-mini story- Sunny Starscout! Pet Project! - by Colonist!

*It was the start of the summer season, and Sunny Starscout had just gotten off the bus to greet it. She had just gotten back from a multi-week humanitarian mission overseas across multiple lands and was ready to get back to her gig in the beverage industry as a smoothie maker. It was only a few blocks from the bus stop to where her old cart awaited her, and boy she couldn’t wait! She’d have to though. A conveniently-timed phone call rang from her bag. Sunny reached in to see who it was. Hitch! She hadn’t heard his voice in the busy preceding weeks, and texts didn’t quite capture the same essence.*

Hitch: Sunny! Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time. The bus schedule said that you’d be arriving right about now.
Sunny: Yeah! I’m about to head back to my cart to re-open and start business as usual. When do you think we can meet up again sometime?
Hitch: I got some administrative duties to take care of at the station for the rest of the week.
Sunny: Oh, that’s okay! I can tell you about the last humanitarian mission some other week. Anyway, I got to get to work. You know me, haha! I don’t like waiting around and -
Hitch: Yeah…about that.
Sunny: Huh? What about me?
Hitch: …
Sunny: Why did you get quiet? Hitch, what is it? Hitch, talk to me!
Hitch: Augh, why do I have to get stuck delivering bad news!?
Sunny: Bad news!?
Hitch: With…a caveat?
Sunny: *sigh* Hitch, you’re the sheriff. You’re the official when it comes to delivering bad news.
Hitch: I should have read the job description a little better than when I applied to it!
Sunny: You really want someone like Izzy to deliver bad news?
Hitch: Heh, no! I was thinking more along the lines of Pipp.
Sunny: She’d find a way to make a spectacle of it. Some kinds of drama don’t need followers, Hitch.
Hitch: Right. Yeah. So…
Sunny: Bad news? You’re about to -
Hitch: We had a gale force storm that hit a couple weeks back, and it put your old cart out of commission for a while.
Sunny: …how far out of commission?
Hitch: A tree smashed into it.
Sunny: What!?
Hitch: It’s not completely totaled! Izzy swears! She’s fixing it up - says to give her a month.
Sunny: Few weeks!? What am I supposed to do in that time?
Hitch: Remember that old cafe where you got your start before you struck out on your own?
Sunny: Oh yeah! Do they need my help? I’m surprised the seasonal workers haven’t taken all of the open positions!
Hitch: A certain someone heard about your plight and pulled a few strings to get you back in.
Sunny: Oh my goodness, who?
Hitch: Well…

*A couple hours later…*

Sunny: …unbelievable.

*Sunny was back at the old cafe. It was just as she remembered it - everything except for the management.*

Sprout: You know, you should be more thankful that I’m not an overbearing micromanager. Everything’s covered in the employee manual, and I’m sure not much has changed since you last worked here. Just do what you’ve always done, and don’t bother me. I’ll be in the back.
Sunny: Sprout. You’re manager. For real!?
Sprout: Hey, you think I like being demoted to cafe manager?
Sunny: (whispering) Better than community service and a deferred sentence…
Sprout: I heard that! I’ll have you know that once the month is over my service will be completed!
Sunny: You were picking up litter by the roadside when I was last here. How were you able to become manager of this place?
Sprout: Mom diversified her interests to include a few food industry venues, and this one happened to be among them.
Sunny: Nepotism. Of course.
Sprout: Relax. Business has been really slow as of late. Mostly cold drinks - those are easy to make. You have any ideas to drum up business? Feel free to use ‘em as you see fit. As I said, I’ll be in the back.

*Sprout walks away, leaving Sunny alone in the cafe. The lone customer stands up and walks out, truly leaving her alone. Sunny takes a quick visual inventory of the place. Everything looks to be where it was when she left. It shouldn’t be to difficult to get back into the flow of things if there’s a rush. The POS system still looked the same, and her old login initials still worked! The only thing that didn’t make sense was why business was so slow. The previous owners were a nice elderly couple. Maybe they retired and sold the place to Ms. Cloverleaf?*

Sunny: Oh, a customer! Hello, sir. What’ll it be today?
Thunder: Sunny, is that you? Hey, it’s great to see you around town! Sorry to hear about the cart.
Sunny: Thunder, likewise!
Thunder: A cookie crumble coffee smoothie for me. Small - I’m on a budget, haha.

