The Ice Cream Shoppe
Walking into the Ice Cream Shoppe is like walking into another era. Designed to have a small garage-mechanic theme, the shiny chrome and metallic red leather seats look like they've been remodeled based on the backseats of hotrods from the 50s and 60s. Each corner is taken up by a booth large enough to seat at least eight people comfortably. More booths line the walls, and several tables are in the center of the room.
Black and white checkerboard linoleum covers the floor, accented by white walls sporting a checkerboard trim. The decorations on the walls ranges from old traffic lights and signs, to a three-dimensional hull of a bright-red 1957 Chevy Bel-Air that juts out from the back wall.
With a Wurlitzer jukebox in one corner playing 'American oldies', and smaller radio controlled boxes at the booths, this is definitely a place for the younger crowd.
Though famous for its milkshakes and ice cream floats, the Shoppe also has a long counter with a glass shield around it to keep patrons from contaminating the wares. Ice cream in every color and flavor imaginable can be found from one end to the other, interspersed with the occasional yogurt or sorbet.
The ice cream parlor is moderately occupied and there's a line forming behind the counter. What seems to be holding them up is a young woman in her late teens or early twenties, putting down roll after roll of quarter in order to pay for a meager root beer float. The girl looks suitably embarrassed to be doing so and she's not without some sighs and snarky comments from the other customers. The cashier looks impatient and taps her fingernails against the counter while mouthing 'sorry' at the customer directly behind Bailey. "Hang on a second…" Bailey mutters quietly as she starts taking a roll of dimes from her purse.
Outside the shop a motorcycle can be heard, and possibly seen as it pulls in. It's all black, and it's a normal one, not a crotch rocket. The motor is cut and the rider climbs off it. Pulling the helmet off, a slightly flattened 'fro can be seen. The keys are pulled out of the ignition the rider wanders in. Helmet tucked upside-down under hsis right arm, and leather gloves being pulled off his hands. Noting the line, Austin just sighs, well at least he has time to kill. Eyeing the girl at the front of the line.. the cause of the traffic jam.. And hearing the comments, "We all gotta do that a time or two in our lives, the economy sucks.." he glares at one of the male grumblers in particular.
The noise of the motorcycle barely makes a dent in Bailey's feverish counting and recounting of her change. Once she pushes it toward the cashier, the girl counts it and then looks rather annoyed. "You're ten cents short." Bailey bites her lip and turns a bright shade of beet red as she digs in the bottom of her purse, providing two nickles. Upon hearing Austin's comment, Bailey hunkers down a little bit. The cashier eventually presents the young woman with the root beer float and the next customer is free to go in line. As she walks past Austin in line on the way back to a table, Bailey flashes him a very brief but grateful smile.
Austin returns the smile. "People are always in too much of a rush to get no where." he says to her softly. "Save me a seat?" he asks, waiting for an answer of some sort, before continuing on up in the line. Tucking his leather gloves into the helmet. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, people need to learn patience."
When Bailey is stopped by Austin, she smiles at him and nods. "O-Okay." She seems a little caught off guard that someone would want to sit with her. She makes no immediate comment to the remark about him having embarrassed her, but simply goes to retrieve a few plastic spoons and some napkins. She sits down at a booth and sets one of the spoons across the table from her.
Austin has a girlfriend, but hey, never hurts to make friends. He grins at her, watching her a bit before moving up in the line. The guy just ignored Austin's comment, but Austin got his point across, so he really doesn't care. Keeping an eye on him, to make sure he doesn't go over and harass her or something. As he waits, he also checks over the menu, but he already knows what he wants too. So it's just a subtle glance. Austin has a wallet, and he just got paid recently, so he's not broke, but just to piss people off he digs for his tip money from the golf course. He knows he has enough, since he always gets the same thing. So just torments them. Not her.. He's just proving a point. He sets the helmet on the counter, then orders his usual 'big' banana split, then begins to casually counts out his money. he then digs into his wallet, after the banana split is on the counter. "See this, that 'was' going to be your tip.." a $5 bill. A bit much for the split, but that's Austin for you. "You have a bad attitude today, so you aren't getting it." he tells the server, tucking the money back into his wallet and the wallet put away. They know he usually tips.. their loss today. He gathers up his order in one hand, the helmet in the other and heads for the table.
