Anomaly?

"Rue, correct?"

Rue looks at her with visual pain in her eyes.

"Yes, Selene I am. But—"

Her voice cracks, feeling something so alien about Selene. She can't quite put her finger on it.

"Are you ok? You seem...different."

Selene freezes. Her lips part, then press together tightly before she speaks.

"Different...how, exactly?"

She looks frantic, desperate to see if there is any sort of info she can learn about her previous selves. She leans in even closer to Rue, lowering her voice slightly.

"Did you know me from... before? Before today?"

Now it's Rue's turn to pause. Stunned, she responds:

"N-no! How would I kn-know you? Ha ha, that's crazy! I don't know anything about before today either!"

She scratches the back of her head, her heart pounding with multitudes of dread and sorrow for having to lie to this friend of hers. That response of Rue's seems to calm Selene down, slumping in despair. Attempting to cheer her up, she puts her hands on Selene's shoulders—being gentle enough to not apply a lot of pressure on her healing tattoos.

"Listen, it's not all that bad, right? We can figure this world out, again. Like we supposedly always do.

She gives Selene's shoulders a very light squeeze.

Now let's get to work, alright? I mean we can't just sit in the entrance to the kitchen all day."

Selene chuckles a little, and then lifts up, beginning to wash her hands once more. Her piercing eyes darted over at Rue once more.

"Hey...are you sure you don't know anything about me? I mean you clearly recognized me, and I also—"

her voice gets low to a whisper, flush covering her face like a red blanket.

"I also have quite a lot of notes about you in my house..."

Rue's face goes red, fast. As fast as skin burns on a hot pan, fast.

"Surely...surely she doesn't mean it like that! Right?"

She does her best to shake it off and answer her question.

"Yeah, I swear I don't know."

Selene sighs, finishing up cleaning her hands for a *sanitized* day of work. As she walks off to the window, Rue does the same routine. Looking around at the main entrance where there are all sorts of typical restaurant style seats, Rue notices a unique person, a person with a guitar. There really isn't much music being played now, considering no one can remember what they're playing.

"You don't see that everyday."

Strangely, he has no tattoos immediately in view.

"Maybe he hides them? Interesting."

Continuing her scan across the not entirely unique diner, she sees a few more entirely unique people. A person who looks almost like a ghost. Body pale white and wearing a very raggedy white shirt and dark blue pants, eyes shrunk in and bags that paint a picture of a person who hasn't slept properly in weeks.

Then, the last one that caught her eye—

a man in all black.

"Again?"

She stares daggers into him without even realizing it.

"What are the odds I run into this guy again? The world is small, I suppose.

Looking back at her hands, she can't help but think about what Selene said once more. Taking a moment to compose herself, she walks over to the grill, beginning monotonous work once again. Except, this time, she continuously steals glances at her friend, wondering what could have possibly been written on those notes. "How many is 'quite a lot'"? The thought makes her stomach flutter in a way that has nothing to do with hunger.

***

Smelling the same delicious fried chicken smell for the 7th time today, Rue looks over and over again at her surroundings for SOMETHING to entertain her. Eventually she sees something that is hanging off the wall, never noticing it until now. She grabs it and pulls it off, tiny holes appearing where it previously was.

She panics and tries to put it back on, but she looks at her fingers and notices how greasy they are.

"Huh..."

She brings the item closer to her, examining it. It possesses a texture similar to slimy paper, dark yellow and black from the years of grease coating it.

She flips it over, and notices fragments of words she can't quite make out, but a few she can at least see the letters of. It reads:

"HOO- ME- DEAL" for the headline it looks like. and the subtitle appears to say something along the lines of "Wor- for-".

She scans for any other bits of info, and all she can see is "1952" in the top right corner. Feeling stared at, she turns around to chef Josh looking at her.

"Rue...what is that?"

She panics, feeling as if she should hide it for some reason.

"I...I have no idea, sir."

She slams it onto the side of the grill, and looks at the patty, its edges just starting to burn. She makes quick work at it, assembling the burger in a matter of seconds and throwing the bag off to Selene who catches it pretty seamlessly.

"Well, anyway. I have a question to ask, Rue. Could you run waitress for the day? Our waitress ended up quitting on us or is sick, not exactly for sure. Either way, we have a gentleman over there who needs serving. I'll cover the grill."

She nods, saluting him like he's a drill sergeant.

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Josh looks confused, but writes it off. Making her way over to the designated booth, Rue freezes mid-step. It's him—the man in black from earlier.

"Seriously! What are the odds!"

She approaches cautiously, the menu clutched tight enough that her fingertips whiten. As she places it on the table along with some utensils, the stranger shifts slightly. His posture straightens, almost imperceptibly.

"Your menu, sir," she says, trying to sound professional.

He doesn't open it. Instead, he looks up slowly, his sharp, light green eyes locking onto hers with unnerving intensity. Something in his gaze feels ancient, as if he's observed the universe since its beginning. A faint smile curves his lips.

"Ah, the anomaly!"

His voice is softer than she heard it, but each word lands with deliberate weight.

"How nice it is to finally talk to you face to face."