“Man, I’m beat,” I comment to nobody in particular as I walk home. “I just want to go to bed.”

The streetlights light the sidewalks near my house sporadically with a sickly yellow glow. These are among the last in the city like this, the rest having been changed over to LEDs. But, for some reason, I’m glad they’re still like this. It gives me a childlike sense of comfort.

As I skip across the road while there’s no cars to run me over, I fumble with my earbuds. Taking them out, I sigh. I’ve had enough music for tonight.

Taking the last few steps before my apartment complex, I halfheartedly glance into the alleyway next to the parking garage.

I place my eyes back on the sidewalk, and then stop. “What...?” I backtrack a few steps, and look a second time.

A girl stands with her back to me, looking up at the stars in the nighttime sky. Her hair, jet black, cascades down her back like rivulets of ink. Her red hoodie sits baggily on her frame, as do her jeans. I stare for a moment, contemplating calling out, but I decide against it, instead continuing on my journey, shaking my head.

“Whoever it was probably wouldn’t have wanted to talk to me anyways...” I reason with myself as I enter my apartment building, pressing the button to call the elevator.

As I ride it upwards, I replay the scene in my mind. Who is she? Why is she outside at this time of night?

Unlocking the door to my apartment, I turn the lights on, slinging my bag and shoes onto the doormat. I pit-pat over to the window, and draw back the curtain so that I can peer into the alleyway from above. I see a flash of red slip around the corner as I look, but then nothing more. “It seems she’s left.” I shrug. “Oh well.”

Having put my stuff away, I brush my teeth, and slip into bed. As I drift off, I can’t help but picture her, staring up at the stars...

My alarm goes off, and I snooze it a couple of times before getting up. I groggily shower, and then head into my living room to eat my bowl of cereal. As I do, I check my phone. No new messages, as per usual. I check my work schedule while my phone’s on. Two to close, as per usual. Good old eight hour night shifts at Milk Monarch. I check the clock. Eleven. Nice. Means I have time to play some cards at Solstice before I head to work. I throw my dish in the sink with the rest of them, slip on my shoes, grab my bag, wallet, and keys, and shut the lights off as I go. I lock the door behind me, taking the stairs down to ground level.

The walk to Solstice Games takes me forty minutes, and when I get there, it’s already pretty full of people playing games. I slip inside, greet the owner, Nathaniel, and then plop down at a table with my usual buddies, Kale, Jamie, and Ben.

Kale nods at me. “Hey, if it isn’t Career Kid. You found some time in that busy schedule to play Spellfight with us?”

I shoot him a dirty look as I sit down, pulling out my cards. “Shut up, NEET. I wouldn’t expect you to know.”

Ben laughs. “He’s right, Kale. You should get a job.”

Kale turns red and jostles Ben. “Hey, shut it! You catch chickens for a living! There’s no career advancement there either!”

While Ben’s distracted, Jamie steals one of his cards. Then, when Ben turns back to the game, Jamie plays it, and deals a nice chunk of damage to him.

Ben wails. “I didn’t know that was in your deck! Damn, looks like I lose. Good game.”

Me and Kale smirk at Jamie, who innocently shuffles his cards together. “Yeah, good game.”

I start to shuffle my cards. “How about a 2v2? I’ve got enough time for three or so games.”

The others consent, and we deal out hands and start to play. After a win and two losses, thanks to Kale being the best player out of all of us, I stand up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Thanks, guys, but I have to be off. Work and all. See you later, losers.”

They jeer at me as I leave. I shake my head, once again hitting the sidewalk for another thirty minutes until Milk Monarch comes into view. I buzz the doorbell on the employee entrance, and my supervisor, Nicholas, opens the door. “About time. Could you start early?”

I sigh. “Yup. You’re paying me overtime, right?”

He laughs. “As if. You can take headset from Bart.”

“Hi there, welcome to Milk Monarch. What can I get for you today?”

My fingers fly deftly over the screen. “A number two with onion rings and a root beer? Alright, is there anything else I can get for you today? A snack size cookies-and-cream Snowstorm? Gotcha. That’ll be 15-41 at the window. You’re welcome!” I push the button on the headset to turn my mic off and start filling up the medium cup with root beer.

Emilia, my coworker, calls to me from the window. “Declan, are you pouring a root beer?”

I yell back. “Yeah.” I put a second one under the spout as the first one finishes. I guess I’m behind on drinks.

I snap the lid on, and swivel to face her as she’s busy handing a Milk Monarch bag out the window. I slip the cup into the tray, putting a straw with it. She grabs it without looking and gives that to the customer, thanking them before they drive away. She turns to me, commenting as the next car drives up to the window. “Busy tonight. Kill me.”

I laugh. “I know, I know. Look, we’ve only got two more hours.”

She groans. “I wish I was dead.”

As I move over to the food counter to package her order, I reply swiftly. “Don’t we all?” Tossing the chicken fingers and fries into a bag with ketchup and napkins emblazoned with the Milk Monarch logo, I fold the top over smoothly and leave it on the counter, next to Emilia, who is busy taking change from another old lady getting food at eight o’clock at night for no viable reason. Seeing as it’ll take a while, and I have nothing to do, I head up to the front counter, where Nicholas, and his girlfriend, Britt, are chatting. She’s also my supervisor, mind you, but they’re inseparable, so most Milk Monarch employees refer to the pair as Bricolas. It works, but she always gets mad.

I sidle up to Nicholas. “How’s that overtime pay looking?”

He laughs. “About as good as my chances of getting sex tonight.”

I smirk. “Britt, you cutting him off from the meat supply again?”

She huffs. “You guys are sick. I’m just not in the mood for it, that’s all.”

Nicholas leans over and whispers in my ear. “She says it’s that time of the month, but with her, that time of the month is the whole mon- ugh!”