Bailey pretends to miss the exchange between Austin and the cashier, sinking down into her seat as she takes a bite of her root beer float. The ice cream is starting to melt a little bit, though Bailey doesn't look in the slightest bit bothered by this revelation. As Austin nears the table, she smiles shyly at him and bows her head. "Thanks for that… you didn't embarrass me. The whole thing was embarrassing — I mean, having to pay in coins. It was all I had though. And the banks are closed this time of night…" She stabs idly at the float with her spoon and squirms in her seat as though she can't quite get comfortable. "Do you think you should have said that to the cashier though? I mean… I don't know. I always worry about food service types spitting in my food anyway, but it seems that you don't want to be too big-mouthed to people who handle your food…"
"Don't worry about it, it was my pleasure. People are always set on fast forward." Austin tells her, smiling at her warmly. "It is a little, but you do with what you got. Hell, I bet at least half of them did the same thing when they were starting out." He notices the spoon and napkins. "Oh thanks. I was just about to go back up for them." He sets his helmet on the seat next to him. "Why I waited until the food was served. She just seemed to have a bad attitude tonight. They aren't usually like that." He chuckles, "Oh like on that Waiting movie, yeah I usually do worry about that, and am polite to people, but that was just a different situation." He digs into the banana split, "Oh, name's Austin by the way." he offers, being polite to her as well.. introductions should be made. "She probably just broke up with her boyfriend or something and cranky."
The brunette nods her head a little bit and smiles. "To be fair, I'm not just getting started, but…" She trails off there and takes a bite of her root beer float. The girl simply takes the time to listen to him, retaining that shy smile she wears. There's a long pause before she says anything at all. "My name is Bailey. It's nice to meet you, Austin." After a moment she finally nods and concedes his point. "Yeah. I don't understand why people bring their bad moods to work with them though. It seems a little counter productive, but that's just me."
Austin nods, "Oh, but well still when they were, they probably still had to count change. I got a job and I still do sometimes. Between payments on the bike, medical bills that aren't covered under the insurance. I eat a lot too, so I help my grandparents with groceries and stuff too." Though it wouldn't be noticed.. as he looks like he possibly works out a lot. "Bailey, I like it.." he says with a grin. He nods, "Yeah I know what you mean, or bring a bad day at work home and take it out on your family. That's not a good thing either. Between school, and working the golf course and dealing with little kids that I can only do so much to keep them in line it's a bit of a pain, but then it has it's rewards too. But I really don't take it out on others when I get home. Or take the BS from school out on the kids either. Again, counter productive."
"Medical bills, huh?" Bailey asks with a sympathetic look. She nods to him a little bit and takes a few bites of her root beer float, seeming more at ease the more he talks. She reaches for a napkin and dabs at the corner of her mouth. "It's nice that you help your grandparents out. A lot of kids wouldn't bother. I had to help my mom and dad out. Figured it was the least they could do for me since they'd spent so long taking care of me and all." She does seem a little skeptical when he says he eats a lot, but he's also fairly athletic-looking, and that could easily explain it. The girl reaches up to scratch at her brow before smiling. "You should always treat other people how you want to be treated. I guess that's the golden rule. Some people aren't very good at keeping with that in this day and age. Pretty sad, if you ask me. You're still in school? What year?" She doesn't seem to recoil in horror when she figures that he's probably in high school and a bit younger than him. Not like Bailey is too much older than him to begin with.
Austin nods, "Yeah, with the injury during basketball season to my knee, and the rehab for it and all… and the latest, when I found out the hard way that I'm allergic to fish and shell fish. So the ambulance trips, overnight at the hospital for observation and all that and now a prescription for those epi-pens it adds up." He smiles, "My grandparents took me in, when after mom died and he remarried, he and the new wife bailed. No room for a kid, so they took me in. They were already on a pretty tight Budget, and now it's worse, they are making Grandpa retire. It's the least I ca do. And heck, it trains me for the future." eating the split as he talks, already got quite a dent in it. "Yeah, High school, Junior year right now. I just turned sixteen back in January."
