#ruby oo9.

The arcade is a mess of lights that flash in fitful, choppy spurts, twitching on and off like a neverending round of neon gunfire. It’s one of the many constants to her shift, the others being the noise and that one cute girl who comes in to buy game tokens every evening.

...Did she say cute? She meant — yeah. It’s hard enough to keep her thoughts in line when she’s running on four hours of sleep and caffeine, but with the music blasting her brain from all directions, it’s no wonder her attention span has gone to mush. Still, she can’t say that she hates it here: The guests seem like they’re having fun, and it’s not like many people visit in the first place. Just enough to keep the business afloat, she thinks.

There are regulars, of course, but the only ones Aya pays close attention to are the teens her age — students, mostly. The girl from earlier falls into this category: backpack, hoodie, pockets full of stains and what looks like... metal? She hasn’t arrived yet, but she’ll be here after classes end at the local high school, sporting roughly the same ensemble. And once she does get here, Aya will... hand her the usual cup of tokens with a smile, like how she normally does!

No, that’s not quite it. What she really wants to do is to start a conversation, find out why this girl visits so often (and for so long, too!), but it’s hard to do so without sounding nosy. Maybe start with the weather? No, too generic. How about hobbies? Her day? Her classes?

...She probably wouldn’t appreciate so much talk about school after school. Speaking of which, are the high schoolers out yet? Is — Is that her coming through the door? Oh, nonono noo. She didn’t even prepare her conversation starter yet! Think, Aya, think!

“ Oh, hi again! Did you have a good day at school? ”