Boredom[Open]

Blake was bored, she had cleaned the counter, washed the glasses and organized everything that she could. But there was nothing else to do, the other clients had already been handled by other bartenders. It was nice to catch a breather but after a while all she had to do was stare at nothing while listening to the jukebox. It was boring to say the least, she had been like that for a while until the door bell rang, announcing the entrance of another customer. Blake hastily attempted to straighten her uniform once the sound had reached her ears, like always the bar had been mostly empty for the day the only other few clients at the moment were being attended by other staff members. As expected the bar was mostly quiet save for the chill tunes played by the jukebox. Though far from sophisticated, the bar had a calming atmosphere to it. It was dark but cozy place.

What type of place was Heaven's Door? The Yuri thirsted, and needed a drink. Upon pushing open the door, he began loping on over to the nearest empty bar stool. It reeked of alcohol and tobacco in here, though that's to be expected for any bar. After settling down, legs crossed, Yuri looked up to the bartender who stood opposite of him. "Can I have some orange juice?" he asked sternly. It was the one thing he knew he could find. The one thing that could quench his thirst, and he needed it. Water would suffice too, but he came here for orange juice, and was determined to get some. An entire glass full. His fierce gaze built tension in the air that could only be soothed when that precious liquid was consumed. That precious liquid: Orange juice.

The bartender would observe the boy as he entered the bar, from time to time they would get teens entering it and asking for drinks but this one took her by surprise. He just wanted some orange juice. It was not something people asked for often. But they had oranges, water and sugar. She could make some for sure. Though, even with the surprise she wore her unamused expression.

"... Sure, just hold on a minute kid." She'd turn her back and start to prepare the orange juice, it would take a couple minutes but nobody else was ordering anything so she could focus on it. Eventually, before Yuri there would be a tall glass filled with his order, a couple of ice cubes and a pink umbrella. "Here we go, and welcome to Heaven's Door. I'm Blake, one of the bartenders."

Being handed the glass, "Thank you, Blake. My name is Yuri." Such formalities at most establishments were usually forgotten, holding no meaning, only meant to not discomfort the customer, so they'd be back. However, for bars this often wasn't the case. People like to talk at bars. The Yuri lifted the glass and began to consume the beverage, all in one go. Wait. Something was suspicious about the taste. He put the glass down. Did she add sugar to the juice? That's unfortunate. Every grain of sugar consumed is one grain of sugar closer to dying of heart failure. Regardless, this seemed like a good place to order beverages from. "That was a fine glass of orange juice. Is this a good place to work? Are you the owner of this business? Is this building owned or leased?" He threw that barrage of questions as if it was normal conversation.

Even when bombarded with questions the bartender remained unflappable. The guy was weird but hey, she was used to dealing with weird by now.

"Yeah its pretty chill. We don't get a lot of movement but its not bad. I like the decoration, the location and boss lets me pick what goes on the jukebox." She paused for a small smile. "Which leads me to your next questions. I don't, Mio does but she is not around right now, i'm pretty sure she actually co-owns this place with someone else. We still gotta pay the bills and all that. You sure are curious about us, huh..."

It sounded like a adequate establishment. That was nice to hear. "I've been considering switching occupations. This seems to be a wonderful place to be with." IslaMart had proven not ideal. Perhaps he should come back later, when that Mio was around. If, however, Heaven's Door did not hire individuals under the age of twenty-one, that plan would lead right into an impassable brick wall. He'd have to find some other way to sustain himself. Luckily, he came prepared. Yuri could always just steal money from homeless people. Not doing so was more productive, however, as legal troubles wouldn't potentially ensue. Still thirsty, he removed a bottle of water from his coat, and began drinking it. There's nothing as refreshing as clean water after a good glass of orange juice. Having consumed it all, he reached back inside his coat and exchanged the bottle for his wallet. "How much was that juice?"

"You must be over 21 to work here. Gotta handle alcohol often, also gotta take a course to learn how to mix drinks. I could see if boss needs a delivery boy though." The bartender would shrug. She doubt Mio was looking for someone to work there anyways, Jack and her were enough already. Or so Mio said. They never had the problem of lacking staff so maybe she was right after all. "It will be 3 Dollars." She said, offering an ease and calm smile. "Y'know, not a lot of people order for juice here. Even if they are the designated driver they opt for soda."

"I see. I suppose it was worth a shot. Get it?" He smiled at Blake, while tilting his hand slightly downwards, third through fifth digits folded, resting his elbow on the counter. The slightly increased word count gained from the previous sentence's excessive detail would definitely ensure they form an as of now insignificant friendship. Yuri placed four $1 bills on the counter. "You should keep in mind what you consume. Your health is important." Then again, people didn't come to a bar to get fit. "In that regard..." He pointed to an ashtray on the counter. "Theoretically, what if a politician announced tomorrow it would be illegal to smoke tobacco. He claims it's for public health. What would you do? How would you feel?"

"Good one kid." She'd flash him a thumbs up for his pun. Though her expression was a neutral one, not reacting to the joke. But it was just up her alley, she loved stupid humor. She'd internally laugh just at the mention of the word wiener... heheh, wiener. Though the client would take the conversation in a different direction. Namely her cigarette addiction. Her eyebrow raised, he was correct but she wondered if he was a naive kid who cared for strangers or someone who only cared due to a perceived moral high ground.

"I'll pay for the mistakes of my youth. I currently am." There was a pause. "I suppose i am give two options. Suck it up and pay the treatment to get over my addiction or i could continue with my vice and break the law. Though in such hypothetical scenario creates a lot of implications. First one is how such law got passed, considering how much taxes the industry movements. Second one would be how unfair to those of lower income and of advanced age, especially the homeless, born in a time where cigarette's were glamorized and now have no money to rid themselves of the vice... Would the government be willing to fund their treatment or would they rather spend resources ad arresting every smoker didn't conform?" The bartender shrugged.

"The number of smokers has been on decline ever since corporations were forced to be clear about the effects their products have on people. Just keep pushing for it in my opinion."

"That's a good point to raise. Luckily, the government came prepared. They'll use tax money to make more tax money, allowing them to pay for the framing of every last person who's smoked in their life and arrest them, making it so that no one can smoke again. You should watch out. They're coming." He took out a second plastic water bottle and drank it all in one go again, before once more putting it back in his coat. They really were coming, but not for the smokers. For the Persona users, except sometimes all the magic that flies about during Persona usage looks like smoke, so in a way they still are going after the smokers. It seems Blake better watch out after all. Run. "I'd better get going before they find me." Yuri hopped off the bar stool and towards the exit. "Thanks for the drink." With all of the smokers around here, surely the G-Men would show up soon, and being arrested for tax fraud wasn't part of Yuri's plans today.