A young man I’d never seen before caught my eye as he sat nestled away in a corner of the bar on the far side from the entrance.

If I were forced to describe him in words other than “some guy that looks like he’s in highschool” I suppose it would have to be the term “Extra”

A background actor.

It wasn’t as if he was trying to hide his identity nor was he purposely obscuring himself, those things would all be remarkable traits. No, he was sitting there at his table quietly contemplating a glass of water and yet even as I looked at him I was looking through him.

Generic jeans, a t-shirt with some band who seemed to be gaining popularity these days with a light grey jacket draped across the back of his chair.

From where I was standing I couldn’t see his feet, however I had the sneaking suspicion that he was wearing tennis shoes of some innocuous color.

His sandy brown hair cut short combined with his average complexion and light brown eyes to give of an overall milquetoast feel.

It had only been several seconds since I had entered the room yet I had already gotten over what should have been the monumental shock of the first new customer in the three months I’d been working here.

Rather I could already feel myself subconsciously writing him off as if he were a part of the furniture.

A scuffed table or mended chair that had been rescued from the corner of some musty warehouse only to be laid to rest in another woefully underpopulated room.

I turned to Boss and Jirard.

Jirard was ever diligently living up to the ideals of bartending, he’d long since cleaned all the glasses and mugs to a level of transparency I wasn’t aware normal glass could achieve and was straightening out the portrait of what looked to be a landscape shot of the Bar’s grand opening.

Jirard and Boss were the only two there, Boss was grinning ear to ear with a beer bottle in hand while Jirard looked straight at the camera with tinges of pride in his eyes.

Come to think of it that was the first time I’d seen Jirard out from behind the counter…

Sometimes I forgot he had a lower body.

As for Boss, he was sitting back on the stool he was on before reading the newspapers again, given the way he was occasionally letting out bemused chuckles I had the feeling he was reading the funnies.

Both of them weren’t even acknowledging the kid’s presence.

Walking briskly past the shadow of a teenager that sat in the corner I made my way to the counter.

“Boss…”

I whispered.

Another chuckle. It seems he was still caught up in the newspaper.

I grabbed his arm roughly, digging my nails into his bicep.

I’m not the kind of girl that grows long talon-like fingernails, but I still have enough to scrape the flesh off of an attacker.

Although I suppose at this moment I’m just causing mild discomfort.

“Boss!” I whispered a little louder.

He finally reacted, instinctually bringing his other hand to his arm.

“Ah! What?” He hissed at me. “Why are we whispering?”

“Who’s that customer over there?” I hissed back, pointing my finger back in the direction of the high school kid from before.

“Hm? What customer?” He asked, letting his voice return to normal pitch. “I don’t see one… are you feeling okay?”

Feeling frustrated at his slow upkeep I turned to where I was pointing.

No one was there.

In fact I was forty degrees off from the corner where the kid was still sitting quietly in his corner.

“That one!” I whispered ever louder adjusting my angle of accusation until my index finger was pointing directly at the kid’s heart.

“What on-OH” he said, it sounded like he’d forgotten all about the new customer in the time between the kid coming in and me coming out from the employee break room.

“He’s still here huh?” Boss said, tilting his head toward Jirard, who’d started a second time on the glasses and mugs.

“It appears so Boss, I don’t recall bringing him any glasses of water aside from the one so it seems he’s just been sitting there all this time. I don’t even think he’s taken a drink.”

“Huh… jeez we can’t let him get away with this it’s bad for business.” Boss grumbled, going back to his newspaper.

“What business?” I hissed detaching myself from his arm and leaving small indents in the fabric where my fingernails had dug into his dress shirt.

“Well if we just let him hang around here like it’s some kind of alleyway eventually all the kids will be using this place as their own personal locker room and I’ll be damned if I’ll let that happen. One of you two needs to go over to him and let him know that he either needs to buy some booze or go home.”

‘One of you two huh’

Everyone in this room knew which one of us was going to have to do that.

“Boss…. Do we even know if he’s old enough to legally drink?”

“Iunno make an educated guess.”

“Make a guess!?” I grumbled barely suppressing the urge to string him up by his lapels.

“He is not old enough.” Jirard chimed in.

“There, see? He’s not old enough just.. Go work something out alright.”

Boss lazily waved me off as he went back to his paper.

