I never knew Jump City had such hidden beauty." He said, smiling again. It was definitely a good day.

[Aly]

She took his hand and let him pull her into his dance. "Natalia Rose, monsieur." Giving her head a slight bow, she placed her hand on his shoulder and let him lead her into the music. She herself was not a bad dancer either, having picked up various styles in her travels across the continent. From powwows to street dances, raves to ballroom extravaganzas, she loved learning new dances and even coming up with her own. They were always fun, too.

To his question, she laughed, a light musical sound escaping from her lips. "Well, I just arrived here a few days ago. You may have seen the giant Volkswagen van cruising down the street in front of your shop since then, though." This was turning out to be one of the best times she had had since coming here. Most of the city had been loud and full of rude people, so this was a nice change. They twirled around the room, gliding between tables seemingly effortlessly.

[Buse]

Ah, dancing. Did I ever mention dancing was a great way to start the day? Because it was, and Khaldi's prediction of a good day was spot on. "Natalia Rose, eh? Nice name. Pretty." He said, smiling. "Though that really comes as no surprise, all things considered." His mind started to drift to what kind of coffee she would like. Maybe she liked it black... maybe. Maybe a cappuccino? Au lait? Mocha, perhaps? Ah, tough questions.

His thoughts were interrupted by her laugh. A beautiful laugh. He generally liked making people laugh, but there were some cases that were way more than worth it. That was one of those. "Oh, I see. Now that you mention it, I did notice the colorful van. You painted it yourself?" He asked. A change of scenery was always interesting, and that vehicle was definitely a change in Jump City's usual scenario. "Pretty cool design, really. Brought some color to the city." He stopped, noticing the song was over. Letting go of her hand, he bowed, then leaned back against a table.

"So, what brought you to Spreso's Cafe?"

[Aly]

"Why thank you sir." She had never liked the original name her parents had given her before dumping her off at the orphanage. From her fifth birthday to fifteenth, she had been through at least eight different names. Natalia Rose seemed to fit her, so she had kept it longer than any of the others. She didn't say anything to his second comment, but blushed slightly. She wasn't used to such open flirtation. It was very sweet, and she was slightly surprised, since his parents were literally right there.

It wasn't a surprise that he did notice her van, as she had driven around the city quite a bit since she had arrived. She always came back to the park, though. Free parking for one, and it made her feel at home so close to the trees. "Yes I did paint it myself. Wherever I go, I paint something new. In Gotham, it was the Batsignal. New York, Lady Liberty. Some are references to the people I've met. Like there's an icecream cone for the man that drove the icecream truck in Texas that always gave me a free popsicle. He said I reminded him of his daughter." She wondered what she would paint about this place. Perhaps the giant tower shaped like a T she had seen the other day. Maybe this little shop. Who knew? And she was glad she brought some color to this city. It seemed pretty dark and gloomy, but not nearly as much as Gotham had been. She hadn't stayed there very long. It made her feel a bit depressed every time she left her van.

The music stopped, and in response to his bow, she curtsied in her imaginary dress and laughed again. "Thank you for that wonderful dance, Khaldi. I actually came here looking for a job and something to drink. Are you guys hiring at all?"

[Buse]

Khaldi did enjoy playful flirting, yeah. It was fun, and it was always interesting how it could get reactions out of people. Sure, it could be a bit awkward to do it in the presence of the people that were both his parents and employers. But all in all, they didn't really mind. He acted like that frequently, and it never actually brought them trouble... truth be told, it probably got them some extra customers every once in a while. It wasn't exactly an act, but Khaldi did know how to get on people's good sides.

He already expected that, but the boy still couldn't help but be impressed that she had painted the van herself. And her idea was a pretty good one, too... an addition to the painting based on every place she visited. "Wow, wish I had thought of that. Would have made a pretty cool painting, too." The song was nearing its end, he knew it. His mind started floating to the many places he had been... and then returned to where he currently was. "I wonder what you'll paint about Jump City... I mean, the obvious pick would be the Titan Tower, but hey, the beach is cool too, and this place is swarming with supers. Heroes, villains, and undecided peeps... there's even a guy with a coffee motif, would you believe that? Met him twice these last three years, one time he mugged me, the other he helped me out against a bunch of muggers. Weird guy." He couldn't help but to take the chance to tell a story, especially about his favorite super. That wasn't him or anything, of course.

