Drink Testing and New Assigment

Some days passed since the incident at the park and many other incidents went through by then too with little effect on the city.

The massive metropolis with many floors kept on going with its new reactor under construction and a small but growing new internet fever.

This day too was just a common one at Miskaria, which meant that, as usual, Amy was lazing around the El Democrat pub.

She was leaning uncouthly at the counter of the decently classy and quite huge, and empty for the time being, pub while the owner got ready for the day.

“Why do they keep outshining my concerts, Boss?! I even saw some cameras last time and my streams are doing well too, but something stupid always outshines my big gigs…”

The man Amy called Boss was the dark-skinned and suave-looking pub owner that also acted as the idol's contact with her part-time job.

His day-to-day routine was part preparing the pub for the day, part making drinks and part hearing the girl's complaints, by the way.

“You know very well the reason, little lady. What you throw around when on duty is half the reason even..." The big barman said with the 'incidents' caused by the pink idol in mind. "Though I wonder if that’s the only reason considering how quirky you are and how actually good your singing is.”

"So that is all the fault of this non-important part-time job! I curse all of you who cannot see what is right then."

This 'non-important part-time job' was one of the few reasons why Miskaria was not a dystopia, but the self-proclaimed idol cared little about it.

"Don't worry, little lady, you'll get your fame at the right time. Your skills are top-notch already either way."

As he had seen all the time, Amy brightened up the moment she received some praise, answering Hazel with a smile almost right away.

“Oh. Thank you, boss! I still cannot see why would someone care more about a weird dumb machine they can do nothing about than about seeing me…”

She continued with some outrageous claims as usual too, but Hazel was already resistant to these.

Amy’s smile was quite a sight, but it lacked the punch when what she was saying could be seen as utter nonsense, and Boss wouldn’t let it go.

“Are you telling me people should care more about your abnormal pop revival than about something like a many times cheaper source of energy in a city where every single living thing partly runs on batteries? Or maybe you’re ignoring the five hundred years lab that somehow had technology that was, even if only in some aspects, more advanced than what we have now?”

“But my show…” whined her in response only to be shrugged off by a sigh.

“Sigh… Anyway, try this drink out now, ok?”

As he was saying so, Boss took one of the nearby glasses from its stand and held it from the top.

A greenish liquid left the mechanism on his prosthetic arm and filled the glass right away, which weirded out the girl who was still unused to his tools.

“Your actions are terrifically weird and possibly unhygienic, but I am the only one who thinks as such, right?”

Hazel's multi-blender arm was a state-of-art prosthetic for baristas though and many came to El Democrat only to see it in action.

"Most likely."

Amy could only glare at the drink-maker army with a mix of disgust and confusion, but that was all she could do.

This much was only the first part of her problems with the situation as she too was very used to her boss' antics.

“And what with this color?!” Continued the outraged idol. "What kind of deadly experiment are you running here?"

“You’re a lady with some unusually old-fashioned concepts, you know? And it’s not only on your clothes and musical sense.”

“I can somewhat understand what you mean, but there is very little that can be done about it for me!”

She was saying so while pushing away the shining green glass, but it was returned to its place right away.

“Each time you say something of the kind, it makes me want to ask how old you are, little lady, even if it would be pretty much unchivalrous to do so.”

“No need to ask, Boss! I am, and always will be, seventeen.” Exclaimed Amy as if it was the most certain truth in the whole world.

Her answer also came accompanied by an exaggerated pose and some uncouth moving around for miskarian standards.

Amy cared very little for the miskarian standard though and Hazel was used to it, so it was all fine.

“You would be unable to work here if that was in your ID, little lady, but let’s pretend you say the truth...” answered the unimpressed barman before pressing the earlier issue. “Now drink the drink.”

“But it looks so weird…”

“Do it and I’ll give you a nice job next.”

Though still posing around and making faces towards the shining drink, Amy raised her eyes and ears towards the bait being shown to her right away.

