ArchivedLogs:In Which Evolve Is Temporarily An Unwelcoming Place, And A Customer Would Like To Speak To A Manager About The Service

In Which Evolve Is Temporarily An Unwelcoming Place, And A Customer Would Like To Speak To A Manager About The Service
Dramatis Personae Mai, Shane, Taylor	2016-12-29 "One of my best friends has horns and hooves, jeez."
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Spacious and open, this coffeeshop has a somewhat industrial feel to it, grey resin floors below and exposed-beam ceilings that have been painted up in a dancing swirl of abstract whorls and starbursts, a riot of colour splashed against a white background. The walls alternate between brick and cheerfully lime-green painted wood that extends to the paneling beneath the brushed-steel countertops. There's an abundance of light, though rather than windows (which are scarce) it comes from plentiful hanging steel lamps. The walls here are home to artwork available for sale; though the roster of prints and paintings and drawings and photographs changes on a regular basis it has one thing in common -- all the artists displayed are mutants. The seating spaced around the room is spread out enough to keep the room from feeling cluttered. Black chairs, square black tables that mostly seat two or four though they're frequently pushed around and rearranged to make space for larger parties. In the back corner of the room is more comfortable seating, a few large black-corduroy sofas and armchairs with wide tables between them. There's a shelf of card and board games back here available for customers to sit and play. The chalkboard menus hanging behind the counter change frequently, always home to a wide variety of drinks (with an impressive roster of fair-trade coffees and teas largely featured) though their sandwiches and wraps and soups and snacks of the day change often. An often-changing variety of baked goods sit behind the display case at the counter halfway back in the room, and the opposite side of the counter holds a small selection of homemade ice creams. A pair of single-user bathrooms flanks the stairway in back of the cafe; at night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits up the stairs above the coffeehouse. It's a quiet afternoon around the cafe, past the lunch rush but too early for dinner. A few tables are occupied, people reading or working on their laptops. There's music playing quietly on the speakers -- currently the title track off of Ryan Black's /Brighter/ album. Behind the counter, one of the baristas is looking sleepy herself -- there's only so many times you can clean all the tables, prep extra food, before it's time to give in and sit and read, which is what she is doing. The other barista, taller, pitch black skin and bald head, is slipping out from behind the counter. Taylor has a plate with a sandwich in his hand, a raspberry soda in the other -- those two arms are the only ones visible currently. There's a number of extra holes slashed into his kind of abused looking Black Lives Matter t-shirt, which is currently looking very bulky on him, bulging as though with a considerable amount of extra weight that doesn't quite look in keeping with the two (toned and muscular) arms that are visible. Mai walks in from the street, a quick glance around reveals that it seems much more quiet here today than the last time, or perhaps she is just early, but either way, she heads to the counter first, without even needing to wait in a long line, yay! She takes a moment to look over the menu while she waits for one of the baristas to come to take her order, tapping her fingernails against the counter idly, though not really seeming to be in any hurry. "Oh man I have some timing. -- I got this, Ravenna." Taylor waves the second barista back to her book. Just as soon as he's moved out from behind the counter he turns to head back behind it again, a cheerful smile swiftly appearing on his face. He sets his own food aside behind the counter, leaning up against it to greet Mai: "Hola! Welcome to Evolve. What'chu in the mood for today?" The tall teenager is listening to response on more than one wavelength, the telepath's mental senses silently picking up any passing surface thoughts that might be in Mai's mind. Mai looks up from the menu as she hears the question, and then has to look up some more to reach the face of the much taller man, damn, he is huge! "Hey! Thanks, I would like some tea, please, big mug, with honey... and... hmmm, a sandwich, with lettuce, tomato, cheese, cucumber... and ham!" she lists, searching through the pockets of her jacket for a moment until she finds a few crumpled five dollar bills, that should cover it. "I got the sandwich." The second barista is putting aside her book after all when Real Food is ordered, glancing briefly at Taylor's screen to confirm the order before slipping back into the kitchen. "Lettuce, tomato, cheese, cucumber, ham," Taylor echoes more to himself than to Mai, delivering her total and taking the bills to return her change. "What kind of tea? I'll get right on that for you." He passes a smaller menu across to her, with a somewhat extensive list of the cafe's selections. Still listening silently to thoughts as much as spoken words. Mai gives a smile to the man as the money exchanges hands, slipping the change back into a pocket. "Well