Atlas Arising by Liam Scott

Author:Liam Scott [Scott, Liam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-27T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six: The Constellation Cafe

T he Constellation Cafe was tiny, something almost akin to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant back on Earth. The whole aesthetic reminded Atlas of the photos his mother kept of old, 1950’s style diners, complete with cracked, red leather booths against one wall and smudged, checkered tiles lining the floors. The counter wrapped around one wall, and the stools there were filled with customers bent over their plates, enjoying the atmosphere. Atlas immediately liked the place. After he had gone back to his quarters and briefed Axel on where he was headed, Atlas had taken a quick shower, changed clothes, and hurried through the halls to the cafe.

A waitress in a yellow dress and stained apron raised an eyebrow at him in question and he mouthed coffee. She nodded and winked. Atlas squeezed around the small, packed tables closest to the door and moved by the counter, apologizing as he elbowed the other patrons in their various body parts in the cramped space. There was one window that looked out, in dull contrast to the lively diner, onto the bleak landscape. There Helene sat in the booth, curled around a steaming cup of synthetic coffee. She had a big, warm jacket wrapped around her shoulders and her pale hair was tucked beneath the collar.

“Mind if I sit?”

Helene looked up, unfocused. For a moment, it seemed she didn’t recognize him and then she smiled, soft and careful, nodding at the seat across from her, “it’s all yours.”

Atlas slid in beside her instead, reaching over to grab a menu. Helene snorted, looking unsurprised.

“You have a problem with following orders, huh?”

“Understatement,” Atlas replied, smirking into the menu. “But so do you.”

“That was different,” Helene insisted. She breathed in the smell of her coffee and closed her eyes briefly. “Being back there, it was like I was a child again and I was standing there, helpless, watching them die.”

The waitress clanked an empty cup down in front of Atlas and brought a hot carafe up, pouring steaming liquid into the ceramic cup. “Any cream? Sugar?”

“Two creams, eight sugars. Thanks,” Atlas replied. The waitress left and he realized Helene was staring at him, baffled and maybe a little disgusted, all traces of melancholy gone from her face. He raised his eyebrows at her. She pointed to his coffee cup.

“Eight sugars? Are you five?”

“At heart, maybe,” Atlas said, giving her a lopsided grin. He ran a hand through his dark hair, standing it on end. The din of noise from the diner was almost comforting; chattering people, clinking plates and the sizzle of cooking food as it was plopped down on the long grill. Atlas let it wash over him for a moment. Helene was warm beside him, staring out of the window. Her thoughts had carried outside of the Colony, he knew, out in the desert and down into the canyons. He bumped her shoulder lightly, bringing her attention back to him. She blinked at him and he had the bizarre urge to lean in.

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