Rush Ready

As the rush began, and customers, travelers and farmers alike came to drink, a patron approached. He had been loitering in the lobby for the last half hour, always with his ravenous gaze set upon Havilah. She cowered behind the espresso bar in a futile effort to keep her dignity. Three times he placed orders, each time coming up to the counter, sauntering, loudly complaining how long it was taking. “If the barista weren’t some dumb ginger halfling maybe we’d actually get our drinks in a timely manner!” he said unabashedly raising his voice for the men behind him to snicker and laugh. Her throat ran dry with anxiety and her stomach quaffed under the pressure.

Havilah was busy fulfilling both hot drinks and pouring **** when the man accosted her. “Do you know what a colon is?” he asked in a sultry quiet tone. Havilah, busy making a drink, looked up for a moment with gritted teeth but had no idea what he had even said. His tone was quiet and he obviously was just trying to get her attention. However the pause was taken as evidence of her stupidity by the man, a smarmy grin preceded his mysogyny. “Beautiful women often are speechless around me, double for the dumb ones.”

Havilah looked him in the eyes, and then looked down at the drink before her and called out the name. The man pressed, saying, “ well do you know what a semi colon is?” Havilah quickly and firmly told him yes. “Well it’s like that but both a dots, wow did you even go to school?”

Havilah Von Yams, a student who was well taught by her mother in grammar as well as magic, science, and geography, being demeaned by a random customer on grammar, could take no more. She turned herself around and marched to the back and cried a little bit before going out once more.

10 gold gained