“yeah, that’s true. hopefully one day things are different.” and although it seemed that things were subtly getting better, it would probably take a while for any change within the field. “suffer i will,” she said with a nod. “but hey, on the brightside, a little birdie told me that after i finish suffering this week, you were going to hang out with me.” the little birdie being her, of course. typically this was her indirect way of asking someone to hang out. “can you confirm or deny this?”

“why not? you seem nice and i have to make some friends here,” hazel said with a shrug. her eyes followed his, glancing down to his plate as well. it didn’t seem like he was waiting for someone anyways. she couldn’t help but cringe as she heard the word blondie come out of his mouth. “name’s hazel, nice to meet you. and i never said you couldn’t pay for it, but wouldn’t it be nice to have someone pay for it as a kind gesture?” being a stripper or having an onlyfans could be an option, but she knew she enjoyed what she did. “it’s not that i don’t like it, it’s just a lot right now. it won’t be like this all the time.”

ariella’s situation definitely sounded a lot more serious than hazel’s job complaints, that was for sure. “oh– wow, sorry... that sounds like it’s exhausting,” she said, not really knowing what else she could say. “i don’t really think i would give you the best advice for that. i tend to just disappear, but if an attorney is involved... probably not the smartest thing. is there any other way i can help?” 

“yeah... you can say that’s happening to me just a little bit,” hazel said with a chuckle. she propped one of her hands up, leaning her chin on her hand as she listened to him. “good enough for me!” she nodded, smiling at his offer. it was a great suggestion, she could definitely use some outdoor time. “yeah, i would love that.” hearing him say that she earned it brought some relief to her, the reassurance of a job well done wasn’t one she usually got. “anyways, besides me and my job – how have you been?”

part of her believed that people definitely were selfish as he said, but that didn’t mean they weren’t judgemental towards others. the thought of that always haunted her, and she didn’t need any of that on her shoulders. “the information might just come handy, you never know.” hazel shrugged, using the stirring stick in her tea in hopes it would cool off a bit. “yeah, no. definitely could go out a bit. i’m telling ya’, the ac prison is the wave for me right now apparently.” a small chuckle escaping as she brought the cup of tea to her lips, taking a sip when she felt it wasn’t as hot anymore. placing it back up on the table, she glanced up at him knowing the response to his question. definitely a people pleaser. “well... maybe a little too much for my own good. i’m working on it, though.” which she was, but it was difficult for her to resist. it’s not that she needed people to like her, she just didn’t want to let anyone down. “but it’s also always good to expand my taste, try new things rather than sticking to the same things over and over.”

hazel tried her best to contain her laughter as she pictured herself beaming down, thankfully she was good at managing a neutral expression. “absolutely not, that’s ridiculous–” she shook her head as she paused her sentence. “i teleported here.” her lips curling into a small smile as she matched his energy. “i’d say being compensated with fries is a pretty sweet deal,” she shrugged, sliding her glass of milkshake closer to her. “just draw whatever the clients or team asks you to.” she hovered over her milkshake, taking a sip from the straw.

“okay, true that.” she couldn’t help but chuckle at herself, shaking her head as she realized it was literally a part of the job. “that’s true. a majority of my drinking time is spent doing shots until i lose count so there wasn’t many funky mixtures for me.” hazel definitely partook in too much drinking while at college, which was really no surprise. after graduating though, she seemed to settle down a lot more on that aspect. “okay so besides margaritas–” possibly one of her favorite drinks ever, and the only one she could depend on to be good. “i’m really basic and just do jameson and coke. though i’m not gonna lie, it gets me tipsy at an extremely quick rate,” she admitted. “i need your help to make me look like some drinking expert– and make sure i don’t get drunk on my next outing. definitely wouldn’t want to embarrass myself.”

“so it seems,” hazel stated with a nod. it only took him a few words and he already had hazel reconsidering everything she had said. “hazel.” she reached out for his hand, giving it a shake as she smiled at him. “so i’m assuming you know all the good recommendations for drinks – totally need that, by the way. you know how lame it is to only know like... one drink?” she shook her head, chuckling. she was never really aware of alcoholic beverages, mostly just drank whatever she was handed. “well it worked, i’ll give you that. didn’t think you would have a plan to re-evaluate my surroundings.”

hazel shook her head, letting out a chuckle. “and just like that, you’ve officially convinced me that staying indoors is my best option. i just know if i spend more than an hour outdoors i wouldn’t be too happy,” she admitted honestly. “oh, you work there?” she recalled visiting the spot maybe once or twice, she hadn’t been out too many times since she had gotten there. plus, she really didn’t know anyone around town. “drinking on the job is always a plus, i’m already jealous,” she joked. hazel could already imagine herself giving tours and immediately decided that she enjoyed making art too much and would sacrifice sunlight. “uh... i think i’m good, that’s a great idea though. i’ll have to pass though,” she said with a chuckle.

“i know, i know. i’m just messin’ with ya’,” she said while waving her hand. hazel nodded in agreement, she definitely wanted to avoid something like carpal tunnel. of course she loved what she did, and she knew she was fortunate to grab the job opportunity she did – but still, she knew at times the boundary of free time was well needed. “you have a point, no argument there. i mean – how many times am i going to come across something like this? probably not too many,” she said with a shrug. “but people don’t appreciate or understand creatives and all that they do, and i don’t want that to push me to have an early burn-out.”

the smile on hazel’s face immediately drops as a poker expression takes over. “so then maybe there’s something i can pay you in additional to the food. name your price – preferably extremely less than my salary, i still have to survive.” she leaned back in her seat, reaching for her vanilla milkshake. she listened to him as she took a sip, her eyebrows quirking up. “i was hoping you would take my job – not like a switch. i just wanna be free for like.. a week or two,” she stated with a pout, placing her milkshake back onto the table.

“you know i haven’t been outdoors in probably... days?,” hazel said, looking around the cafe from the booth they were at. “work has been seriously demanding right now since we’re about to go into fall and holiday season soon, my eyes have been glued to my tablet.” she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the thought of all the work she had now and even more incoming. hazel leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. “any chance you wanna temporarily replace me at my job a bit?,” she asked jokingly. “your payment could be our food tonight,” her tone light and song-like as she tried to convince the person sitting across from her.