Britt punches her boyfriend in the stomach, scowling. “I can hear you, Frickolas. Get to work.” She walks away, huffing. We both laugh a bit, and then he goes off as well.

I survey the front end of the restaurant, which is noticeably less busy than the drive-through. I take stock of the customers. James is here, again, with his fiancée. Probably eating the same dang meal they order, every single time. A pair of old ladies doing crosswords in the corner while their husbands talk about sports over banana splits. And a girl, sitting alone at a booth- wait.

She’s wearing a red hoodie.

I do a double take, looking again. But she’s up, and heading out the side door. As I move around the counter to get a better look at her, the door shuts. I move to follow, but my headset dings as a car drives up to the speaker. I sigh, and hit the button. “Hi there, welcome to Mil-“

The customer interrupts me. “Yeah, hi. A medium Salty Dark Chocolate Snowstorm, no crunchy bits, but add peanuts. That’s it. What’s my total?”

I walk over to my terminal. “Just give me a moment to punch that in, sir- alright, that’ll be 6-32 at the window.”

As I hit the Send Order key, Emilia calls me again. I roll my eyes. It’s going to be a long night.

I walk down the sidewalk, illuminated still by the amber glow. Why? Why was the girl there again? I don’t know her, do I?

I check the alleyway, but she’s not there. Shaking my head, I enter my apartment building, and hit the button to call the elevator. Riding it upwards, I lean againt the railing and think.

My apartment is as messy as I left it, dishes piled in the sink, and various itemms left where they should not be. I sigh, slinging my stuff in its usual spot before plopping down on the couch, turning my phone on. No new messages, as per usual. I toss it on the coffee table and lean my head back, closing my eyes. “Declan Frederick, you’re a weirdo.” Hearing my own voice say it sounds strangely comforting.

I quickly do my dishes in lukewarm water before brushing my teeth and slipping into bed. As I turn off the light, I wonder out loud. “Who is she?”

The image of her sitting in the booth, hood up, sits still in my mind as I drift off into sleep...

My alarm goes off, and I snooze it twice before getting up. I track into the living room for my daily bowl of cereal. As I eat, I check my phone. No new messages, as per usual. I sigh. At least one thing doesn’t change. I check my work schedule. Another two to close. Yuck.

I walk down to Solstice again, but it’s just Kale there today, sitting alone, organizing his precious cards. I sit down across from him. “Hey, lame-o. Care to nerd out?”

He sighs, shuffling cards around. “Man, I gotta prepare for the next tournament. Rumor has it some world champion’s moved here recently, and they’re bound to show up. I have to be on top of my game.”

I look my own deck of cards dejectedly. “You don’t think I would stand a chance?”

He shakes his head. “Actually, with a few tweaks, you might be able to get third.”

I cock my head. “Third?”

He grins, and puffs out his chest. “I’m first, and mister World Champ is second.”

I nod condescendingly. “Okay, Sir Humble. Let’s get to tweaking then.”

I work on my deck, playtesting a couple of cards, before looking at my watch and realizing I have five minutes to leave or I’ll be late for work. “Oh, sorry, Kale, but I must be off. I have a job to be at.”

He scowls. “Yeah, yeah. At least I have a shot at the title, failure.”

I grin. “See you, flush.”

He points a finger at me. “I told you not to call me that!”

I laugh as I walk out the front door, taking to the sidewalk again. The walk moves quickly, and I’m at Milk Monarch before I have a chance to think about anything.

My manager, Melinda, opens the door. “About time. Can you start right away?”

I look at my watch. The digital readout says 1:43. I shrug. “Sure, why not.”

She turns back in to the restaurant. “Bart, I’m going home!”

I beeline for the bathroom, to change into my uniform. As I swap shirts, I look at myself in the mirror. “Man, I need to shave.”

I slap my hat on, and steel myself for the eight hour shift that awaits.

“Two Magnum Opus burgers, extra pickles. The ‘Don’t Make’ is Flammenwerfer sauce instead of Opus sauce on one. Regular bacon though.”

Caleb, the grill worker tonight, nods. “You’ve got it, big dog.”

I run in, and slide a few fries into holders, placing them on the heat lamp ledge. “Got the fries for drive.”

I run back to the terminal as my headset beeps. Before I can reflexively hit the button, my ears are assailed with the loud grata-grata-grata of a large truck idling right next to the speaker. If that’s not enough, the customer feels inclined to yell at me. I can’t understand a word.

I tilt my head, annoyed. “I’m sorry, I’m having trouble understanding you. Could you please turn your vehicle off?”

The customer simply yells in a more aggravated fashion, so I repeat myself. “I’m sorry, I’m having trouble understanding you. Could you please turn your vehicle off?”

They yell something that sounds vaguely like “I’m coming up to the window”, along with a few expletives. Mercifully, they drive away quickly and end the ear-rape.

I turn to my coworker Tanner, who is busy chatting away with one of his friends in the window. I sigh. “Whatever, you can deal with him.”

I move into the front of the restaurant, where Bart is spinning the candle display idly.

I cough. “How’s life, Bart?”

He doesn’t so much as turn my way. “Good. Did you hear we’re hosting the PBK cup finals at Properity Centre?”

I sigh. “Yeah, you’ve told me every day for the past week, Bart.”

As he continues on his detatched sports speech, I tune him out. My thoughts blink in and out of existence faster than electricity passes through plasma. I turn and walk away absentmindedly, having lost interest in Bart’s spiel the first time.

As the drive-through clears out, Tanner closes the window, and sighs. I walk up to him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

He pouts. “Well, remember that black guy I have a crush on? Well, he said...”

As Tanner starts to ramble, I roll my eyes. It’s going to be a long shift, yesiree.