"Looks like it's going to rain, doesn't it?"
Lucy blinks and glances over her shoulder at her coworker. She's been leaning on the marble countertop for a while now, she knows. Elbows propped against the cool surface, chin tucked away in her hands as she stares out the slightly dusty picture windows of her workplace. In the past half hour or so, angry-looking clouds have clustered together in the sky, and even though she's inside, she can feel the crackling static in the air.
"It hasn't rained in what? Weeks, months? Magnolia has such crazy weather, so I guess that's to blame. Everything's so damn dry," Cana huffs, and runs a hand through her thick, dark hair, "we need a good shower."
The blonde merely nods, russet gaze drifting back to the dreary scene outside. Something sizzles and pops in back in the kitchen, but even though she's not really paying attention, she knows it isn't an order being cooked up. The clock on the wall reads only five pm, and business is slow—almost dragging and monotonous, sometimes—after the lunch rush. Probably just the fryer, she thinks distantly.
Unbalanced electric charges aren't the only thing lingering in the atmosphere today though. There's been an uneasy feeling clinging to her since she'd first woken up this morning; it makes her nervous, and she feels the anxiety building up in her throat as something raises goosebumps on her arms and makes her finger tingle. It's ridiculous and has been distracting her all day, partly because she's been trying to convince herself that everything is fine and she's just being paranoid. But the more she thinks about it, the more it sets her on edge and she knows it's stupid, but there has to be a reason.
Something is going to happen today.
Something very, very bad and she knows because she can feel it deep within her bones. It seems to make itself known through every breath she exhales, the sound of crackling static that comes over the radio every once in a while, the way her old pink sneakers tap against the tiled floor when she walks. It makes her insides churn and her head spin.
A sudden loud crack of thunder makes her jump, elbows slipping off the countertop and all of her breath rushing up her throat at once as she stumbles backward, heart racing. She brings a fist to her chest as Cana looks at her in concern.
The brunette reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder. "Lucy, are you okay? You've been kind of…off, today. Is everything alright?"
She manages what she hopes is a convincing smile and nods a couple of times. "Um, yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I just…got lost in thought I guess," her laugh echoes shaky and hollow in her ears, "It happens every once in a while."
Cana looks at her suspiciously, but chooses not to comment. Instead, she turns to the windows again. "It's definitely going to rain today," she confirms, "I can feel it."
Lucy opens her mouth to say something—what, she doesn't know yet—but the ring of the bell over the door cuts her off. The two waitresses watch as people flood into the diner, chattering and laughing as they find places to sit and wait for their food. So instead, the blonde pulls a pen and a pad out of her pale blue apron and slaps on a cheery smile as she slips under the counter towards the mass of patrons.
.
.
.
Her shift ends promptly at ten tonight, and her feet and head both ache. She unties her apron and hangs it on the assigned hook before carefully tucking her pen and notepad away inside. Her nametag goes in there, too, and she unpins it from the front of her uniform and slips it into a pocket. It's easier this way, so she doesn't lose it.
She stretches and yawns, waving to the cook—Elfman—as glances up from whatever he is making. He grins and waves back at her, before wishing her a good night. Cana left sometimes ago, because today her shift ends at seven, and a cheery young woman with pretty blue eyes has taken her place tonight. The diner is open twenty-four-seven, and she has never been more grateful that her normal schedule doesn't include working the seven to three shift. While there aren't many customers that come past nine, there are still a few stragglers who show up at odd times during the night, and when they do Fairy Tail is there to serve them.
