I do not remember what this prompt was started from. It is dated back in January of 2017. It was a time before I wrote down what each prompt was. This spawned from many late-night meals at Dennys or other restaurants with friends after hours. Enjoy.
Fingers deftly worked on the keyboard. The code showed up on the display shortly after the tap. Windows popped open and closed too quickly for any onlookers to see what was typed.
The world around was as silent. Empty chairs and booths sat in pristine condition, untouched for hours. The darkness threatened to engulf the quiet shop if given the chance. A teenage boy interrupted the sound of the tapping with his mop hitting the floor with a splash. He spread the soapy water around doing his best to clean. An older gentleman leaned against the order window with his phone in hand.
The girl ignored them as her eyes moved from one screen to another, fingers still working at a furious pace at her keyboard. She took one hand away from her work to take another drink of coffee. The mug pressed to her lips and tilted. Empty. She placed it down and tapped twice on the table. Her hand moved back to the keys like it hadn’t missed a beat. The boy was there to take the mug and brought it behind the counter. He filled it up, placing the two creams and 2 sugars in it for her. He brought it back and placed it on the table.
“Damnit!” He jumped back, splashing some coffee on the table in his surprise.
“S-sorry.” A rag appeared from his pocket and he started to clean up the spot. Access Denied! Flashed across her screen in bold red letters.
“It’s not your fault, kid.” She called him that even though she was only a few years his elder. She took her hood down on her sweatshirt and pulled at the wires of her earbuds. “I just need to…” She stopped her explanation as she knew it would be lost on him. “It wasn’t your fault.”
He finished wiping us his mess and retreated back to mopping duty. The break in the work caught the gentleman’s attention.
“We aren’t going to have cops swarming around this place, are we?” He raised an eyebrow her way. He knew her kind and knew what kind of trouble they could bring.
“You haven’t had any here for me yet, have you?” She smirked as she looked over at him. She worked a little at the keyboard and brought it back to her main screen. “I am far too careful to be caught.”
“I’m sure every one of your buddies who got pinched thought the same thing, darling.” He shook his head as he went back to his phone.
“You shouldn’t talk to a paying customer like that, Mack.” She moved back to her computer and worked quickly. A few seconds passed Mack’s phone dinged. “Keep the change.” She smiled at him again before backing up her laptop into her backpack.
“Sure you don’t want to stay and give the kid some more work to do?”
“Nah, I got other stops. I’ll tell my friends about this place.” Her pack was slung over her back.
“Maybe you should get more friends in the area who can visit and become paying customers, ones who aren’t just online.”
“We’ll see. Take care you two.”
This part of town was always dark except the diner. The moon did little to illuminate the streets. A few blocks and she would reach somewhere more lively. The quiet and relaxed atmosphere of the diner was appealing, partly why she didn’t tell people about it being open all hours.
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