Moon Prince Gets a Job

Mr. Boggs steps up, raindrops pitter-pattering on the counter. He smiles to himself. He usually orders things exactly by the menu, but Hey Kid has shown him a television program where people put their cafe orders in in a "cool" way. So he loosens his tie and ties to look "cool" as he says, "I will have a Fat Joseph, on the rocks, with a drizzle of golden sunshine and dollop of puffy clouds."

He hopes everybody else will think he is as "cool" as he feels right now!

Moon Prince grabs a rag, ready to soak up Mel's drink from the counter. But as Mr. Boggs sprinkles rain on the counter as well, they decide to wait and come back with a mop after this order.

"Welcome to the Cafe, Mr. Boggs." MP forces a smile as they feel the stress from the shift weighing on them.

They grab a thimble cup without thinking. With all the ingredients and the scattered showers this tiny cup could overflow, so Moon Prince decides it is better to add the coffee at the very end. A few ice cubes, a squeeze of honey, and a few marshmellows go into the cup. They look around wondering if the Cafe manager will be back from break soon. Hopefully it isn't an extended lunch break... They turn and place the drink on the counter, completely forgetting they never added the coffee.

"Here is the drink you ordered, sir."

Mr. Boggs picks up the drink and frowns at it. "Hmm. It appears there are three ice cubes, two teaspoons of honey, and four marshmallows, as expected. However, it seems that instead of six ounces of coffee, there is instead zero ounces. Perhaps I ordered incorrectly? I shall queue up again and attempt to rectify my error upon my return."

He retreats to the back of the line, briefcase at his side.

Muckleby oozes forward again. "Hi! I’m back. Can I have, um... Oh! A kitchen sink with tres leches! I think that’s Spanish for ‘three leches.’" She smiles sweetly as her face drifts around to the back of her body.

Just as Moon Prince finishes mopping up the front of the counter, they see Muckleby ooze forward. Maybe I should just put up a Caution Wet Floor sign they think to themselves.

"Welcome back Muckleby. Hopefully you were satisfied with your last drink. We've had a run of unhappy customers recently" Moon Prince says, glancing at Yazeba scowling further back in the line.

"Tres leches is a type of cake that is soaked in three different milks. I watched a lot of cooking shows in my room at the Moon Palace. Although most of the recipes can't be used up there due to the different atmosphere and air pressure." Do we have tres leches? they think as they look over at the pastry display.And of course they did not. So Moon Prince would make one in the cup for Muckleby. A regular size cup with a little bit of everything plus whole milk, Moon milk, and oat milk. And of course a handful of yellow cake plus a strawberry on top.

"Tada!" Moon Prince tries to present the concoction to Muckleby but lags behind her drifting face and just puts it on the counter. "Here's your order miss!"

"I got your back, Prince," Gert casually offers.

"Ah, I see what could be done differently. That strawberry is off center." Rather than waste time redoing the whole order, she uses a swizzle stick to move the strawberry either to the exact center or off-center in the opposite direction. It’s hard to be precise unless you’re directly above the cake, and Gertrude doesn’t feel like levitating this very second.

Her face is masked but her indifference is not. She steps slightly aside so the Moon Prince can hand off the cake, and if it’s as too-soggy as it looks, let him take the blame.

Muckleby looks at the "drink" and frowns. "Oh, it’s a cake. In a cup. It’s... not really a drink though..."

She sloughs away but forgets to leave money on the counter. Staring at the strange concoction, she doesn’t notice the Ptislith floating in front of her. Her body envelops the floating rock and keeps going, bringing the Ptisilith along. The Ptisilith seems content to bob around inside Muckleby.

Mel seems to have calmed down some when she steps up again. She drops a dollar into the tip jar."Sorry about before. Now, I’ll have the same order," Mel says. Hopefully the baristas remember what that order was!

---

Moon Prince is relieved as they think Gertrude is going to help again... but then their heart drops as another disappointed customer retreats from the counter. Earthlings have to deal with jobs like this EVERY DAY? For their whole lives?! they think to themselves. Does it ever get easier?"No, I'm sorry, Mel. It's my first day so I am still learning. I'll get it right this time."

Moon Prince remembers Mel's order and makes the cuppa joe with extra coffee, cream, and whipped cream. The drink is finished and Moon Prince is so proud of themselves for getting it right. But they spin back to the counter too quickly - and the cup slides off the saucer and spills hot liquid all over their apron, whip cream globs sliding down it to plop on the floor.Moon Prince fights through the embarrassment and disappointment. The thought of quitting tempts them, but they are determined to complete the shift like an ordinary, non-royal Earthling. "Oh my... I'm sorry. Again. Arg. Well at least I was wearing this apron. That must be why we are required to wear them." They force out a dry laugh. But then they go back to the coffee station and make the drink for a third time. And slowly, carefully, turn to gingerly hand the drink to Mel. "Thank you so much for your patience."

Mel sniffs the drink and howls approvingly. "Arrooo! That's more like it! Thanks!" She leaves handful of dollar bills on the counter.

Mr. Boggs steps up and repeats his order, nodding with satisfaction before sitting down to enjoy it. Yazeba steps up...

Moon Prince tenses up as Yazeba steps back up to the counter. "Alright, um, I'll see what I can do," they say lamely.

Moon Prince takes a Portly cup and slowly pours in hot water, stalling for time. Radagast the wizard was... the green? The brown? Is there such a thing as brown tea?? they think to themselves. They glance at the tea selection and see barley tea which looks brown. So they scoop some into a tea infuser and set it to steep. For the Christmas part, they guess this means a few sprigs of mint and a couple of snickerberries.

Taking a deep breath, Moon Prince turns back to face Yazeba. They pass the cup across the counter to her and smile weakly, unsure if this is what the witch had ordered. "Enjoy."