A Character's World

Thomas Lence

(Monika's POV)

 The next day, I had a bad encounter with a certain someone. I was working my job like normal.  

 "Here you go," I smiled, serving a couple their order. They tipped me and I went inside to fetch another order. I delivered it... to none other than Thomas Lence.

 He grunted as I put his order on the table. "You shouldn't be working here. Only proper humans should have jobs," he said to me. 

 I held in my frustration. "Any tips, sir?" I forced out. 

 "I'd rather run over you with my car," he smiled contemptuously.

 "Maybe you should keep those thoughts to yourself instead of saying them. It might go better for you," I retorted angrily. 

 "Maybe you should keep your mouth shut, Character!" He smacked me and I stumbled back, clutching my cheek in shock and pain.

 A few of the café's patrons came over to lend me a hand. "Are you okay?" one guy asked. 

 "I'm fine," I assured him. 

 "What are you doing?! Isn't disrupting talks good enough for you?" someone else was saying. 

 "Why are you siding with her? They will take over us and we'll be the ones serving under their rule!" Lence shouted in a panic. 

 "You're crazy. I live with one and she is the nicest person I have ever met. I think you hate them for no reason," a third guy said.

 Thomas threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine! If you don't want me here, I'll leave. Screw you guys." I shook my head and went to clear his now-empty table of the food I had put down. Some of the customers offered their support as I hurried past. I said thanks to each one and continued doing my job.

 Later that day, Caleb picked me up and we headed to the library to pick up Yuri. He saw the red mark immediately. 

 "Monika, what happened? It looks like you were slapped. Hard," he asked. 

 "It's nothing. Just fell over and hit my face on a table," I lied. I didn't want him worrying about me. Not when he needed to worry about Tiki's first physiotherapy session tomorrow. 

 "Monika. I'm not driving until you tell me what happened," he insisted stubbornly. 

 I sighed. "Lence was a customer today. I served him, he made a rude comment about me and before you know it, he smacked me." Caleb remained silent, but I could tell he was furious. "Hey, it's not that big of a deal." I rested a hand on his arm. He parked outside the library and slouched in his seat. 

 "It is. What if he decided to go further than just a slap? What if he had a gun on him or something?" Caleb worried.

 "I would have figured something out. But luckily, he did not." I leaned towards my boyfriend. "I'll admit, I'm a little scared of him. But what's he really going to do? If he tries anything he will get arrested." 

 "I know, I just wish he was gone." Caleb tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

 We stared at each other, our faces inches away. I cupped his cheek. He blushed. "Are we really gonna have our first kiss here?" he said with embarrassment.

 I blushed just as hard as him. "It's been six months. I think we deserve this." I gave him a small smile to encourage him. 

 We leaned in and kissed softly. The kiss ended just as quickly as it began. 

 "That was amazing," Caleb breathed. 

 "Then why don't we do it again?" I offered with a flustered grin. We went back in for round two.

 "Hey, guys. I'm here," Yuri announced her presence. We jerked upright and coughed. 

 "Th-that's nice, Yuri," I said, my face as red as a tomato. 

 "Oh no, I didn't interrupt your first kiss, did I!? I'm so sorry!" she apologised. 

 "N-No, you're good. You interrupted our second," Caleb, ever the jokester, replied. 

 Yuri looked away and played with her hair. "I'm sorry regardless," she muttered quietly.

 "Hey, it's fine," Caleb smiled reassuringly. "Let's head home. I'm sure Robyn will have a delicious dinner ready for us." 

 And with that, we set off for home.