It was then, in that very moment...as I turned to face that mysterious bland presence that had invaded my happy little work environment that a distressing realization hit me.

Sure I worked here as a barmaid but… I’ve never served a customer in my life!

Three months...and the only people who came here were Jirard’s regulars. He usually fielded them at the bar while I just idly swept or took out the trash.

He’d always make some perfect remark as they entered the bar like, “Why Frank I was expecting you about now! Last time you were here I remember you saying your kid’s band concert was coming up. I hope you didn’t miss this one.” While giving him one of those sly grins from beneath his moustache.

It was like he knew his patrons inside and out, and knew exactly what to say to get them to unravel and just start blathering on about their day.

Is that what I’m supposed to do?

I don’t even know this kid!

When I’d first started working here Boss had said something about curtsying and making a heart with my hands but I’d rather be fired than be forced into that humiliation for some thankless little shit.

Well regardless time was ticking and I’d been given a job. Don’t say I never did anything for you Boss.

I briskly crossed the bar floor in what could only be described as walkathon speed and for better or worse I was standing at his table.

Alright first things first you’re at work Mei, be friendly and be professional.

“Um, excuse me sir?” I said contorting my face into what I hoped was friendly and professional smile.

Nothing.

The brat wasn’t listening to earbuds, hell he wasn’t even reading a book. There was literally no excuse why he didn’t hear me.

“Sir? Dear Customer?”

Nothing. He just sat there staring off into space at his cup of water.

Well… this wasn’t how I pictured this going. Panicking a little on the inside I turned to Boss seeking guidance.

Just like before he was engrossed in his paper….wait. No he was keeping an eye on me with his peripherals! It was hard to see because of his ritzy sunglasses. I could, however, see the message he was sending me clear as day:

“I have trained you for this very day, you’re on your own kid.”

Fuck you too Boss.

Abandoning the proprietor of this joint I set my sights on the person who actually ran it.

Jirard’s eyes met mine and he mimed a gesture at me.

Taking a deep breath I followed his advice and lightly put my hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Excuse me Sir, are you alright?”

The kid jumped, spilling a little bit of his water on the table. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jirard nod reassuringly at me.

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“Wh-what?”

His voice was soft and hoarse like he wasn’t used to speaking.

“Are you alright Sir?” I repeated myself.

“Oh, Y-yeah I’m fine.” Even after I’d taken my hand off his shoulder he still seemed visibly uncomfortable with my presence. Almost like he’d been engrossed in some kind of TV drama and I’d walked in front of the screen right when it was getting good.

I glanced at Jirard for help.

He motioned for me to keep it up and forge my way forward.

I swear this bar would’ve burned to the ground by now without this guy.

“You realize this is a bar? We don’t really serve minors and I’m afraid that you must be a patron if you’re going to be spending an extended amount of time here.”

Out of the corner of my eye I caught Jirard sneak me a thumbs up.

“Oh, I’m sorry for being a burden. I missed my bus and it’s going to be another hour till the next one comes.”

As a fellow intercity transit rider myself I mentally checked his response. Next bus should be the last one headed back to the transit center before heading off to the bus barn for a good night’s rest.

“Are you sure there isn’t anywhere else you can wait? It hasn’t gotten that chilly outside just yet.”

Not to mention this place didn’t have air conditioning so he was out of luck if he was hoping for some place cool. In fact I’m pretty sure that’s why we’re only open at night.

“Ah, it’s just getting dark and I wanted to be somewhere safe and properly lit.”

I sighed, I almost wish he’d been a troublesome customer so I would’ve been justified in throwing him out on his ass. Well in the end I guess this is better.

“So that’ what he says Boss, I’m leaving the decision in your hands.” I’d summarized the bite sized bits of conversation the kid had managed, now it was up to how Boss was feeling at this moment.

Folding the newspaper in half Boss leaned back on his stool and looked our mysterious guest up and down.

“You really missed your bus huh?”

“Yeah…”

“You ever taken a look at your surroundings kid? This place’s probably the seediest part of this entire town. Don’t see why you’d feel safer here.”

Jirard gave a small indignant cough.

Poor guy.

“I’m just...not comfortable waiting outside alone.”

Boss listened, closed his eyes and nodded to himself.

“Alright kiddo listen to me.”

Here it was, the moment of truth.