“What kind of 'nice'?”

“The type that lets you show your singing off to some rich people and receive for your 'side-job' at the same time.”

“You had my attention, but you now have my interest!” She exclaimed while returning to the counter.

“Then drink it!” Answered the excited Hazel, but the response was less than unsatisfactory.

Amy kept staring at the drink with a hard-to-explain expression full of suspicion, but she had to concede under the way-too-good offer.

Her bright green foe was grabbed with a newfound burning will and, in a swift motion, the drink went down the girl's mouth.

And she froze in place right away as the taste connected only to break into a frenzy right in the next instant.

“Aaaaaa! It’s burning and it’s sour… It’s burningly sour… It’s burning my soul! I saw as a no-go and should know so, my tongue is now done and to heaven I go.”

With an overly dramatic, or maybe actually called for, reaction and a dancing twirl, Amy fell to the ground with a broken glass gripped to oblivion.

There she stood motionless for many seconds until any other sound was heard.

“So… It tastes bad?” asked the still unimpressed dark-skinned man.

More silence followed the question as the only other person around was still motionless where she fell a while ago.

Even the fake-dead pink girl couldn’t stay there forever and was forced to break the silence to answer the more than stupid question Boss mad.

“Have you failed to see how I was killed by your drink? I believe drinking something actually radioactive would be less of a terrible feat! Whatever you tried to concoct on this weird blender arm of yours should be classified as chemical warfare.”

”I need a better review than that, little miss…”

The girl who was still pretending to be dead on the floor frowned at Boss’ demands but still forced her mind back to the hellish experience for a review.

“Too sour for anyone to drink. Twice as strong as it should if you plan to keep any taste alive. And I cannot say more because these two points killed every other ingredient it had.”

“I see... Seems like a good review, so I’ll pretend you never broke one of my glasses. I have no idea how you managed to do it with your bare hands, to begin with though.” Said the, for some weird reason, still unimpressed barman as he fiddled with the buttons on his register. “You should receive your briefing soon, by the way.”

A small drone appeared from its hiding spot and started to collect the pulverized polymer remains that stood around and above Amy’s hands.

Just as the clean-up was being done, the girl on the floor received the information she was waiting for and opened a bright smile.

“What an unexpected piece of information I got here...” Reacted the idol in surprise “Should I visit the cops then or have you procured an actual invite for me?”

“Your friend should call you for a visit soon since you’ve been quite showy lately. Talk it through by then… The hardware is by your account as usual.”

“No problem then. Any combat is an extra, by the way.”

"It's just a party, I would be impressed if you managed to get some combat on it..."

"Better safe than sorry."

Amy got up from the re-cleaned floor and patted her frilly dress, but a bell ring made her actions stop.

"That was very fast." She noted while looking to the closed door of the high-rise pub.

"She's a workaholic, so that's expected..."

“It is like that phrase though... Talking about the devil, right?”

“Old-fashioned, but right." Hazel commented on the old idiom as his subordinate went towards the door. "Good luck out there.”

Hazel finally changed his expression when nodding to the girl who was skipping forwards but still stopped to strike another pose and answer with the biggest smile she could muster.

“Stars do not need luck, boss!”

As if to rush them, the ringing was getting more and more impatient as they talked.

The person waiting on the other side of the door likely wanted to avoid having to play the same role as many others before.

And so, the self-proclaimed star decided to stop loitering and move on already.

“Anyway, I shall now visit my second home… See you later, boss.”

“I have no idea how to answer you anymore…”

And just like that, Amy fixed her miniature top hat, patted her dress, and rushed towards the front door.

As she opened it, the annoyed face of one of her known police officers appeared right away.

He was clearly impatient and there was already a hover shuttle parked to move them away, but it couldn't impede the idol to smile.

With her outrageous smile, just like any could expect, also came a just as outrageous question.

“Manacles or no-manacles today, officer?”