The barista who had earlier turned up the stereo, had resigned to a break, and on his way, brought over a second cup of coffee for Ruby and one for himself, and seated himself next to her.

“Hey Ruby, you look like you need some fuel,” he said with a plastered on smile. If there was one thing Ruby hated, it was false advertisement. She hated how these chain beverage places forced their employees to fake sincerity. She knew that people are never happy all the time, especially if they work in the food service industry. Sure, they do it for the customer’s sake, but Ruby preferred a little honesty with her coffee.

“Hey…uh, you,” she said, quickly using her peripheral vision to grab a glimpse of this person’s name badge so she could pretend she actually knew the person’s name who somehow mysteriously knew hers. Alas, he wasn’t wearing one. She shot him a small glare when he happened to look down for a moment. Ruby wasn’t fond of people who didn’t know her, pretend like they actually did.