Chapter 2, Part 1: Questionable Choices

"She's not coming..."
"Just be patient. Quietly."
"Ugh, I'm hungry! I could eat a hippo, I'm so nervous!"
"Glass... so much glass..."

For what seemed like hours each one of the four interviewees fidgeted in their seats. Honeydew's feet scuffed the ground nervously, Hyacinth paced about as if the room was going to explode, and Lichen had taken upon himself the task of trying to annoy Paprique to his popping point. Unfortunately, Paprique was finding it more and more difficult to ignore him.

"Why'd she ask you here, anyways?" Lichen began again after several minutes of wonderful silence. "Aren't you supposed to be some sort of best-selling author?"

"Not. Anymore." Paprique growled under his breath.

"Oh, d'you lose your publisher? Bummer, man. Guess it was only a matter of time 'til they saw through everything and bailed on you, though."

"..."

"Uuuggh, Lichen, could you please shut up?" Honeydew's shrill tone cut between them, briefly taking her gaze away from the hall to Molasses's office. "She's gonna be here any second!"

Lichen smirked and rolled his eyes. "Unlikely. She's just got us here like some sort of experiment... like with rats. Stick 'em in a cage, see how long it takes to turn them against each other--"

"Which you seem to be instigating quite nicely, from what I can see." Molasses's alto snapped everyone back to reality--even Hyacinth, who had taken quite the interest in a smudge on the window.

"Thank you--all of you--for sticking around," Molasses continued, entering the room with a smooth swagger and a broad, feline smile on her lips.

"Don't mention it," Lichen grumbled under his breath.

"I have to say, I was a little worried some of you wouldn't come at all. I know it's a bit... unexpected. Usually it's the unemployed asking for an interview--not the other way around."

"However," she continued, choosing her words carefully to try and mask her jarring Cocoabean accent. "In the endeavor of saving time, I decided I would come find you, rather than wait for you to come to me. But I needed to talk to all of you, first, to see each of you for myself and decide which you had what I was looking for... and, well, as far as I can tell--you do."

"...Who?"

"All of you. I want all of you to come work for me, if you'll accept my offer."

"Oh, that is such a relief!" Honeydew exclaimed, clutching her hand to her heart dramatically. "I was so worried you were going to send me home! My parents are going to be so thrilled."

"My brain... tingles."

"So... wait." Everyone paused for a moment, turning to look at Lichen with a very unanimous 'what now' roll of their eyes. "You want me to work with schizo, hairspray, and tin man?!"

"I suppose that would be the case, Mr. Moss."

"No. Just--NO." Lichen stood from his chair with such force that the pressure from his hands sent the table skidding a few inches away. "Look, I can handle the crazy and I can deal with the brat--"

"Hey, I'm not the one acting like a brat, here,"  Honeydew said in a sing-song voice.

"--but him?! You have got to be kidding me."

Molasses's voice was calm when she responded, though one of her brows lifted in surprise. "Do you have a problem with Mr. Le Pepper, Lichen?"

"A problem? Of course I have a problem! All of Sugar Valley has a problem! It's only a matter of time 'til people figure out you hired him and no one wants to come in here, ya know."

Behind him, Hyacinth tilted her head and let a little bemused, "Why?"

"Because--this man is a murderer."

Everyone around him let out a small gasp--except for Paprique. His face, as always, remained absolutely unchanged, except the direction of his gaze: firmly fixated right back at Lichen. "Now, Lichen, you know that's just a--" Molly began, but she was quickly cut off.

"No. I won't hear it. I'm outta here."

Not ten steps away from the table, though, Molasses began to laugh; Lichen's pace slowed, just enough for him to turn and give her a disgruntled, "What?"

"Of all of you, I thought you would be the least squeamish of something like that. Clearly, you're only jealous of him being the Bubble Buzz scandal, rather than you. Now, would an income of, say, $30 an hour, make it all worth your while?"

Pause. "You're kidding me."

"No, Mr. Moss. Now, please--come back and sit down."

After Lichen had returned to his seat--and uttered a soft 'Sorry, mate' in Paprique's direction--Molasses took a long, deep breath. She would need it.

It was finally time to explain to them why they were here.

"$30 an hour... Hefty starting pay for just a coffee shop, I know. But, by now, all of you should have figured out--this isn't just a coffee shop. This is a business, one that will offer people more than just lattes and mochas. I'm sure some of you can guess what that may be, but in the interest of saving my pretty little hide--I can't show you. Yet."

A few confused expressions looked back up at her, so she continued. "But, you see, I chose you all because I know I can trust you to keep your lips sealed. Not today, perhaps, but soon. And I know this--" She took a long look at each of them. "Because I know you all are very good at keeping secrets."

A snort of laughter broke out from--who else--Lichen. "Oh? And why do you presume that?"

"It's no presumption, Lichen. Each of you," Molly began, pointing a finger slowly in every one of their directions. "Are already harboring a secret. One that, for fear of what may happen to you--your reputation--your families--has never been known by another soul: except, recently... by me."

Paprique's expression changed for the first time that evening. "That's... that's impossible," he said in disbelief.

"You--you can't! You can't know that! NO one can know that!!" Honeydew pleaded.

"Huh," Lichen murmured with a smirk. "How do we know you aren't just bluffing, though?"

Molly responded with a smile. "Where were you three nights ago, about 2AM?"

"I was--" Lichen froze. "Oh ho, touche... She's legit." A wry smile lit up his face. "Cool."