“I normally don’t let anything freeload off me except cats, but I can work out a deal. Finish off that glass of water, order another one, and I’ll think of you as a paying customer for tonight.”

“Really?” The kid seemed a touch taken aback.

Well I couldn’t blame him, Boss was as capricious as the strays he’s always feeding near the train station. He was an annoyingly nosey guy who looked sketchier than a fifth ace in a deck of cards.

But even so, there were parts of him that weren’t so bad.

“Sure, you keep up your end of the bargain and I’ll keep up mine. Just don’t let it happen again alright?”

The kid gave a small nod before returning to his table and downing the entire glass in one gulp. If there had been any ice left at all I think he probably would’ve swallowed them whole along with it.

By the time I had turned to Jirard he had another glass of ice water waiting for me.

“Try not to let all the ice melt this time.” I said attempting some form of small talk.

“S-sorry.” The kid said, eyeing the spilled water on the table before sipping at his new glass.

Jirard snuck me another thumbs up while boss was suppressing a laugh, most likely at my expense.

Returning to the bar I elbowed Boss in the ribs.

“Calling this place the seediest spot in town huh? If you’re not careful you’ll make Jirard mad.”

Boss gave a noncommittal shrug.

“Hey when we opened this place I wanted to spring for all new furniture and lighting. Really spruce this place up and bring it into the modern era y’know?”

“Yeah, so what happened?”

“Jirard happened.” Boss sighed “Told me none of the new stuff had any soul to it. Next day I came here to find he’d bought all this with his own money.” Boss said making a sweeping gesture at all the furniture in the room.

“Really?” Jirard never seemed like that much of an assertive guy. I guess everyone has something they’re not willing to budge on.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jirard nodding resolutely.

“I mean this place is something we decided on together.” Boss continued. “I figured it didn’t really matter to me so why not?”

And so with a few last chuckles from Boss the night went on. The kid took his leave about an hour after arriving and the rest of the night was quiet.

“I wonder what that was all about?” I asked absentmindedly as I wrapped up my shift. Speaking of weird things…

“Hey Jirard how’d you know how old he was?”

“Ha! Good ol Jirard has his ways, there’s nothing you can keep from that crafty old man.” Boss called back from the employee break room.

“Indeed. If by ‘ways’ you mean I asked him for his ID then yes, I do have my ‘ways”

“Huh.”

I’d never considered something so mundane. I guess I still had a lot to learn from that paragon of barkeepers.

“Did you catch a name?” I continued, making my way to the entrance and stopping.

“Tiran Ulrich. Goes to a high school a few blocks down the road.”

“I see.”

And just like that my day petered out to an end. Nothing more out of the ordinary, I made my way back home and went to bed.

And then under a new setting sun my next shift began.

I entered The Devil’s Solace to the sound of Boss talking in an out of character annoyed tone.

“Kid, I thought I told you last night was a one time thing.”

Kid? I’d walked past Tiran when I’d come in without even realizing it.

“I missed my bus.”

Came his soft reply.

“Again? Come on you can’t take advantage of my goodwill then come back for more like this. Look you’re not allowed to be here alright?”

“What if I was a paying customer?” Came Tiran’s small measured response.

“Hah?” Boss almost spat out the unlit cigarette he had in his mouth. “Look kid I’m not selling you any alcohol. Come back when you’re older alright?”

“Excuse me bartender?” Tiran called out as he crossed the room until he came to where Jirard was standing.

“Yes? How may I help you?” As expected of Jirard even during these moments he was still as cool as ever.

“I’d like to order one orange juice please?”

“Oh ho.” Jirard gave a good natured smile as he addressed Tiran. “Would you mind listening to my suggestion?”

“I’m not leaving.” The kid didn’t even ask what it was, jeez.

“No no, if you’re a customer then I’m willing to serve.” This came to an immediate “Hey!” from Boss.

“See, while it is true we keep orange juice on hand we usually use it as an ingredient for a certain drink. As such the price for just the orange juice is a little expensive.”

Boss replied with a “Of course! What do you think this place is, a juice bar?” He was sulking on his favorite stool with today’s paper already in hand.

He and I both knew there was no budging Jirard when he decided these things.

“It might be a little easier on your budget if you would order a glass of milk. We keep it around for when someone orders coffee but it tends to go sour before we can use it all.”

“Oh? Sure then I’ll go with that thank you!” Came Tiran’s response, a relieved expression settling on his face.

