little moon girl

“I do,” she mused, leaning forward on her elbows as a deliciously smug smirk crossed her features. “Because I’m a sucker for a cause— I like helping— and you remind me of someone.” A pause as she took another hearty sip of her coffee. “I wouldn’t be offering if I didn’t believe in it, sugar.”

artemis felt a smile tugging on her lips at the prospect of having her own place. her own rules. something that would belong to her. she nodded. “then yes. yeah that would....i can’t even talk right now good lord,” she said, her southern accent peeking out. “this is amazing.”

“When I’m passionate about a cause, it’s virtually impossible for me to get it out of my head,” she explained, giving the redhead her full attention. “Hear me out— I give you the start-up money as sort of like a loan, you get your business going and when you earn double or triple the amount I lent you, you just pay it back!” She’d always been told she was too generous, but at the very least, she was a smart business-woman. The idea showed promise.

artemis blinked, sitting back in her chair. “wait a hot second. you’re actually serious about this? you wanna loan me money to get this whole thing going?” she asked. she’d never met someone just willing to loan her anything. “why?” she asked curiously. “i mean you don’t even know me.” she hoped she didn’t sound too rude but she was honestly just blown away by the whole prospect of it. “you actually believe this could be a thing.”

“I’m a journalist, lots of little men in big suits,” Mina said with a laugh thinking of all the men she had worked with before. “some of them are alright, but it gets old quick.”

“oof. that sounds rough,” she laughed, shaking her head. “sounds like the guys who buy big trucks cause they’re lacking elsewhere,” she added lightly. “yeah some of the guys i work with aren’t terrible but some of them are blech.”

“Stupid is certainly a word for it.” Taking a seat across she placed the coffee on the table assuming it was alright that she did so. “I do,” She said with a nod, smiling a bit as she spoke. “been wrestling my through a boys club for years.”

artemis was fine with the other sitting across from her. if she didn’t have a civilized conversation, she’d probably get herself fired for throwing punches. “what do you do?” she asked. 

“Feel like coffee isn’t the best way to make up for that shitty situation, but we’re here, so might as well,” she sighed, flagging down a waitress (to no such avail). The blatant disregard as they walked on by— her cheeks flushed and her hand went back to the table in an almost defeated slap, a pout forming. She often missed Seoul. It was efficient to get service as every second was precious. “Why not open your own garage?” She thought about that suggestion for a moment, shaking her head soon after. “Wouldn’t necessarily help, would it? Men trust men.” A beat. “What about a garage for women, by women?”

artemis couldn’t help but wonder how the female across from her would blow up. if it would be loud like artemis or if it would be more quiet but cut deep. she could tell that she was irritated by the lack of immediate service. “well that’s the dream, huh? but i don’t really make enough to open my own garage,” she commented. artemis tilted her head. “hm. that’s an idea. i know i’ve talked to females who like to come see me specifically cause i don’t try to bullcrap them because they’re females.”

“Why,” she started, blinking. “Bother! You bring in your big ol’ yee-yee truck for a specialist to look at and you send away the specialist going to take care of your hunk of junk? In what world—”, she trailed off. She had to take a breath. She didn’t have a clue about cars herself, but she knew if the roles were reversed, she didn’t care who worked on her car as long as it was done. “I’m so sorry you had to deal with that.”

“that’s what i’m saying!” she agreed, rolling her eyes. it felt good to be validated in her feelings of frustration. even if she knew that they were perfectly reasonable. “i mean the garage wouldn’t have hired me as a mechanic if i couldn’t do my job.” she offered a nod and a small smile. “thanks. i should be used to it by now, though right? i mean i am working in a very male dominated field. and we’ve already established that boys are stupid.” 

“Not that the topic of stupid boys is anything new,” she noted decidedly, pushing the menu towards the other. “But what happened? I’m only asking because basic curiosity quickly turns into morbid with the snap of a finger and it won’t look as pretty, I promise.”

artemis chuckled and nodded. “fair. they can be pretty stupid,” she agreed. she looked, quickly finding a coffee she liked the sound of. “i’m a mechanic. and this....total fake macho type of guy brings his truck in. they give it to me to look at and he tells me to go back to the front desk where i belong and let the boys talk about cars. i almost punched him in his stupid face.”

