Ridgefield i'll join the party for the recently blind

Rigby dragged his hands down his face, pulling at the eyebags and taking a long deep breath. Another stupid fucking day at the krispy kreme, wearing the stupid red polo and the stupid krispy kreme ballcap backwards. The rat boy didn't really care about this job, he didn't think he'd have it for so long, but somehow a week had become a month, and another, and he hadn't gotten fired yet. Even when he dipped halfway through his shift oh so mysteriously on the full moon.

It was after sunset now, close to closing and he was one of two employees on the job. He was supposed to be manning the register, but instead he jumped the counter and went to sit in one of the booths. He rested his feet on the table, all he had to do now enjoy the shitty fluorescent lighting for the next 30 minutes before he could pop this joint and go light one somewhere else.

God forbid someone come in and disturb the home stretch.

Sorry, Rigby.

Rosemarie had a late-night craving after an art show on her way back to Alder Heights. Her ankles felt swollen from standing around a gallery space for hours, and having only eaten a few crudités, she was also a little hangry.

She opened the door to the establishment and stepped inside, noticing that no one was behind the register. She approached anyway, took a look at the board behind the counter and decided on her order. Rose peered around and realized there was an employee sitting in one of the booths. She threw the young man a small smile, despite feeling exhausted and just wanting to get out of there as fast as she could. Rose wasn't rude to people in customer service jobs. Had worked enough of them in her lifetime to know how shitty they could be.

Rose could be as kind as she liked, Rigby was not.

He heard the door open, watched lazily over the top of his phone as the woman made her way inside. He watched with bored amusement as she looked confused, searching for the person behind the counter. He made a point of staying seated until she looked at him, dark sunken eyes blinking slowly as she smiled at him. He produced a mock grin in reply, then looked right back down to his phone. She could wait a few more minutes right? Not that he was doing anything important, maybe he just wanted to see a nice lady get pissed.

Rose was tired. Tired, hungry and craving a fucking donut.

As the young man replied to her existence by smiling at her then looking back at his phone, she had to bite down on her tongue to refrain from saying something outright. He was beginning to test her patience, something Rosemarie didn't have a lot of, to begin with. Still, she refused to let it get to her. On principle.

She rested one hand on the counter, placed the other on her hip and stared. Waiting. If he looked up from the device in his hands, she would offer another tight-lipped smile. Kill them with fucking kindness, right? Sure.

Oh this was good, the slow build from 'in a hurry and polite' to 'furious but reserved', Rig loved to see the different ways he could push buttons. As he opened various apps just to close them again he could feel her eyes on him, tension growing as she waited for him to finish with his nothing game.

Finally he looked up suppressing a snicker but not hiding a slight smirk. Then promptly he help up a finger, the universal, 'one second' symbol.

As he held up a finger, Rose debated whether it would be best to just leave. Then quickly realized that would be a win for this young man who clearly had no respect for other people's time.

Fine.

She'd wait.

The donut better be fucking worth it.

"No problem," She spoke aloud breaking the silence, burying her anger in lieu of being all smiles. "What are you doing?" Rose realized she could be annoying too if she wanted and what was more annoying than a middle-aged stranger asking a young person what they were looking at on their phone.

The anger behind the smiles and kind words was there but well hidden. Rigby wanted her to tell him off or something so he could snap back, but instead she asked what he was doing. Ugh, old people. She was probably going to tell him that phones rot your brain or whatever next. He looked back up slowly, narrowed brows hidden behind dirty blonde curls.

"My parents just got divorced, I'm consoling my mom." The lie was almost funny in itself, but it would be even better if she believed him.

The answer didn't quite match his earlier demeanour but teenagers (?) were weird like that. Was he even a teenager? Rose had no idea by looking at him. He looked old enough to be in one of her classes but who was to say.

"I'm sorry to hear that," She replied a bit more genuinely, a small frown on her lips.

YES! It was SUCH a stupid win but it felt like a win nonetheless. He was taking those in stride nowadays, some days you're doing great and the next you're waking up in a garbage can.

"Yeah, fucking sucks but whatever. Donuts I guess," he dropped his phone on the table and stood, marched over to the counter and planted himself on the other side. Then with a grin not at all in line with his prior moping, the rat boy twisted his krispy kreme hat back around, "Welcome to Krispy Kreme what can I get you?"

Yeah, donuts. She still felt bad for him though. Felt a little guilty too she'd been so angry moments before. Not that she let that anger bubble to the surface.

Rose watched as he approached before slipping in behind the counter. His emotion changed the moment he spun the hat around, and she had to wonder if it was merely just how he expressed himself or whether she was being messed with. Rose assumed the former, though she was left a little unsettled.

"Uh, yeah, hey." Rose peered back at the menu then looked at the guy behind the counter. "Just an assorted box of twelve donuts please." Some she'd eat tonight, the rest she'd bring to work in the morning to share with her colleagues.

The confusion and hesitation on her face was priceless, Rigby gave a lazy smile in response. Twelve donuts? "Damn, you havin a party or something?" he asked, pressing some buttons on the screen then holding out his hand to take her card, or cash, or whatever she wanted to pay with.

"Hah. Yeah. If by party, you mean spending the rest of my night at home alone with a bottle of wine and some donuts. Then yes. I'm having a party." She laughed and handed over her card. Rose had nothing to be ashamed about. She loved donuts, and she had a craving to satisfy. A night in by herself was exactly what she needed after spending hours surrounded by people at the gallery.

Uh oh, wine milf alert! Rigby smirked at her reply but didn't reply, he turned and grabbed a box from the rack and began unfolding it. This would be his last customer tonight, hopefully. He'd had his fun being a pain, all he had to do now was get her out of here.

"You got a preference?" he asked, gesturing over the wall of various donut types and flavors then letting his hand fall slack to his side.

"Hm... maybe some original glazed... some chocolate iced glazed... oh, a few powdered strawberry-filled donuts..." Rosemarie rattled off as she looked at the assortment of donuts presented before her. "Then I guess whatever else you think is good." Surely she could trust an employee of Krispy Kreme with such a request! Unless he was the type to work there for so long he hated the food.

The original glazed were undoubtedly the best, so at least she had good taste. Rigby haphazardly chunked in the donuts she asked for, then turned back to look at her when she wanted him to pick the rest. Well, fine then, if you aren't gonna be specific. He filled the rest of the box with just glazed, for obvious reasons. He closed it up and slid it across the counter, grabbing her card and swiping it through.

"There you go then, enjoy your glazed donuts," he said with a sarcastic edge and a cheapshit smile before walking around the counter and heading towards the booth again.

He filled the rest of the box with original glazed. Which was a decision that seemed on-brand for the young man. Not that she was really complaining.

Rose returned her card to her wallet and picked up the box, as she was offered a tone that made her blood boil. She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to refrain from telling off a man child as he made his way back to the booth.

Not worth it, Rose.

"Will do," Her own tone was deliberately neutral before she shot a pointed look in his direction. "Enjoy your night." If he had nothing else to say, Rose would turn and exit the shop, glad to be out of there.

The slow exhale as he walked back to his seat, Rigby couldn't help but snicker. Tonight had been another boring night, but at least he'd gotten to get on somebody's nerves.

"Will do," he parroted, and as she left he pulled out his phone once more to "console" his "divorcing mom".