The Mouse Who Didn't Like Musicals

Chapter 2: The Latte Hatte

Almost halfway across Burbank was Beanies, an independently-owned and mouse-staffed coffee house. Pinky worked there in an effort to make friends, and on account of his sister, Sis, LOVING coffee. It was just a rather busy day, Pinky was trying his best to serve everyone, Sis was working the cash register; Billie and Julia were absent, but were probably in the back doing nothing.
"Hello!" Pinky greeted a disgruntled businessman who had just walked in.
"Yeah, I wanna Grande Mega Mundo Latte Extravaganza with 8 shots of Super Drip Caramel Drizzle, but hold the Drizzle, the Super, and sprinkle the whole thing with Chocolate-y Coffee Bean Powder. You got all that?" The man said, barely looking up from his cell phone.
Pinky frantically wrote down the order, and ran back to attempt to make this man's coffee.

     In the meantime, the man noticed that the tip jar was labeled, "tip for a song." Very obviously, the man dropped a dollar into the jar. Pinky turned back, massive coffee cup in hand. "Hey. I just tipped you." He said. 
"Oh, thank you!" Pinky responded, dropping the cup onto the counter.
"The jar says, tip for a song." He said matter-of-factly.
"NARF! Yeah, our boss went to Cold Stone Creamery over the weekend and brought back the whole, tipping for a song thing! Thank you, but I'm really busy, and there's a line behind you, and I don't want to disturb everyone sooooooo..." Pinky said, trying to be civil.
"Come on. I tipped you."
"Well, did you tip to tip, or did you tip to be mean?" Pinky said, beginning to feel frustrated, starting to push the coffee towards the man in hopes that he'll leave.
"Well fine, I'll take it back! That sign is a load of CRAP!" The man stormed out, taking the coffee in a huff.
"Oh no! My dollar! TROZ! The dollar I have to split between 3 other mice!" Pinky huffed, and went back to the counter. "The NERVE of some people!"

     "Pinky, what is happening out here?" Julia stormed out of the breakroom.
"That mean man just got all angry for no real reason!" He tried to reason.
"He wouldn't sing for him!" Called Colin.
"And I still haven't gotten my hot chocolate!"
"Oh, Poit! Sorry, I'll whip it right up for you!" Pinky said, now quite embarrassed.
"Randy Beamen once had a friend that had low blood sugar, and he didn't get his sugar up, and his stomach caved in on itself." Colin said, like some sort of cryptic warning.
"I'm sorry, we'll get you a gift certificate." Julia said sweetly, then turned to Pinky.
"Come on! I've told you twice already about this!" She scolded.
"But Julia, I can't just let people be mean to each other all the time! I couldn't sing for him if he was being rude, it wouldn't be right!  Maybe Billie can let it slide, but I can't!" He tried to defend himself, as Billie sauntered out of the back room.
"I think you're just being a wuss about it."

     "Billie, why aren't you working?" Pinky asked her.
"Oh, I'm on vocal rest." Billie claimed, quietly.
"Huh?"
"I'm on vocal re-" She said loudly, then stopped herself.
"Gah! Now I have to go stick my head in the humidifier!"
She groaned, and sulked back into the breakroom.
"Now, come on, can't Billie work the counter? Poit? I don't like it when everyone is rude!"
"Well, Pinky then you shouldn't have gotten a job here." Julia huffed.
"Just, don't bother showing up for your next shift!" She rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Wait, hold on!" Pinky said, running after her. "I'll do it! NARF! I'll deal with it!"
Julia stuck her head out from behind the door frame.
"Yeah, you'll deal. Now move your tail, there's a line!"
She then disappeared.