*Sunny got to work, letting her old muscle memory kick in as she reached into the ice bin. The brief chill on her arm made her realize that it was kind of warm in the cafe. Was it? It was the start of summer, but the hot days had arrived days before.*

Thunder: Thanks.
Sunny: No problem! Coffee smoothi
es are a good choice when you want a pick-up in hot weather.
Thunder: Yeah. Say, do you notice that it’s almost as hot in here as it is out there?
Sunny: You know, I’ve noticed that too. Hey, Sprout!

*No answer. Typical. He probably even left the premises.*

Sunny: Eh, budget cuts? Kidding, the air conditioning is probably on the fritz.
Thunder: Sorry to hear. So I hear that you’ve come back from a humanitarian mission?
Sunny: Yeah. Family tradition. Just like Dad used to do. Say…you don’t mind if I make myself more comfortable?

*Sunny gestured to the buttons on her shirt. Thunder gulped a bit, but kept on his professional front.*

Thunder: Go for it! Err, would your workplace be okay with it?
Sunny: It’s been slow. You’re the only one who walked in since I got here. If anyone asks, tell them it’s a bikini-themed coffee shop day!
Thunder: Yes, ma’am!

*Sunny got to work stripping down to her underwear. At a first glance, it could pass as a bikini!*

Thunder: Wow, you look great! Wish I could join you, but I gotta keep the professional appearance up. “Royal guards are never truly off duty,” says Zoom! How do you do it, Sunny? The whole volunteering/humanitarian bit? Does it ever get exhausting?
Sunny: Sometimes, but I always moved forward with the belief that everyone has something to contribute. There’s always worth in someone, and it’s just a matter of finding it and where it can be applied.

*Thunder had finished his drink, but the smoothie did little to cool him as the building interior continued to build up heat like a sauna. He wasn’t imagining the heat, but looking at Sunny’s body made him think that he was also feeling it inside. He reflexively loosened the armor from his torso and laid it on the chair. Sunny took that as a sign, and she was beginning to feel the heat even with her bared skin.*

Thunder: I should really get going…don’t want to…
Sunny: You don’t have to leave now…if you don’t want to.

*That was enough subtle invitation for Thunder to ditch his armor.*

Thunder: You mentioned worth, huh? In this situation, where’s mine?

*Sunny gives in to her urges and pushes Thunder against the counter before dropping to her knees and fishing out his “worth.” She applied it directly to her mouth, and went to work with the motions and the sucking. Thunder groaned, and she felt herself getting off on that feedback. Sunny liked to help out others in need, and in a really raunchy sort of way she was doing just that. Gosh, what would her dad think if he could see her? How would people react if anyone walked in? Fortunately the latter didn’t happen, even after Thunder began to unload his own hot beverage in her mouth.*

Thunder: Wow, that was great!
Sunny: Y-yeah! I…suppose this will stay between us, right? Might be bad for business, hehe.
Thunder: Of course! I really should get going before we go any farther. “Half an hour is long enough for a coffee break,” says Zoom!

*Thunder barely gets all of his armor back on before he stumbles out the door. Sunny turns to get dressed when she suddenly feels the ties on her underwear come undone.*

Sprout: Great customer service! Lose the undies next time though.
Sunny: Sprout!

*Sunny reflexives covers herself, but Sprout can only shrug.*

Sprout: Saw everything on the security cam. Notice the air conditioning not working? Notice the “closed” sign since you walked in? Notice the one thousand dollars on the counter? Ah, my old deputy skills at work! The power of suggestion also helped. Why thanklessly serve dozens of drinks when you can knock it out in one go? Plus, I saved money on air conditioning! See, you blew that guy for free. The money was for the smoothie. You’ve got a month before your old cart is in working order, so I think twenty-eight satisfied customers shouldn’t be too tall of an order, right? You already got one done with, and it looks like you enjoyed it, haha!
Sunny: …jerk.

*Sunny could only frown as Sprout went about his way. Given what she just did though, she couldn’t say that she hated it. On the contrary, she felt a rising craving for the soon to be weekday daily dose of hot, salty man-made beverages that she’d be swallowing. It wasn’t just volunteering, no. This was a better way of serving those in need…and she loved it.*