Bailey pulls quite a face when Austin mentions allergic being to all fish. She shakes her head softly at that and takes a few more bites of her ice cream before forming a coherent sentence. "I'm really sorry. That must be tough. I'm glad I don't have any food allergies, otherwise I'd probably be up a creek as we say back home. Sorry you have all those medical bills to pay though. And sorry you had to find out the way you did." She seems generally sorry for almost everything in the world, even when it's not her fault. Bailey looks down to her ice cream and mashes it with her spoon a little bit before smiling very softly at Austin. "I'm sorry to hear about your family troubles too. But for a kid that's been… well… shifted around like that, you seem pretty well-adjusted." She blushes after that and seems to worry that she's offended him with her comment, despite that she meant it as a compliment. "Do you like school?"
Austin shrugs, "Well the basketball injury was the other teams fault. They got a bit nasty on the court that night. But I'll be able to play next season so it'll work out." Then to the food allergy, "I don't usually have anything like allergy problems. But then according to the doctor I probably had it all my life. But since Grandpa hates fish, and I don't remember if mom ever made it I'd never had it to know." He finds a rather good sized piece of strawberry and munches on it. "Apparently mom had the Leukemia when she was pregnant with me, they just didn't notice it. Dad, well, he's family, but he's an ass, to choose a piece of ass, over his own son is just stupid. He's trying to contact me again, at least. Since I almost died." he seems not to be too angry though, either way. "Thanks, I try not to let things get me down. Andra helps keep me focused when I do feel down about it. I look at it as, it's his loss.." He smiles at her, "Don't worry, I am not that easily offended." though he looks toward the counter, "Well, usually." His brown eyes spark with his grins and laughter. At the mention of school, "It's alright, not the best at math, but passing at least. Most of my teachers are pretty cool though. That helps. Most everything else I'm doing alright in, A's and B's. Hard to believe I'll be graduating next year though."
Bailey blushes a beet red when Austin makes mention of his father choosing a piece of ass over his family. She nods however. "Andra must be your girlfriend, huh? You're lucky." She finishes off her float and then drinks the diluted root beer down in one fell swoop, pushing the dish away. She nods to the rest of his conversation, finding it much easier to listen than to converse. "You're lucky. I went to a really small school. It wasn't any fun because everyone knew my business all the time, you know?" She asks before reaching into her pocket and taking out a watch face — just the watch face, not a band. The time must be accurate however, because she frowns. "I have to start a shift soon. It was really nice meeting you, Austin." She pauses and moves to stand up from the booth. "You should come by the video store sometime. Cameron's Cult Classics. It's pretty easy to find if you look it up… we have some pretty cool movies I bet you'd like." Realizing how weird that probably sounds, she clears her throat. "Like old kung fu. Anyway, I should go. Thanks for… everything."
Austin chuckles at her red face, but not in a mean way.. He nods "Yes, she's my girlfriend. We've only been together a few months, and already it feels like forever. She saved my life that day, with the fish. I owe her everything. And her dog thinks the world revolves around me. He's awesome. Before I met her, I would never even talk to girls. I was the shy, quiet, afraid of girls type. But now, I am willing to talk to ust about everyone." He nods, "Yeah, my grandfather told me about towns like that.. well the whole damn island of Jamaica is so small, that everyone knows everybody else's business." He smiles at the offer of visiting the shop, "Oh cool, I didn't think they'd let me in, since those type also consist of Rocky Horror and Flesh Gordon and such. Which I have seen before, by the way. I love Monty Python though." He eyes her, "Though it all sounds pretty awesome. I'll have to check it out definitely."
At the mention of Flesh Gordon, Bailey especially blushes. She bites her lip and clears her throat for a moment, shuffling her feet in place. "Well, hey. Monty Python is a classic. Thanks for… everything, again. And the video store is all ages. You just can't go back in the adult room, you know. Alright, I'll see you later!" Embarrassed, Bailey walks out at a high speed, although she does seem chipper at the prospect of seeing Austin in the video store at some point.
Austin smiles, "Yeah, good point, I'll save that one for two years from now. Unless they up the age for that to 21 as well." He watches her leave grinning more. He soon finishes off his ice cream, rises to take care of his stuff, then as he heads out he plucks a buck on the counter "Tip, just don't bring it to work next time." he realizes he needs to get home before it's too late. So he's out to his motorcycle.