As soon as he knew it, the song was over, and so was the dance. Which meant it was time to talk business. Thankfully, the girl really meant business, perhaps more business than he had expected. But he didn't lose his mind, as he was a businessman. Yeah. Business. "Now, that's... a pretty good question. I'm not the guy that talks money around here. Whaddaya say, boss?" He turned to look at his dad, that looked deep in thought.

"Hm..." He pondered. "I say we could use an extra set of arms, yeah. What would ya say about 8 bucks an hour?" He made the offer with a smile on his face. Someone else working would be great, if one of them needed to miss a day, they'd be able to do so without so much weight on their conscience. "There are two shifts, morning and afternoon. Khaldi can give you the details... woah hey there, John! Been a while since I last saw ya! Same as always?" He turned to greet a customer as soon as he finished talking to Natalia, and the two started chatting like old friends. The man exchanged greetings with Khaldi and his mother too, before going back to the conversation.

"Well, first shift starts at 6 am and lasts until 2 pm, second shift picks up then and closes shop at 10 pm. I know it's not exactly the best paying job, but hey, it's a family business." He shrugged, smiling at her. "It would be pretty sweet to have someone else working here, though. Especially someone that dances so well." He let out a quick laugh and winked at Natalia. "So, you in?"

[Deleted]

I WATCH HOW THE MOON SITS

in the sky on a dark night, shining with the light from the sun, but the sun doesn't give the light to the moon assuming the moon's gonna owe it one.

Well, it sure felt nice for Adam McAuley to get out of that stuffy coat and mask and just walk around town in jeans and a shirt. For once, he didn't have any earphones in, instead listening to the sounds of the city. A messenger bag carried his trademark masquerade mask and coat, but he really didn't want to put them on today. Vigilantism took a lot out of a guy.


A snatch of accordian music caught the blue-haired teen's ear. He turned as a door shut across the street, shutting out the music into a restaurant called "Spreso's Cafe". The teen's stomach rumbled, reminding him that lunch was, in fact, a real thing. He crossed the street with the light, not willing to face that one millionth chance of getting ticketed for jaywalking or the even slimmer chance of getting hit by a car, even with his reflexes.


So it was that Adam came to the little family coffee shop and walked in the door. The waiter was talking to someone about shifts, and the man behind the bar was speaking with another customer, so Adam took a seat at a small table and waited, flipping the menu on said table open and looking at all the different kinds of coffee they had with an impressed whistle.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Aly]

She had all kinds of questions now. "You've been to many interesting places, then? I'd love to hear about it." My, she was a bundle of energy and sunshine today. Not that this wasn't much different than any other day. Natalia always did love hearing about other peoples' travels. It was like traveling there on her own, listening to people tell her about the places they went and people they met. Their experiences on the way, and actually there. "I've only seen it from quite far off and only met a couple of other 'supers' how you say. One was flying, and one was a wolfdude. Much different than I've seen around. It was cool to find out I wasn't the only one, though." Of course she didn't feel a need to have a secret identity. Secrets don't make friends. Why would she hide what she was to the world? She got that other people had family to protect and whatnot, but she had no family, and friends came and went.

When Khaldi tossed the conversation over to his father, Natalia turned to look at the guy with a hopeful expression. Hiding her squeal of joy was quite difficult, so it all came out while she bounced on her toes. His father started talking to a customer that walked in, so she turned back to Khaldi. "Thank you! I am ABSOLUTELY in! Eight dollars is not the least I have worked for, believe me. That will take care of more than my gas and necessities. Which shift are you guys least staffed for? I can do whichever one will help out the most."

[Buse]

"Well, I've been around. Settled in Jump City three years ago, and that's by far the most time I've spent in one place. Italy, Brazil, Mexico, even here in the States. Which reminds me, I gotta travel like that again sometime... anyways, we gotta sit down to talk about travels at some point." It was always good to meet a fellow traveler. Exchanging experiences meant he'd find out about more places to visit, and he'd also get to talk about beautiful places he visited. Win-win.

