The Coffee House Freezing Problem {open}

[Adelaide McLisk]

There were twenty-one thousand, four hundred coffee shops in the United States. Fifty-four percent of all Americans over eighteen drink coffee in some form or fashion, and a large majority of those are college aged students. Technically Add was no longer college aged, not by the strictest definition. She was in the process of getting re-enrolled in the local college, figuring that a degree would probably be a beneficial thing to have. Sixty-three percent of all jobs involve a degree of some kind. That number jumped much higher when you considered what kind of job Add wanted.

She entered the shop regardless, tucking her chin further down into her coat. It was fashionable, both the shop and the coat. Add knew that the coat was one of the more popular coats worn, with a fairly high percentage of young adults preferring it over the other brands. She'd been able to pick it out of a coat lineup too, knowing that it would likely handle things better. It was brown too, and she liked brown.

Add shuffled into line behind several other people. One had to be between eighteen and twenty-two; there was something about him that suggested youth and college. It might have been the messenger bag with the local college logo emblazoned on it. Another was a cop. Add didn't mind the cops; it wasn't as if most of them recognized her. The guy at the front wore a suit, a nice one, fairly new. Probability stated that he was probably some kind of businessman, though that didn't explain what he was doing in a Pilot Ridge coffee shop.

Probably got lost.

Add chuckled at her mental joke, shuffling forward. The line moved quickly, quicker than average. Add figured it moved about forty percent quicker than average. That was good, really. It should take roughly seven minutes, twenty seconds at the current rate.

The bell rang behind her. Add shifted to look over her shoulder. Young-ish, she guessed. She didn't look long. Something told her that the probabilities were lining up beautifully. The math flowed over her for several seconds. Wait, too much math: way, way to much math. Add froze in space, staring at numbers that no one else knew existed, breathing deep and trying not to look like she'd just entered some kind of trance.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji looked like he just left some mad scientist lab, and in a way he kind of did; minus the mad part. He just still had his lab coat on over his normal every day wear…no that was a lie. In fact he had dark blue jeans, black leather boots, and a long sleeved white shirt on under his lab coat that was half buttoned up still. The ends of the lab coat blowing in the wind he created with the rate at which he was walking to get to the coffee shop. Yes he should have taken his lab coat off and let it back at the lab in the college he was attending, but he had a problem.

That problem being a two foot Cottonmouth Viper that had fallen asleep in on one of the pockets of his lab coat. He could not leave a poisonous snake back at the lab for one and for two this was one of his snakes who didn’t like to be touched unless Seiji was around. He made sure not to move to quickly as to not wake up the sleeping snake in his lab coat, and making sure not to bump into anyone as he entered the shop a little after a woman. Moving to the line that was moving pretty fast, just hoping he could get some coffee so he be able to stay up and get a lab report he was working on done.

He was not really worried about the lab report in all honestly; he just wanted to get out of the lab really. He liked being there yes, but he still licked to go be around people, being a social and friendly person. Someone however caught his eye, a familiar outline of a person. Yes, he was sure he knew this person and decided to approach her, but something was off. She seemed out of it, looking at something else. He was trying to remember now, but could not. Didn’t remember name, where he knew her from, or what might have been up with her. He blamed his lack of sleep and no coffee. He just knew he knew her so moved to wave a hand in front of her. "Excuse me Miss. Are you alright?" Seiji's voice came with some concern for the other woman. Saphira, the snake that was sleeping in his lab coat however was starting to wake up.

{my mind went weird for a moment while I was typing this, I hope I didnt derp too much or anything lol}

[Erick Nakemura]

Coffee shops always had the most delightful of smells. When it came to drinks, Erick usually preferred something alcoholic but he had never been able to fully resist the smell of coffee. Even with his hair muffling the ability of his antenna to scent the smells of the world, coffee was just one of those scents that always came through strongly and delightfully. Besides, there was a reason why easily hideable flasks were invented and that reason was for spiking coffee. Whatever the fact that it was afternoon and he still had a class to attend later that evening, it wasn't like he was planning to get hammered or anything.

As Erick walked through the door of of the shop he paused a moment just inside to savor the scent. His antenna twitched with delight, although not so much as to jump outside his mane of locks. It was the simple things in life, really. For those who knew about some of his less savory past times not to mention some of his more frowned upon delights, it might have come as a surprise that something so banal would give him so much contentment, but what did they really know about him? Only as much as he allowed them to know, which usually wasn't much.

Erick meandered into the lineup and stood behind an Asian man. As he asked if someone was all right, his attention drifted over to a woman who really did appear to be a bit out of it. He had certainly been there before. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Erick asked. It wasn't so much that he really cared if she was all right or not, but one never knew when a positive contact might come in handy.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Words, words were puncturing the math for several seconds there. They helped lock down several of those spinning probabilities, knocking loose others. He could speak English, despite looking like he might have wandered out of some strange Japanese scientist lab. Something moved in his pocket, or, at least, Add thought it did. Then someone behind him had stepped up; another Asian man, one who looked strange, off somehow. Add's mind vomited probabilities all over the part that should be making conscious thoughts, and she couldn't make sense of anything underneath all the mess. It just swirled and bubbled in there.

But the other man had spoke; spoke English, offered help. That was data, stuff Add could use. She filed it all away in her brain, taking several deep breaths. There were ways of making it even easier: if the men started giving out information about themselves, then it would help. Coffee shop; they were men in a coffee shop; that helped a little more. Add shifted to the side, trying to help let them go. She gestured for them to do so. If they ordered, that would be more data. Her brain was practically screaming at her for more, more data, more something, anything she could use. Add imagined she looked a little like she was having a stroke or something, only, perhaps not as severe.

"Go ahead," she managed, somehow settling on a few words despite the barrage of math overwhelming her senses.

[Seiji Lockard]

He was really worried about this woman; she didn’t look like she was doing too well at all, fearing she might just collapse on the floor right in front of him. What could be wrong with her? How could he help? Could he even help? So many questions entered into his mind as he looked at her with concern. "May I tough you?" Seiji asked in a pure innocent manner, only wanting to help her. Try and move her to a place she could sit. Get her some water or something along those lines. His mind too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with her that was causing this sort of reaction out of her. Could she have been allergic to coffee beans and the smell sent her into shock? No, had to be something different. She would have had to been a fool to go into a shop not knowing she had that kind of condition.

Another man approached, offering his help which brought a smile to Seiji's face since he enjoyed seeing others being kind as well. "I'm unsure yet. Just be ready in case she falls." Seiji suggested to the other man still trying to work out how he knew this woman. Saphira had awakened at this point and moved around a little more in his lab coat pocket. There were so many interesting smells that she wanted to figure out where she was and what was going on. Then the woman spoke. Telling them to go ahead. Was she fine then, or just didn’t want to hold up the line. He was torn between staying there to do what he could to help her and obeying her offer to go on ahead.

Both. He moved to go around the woman, still keeping a close eye on her but went to order his coffee and some water for the woman. In a way this was best because if he didn’t order coffee he might just crash himself and be of no use. He got a vanilla bean frappuccino, something cold for a change, which his snake would not be happy with, but that’s what he wanted. Holding the water for the woman and he glanced over to the other man to see if he was going to make an order as well. "I got you some water." He said simply to Adelaide.