Jirard nodded in affirmation before heading to the refrigerator to the side of the bar.

And so this night passed much like the previous.

Tiran got his glass of milk and sat nestled in the corner of the bar taking occasional sips and staring into space.

He didn’t seem like a bad kid, just a little… out there.

He left around the same time he did the previous night and once again my shift ended without any more surprises.

This went on for a few more nights, he’d arrive earlier and earlier each time until finally he apparently even beat Boss in.

When I arrived on the fifth night since our new customer had decided to make this place his regular bar I was greeted to boss hunched over reading his paper and sulking.

Even Jirard seemed a little bit troubled by the frequency of visits from our new guest. Like a man who lived in an apartment where pets weren’t allowed wondering what he was going to do with the stray cat that’d just followed him home.

I sighed again as I dropped my stuff off in the employee break room.

Enough was enough.

I couldn’t stand to see Boss like this for five days straight. Even more so if the kid was troubling Jirard.

Walking out into the main room I made my way to Tiran’s table. He was in one of his long staring contests with the wall when I reached him.

With that I raised my hand high in the air and slammed it down on the table. Boss’ head shot up from where he had been hunched over and Jirard eyed me nervously.

And Tiran, well he practically fell out of his seat with fright.

“I-is there something wrong?” He asked, still shaken from being startled out of his daze.

“Alright kid, you and I are going to have a talk.” I said firmly, sitting myself across the table to where he was forced to make eye contact with me.

“W-what do you want?” He asked trying to read my intentions as I stared him down.

“Tiran, why are you here?”

“Excuse me?”

“You missed the bus six times in these past six days.” I refused to budge to his shy docile mannerisms.

“W-well I just get so busy that I get caught up in what I’m doing and miss it. It’s just an accident.”

“Kid you’re spitting on the scientific method there.”

“What?” came his bewildered response.

“The first two times are a coincidence the third and beyond are an absolute. The sun sets and Tiran misses his bus. Not only that but you’ve been coming here earlier and earlier. I know for a fact you didn’t miss any bus today.”

Instead of responding he cast his eyes down as if he were looking for something to pull himself out of this situation.

“Tell me, why do you come here?”

“I-I like it here. No one notices this place, no one comes in here. I can just sit in this place and disappear from the world.”

As much as I was trying to come down hard on this kid that last part made the back of my neck prickle.

“That’s no excuse, if you want to not be out in the world then just go home.”

“I can’t!” He was beginning to get frustrated with me to the point where he was raising his voice.

“My parents worry about me. They think I’m strange they constantly check on me, I can’t be there. I just want to be somewhere where I can think.”

I refused to give him any sort of emotion to latch onto in my voice. This was for his own good.

“Your parents are probably worried about you. Just talk to them about whatever is going on in that head of yours.”

“I can’t, they don’t listen.”

“Have you tried?”

“No, but I know! I know exactly what they’ll say. Exactly what’ll happen.”

“Kid… you don’t know until you try. People are complex things, they aren’t that easily predicted.”

“No, just listen…”

He said, frustration clearly showing on his face. The tension had begun to hang low in the air, like a damp cloth pressing down on the small of my back.

“I’ll tell you this, because I can’t afford to lose this place. I’ll tell you this, because I think out of everyone in this town you three are the only ones I can see believing me.”

I wanted to interrupt him, to cut in and tell him to drop the bullshit. But he was shaking. His whole body was wracked with shaking and when I met his eyes all I could see was naked fear.

The kind of fear someone has when they know they’ve done something seriously wrong. When they know they will be judged for what they’ve done. The kind of fear you get when you’re confessing that crime to someone you desperately don’t want to lose.

Even if those feelings weren’t directed at me in particular. Without a doubt they were directed at this little patch of solace he’d finally found.

And so I leaned back and waited.

The seconds passed like hours.

Tiran tried to take a sip of his milk but he was shaking so much it just ended up spilling everywhere and in the end he had to give up on it.

All of our eyes were on him, Boss’, Jirard’s, and mine as we quietly waited for him to find the courage to say something.

And then after what felt like hours he took a shaky deep breath, looked me straight in the eyes and said it.

“You may not believe me, in fact I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t… But… but I’ll say it anyways.”

He took another deep breath, his body steadying and his eyes locking with mine.

“I can see into the future.”