By the time he had reached the eastern end of town Elliot was thoroughly chilled by the morning air. Checking the weather hadn't occured to him before he left, and the fact that it still might be a touch chilly right after February had slipped his mind as well. Still, by now he was committed to his journey, there would be no turning back for a coat. Or a scarf. Or  a cup of coffee.

Thoughts of the latter filled him with regret, how could he have been so stupid as to skip his morning brew? Sure, he didn't even own a coffee maker at this point, but he'd make it on the damn stove if he had to. He was grumbling, and ignored the increasingly familiar environment around him as his irritation rose. Caffeine addiction was no joke.

The irritation didn't last long however, increasingly replaced with anxiety as he became more and more aware of where exactly his was. In his lamentation of the skipping of his morning brew he had bypassed most of the businesses in town during his walk. In fact, going forward, there was only one place left ahead of him.

[i][b]The Queen's Orchid[/b][/i]

[i][color=00FFBF]Fuck.[/color][/i]

He paused, panic beginning to seize him. He had entirely skipped plan 1 of the day! Apply for jobs around town, kill time, work up a good explanation for his absence and waltz in with confidence, joking about his missing leg like it was nothing and leave an extra large tip like a smooth motherfucka' even though he was broke.  He spun in a circle until he was nearly dizzy, torn between just biting the bullet and coming back later. Finally, forcing himself to calm down and breathe, he summon the willpower to move forward. He could do this. He could totally do this. Just walk in, be confident-

The door nearly hit him in the face as Kylie stormed out of the diner in front of him.

[i][color=00FFBF]Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! Fuck, that's Kylie! Fuck she's grown up. Fuck she'll see me![/color][/i]

It was then that he realized how woefully unprepared he was to run into the Reeses again, and with what he thought was the smoothest motion he could possibly muster Elliot scrambled into the diner while she pulled out her phone. The place was nearly empty this time of day, there seemed to only be two customers and... Sophia.

There was, in all likelihood, never going to be a time where Elliot's brain was going to be more completely and utterly blank than in that moment. His heart seemed to have either given up on panic, or simply gone full circle until it was calm again. He didn't have time to ponder which it was, but instead limped over before she caught sight of him and leaned on the podium, thinking desperately for a good way to break the ice. Something perfect to greet an old friend after half a decade of absence. Something utterly cool and smooth and perfect. However, she finished taking their orders before he had time to come up with anything, and instead he panicked, tapping his cane on the top of the podium to get her attention. God forbid it seem like [i]she[/i] noticed [i]him[/i] first.

"[color=00FFBF]Excuse me miss, I was wondering if you were hiring here.[/color]"

[i][color=00FFBF]Smooth motherfucka'.[/color][/i]