Rising Shards

“S-so,” Stella said. “What was going on with your day that had you down, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh my god,” Evy said instantly, not letting Stella worry about overstepping. “You would not believe.” She ate a handful of fries. “So the day before our rent is due, I wake up to find my roommate had somehow, in the dead of night apparently, completely packed up and bailed on me, the day before rent’s due.”

“Seriously?” Stella asked.

“Seriously!” Evy said. ”Did I say the day before rent’s due?”

”Once or twice in there, yeah.”

”Well it bears repeating!” Evy said. “I have a doctorate, I don’t need this!”

Evy smashed more fries into the ketchup and barbecue sauce. “So I have to find some way to either scrounge up the cash by tomorrow or…I don’t even know! Just take the overdraft, I guess.”

“I didn’t expect you to be the type to live with a roommate,” Stella said.

“What’d you expect? Me living in a lab or at the school?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

“Some nights it feels like it,” Evy said. “I’m behind on some correcting because of this. Plus side, I really hated my roommate so maybe an overdraft is worth it.”

“Were they that bad?”

“Listen, I’m somewhat of a garbage dump type person, right?”

“Huh? You’re awesome though!” Stella said. “You’re like the total opposite of a garbage dump. Like a kind and loyal…puppy, that’s like adorable but also incredibly smart and has a doctorate.”

“Aw, god,” Evy said. “That’s…really nice. I meant more for like cleaning and generally keeping my life together. I’m like that, and my roommate is like a trillion times worse. Like full on ‘somehow accidentally burns down a portion of the post office and blames them for it’ bad. And I have to live with that. Just piles and piles of their garbage as in like food and et cetera garbage as well as garbage choices.”

“Wow,” Stella said. “And you didn’t even get the satisfaction of kicking them out.”

Evy squinted. “Oh my god, that’s it! That’s why this feels so much more stressful! I didn’t even get to throw that dumbass out onto the street!”

”How much is it?” Stella asked. ”If you don’t mind me asking that, either?”

Evy sighed. She got out a pen from her jumpsuit and scribbled down a number on a napkin and slid it over to Stella then looked away, not wanting to see her reaction.

“Hm,” Stella said, having a sudden idea. 

No, that’d be really really stupid to even suggest, she’d get mad. Don’t you dare.

“No, wait, I know that look,” Evy said.

“Whaaat…?” Stella said. “I’m not…making a look.”

“And now I know where Zeta gets her lying abilities from.” Evy smirked.

“Ha.” Stella said. “But…you know.” 

Don’t say it. 

“I was just thinking—”

“I’m not trying to con you or anything!” Evy said. “I’m not asking you for money.”

“No, no! Listen, Evy!” Stella said. 

Fine, say it. 

“So if I get this job, I really don’t want to commute all the way from LE to Sky Clay every day.”

“Uh huh.” Evy said, putting her burger back together after it completely fell apart from her last attempt to pick it up with ketchup and barbecue sauce covered hands.

“And I don’t want to live that far from Zeta while she’s at school. So I was already looking for a place while I was thinking about the Rising Shards job,” Stella said. “And I haven’t found a place yet.”

“Huh,” Evy said. “Oh, wait. Really?

“Yeah, so,” Stella said. “I have enough saved that…if the snowstorm was bad, I was gonna stay in a hotel tonight, so. Your place would be a step up, and would be about the same price. I can pay the roommate’s half of the rent as thank you.”

Evy visibly calculated it in her head for a few moments.

“That’s amazing! Holy crap!” Evy said. “You don’t have to pay—”

“Please, let me!” Stella said. “I owe you so much already. Not just with this job, but you’re so great with Zeta, she’s always full-on fangs bared beaming when she talks about you. I don’t worry as much knowing you’re there for her. If you wouldn’t mind me crashing on your couch for the night, I’d be happy to help you with your rent.”

“That’s…really great.” Evy said, looking like a great weight had just been lifted from her shoulders, which fortunately had not yet been smeared with ketchup and barbecue sauce from her burger and fries.

Either the commercial that was playing was incredibly quiet, or the whole world around had muted in her mind as Stella kept her eyes locked on Evy’s.

“WOW THIS ULTRA TACO SURE KICKS FIRE OUT MY BUM BUM, AND THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT—” A commercial interrupted with a screaming voiceover and plenty of belch, fart, and explosion sounds, making Stella jump.

“Oh hahah. That. Really scared me.” Stella adjusted on her seat. 

”Ultra Taco’s ads are only getting weirder...” Diast said. ”If I didn’t run into you, I’d probably be there getting trash food. Getting the Deluxe Fire Bum Bum Spectacular sounds like how I’d deal with today, honestly.”

”I wouldn’t blame you,” Stella said. “So. Yeah. Even just for tonight, I’d be cool with…giving you some money. Then if I don’t get the job. I dunno.”

“You’ll get it,” Evy said. “Then if you do, you do have a place to stay here any time for that month.”

“Oh,” Stella said. “Yes, that’s true.”

“While you look for another place, you know?” Evy said.

The two laughed awkwardly, but after a few minutes they got their conversation back on track, and had a really nice dinner, only interrupted by a frantic call from Zeta where she had to be calmed down out of fear of Stella braving the blizzard on her own (”The weather site is saying it’s a snow emergency, Stella. That’s what they call it when it’s really bad. And you’re out getting food in the middle of it?!”). Stella told her she’d found a place for the night in Sky Clay and didn’t elaborate further or let Zeta know she was with Dr. Diast.

“I love this place, but I’m so full afterwards I don’t want to move,” Evy said. “But we probably should to be done with this storm for the day.”

“Yeah,” Stella said. After offering to pay for the whole meal after learning about Evy’s rent issues, she eventually debated her way to splitting the bill. She followed Evy to her car, and helped her brush the snow off of it.

“It occurs to me right now that I could just drive you home if you want to back out now.” Evy said when they got back in the car. The snow was still falling steadily, so staying out much later could lead to traversing some really dangerous road conditions.

“Nah, I don’t want to make you drive any more than you have today,” Stella said. “Plus, I wanna see your place if I’m gonna be renting with you for the month.”

“Alright,” Evy said, sounding more nervous than Stella had ever heard her.

“Unless you don’t want that?” Stella added.

“No!” Evy said. “It’s more that I extraordinarily want that. And don’t want to seem like I’m being overt about it.”

“Well, unless your place is as garbage-y as you say, I think I’ll be alright.”