     Calming down, Pinky made the walk all the way back to the cash register, where someone was waiting. He looked to be a mouse, like Pinky. With white fur, and wearing the sharpest little suit Pinky had ever seen! He had never seen a mouse so smartly dressed!  Although Pinky had to note that he had a very large head, and in Pinky's mind he assumed that meant the mouse was very smart. He did seem to recognize him, yes, now remembered. This mouse was a regular customer, he was just now wearing a fancy suit, and Pinky didn't recognize him.
"Can I help you?" Pinky asked.
"This one is simple, just a black coffee." The mouse responded, in his familiar intellectual tone.
Pinky nodded cheerfully, walking behind the counter to get started on the coffee. While alone, Brain glanced at the tip jar, pulling a bill that was uncomfortably folded in his suit pocket. He stood on his tiptoes, dropping the bill into the tip jar. Pinky saw this, dropping his spoon and running to the jar.
"Oh, let me," He then began singing,
"I'VE BEEN BREWING UP YOUR COOOFFEEE!! ALL THE-"
"NO!" The mouse yelled.
"Please, do not sing. I just tipped because...because it's decent."

     "Oh, well thank you, ZORT!"
"Zort? What is that, what does it mean?"
"Well it means Troz! Or maybe Poit. No, no I think that might mean Narf!" Pinky laughed, picking the spoon up again, and finishing the customer's coffee.
"You know, I see you here almost every day, but I don't know your name."
He handed the mouse his coffee, in a cute mouse-sized cup.
"I am The Brain, I work at the studio not far from here." Brain properly introduced himself, with his air of supposed superiority.
"Oooohh, an actor!"
"Only part time. I spend most of my time on...personal projects."
"Like what?"
"It's personal."
"Oh, spooky man of secrets!" Pinky laughed, he liked talking to Brain.
Then Julia walked by again, he stiffened.
"Poit, Julia is starting to get on my nerves." He said, once she had vanished again.
"She's nice! But she just-NARF!! You know?"
"No, I don't." Brain said stiffly.

     "Oh well. She hired Billie because they recognized each other, something about dating the same mouse once. Well, they did some musical a few months back and they're still talking about it! It makes me feel left out!" He huffed, feeling comfortable enough with Brain to vent out some of these pent up feelings. Brain scoffed.
"Was it the community production of Beauty and the Beast? My co-workers forced me to see that one."
"I think it was!"
"I despised it. 'Twas a beast itself, if you understand my meaning." Brain chuckled at his own wordplay.
While Pinky didn't understand a word of it, he laughed too.
"Yeah! Zort!" Pinky giggled. "Who could ever learn to love that!"
There was a quick pause in the conversation.
"I don't like musicals." Brain said with a shrug. "Watching people sing and dance like idiots, it feels degrading, it makes me uncomfortable."
"Well, why'd you walk all the way here, to the singing coffee shop!" Pinky inquired.
"There's a big fancy Starbucks right across from your studio place!"
"I refuse to give to the bloated corporate overlords, I have my own plans. Besides... some things are worth it." He explained, possibly letting his mouth outrun his mind.

     Brain put the coffee down, looking at Pinky. His simple but sweet gaze was somehow intimidating.
"Like how good this coffee is." He finished, quick and bluntly.
'Good recovery,' he told himself.
"How nice! I'm so happy to finally know the mouse behind all the black coffee. By the way, I'm Pinky!" He grinned, then pointed to the nametag pinned to his tiny green apron.
"Ah, so that's what that name is SUPPOSED to be." Brain pointed out the obviously upside-down name tag Pinky wore. 
"Poit? My name? Yes that's-"
He looked down at his nametag again, seeing from his perspective it was perfectly fine. Brain reached over the counter, pulling off the tag, turning it the right way, and pinning it back to Pinky's apron.
"Ah, much better then! TROZ!"
"Excuse me!" A voice interrupted.
The mice turned to see once again, Colin waiting at the counter. "I have been waiting for a very long time!" Pinky gasped.
"Oh I am so sorry! Let me get that for you!" He rushed off to pick up a cup that was twice his own size, and struggled it over to the Hot Chocolate machine. Seeing as Pinky was occupied, Brain thought it was best to leave. Pinky, of course, noticed this.
"Bye, Brain!" He called out, still smiling his buck-toothed smile.

     Brain waved back quickly, and left the coffee shop.
"Pinky..." He said to himself, holding the now practically cold coffee.
He thought the barista was kind, if not annoying. Strange, but with an air of positivity that just somehow captivated him, even if Brain worked hard to hide it. Maybe tomorrow he'd go back and-
"Drat. I forgot Button's coffee... he's a dog, he'll manage."