He raised his eyebrow, surprised to learn she was a super. It wasn't everyday that you got someone with superpowers looking for a job at your place. "Oh, so you got powers too? Cool. Now I don't mean to offend, and I hope this goes without saying, but try not to bring any destructive supervillains to this shop, heh." He smirked. "Well, at least none that might have robbing or destroying in mind. Everyone's welcome to a cuppa joe here." He wasn't lying. Coffee, at least to him, was something above divisions like hero or villain, something that could bring both sides together. Whoever wanted coffee, would get coffee.

The boy couldn't help but grin when the girl accepted the offer. Always good to have a coworker, and someone that enthusiastic was bound to bring new life to the shop. "Honestly? Whatever's good for you. The only people working here are me, pops and ma, and we all work both shifts." He shrugged. He was going to get more free time, which was great, but he didn't care enough to pick when. "Hey, hold on a second." He noticed a new customer had arrived, turning and going towards him while taking a notepad and a pen from his shirt pocket.

"Hey there, boss!" He greeted the guy casually, a smile on his face. "What're you having?"

[Deleted]

I WATCH HOW THE MOON SITS

in the sky on a dark night, shining with the light from the sun, but the sun doesn't give the light to the moon assuming the moon's gonna owe it one.

"What're you having?"

The look Adam gave to the waiter resembled that of a deer in headlights. There was so... much... coffee. After taking a second to compose himself, he folded the menu and gently set it down. "Well... what's your favorite?" That said, he turned in his chair to better face the two other occupant who had been conversing. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. You two are supers? What do you do, if you don't mind me asking?"

His tone held nothing but pure curiosity: perhaps finding out what more superhumans than just the public ones did, and possibly how they did it, would help him figure out how his own powers worked. Not really a priority for Adam, but his dad would be proud, and who knew how many people that knowledge could help?

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Aly]

Natalia nodded, not ever really concerned about her identity. "Oh, I haven't made any enemies here yet, so you're good for now." She winked, smiling. Considering she hasn't actually caught any actual "badguys" here yet, that wasn't surprising. "Oh, I can do either. It's no problem for me." Shrugging, she leaned back on one of the tables while Khaldi turned to the customer. She didn't figure he'd take long, so she just mused to herself about how cool it would be to work here.

She was brought back to earth when the customer addressed her as well as Khaldi. Stepping closer, she nodded. "Seems like there are more supers in Jump than I would have ever believed. Mind if I join you?" Pulling out the chair on the opposite side, she sat down and swung one arm over the top of the back of the seat and the other on the top of the table without really waiting for an answer. "I can... grow things. Move plants, make plants, remove plants. I'd show you, but I doubt my new employers would appreciate something bursting through the floor."

ooc; Sorry guys, this is horrible. A little scatter-brained right now due to aftereffects of panic attack meds. My brain. Doesn't want to work properly.

[Buse]

The customer seemed... well, surprised, to say the least. Well, it was always good to know the menu alone could have that effect on people... of course, if just the menu already did that, one could only wonder how he would react upon tasting the actual coffee.

"...Ya know, that's a pretty tough question. I guess it depends on the day... every moment asks for something different, ya dig? But if I had to name an all-time favorite... cream's good, milk's good, but nothing beats the good ol' pure black coffee." That was always a hard question to answer. A favorite coffee... he didn't simply LIKE coffee. He WAS coffee... quite literally, if you consider his superpower.

Superpower? Oh, boy. The customer apparently got the idea that he was a super-person. He... wasn't wrong, all things considered. But he couldn't really know that. "No, no, I'm just an average Joe. She's the..." He didn't get to finish, since she approached and made presentations herself. "Yeah, fixing something like that could be costly. We could probably use some flowers, though... anyways." He casually tapped the pen in the notepad. "Jump City's got as many supers as we got coffee. Take your time, boss."

[Deleted]

I WATCH HOW THE MOON SITS

in the sky on a dark night, shining with the light from the sun, but the sun doesn't give the light to the moon assuming the moon's gonna owe it one.

Adam looked at the girl with scarcely-veiled curiosity. "Grow things? That's awesome! Though, yeah, probably shouldn't demonstrate that inside." He had completely turned around in his chair and was facing the two employees at this point. He looked down at his menu as the waiter told him that Jump had as many supers as they had coffee. He held up the menu and skimmed through it once more. "I don't know. There might not be enough supers... I think I'll take the Kona coffee, black. Never had it before, and it looks tasty."

OOC: Sorry for the short post. Stress is happening.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF BACK TO NEVERLAND