“Occupational hazard of being a woman in a traditionally male field.” Mina agreed with a tilt of her head. “Gotta work twice has hard to get half as far for a quarter as much respect.” Mina had days like that herself. Many places newsrooms were still boys clubs.

artemis hummed in agreement. “exactly. which is stupid. just because i have boobs does mean i am supposed to sit on top of the car and look pretty. i’m better than all the other mechanics in that garage,” she nodded. “you in a mostly male field?” she asked. 

Callie leaned back in her chair and looked at the redhead with a small smirk on her face. “You good there red? Cuz you look like you’re about to knock someone’s lights out.” She said trying to hide the laugh. Artemis had texted her a bit ago and Callie agreed to meet her at the coffee shop that was near her apartment. But seeing the redhead now, she knew that there was something else going on. 

artemis glared slightly at the closest thing she had to a friend in her line of work. “yeah i wanted to knock someone’s lights out. i swear i was this close,” she replied, holding up her fingers. she’d needed to rant to someone before she exploded. and callie was the one she texted. “i got sent home cause i was super close to beating up some douche-nugget for telling me to go back to the front counter where i belonged and let the boys talk about mechanics. and i am the best one there and i’m pissed.”

Mina couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the woman’s reply. They’d all been there at one point or another. “Oh I know those days,” She said eyebrows raising as she spoke. “What did the dirtbag do you to you?” Mina asked never one to turn away from good gossip or conversation. 

artemis nodded. “yeah. such a fun time, right?” she replied with a small chuckle. “i’m a mechanic. and this douche-nugget with one of those like big trucks that are trying to compensate for something? yeah he tried to tell me that i should go back to the front desk where i belong and leave the guys to talk mechanics,” she said with a roll of her eyes. 

a small scoff.     a minor inconvenience, and yet one he was going to decide had ruined his morning. “ and so we just sit at tables we didn’t intend to sit at now ? is that what we do ? ” he sighed a little. annoyed, but not excessively bothered, as he picks up his cup one more time. 

artemis rolled her eyes. she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with temperamental males. at least not any more. “i’ve had a pissy morning already with people trying to tell me how to do my job. and i was going to move and leave you be. it was an accident.” 

“Those damn stupid males,” she attested with a sly grin. “Can I buy you a coffee? Might make you feel a little better. You can vent to me or we can just sit in silence. Whichever you prefer, sugar.”

artemis chuckled and nodded. “well i can’t say no to a free coffee, now can i?” she laughed and nodded. “thanks. sounds good to me.”

Mina couldn’t help but smile a bit at the other woman’s huff. It was clear she was frustrated by something and Mina couldn’t help but be curious. Wandering over to where the redhead had just taken a seat. She spoke casually.“You alright?” She asked trying not to seem too invested. “You look like you’re having a day.”

artemis looked up and, call it sexist, but she relaxed a little when she realized it was a female speaking to her. she just wasn’t ready to deal with the male population just yet. “oh i’m definitely having a day. that’s for sure. but i’ll be okay eventually. just maybe want to punch something resembling a male soon,” she replied.

there’s a small pause     — the coffee that he’d been drinking got shaken at his table as there was a shift as a young woman came and sat herself down across from the doctor, the man crossed his arms, upset that the coffee had almost spilled but more so that this woman had decided to just drop down in front of him.          then in the most proper english he could — “ can i help you ? ”

artemis paused her mumbling rants and blinked at the guy in front of her. she looked around to find that she hadn’t sat at the table she’d intended to sit. she opened her mouth before closing it again. “this not the table i meant to sit at. apparently i was more pissed than i thought. sorry,” she replied. 

“Someone spit in your drink? You look like you wanna hit something— or someone,” she noted, taking slow, measured sips of her iced Americano. “Not that I blame you— there’s a lot of people here I would sock in their ugly fucking faces for simply existing.”

artemis looked up, almost ready to snap at whoever had spoken but paused her wildfire tongue when she heard what the other said. the redhead chuckled. “hm. that’s probably because i definitely do want to hit someone,” she replied. “stupid males who think they know more than me cause i’m a girl.”