As Mallory got up that morning, she showed no signs of fatigue, or any desire to stay in bed. Instead, she ran out the door from her room, still in her pyjamas, down the stairs, and straight into the kitchen. There, the red head put some slices of bread into the toaster, running back upstairs as she set the toaster up to get her breakfast ready, her mother and boss watching with a bewildered expression. Once more, Mallory ran down stairs, this time dressed in crocs, socks, ripped up jeans, a crop top, and with her hair tied up in a ponytail. The sound of the ding told her breakfast was ready, and swiping the toast while it was still hot, the erratic girl just shoved the bread into her mouth and ran off, gesturing for the exhausted man with his coffee to follow to the workshop.
As some brief time passed, now in the workshop and having had her somewhat bland breakfast, Mallory stood next to her boss, gazing at their job for the day with a wild excitement, the man just shaking his head with a look of borderline regret. Indeed, Mallory could not have been more excited at the prospect of what she was now looking at, going over to the tools area with glee and preparing to grab a drill before a sharp voice called out. “Mallory, stop! This is an important job, and it’s just a tune up! I repeat! A TUNE UP! This bike belongs to a cadet, so if you fuck this up, I could be out of a job! Got it?!”
Frowning slightly, Mallory moved away from the tools, nodding her head and turning to face her now almost exhausted boss. Sighing to calm her excitement down, Mallory shook her head, before now approaching the bike. “Right. Sorry boss. So, is it a full tune up? Or were there specific things that the client was interested in?”
Seeming to regain some of his composure, the man rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, shaking his head. “Full tune up. Check everything, fix anything, top up everything that needs topping up. Quite frankly, I don’t trust you around explosives or flammables since last time, so, I will take care of the fuel line and the fuel filter. First mind checking the tires and the wheels? Although, before that, quick run down, do you remember what you need to check?”
Without skipping a beat, the crazy Lucklace nodded, reciting by memory. “For the wheels, I need to check for balance, check the runout, and check for any general damages. If unbalanced, balance it. If anything else, fix it or replace it. For the tires, I should check the tire depth, and for any punctures, replacing if needed, as well as checking the air pressure. If air pressure is low, top it up, but not too high or there’s risk of it going POP!”
Dismissing the girl with his hand, Eric went about dismantling the required parts for checking, getting the tools he needed. And in the same time, Mallory gathered the equipment she needed, taking the tires and wheels off the bike and setting them aside. Then, she decided which one to start with using the best method she knew how. “Eenie meenie minie mo, catch a tiger by the toe… If it slips, let it go… Eenie meenie minie mo!”
With that, she set off to make the preparations, removing the wheels from the tires and getting a nearby list of the wheel types available for order, both in case the wheel needed replacing, but also to compare its shape, dimensions, and material. There, the girl looked around the metal at first to try find a brand, and upon failing that, just went through the catalogue with a skim read, finally settling on one due to its shape and type of metal. The correct wheel found, Mallory stroked at her non-existent goatee, pretending she was some kind of sagely scientist reading an ancient tome.
“Right… Let’s see… Oooo, this is a fancy wheel… Non-ferrous alloy… Type…Ooo la la! A magnesium alloy made from gravity casting! Elektron! Man, this stuff is awesome! Hey! Hey Eric! Think I could meet the person who owns this bike when we’re done?! I neeeeeeeeed to talk specs with them!” She called out with childlike glee, before getting back to work with a lack of reply. Inspecting it carefully with both her hands and with a torch to highlight any dents, she quickly found herself content that there was no damage. Doing the same for the other wheel, she grinned to herself, before setting the wheels aside and grabbing the tires that she’d set aside, caressing the rubber like some weird old lady.
This attitude quickly changed into disgust however, the girl seeming to go bleh at the realisation of the tires material. Elastomer?! Who would use this in this day and age?! Groaning audibly, the girl shook her head, setting the tires aside. “Eric! ERIC! Do we have any vulcanised rubber tires stored aside? Because, like hell am I letting this person use this shit when their bike is using relatively good stuff! And if we don’t have any, can we order some in before the bike needs to go back?! Trust me man, these wheels deserve good, proper tires! Not this weak shit!”
Leaning out from behind the main chassis of the bike, Eric gave a somewhat pained look to Mallory, sighing as he spoke up. “Hey, we’re in the same room, no need to shout. And stop swearing so much, I swear you have way too much of a potty mouth. Anyways, it should be in the pile out back. Go take a break for lunch, then go get the tires after that. Don’t want to work on an empty stomach after all.” At the advice, Mallory rolled her eyes, before smiling, knowing that as much as it pained her to part with such fun work, he was saying it because he cared. So, she set her stuff down, and left.
Thu Sep 19, 2024 8:54 am by 
