PATCHWORK SOUL

Everything Is Normal? Chapter 3

On the other side of town, nestled amongst an inn and a small park, sat a red brick building, new, with an old sign on the front that asserted it was called Grillby's. It was one relic of the underground that most were happy to see stick around.

When Sans walked through the door, he was met with the faces and greetings of regulars: dogs playing cards, a horse-man hugging the wall near a juke box; monsters lazily resting in booths and near the front counter. There were new faces, too. Human ones, people who were getting increasingly comfortable with a fire elemental running the best place in town. It was nice to see, in the warm, familiar bar, that everyone was getting along as they got out of the cold.

Sans held the front way open for Frisk and she hopped inside, sniffing deeply.

"Oh man, my boogers!" she whined.

"What?" Sans asked.

"My boogers are frozen!" She wiped her nose.

Sans started laughing. "Oh my god, what even...?" He grinned. "Dude, that's hilarious."

They went up to their usual spot and hopped up on bar stools. Frisk was still sniffling.

"Hey, Grillby," he said. "Doin' well?"

The man made of fire behind the counter made a slight downward movement with his head and then placed the glass he was drying onto the counter. He passed Frisk a napkin.

"Thanks," Frisk said.

She blew her nose and Sans snickered. Grillby looked at him over his glasses.

"Just picking up," he said. "Hey. Question. Suggestion? Whatever. What about lasagna?"

"Hmm..." Grillby replied.

Sans shrugged. "Welp. Better than no. Mac and cheese?"

Grillby frowned slightly.

"Dude, I know I can get it at home, that's not the point." Sans laughed. "Okay. No problem."

"Can we get... milkshakes?" Frisk said.

Grillby held up one finger.

"No rush," Sans assured him. "Four milkshakes."

Frisk grinned. Grillby moved off to get their order, which he had to wear silver cooling-mitts to prepare.

Frisk finally pushed her hood back and rubbed her ears.

"Hey, kiddo," Sans said. "Were the winters like this where you were from?"

She shook her head. "Cold, but not like this. But if this gets us more snow days, I'm totally okay with it!"

He chuckled, but then immediately tensed up as a phone started to ring. "Uh... Is that me, or you?"

"Think it's you?" she said.

"Crap." He shuffled in his pocket until he found the phone, and then looked at the front screen. He immediately looked tired.

Frisk leaned over to look. "The university guy again?" she asked

"Looks like it," he said.

"Aren't you gonna get it?"

He sighed, then flicked his thumb across the screen and put the phone up to his head. "Sup? Yeah, I know. I'm just getting food with my kid— Yeah, my kid sister... Right now? It's a Friday, I don't work on... Oh. Your lab, huh?" He slumped onto the counter and rested his cheek on his fist. "Which one? ESR? ...Oh, dude, no, you need Helmholtz coils, not... Never mind. Look, text me your questions, I'll get back to you. Later. No, seriously. Go home. Yeah, get out of the lab. No, I won't mark it late, okay? It's a frickin' blizzard. Yup. Don't get stuck in the snow, dude." He hung up and rubbed his skull.