ephemeral // matty healy

stood up

Stella wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her limp wrist. Almost immediately she regretted taking her hands away from the prep station because Chef caught a glimpse of her "slacking", as he called it. "Slacking" was when you did anything except cooking at the speed he liked it. He once fired someone for sneezing during a dinner rush.

"What happens when you don't chop the broccoli for the bisque?" he asked as he slithered up to her like the wicked serpent he was.

She gulped. "Then we have no bisque." His eyes dropped to her hands for a moment.

"Yes, and what happens when we have no bisque?" Stella looked away as he leered closer. 

"We don't have customers."

"Yes, and what have you could have been doing the whole time we have been talking?" She quickly picked up her paring knife and began peeling the broccoli.

"Peeling and chopping, Chef." He mumbled and wandered to the other side of the kitchen. She hated working this job. It was by far her least favourite job, but she kept at it because it paid so much better than every other one she's had.

Eventually, her break came. She only peered at the clock for a split second at a time, because otherwise, Chef would harass her. Stella sat in the backroom, sending a quick message to Blair.

What do you want for dinner?

Instead of waiting for a reply, she scrolled through her social media but quickly grew bored.

I'm thinking I'll bring home some lasagna - the sauce smells amazing. She double texted, anticipating a response after she typed out her message.

Instead, Stella's phone received a message from a different person. Bo telling her once again that he would not be returning her copy of the book she lent him.

You know, I may have to add this to my bookshelf. By accident, of course. I'd hate to have you think I'm just stealing this magnificent piece of literature.

She smiled, leaving their conversation on the table as she went to retrieve her snack from the lockers.

You suck. She sent a tongue-out face.

Blair picked up her phone the second she got a moment free from more filming. She quickly replied to Stella.

Sounds great!

She shoved her phone back into her pocket before turning back to see Matty trying to set the scene. He was letting Ronan strap sensors to his legs, but pointing out that lights "should be brighter" and that they should be "further apart" to allow for the camera to better pick up their movements.

"How about we just do it our way first, then we can take a look and go back if we need to?" Blair interjected Matty's monologue. It's not like he knows what he's doing anyway, she thought.

Ronan stood up from his work and announced to the room: "So, make sure that you guys are doing a believable air-band set, right? Really give it your all even though you aren't actually playing."

Ross held up his hand. "I'm still not quite clear on why we aren't playing with our instruments."

"Right," Ronan began. "So, for the look, we're going for, we just need your body's shape, not your instruments. Our camera will pick up what we've marked as your joints and make a shape from there, which we can put into the computer and then make you do whatever we want."

"And after, we'll do a quick full-body scan as well, because as much as we want to test out our new AI stuff, we want the band scenes to look a bit more believable." Blair proudly placed a hand on the monitor. "We could do them separately to have a really cool effect."

They did a few different takes, but by the time they had finished, it was already dark out.

Ross moaned from the chair he was slumped in, "Are we finished?"

Ronan and Blair exchanged a look. They could probably make do with what they had gotten tonight, but Ronan wanted to make sure of it.

"Sure," said Blair, "how about we call it a night and regroup tomorrow?" She glanced at her phone and saw a missed call from Stella.

"Any plans?" Ronan asked from beside her, already starting to pack away their equipment.

"Not really. Just a night in." Her phone slipped back into her pocket as she asked him if he had any plans.

"A date, actually. At eight." He bit his lip anxiously, but couldn't help but erupt into a bright smile.

"That's so exciting!" She socked his arm.

"Yeah, we met at that really bad coffee shop down the street from work, but we kept ordering more drinks just so we could keep chatting." Ronan's eyes became dreamy and sweet.

"That's really cute," Blair glanced at her watch. "But since you love me so much, and I am so, so happy for you and your date: would you mind dropping this stuff off at work because your life is so much cooler than mine?" Ronan rolled his eyes as she offered a large box of gear.

"Only because it's on the way." She blew him a kiss as he picked up the box and gave a final wave goodbye. The room had nearly cleared out. Jamie was waiting for Blair to pack up whatever she could fit into her bag before she made her way to the door.

"Thanks," she said. "Let's follow up later next week." Jamie nodded.

Blair left the building and felt the chill of the air. The clouds of her breath plumed in front of her; she made sure to catch some in her hands for warmth.

"Hey!" a voice called behind her. Matty came jogging up the path, away from where he and George were standing. When he reached her, he stomped his cigarette out with his dark boots. "What are you doing tonight?"

His eyes gleamed when Blair revealed she wouldn't be getting up to much.

"Let's go out for drinks! George is buying!" Blair rolled her eyes.

"It's not even a weekend," she said matter-of-factly.

"And?" Matty retorted. "Boy, New York really did a number on you." He pivoted on the crushed fag on the concrete and walked back towards George, who had already gone nearly half a block without him.

Blair stood for a second and shoved her hands in her pockets. She thought about New York for a moment. She lived alone more often than not, and many of her evenings were spent either studying or working.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath. Blair took large strides toward Matty. "Wait up!"