"Americano for Joseph." Mars called out the order, not too loud, as the man was already reaching for his piping hot drink. "Have a good one sir-ow!" She looked back and shot a glare at the person she suspected was behind the carefully timed ponytail tug.

"Lindsey, you're the worst," Mars frowned, "also you're late."

Lindsey hastily tied her apron on, "Yeah, the boss is on vacation and I knew you wouldn't rat on me. I don't know why you continue to tie your hair up when it's so short already."

"It's company policy."

"Right. Anyway, I forgot to tell you that I didn't empty the grounds last night," Lindsey added cheekily, before turning to the next customer in line, "Welcome to Rita's, what can I get started for you?"

"I noticed this morning when I opened," Mars adjusted her ponytail and made her way to the sink.

"I'm too short, and you know it—speaking of which, can you take out the garbage? The truck passed last night and the dumpster lid is down. I can't flip it over the back without hitting myself in the face. I'm also not strong enough to hold the lid up and swing the garbage over."

"Sure thing, Lindsey," Mars said, unamused. It was safe to assume from the grin on the young woman’s face that Lindsey had expected the answer.

Mars was not that tall, but she could get the dumpster lid open. She chucked the big bag of coffee grounds into the garbage, catching a huge whiff of coffee. Before she started working at Rita’s she had been a regular coffee drinker, now it made her nauseous to think about it.

She considered leaving the lid open for Lindsey, so she wouldn't have an excuse to not throw away the garbage at the end of her shift. Knowing her coworker, she likely had another equally poor excuse lined up.

Mars lost her train of thought when she spotted the young woman she had seen at the beach days ago. She stood at the end of the alleyway looking a bit lost. This confirmed Mars’ theory from the week prior, Pancove was a small town, and she hadn't recognized her, the dark-haired stranger had to be a tourist. Which in itself was peculiar, no one stuck around longer than a week, there wasn't that much to do.

Mars thought she was cute, and she had a nice voice, but that usually sounds a little odd coming from a stranger.

You know what's also odd? Following someone from a distance! Mars what are you doing?  She screamed internally.

She convinced herself that she had to stretch her legs, besides Lindsey had been late, robbing her of her lunch break. There was no reason to follow the young woman aside from curiosity. She wasn't technically following her either, merely walking down the same street she was.

The young woman appeared more and more impatient, and seemed to be looking for someone. Mars finally worked up the courage to offer her help when the young woman made a sharp turn into the alleyway between the Shop Mart and Bill’s Laundromat.

In the dim lighting, she shifted into a sprint. A white light flashed in the air, Mars flinched instinctively without taking her eyes off the scene: the young lady transforming into a bird. With two grand flaps of her silky wings, she was up in the sky and gone.