Chapter Text
“What do you mean you're taking the night shifts alone!?”
Kyraan yells, much to Evelyn's displeasure. His hands planted firmly onto the nearby table he had just finished wiping, mouth agape as if he were trying to process the words she just said. Evelyn looks at him with her arms crossed, staring at him with an unimpressed expression on her face as he stared back at her from across the store front with alarmed worry.
“You know how dangerous this part of the district is, especially at night! Are you even aware of the amount of villain attacks that have been happening these past few weeks?” Putting her irritation with her employee aside, she has seen a few news reports concerning the villain sightings that keep occuring, near their part of town.
“Exactly. Which is why I'm taking it upon myself to be the sole one in charge of them. I'm the only one that can defend myself out of everyone here in the very unlikely chance someone decides to break into the café.” She calmly retorts, putting emphasis on the 'very unlikely' part.
“It's just an adjustment of schedule. I'll still be able to clock in the middle of your shift as well. So no, you don't need to worry about dealing with the 'Karens' all on your own, Kyraan. I assure you of that.”
“Oh for goodness' sake. It's not about the rude customers Evelyn! It's- it's about, you know, safety. Something could seriously happen to you!"
Evelyn, scoffs at that.
"Think about it. You're going to be here all alone in here with nobody to watch your back. Isn't that like- really dangerous? What if worse comes to worst and you get-” Kyraan sputters, getting more and more panicked.
"It's going to be fine, Kyraan. I've already done this in the past, long before you got hired anyways."
Though, she supposes that he did have a point. She only volunteered to take the night shift because nobody else out of their 5 person team including Evelyn herself, wanted to. With Evan busy with band practice, Kyraan having classes in the early morning, Aly needing time to catch up on missing homework and James wanting to take some time off, she was left with no choice but to do it herself. She may be cold, but she isn't cruel. Here in the darker parts of Yandere District, there's an unspoken rule that comes with living here. Evelyn knew the reason why he reacted so negatively to the very idea of her taking on the night shift alone, especially when the store was located in such a dangerous part of town.
You must always be prepared for whatever comes your way.
This is true for all kinds of people here. Civilian, hero, vigilante, even villains have to follow this rule. So what if the only way to protect herself is a flashlight, a black belt in martial arts and her instincts? Besides, she has too much free time, but too little things to do with it ever since she got pseudo-disowned by her father. It was a win-win situation for her and the business, since it was basically just a watch shift. She just needs to keep an eye on the café, look at the security cameras for any suspicious happenings and make sure no one breaks in and decides to be a problem for them.
There are some times when the security cameras go down, due to poor manufacturing quality or bad signal, but those usually call for the occasional patrol rounds she needs to do every once in a while. Just to make sure everything is how they should be. If something were to go terribly wrong, for example someone had broken into the store, Evelyn was confident that she'd be able to handle it without any outside help. Don't even think, she'd willingly call the authorities unless the situation calls for it. They're shady enough as it is.
Startled out of her internal monologue and sitting up straight, her attention is brought back to the present moment when she hears the sounds of footsteps getting quieter as Kyraan approaches the front counter. Having already done wiping the tables of any dirt, it seems.
“Whatever. Have it your way, Evelyn.”
Taking his apron off before folding it neatly and placing it in his backpack, he walks over to the front door of the café.
He shoots her one final glance. “Make sure you don't die while playing in-real-life, Five Nights at Freddy's for me, will you?”
"Haha, very funny."
She rolls her eyes with a smile at the video game reference -something she's been trying to learn recently, before seeing him off with a wave. Smiling as she watches him walk out the front door, she waits until he's no longer in her immediate line of sight. Once she can no longer see him Evelyn leans back into her chair, taking a deep breath before sighing. As if her old icy exterior simply melts away when she's sure no one is looking.
Running an entire café on her own isn't easy, but without any outside help other than the monthly 10K her father deposits into her bank account every month, it feels like walking up Mount Everest, both ways. Nonetheless, she had to persevere or else she would have all done this for nothing.
Besides from switching up her sleeping schedule around, it didn't change much in her everyday life. She can still tend to her errands in the early morning rather than the afternoon, while still having the energy to come in for work early that evening. But in the end, the night shifts would just be the same old unsurprising routine. Looking through cameras, doing some restocking to keep herself busy, looking over the cafe's finances and doing paperwork... The usual experience that comes with working in a café as a manager / sort-of night guard. Great! A change in pace wouldn't hurt anyways.
Taking herself out of her internal dialogue, she decides it's time to get ready for her next shift. Taking a look at her wrist watch, it's going to be 10 PM in a couple minutes soon. It'd probably be fine, right? Sure, even she has to admit being stuck in an barren coffee shop when it's pitch dark outside sounds rather unnerving. But that's only because your mind is afraid of whatever could be hiding in it. She's totally confident nothing would happen.
Totally.