The cafe was a cramped little strip of space, far longer than it was wide. It was styled after traditional Japanese Izakaya bars. At least that’s what Kelly had heard. A countertop and accompanied seating stretched along the left half of the space, separating patrons from the kitchen area, while a few tiny dining tables and chairs lined the right wall. The lighting was dim and warm, giving the place its own distinct ambience. A rich sweet aroma swelled from the sizzling grill at the far end of the room.
Most of the crowds had cleared out by now. Two or three of the usual stragglers remained in their regular spots, sipping their morning beverage of choice while reading the news or scrolling through their personal messages.
Shaun, the owner of the establishment, looked up as Kelly entered. His face lit up with a toothy grin, as it always did when a customer entered.
“Kelly! Good to see you!” he said in his usual over-enthusiastic tone, “How goes it?”
“Same old same old.” she shrugged earnestly.
“Your usual order?” he asked.
“Mh, not today. Late night and I just got off from a job. I was planning to settle down for a few hours. A shot of bedtime tea would help, but-“ she caught a wiff of brewed coffee. “I’d hate to be a pain-”
“No no no. You ask, I give!” he beamed, before promptly scurrying off to prepare her drink.
Kelly smiled to herself and let out a little sniff of a chuckle. Shaun was always one to please a customer.
With nothing else to do, her eyes were drawn to the TV display hanging in the corner of the room. It was currently switched to Pittsburgh’s local news channel. There was still ongoing work at reestablishing a proper independent media network for the city. As of now, it was just pre-recorded news blocks or simple non-visual talk radio programs.
At the moment, a video interview was on. It featured the mayor of Frick outpost, Nicole Brickett.
“Many say you take inspiration from the New York political school of thought.” an interviewer off camera stated.
“And rightly so!” she answered with pride. She wore a self-important smirk. “New York has become a symbol of prosperity to our country. Progressive, modern, and a power hour of economic development, of course.” She quickly added. “While most other cities are still struggling to survive, New York has more than recovered. I think they’re the model city we should all base ourselves on.”
“Of course.” The interviewer agreed. “Though many have their reservations over New York’s past political record. May I remind you of the Brooklyn Tax Strikes, the ongoing blue-collar exodus from Manhattan, or the infamous Orbit Wars six years ago?”
“I…don’t see how that’s relevant to the conversation...”
Her eyes darted suspiciously.
“Not to draw false conclusions, but many of your critics have pointed out that your platforms align with those that set into motion such events in the first place. I just think you should be given the means to defend yourself.”
The woman cleared her throat, clearly taken off guard by the statement. “…While the harsher of my ‘critics’ have attempted to…’discredit’ my proposed policies…“
Kelly could just imagine the gears turning in her head, as she scrambled to think of the most PR-friendly phrasing she could come up with.
“…But rest assured, my cabinet and I have been doing our due diligence. I’ve been working tirelessly to-“
An elderly gentlemen suddenly barked across the room, “Ah, change the channel! I’ve had enough of that crone!”
Kelly placed the back of her hand to her mouth, subtly holding back a chuckle in silent agreeance.
It was truly a wonder what the people of Frick saw in her. Maybe it was the labor unions and promised supplementary wages. Or it was the lack of an established proxy presence.
She had made a nasty reputation for herself amongst the city’s proxy scene, after a series of impromptu statements related to the movement. 'Wanna-be outlaws’, ‘robo-anarchists’, and terms of similar caliber. Despite trying to backpedal, none of the operatives ever really got over it. Kelly included.
One of the frycooks behind the counter obliged and changed the channel to East America News, one of the big-name news stations on the east coast, and tuned in right at the tail-end of a news bracket.
“-the sport of racing!” proclaimed a portly man being interviewed. He spoke with an Italian accent. “That is what we wish to restore!”
It cut to a news anchor, an attractive blonde sitting slanted to the camera.
“Organizers predict the Static Circuit will be finished construction by June of next year, and the premiere racing event will be televised globally the following month.”
The anchor adjusted her posture as she paused for the next news segment.
“And in other news, Iceland has announced plans for yet another colony effort. This time, its northern neighbor of Jan Mayen. The geothermal super-state has already established several colonies along the coast of Greenland, seeing wide success with remote-presence-“
“Order up!”
Kelly snapped her attention back to Shaun. He wore a friendly smile as he slid the little cup of tea towards her. She gave a nod in thanking and cradled it in both hands.
She took a sip. Soothing. It took off what little edge there was.
Her eyes returned to the news broadcast, again just catching the end of the segment.
“-additional funding and researchers from Amsterdam.”
The camera angle cut to a closer-in shot, signalling the next segment.
“Now if you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’ll be pleased to hear that business is booming in Hershey! Since being integrated into the Northeast V-Rail Project earlier this year, production and scale of the company town has more than tripled. As with many in the food and beverage industry, Hershey is striving for a fully in-house production process; from raw material to finished product. With Hershey’s two Gigapark plants already nearing full capacity, another is currently under construction, with two currently in the works.”
Before Kelly knew it, her tea was gone with one final sip.
She placed her used cup back on the countertop and swiped her smart glove over the tap scanner, paying for her drink. Not wanting to loiter, she carried on her way with one final thankful nod to Shaun.
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Hey, its a news broadcast, that makes it a totally organic in-universe form of exposition and worldbuilding! (regardless how gracefully I handle it) There's all kinds of stupid small news bits I would've liked to add here, but it's already sidetracking from the main story enough as is.
As you can see from the metadata, this scene was actually finished almost a month ago, but I was holding off on posting it until I had the next lore piece ready. It *kind of* ties in with this part? And I wanted to post both of them in quick succession.
Really happy with how this scene turned out. Especially compared to the previous one. Its always a nice dopamine rush when I have something pictured in my head, and it actually turns out how I imagined it.
If you fave, comment as well!
