Heart of Ice

“Got it Martin, no worrying about who’s in charge sans some emergency,” Katherine said with an almost smile as she took the, what she considered hideous, but only because it represented her having to work, apron. She was used to getting the opposite lecture about respecting authority and shit, but this, she could admit to herself, was a breath of fresh air, not that she’d say any such thing aloud.

Her eyes flicked toward the sinks as he motioned toward them and nodded to show she was listening, wouldn’t do to lose her job over some twitchy customer being a nuisance. Not that she was really worried she’d forget; she was meticulous when it came to her own personal hygiene.  Some of the things she handled in her, hobby, were not sanitary, and it was better to be on the safe side.

And now it was on to name-tags, she supposed the fancy engraved ones only went to people who didn’t screw up, so she affixed the sad little sticker to her front, still nodding along with all he said. There wasn’t much else for her to say as he explained things, things that should be obvious to anyone with even half a brain in their head, then again she was pretty sure most people she met didn’t even have that.

“Okay notebook thanks, I’ll pick one up later,” not that she thought she’d need it, how hard could this stuff really be? Couldn’t be harder than what she did for fun, having to set up her displays while leaving no trace, now that was difficult.

Only thing she thought she’d find difficult in this job was not strangling some of the idiots she had seen trying to order when she had first arrived.  Yeah, that would be the true test of this job. At least her new boss, or whatever he wanted her to think of him as didn’t seem too bad.

“So thirty days and then I get one of those fancy name-tags?” She asked, unable to resist making at least one sarcastic comment, still she managed to put enough sincerity in her words to sound like genuine rather than sarcastic.

Martin quirked an eyebrow at her. Bubbly and cynical wasn’t an easy combination to pull off, but perhaps he was misreading her posture, her tone, her features. No, he was good at reading people; he had to be. Sculpture and multiple-homicide both require understanding human expression.

“Yes, thirty days and you can consider it officially difficult for anyone here to try and fire you on the spot. Honestly, we’ve had people quit plenty of times but I deliberately try to avoid firing people.” Martin answered with a patient sort of sigh, “We’re one of the most popular cafes in town; we get a lot of customers and things get really busy really quick. We’ve had employees walk out simply cause they got overwhelmed.”

Still a job was a job, and since her ‘hobby’ didn’t actually pay, she needed an alternative source of income, one that wouldn’t put her under some type of suspicion. 

She needed a legitimate source of income, though she was starting to grow bored with waiting, and she wondered what was keeping her new co-worker. He seemed alright, not that she had talked to him much yet, in fact she hadn’t even gotten his name she was pretty sure.

Leaning against the wall of the back-room could hear the customers at  the front all abuzz with the latest news.

Katherine felt the edges of her lips turn up in a smirk at the particular topic they were discussing. It was always nice to hear work appreciated, and she had gone to such lengths to make the display tasteful without leaving any evidence, not an easy feat. 

But she was a professional by now, not to mention very few people would look at her face and ever think her capable of such acts. Well it just showed you couldn’t judge a book by its cover, or something cliche like that. 

She was drawn out of her thoughts by her co-worker’s return -finally- carrying her new apron, something she certainly wasn’t looking forward to wearing. 

Martin wanted nothing more than to skin that particular customer, twitchy and complaining at every turn, but he knew he couldn’t hunt from his home nor his place of work. It’d make it that much easier for the police to track him down someday. As though they could ever catch him.

Artist: Cameron Stalheim 

Julian giggles delightedly at the idea, his gaze drifting back up to study the featureless face. His head cocks by degrees, eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he tries to imagine what it–or rather, he–could possibly turn out looking like. Handsome, of course. Perhaps fearsome, or perhaps jovial. The possibilities are near endless, and exciting in their own right. 

Lost in his wondering, Julian’s hand idly comes to rest against the marble. Permission isn’t even a second thought as his fingers wander up and over the soft, silky stone. 

Mexico City - Museo Nacional de Arte MUNAL

'Don't take away my moon' [x]

Songs for a terminal boy & the heart brave enough to love him.