lets see what you have here..." she replies as she opens up the drink menu given to her and browses it for a few moments, using a finger to keep track of the line she is at. "Hmmm... I think that some regular earl grey would be just fine, just with lots of honey." she decides, closing the menu again and setting it back down on the counter. While her thoughts are mostly on the order for the moment, she is also wondering about the rather odd holes on the mans shirt. "Lots. Got it." Taylor is humming quietly to himself as he steps aside to make the tea. His easy smile hasn't faded. Maybe twitched a little lopsided, though. "The /holes/ ain't hardly odd. Usually what's under them gets to people a little." Forefinger and thumb lift, indicating -- tinybit! Just a little. Though maybe there's a hint of joking amusement in his voice. It's not long before he slides Mai a piping hot cup of tea wrapped in a cardboard heat sleeve (Evolve's name stenciled on the cardboard in colourful graffiti-esque lettering) and her sandwich as well. "Enjoy." Mai waits at the counter for the order to be processed, using the time to take out her phone and check it for any new messages or calls, but nope, doesn't seem like anyone has been missing her. The words from Taylor catch her a bit off-guard though, looking up from her phone to him with a surprised look. "Huh, what? How did... I mean... I didn't say anything... I think?" she stumbles a bit with the words. He does accept the plate with the sandwich and the cup though. "Oh... thanks... that was fast." "You didn't say anything," Taylor assures her readily enough. From beneath his lumpy shirt, two /more/ limbs are appearing -- coiled and snakey, thick tentacles with a wealth of suction cups lining their undersides. One curls sinuously around his soda; the other lifts to tap its tip lightly against his temple. "Around here there's always a chance you don't have to." Mai blinks at the sight of those extra appendages, making a bit of a face. "Uh... thats kind of gross... cool, but gross. I met a guy here the other day who had metal tentacle, but your first one I see with like actual real ones." she notes, still not quite sure of how to react to the revelation of those spare limbs. Then her brow arches slightly at the last part of what the man says. "What? You mean that you can also like... read minds or something? Damn, I can imagine -that- being useful." Taylor's smile fades, brows lifting. "Gross, sure. You /know/ where you are, right?" Several /more/ limbs, equally rubbery, equally writhing, poke out from his shirt in a slow flex; one of them gestures around the cafe. He's picking up his plate now, slipping back around the counter to pass by Mai. "I'mm'a take my gross self on break, then. Enjoy your lunch." Mai arches a brow some at that reaction from the man. "Hey now, just because I am Asian doesn't mean that I am neseccarily huge fan of tentacles." she replies with a giggle. "And I didn't say that -you- were gross, just those things, and I did also say they were cool. And yes I know where I am, one of my best friends has horns and hooves, jeez." Taylor's eyes open huge -- wider. Behind him, the second bartender is looking abruptly up from her book, shooting Taylor a questioning glance that he waves away. "You didn't say /I/ was gross, just, you know, my freak body." His tone is level -- but very firm. "And I forgot, you can't be a bigot some of your best friends are freaks? Get," the clubbed end of his longest tentacle is pointing very much at the door, "out." Mai is now starting to get angry as well. "Seriously, whats your problem man? You start showing off, I never asked you to, mind you, and then get all up in arms when I am not praising how awesome you are? If your attitude is that bad, I really have no idea how you still have this job, but either way, I would like to speak with Shane and make an official complaint about your behaviour in what is supposed to be welcoming place. Since apparently in your mind, people are not allowed to have opinions." She concludes, crossing her arms over her chest, although, oddly enough, her teacup and sandwich plate stay in place, now hovering in thin air without anything supporting them. Behind Taylor, Ravenna has suddenly covered her mouth with one hand when Mai demands to speak to their boss. Her eyes are wide now, too. She gets up silently, slipping off into the kitchen. “Showing off,” Taylor echoes flatly. “Right. You can have opinions all you want.” He leans back against the counter, rubbing his palm against his face. Mai narrows her eyes some at Taylors words, it is not often she gets angry, but apparently the man has some talent in that field! "My friends told me that this place is very welcoming and a good hang out, and until now I have had nothing but positive experiences, but you sir, are an ass, and a hypocrite. Assuming straight away that just because I wasn't praising you as the coolest person ever, I have something against mutants, I don't however happen to be the self-loathing type, so if anyone here is a bigot, its you." She replies, then seems to notice her floating cup and plate and reaches to take them back to her hands, oops, hopefully not too many people saw that. Taylor says nothing at all in answer to this. He's not even looking at Mai, actually -- though his mind still picks up her thoughts easily