Enter Roger
Walking up to the Badger’s Hovel, Roger was a little confused. The glass doors were closed, locked, and Junie’s back was pressed to the door. Stroking his beard, he watched a hipster walking off, grumbling something about not wanting to get a smoothie unless they had raspberry.
Looking through the glass over Junie’s shoulder he saw Elliott beyond. Were they about to get hot and heavy in there? He sure hoped not; a locked door didn’t make for much privacy when it’s all glass. “Ya know,” Roger said, raising his Scottish accented voice to be heard through the closed door, “I’m sure there are rules about locking a shop door during mall hours. “ He looked down at Junie: yup she still had her top on. “I’m not going to be able to get my afternoon cup, because I could really use it today.” Roger was feeling a bit backed up and this always seemed to help him.
Junie looked between Elliott and Roger and he could hear them through the door. “You know, the more people that I let stay here, the less coffee there will be to go around,” she said.
“Junie, just open the door, I told you we aren’t going to be able to stay here,” Elliot said as he moved past Junie and unlocked the door.
“Oh good,” Roger said as he stepped in the door, opening it wider: he wasn’t a very slender man. “Junie, I‘m going to need to get one of them lattes with Irish cream in it, and add an extra shot won’t you?” He’d been friends with the pair of them for a year now. When he was doing the closing shift at Deek’s Sporting Goods on Fridays he would head over to The Sheep Brew House and Restaurant for a late dinner and a beer. It was there he started running into Elliot and Junie and soon they started to sit together; it was the start of a friendship that he was still trying to feel out.
“Roger,” Elliot said trying to get his attention as he walked for the counter.
“What?” Roger said frowning as he turned back.
Elliot pointed up to the TV that hung just over the counter so that it could be seen from the tables.
The news anchors were talking with one another in confused tones while pressing their ear pieces in tighter.
“We are getting word that Maxine has been attacked and that cops are trying to get the scene under control. Currently we aren’t able to broadcast to you live, but we will try and get our feed back as soon as we can.”
“What is this about Elliot? I only get fifteen minutes for my break. Junie, can you make my coffee, and I’ll let to the two of you get back to your news?” Roger was a little confused on why they were so into the news today. Neither was exactly the current affairs type.
Junie walked to the counter and picked up her tactical mug. “I’m sorry Roger, but I just don’t think that one of our compostable cups will be adequate protection against zombie hordes.”
“They are going to want brains! Not coffee!” Elliot tossed his hands up in frustration.
He wasn’t sure where they were really going with this, but Roger knew one thing…. “Zombies you say?” He stroked his beard. “Then my friends, it’s not the coffee that we should be worried about. “
Junie looked scandalized.
“No,” Roger continued, “What we need to protect will be the beer!”