Clary Fray (angel_blood) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-02-11 12:54:00 |
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Late afternoon was always agonizingly boring at a coffee shop. It was that time between people’s afternoon breaks and when they got off work, and few people wanted to pump themselves full of caffeine so late in the day. Clary tended to be better about handling inactivity than most Shadowhunters, simply because she hadn’t been trained from the cradle to be fighting machines, but the quietness of the shop still weighed on her, and there were really only so many times she could clean the machines and wipe the counters. So when someone finally came in, she was more enthusiastic in her greeting than necessary. “Afternoon! What can I get you?” *** Emily had a big test to study for, so she decided to stop by Starbucks to stock up on some sugar and caffeine to help her stay alert for the next few hours. The classes here were a lot easier than the ones she was taking back home, but she still wanted to excel at her studies because she knew that’s what her parents would expect from her. “Oh, let’s see,” she said, studying the menu for a moment. “Can I have a venti iced mocha with two pumps of caramel, a brownie, and two of those cookies?” She was very lucky that she had a great metabolism. *** Clary raised an eyebrow. Even she, who had increased metabolism due to her training, found this impressive. But she went to run the order. Boredom was still making her chattier than she normally would be, so she spoke as she worked. “Do you want a coffee cake too? It’s a new flavour and it’s fantastic.” *** Hmm, that sounded pretty good, but it might be a little too much sugar. “Oh, sure, replace one of the cookies with that,” Emily decided. She wasn’t planning to ingest it all in one sitting or anything. This was long term planning. “Thanks,” she added after a moment. “I have a test tomorrow and I need to put in some major studying tonight. Chemistry is hard.” *** And now it made sense. Clary nodded in sympathy as she started gathering the items. “I remember my all-nighters courtesy of chem,” she said. “I’m glad I’m not in school anymore.” No, instead she was working at Starbucks, which wasn’t shameful by any means. But it definitely wasn’t what she thought she’d end up doing after school, before she’d been brought here. The problem was, there wasn’t really much call for Shadowhunters. *** “I feel like I have so much left,” Emily said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. She liked learning, but sometimes her teachers gave them so much random busywork that she felt like she wasn’t actually doing anything useful or worthwhile. “Of course, exactly how much will depend on what exactly I decide to do. My dad’s pushing for law school, but I’m not sure that’s what I want.” It made sense given her propensity for arguing, but it seemed like it could be really boring. *** “Yeah, law school’s definitely going to add a lot more years to school,” Clary said as she rung up the order. “Do you have any idea what you’d do if not law school?” She knew from first-hand experience how hard it was to meet the expectations of a parent.In her case, Jocelyn hadn’t really pushed her to do something as much as she’d push Clary away from Shadowhunting, but it was the same kind of pressure. *** Emily shrugged. “Not really. I mean, I’m only a sophomore, so it’s not like I have to decide right now, but I don’t know.” She knew she didn’t want to be a federal agent, but she did want to do something where she got to help people and make a difference. Growing up with her parents instilled that in her. “Of course, I’m not sure if it matters what I decide to do while I’m here,” she added. “Because everyone says then I’ll go right back home to the same moment I left.” *** “It’s true,” Clary said. “I’ve been sent back and brought back again, and you pick up your life with no memory of what happened here. This…” She gestured to the coffee machinery “isn’t what I do back home, but there isn’t much call for people who do what I do here, but I still have to pay rent. I think that’s why it matters - because if you’re here long enough, you’re going to have to get a job at one point. It might as well be something you like.” *** “What do you do at home?” Emily asked. She knew there were people here with all kinds of crazy powers and actual superheroes and stuff, so it wasn’t too surprising that the other girl couldn’t do the same thing here as she did there. She realized that she had no idea who she was talking to and glanced down, looking for a nametag. Clary. That was pretty. “By the way, I’m Emily,” she said. *** Clary followed her gaze to her name tag and laughed a little at her own oversight. “Clary,” she said, wiggling her name tag a bit before ringing the order up. “I'm a Shadowhunter back home. I fight demons.” Which she would've never said to anyone outside of Madison Valley, but there were way stranger things than her here. *** Before coming here, Emily would have thought someone was crazy for saying they fought demons, but she knew that anything was possible when it came to Madison Valley. “No offense, but I’m kind of glad there’s not a need here for what you do at home.” This place was weird enough without demons running around. *** “None taken,” Clary assured her. She liked that there weren't demons roaming around here either. Unlike Jace, who didn't know what to do with his life if he wasn't going around killing things, she liked waking up in the morning knowing the world didn't have a high probability of ending. “It'll be $23.76,” she told Emily. Starbucks wasn't cheap. *** Emily handed over her card. She wasn’t too concerned about money yet, but she idly wondered if she should get an after school job to help pay for her own expenses. Gibbs probably wouldn’t want her to do that and take away from her studies, but she also didn’t want to be a burden. “Thanks, Clary,” she said. “I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of me around here.” *** “Come any time,” Clary told her. “Actually, come around this time, in the late afternoon, to save me from killing myself from boredom.” She grinned as she handed everything over to the younger girl. “Good luck at school.” |