enough. Instead he's twisting open the top of his soda, several arms rested behind him on the counter as he waits. Wait no longer! Here is a Shane, returning with Ravenna from somewhere in the back recesses of the cafe. The tiny blue mutant is dressed sharply, crisply tailored grey slacks and vest, salmon pink dress shirt, neatly tied bow tie. His enormous black eyes skate from Taylor to Mai and back, a sharp curiosity pinging in his mind. Wordless, just << ? >>. "Salut," he says aloud, "Ravenna says you need me?" Mai seems to have also said all she intends to towards Taylor, and focuses her attention on her tea and sandwich, and she must admit, although not out loud of course, that the man -does- make pretty good tea. Looking up when Shane arrives, head tilting to the side some as she looks him over, the blue-skinned man looking more or less like she had imagined from Paige's description, although she did except him to be taller, the man is actually shorter than she is, which is a rather rare experience to her. "Ah, you must be Shane? I apologize for the inconvenience, but I must file a complaint on your employees behavior." she says with a nod towards Taylor, in case it wasn't obvious who she was referring to. "Who has been extremely rude and aggressive, which is quite far from the welcoming refuge that my friends have described this place to me. All just because I wasn't huge hentai fan." Taylor sets his soda down, lifting his chin to Shane. "I told her to leave," he says simply, "and she won't. "Hentai." Shane's echo comes with a lift of his hairless ridged brows. << That's new and original. >> Deliberately thought at Taylor, with a dry note to his mental voice. "Well," slow and measured, "we do always strive to be welcoming. To a certain section of the population, anyway." Mai gives a glance towards Taylor at his words, though soon returns her attention back to Shane. "That is what I heard as well, and I am part of that section, even if I don't have a habit of making a huge number about it, which is why it was especially insulting when he started calling me a mutant hater after I told him that I wasn't into tentacles. I just came here to get something to eat, would think that here could at least do so without being harassed." lifting her plate and mug for emphasis. "She said my arms were gross," Taylor explains levelly, "And then got upset with me and started with this 'hentai' bullshit when I said I would take my gross self of on break. She says," his lips twitch slightly, "that she has a friend with horns and hooves." << Can't be a bigot, some of her best friends are freaks. >> That dry comment is directed to Shane, silently. "She says she has a right to her opinions and she didn't call /me/ gross, just 'those things'. I told her to get out. She's still here." "'zat so?" Shane's lips curl back into a smile -- broad and very full of incredibly sharp teeth. "I apologize," he says to Mai. "You seem to be under the /deeply/ wrong belief that I'm running a welcoming space for /everyone/. Honestly I could give exactly zero shits if people who come in here and insult my staff feel /welcome/. There's an entire fucking world outside that door where your ugly gross opinions are /welcome/. In here, I make damn sure that folks who are constantly told by the world that they're gross have a place where they can be safe. So take your sandwich and your tired hentai jokes and your hateful opinions on other people's bodies and get the fuck out of my shop. You ever come back, I'll throw you out my own damn self." Mai frowns at Taylor's words. "Now you are twisting my words, I never said anything about your arms. And I even said that the tentacles were cool, but I guess you conveniently forgot to mention that." She adds to what Taylor said, before turning her attention back to Shane. "Not everyone, mutants, like me. I am one of those folks you are talking about, and I most certainly do not have any hateful opinions on my own kind." Taylor isn't speaking anymore. He returns to leaning against the counter, two pairs of his rubbery arms crossing around his chest while one of his hands lifts the soda back to his mouth. His shoulders have sagged, a little tired. Mentally, his mind touches up against Shane's, replaying the interaction between himself and Mai from the time he took her money onward. "Out," Shane repeats, steady and firm, "before we /throw/ you out." Mai narrows her eyes some, for a moment looking fairly tense, but then relaxes, this has grown enough out of proportions already, not worth fighting for, she takes her sandwich from the plate and then sends the plate back, and by sending, the plate literally flies back towards the counter, rather fast, only to stop in mid air and then land on it safely, apparently completely ignoring laws of physics. Then she turns and walks to the doors, which, it could be noted, open on their own front of her without her touching them, as she exits the cafe. Taylor relaxes once Mai is gone, slumping against the counter with a note of exhaustion. “My sandwich has gone cold.” He sounds a lot more tired than the cold lunch should account for. "{I'm sorry, man.}" Shane has switched to Japanese now for this, a sympathetic wince on his face. "Take your break. I'll make you something fresh." He pats Taylor on the shoulder, a quiet apology in his mind as he slips off into the back.