"This is... problematic," Hyacinth finally said after everyone had begun to grow quiet, now turning towards her for her reaction. She had been rather quiet and distracted the entire time--but now, when even she was able to realize the horror of the situation, the anxiety in Honeydew doubled.

"This--this can't be happening. I would get in so much... and my family... no one would ever..." Honeydew looked as if she was on the brink of tears. "How could you do this to me?"

"Please, Honeydew, let me fini--"

But Honeydew was already out of her seat, her face buried into her hands. "What am I gonna do?! I suppose I could run away... No one would ever find me in Greenbeanland..."

"Oh come on," Lichen said, laughing. "What'd you do, run over your neighbor's cat?"

"Jus... Jus leab me alone, Lichen! I hate you!"

"Dew. Listen to me." Molasses approached Honeydew slowly, clearly . "You have no reason to worry. I looked for these things in all of you as a reason to trust you, not to try and expose you. What happened in your past really does not concern me. Do you understand?"

Even though Honeydew didn't seem all that happy about it, she slowly nodded her head.

"I know what I know because I violated your privacy, yes--but well... I'm not sorry, because what I learned about each of you is very important to my ability to understand you--and in some cases, respect you. I know you won't believe me, right now, but I would never reveal to anyone what I learned. If you doubt me, just try and think of a reason why I could possibly want to. There isn't one."

"And that--" Molly continued as she walked back to her original position. "--goes for all of you. You have every right to be angry at me. I don't blame you if you are. But... you aren't the only one with things to hide.  In a way, we're all the same--just lookin' to get by every day without having to worry. If you work for me? You never have to. Not only will I keep your secrets hidden, I'll help ensure they stay that way."

"And we should trust you?"

"That's up to you. If you want, you can walk out of that door and never come back, no strings attached. But... If I know anything about all of you from what I've learned, it's that you all want a job like this, where you get to play on the edge of how every berry in this town expects you to live. You walk away now, and you may never get an opportunity like this again."

Lichen was the first to speak. "Well, I'm bored as all #@&! with school, and I'm crazy curious how you managed to find all this stuff out. You can count me in. For now."

"I'm not sure how I feel about all of this, but I'm afraid this may be my only option for a while." Paprique sighed, and then slowly began to nod. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Ms. Macchiato."

"I like edges," Hyacinth mumbled quietly. "I'll... stay."

"Honeydew?"

"Well--" Honeydew froze; she'd still been pacing about the cafe with a worried look on her face, but hearing all three of her counterparts say 'yes' was at least partly encouraging. She wasn't alone. "I never did like being the odd one out. I'll do it."

"Wonderful," Molasses said quickly, as if expecting them to suddenly change their minds. "I promise you--you won't regret it. Bubble Buzz is going to be nothing like anyone in Sugar Valley has ever seen. I won't lie and say your jobs will be easy, once this place gets into the swing of things--but there will never be a boring day under this roof."

"Huh--yeah, I'll believe that when I see it," Lichen quipped back, but his doubt only brought out a smile in his boss.

"Oh you'll see it, Lichen. In fact... I have a feeling this job is going to be right up your alley."

The rest of the meeting was, for the most part, uneventful; Honeydew's worry had actually managed to keep her quiet, and the way Molly divied up the necessary tasks in the store between them was fair enough that only Lichen had reason to complain. By the end, they all had a schedule tucked in their pocket and a growing sensation that maybe, just maybe, they weren't making a giant mistake.

"So... How do you think she did it, crazypants?"

"I can hear him, but I can't see him. Just a voice in my head. The hand is a wall. The hand is a wall. The hand is a wall."

"... That's what I thought."

---

As Molasses started locking the doors to Bubble Buzz several hours later, she ran the entire night over and over again in her head.

She could have done it better, but as always, her desire for efficiency had completely overlooked the human element--although, by the end of the meeting, Molly had begun to wonder if Honeydew was just acting hurt to get attention. That girl was more of an enigma than she let on to be.

Still, Molly was glad she'd handled telling them the way she had. The less of a big deal she made out of it, the more they'd believe she really didn't care what they'd done. The first few weeks would probably be tense regardless, though.

Molly realized, as she slipped the keys into her pocket, that someone was standing along the shoreline just beyond the edge of the store's property. She thought it strange, since it was so late, until she got a closer look and recognized who it was.

"Paprique," she called as she got closer, clumsily navigating the sand in her heels."What are you still doing here? It's almost midnight--don't you want to go home?"

"Home? No... No, not really," he said in a slow, thoughtful voice, barely turning his head to acknowledge her arrival. "I can see the stars clearer, from here. That's what I always used to do when I needed inspiration for writing, you know--just come out here, let the stars guide me."

Molly opened her mouth to respond, but closed it quickly when she decided it was probably best just to listen.

"I know I'm supposed to feel upset--that you know what happened, that is--but I'm not. In fact... part of me is actually... relieved. If that makes sense."

Paprique fell into silence again. Occasionally he looked as if he was going to continue, but a wave would come up and, with a gentle splash, steal his thoughts away. Molly even wondered if he wanted her here, but she didn't have any desire to leave him all alone.

Finally, after enough time had passed to seem meaningless, Paprique's voice cut the cold air with bitterness. "I lost. Everything. Worth having. My will to write. My will to live. This is the only thing left to keep me wandering this world, and most days I can't even convince myself it's worth it, anymore."

"It's worth it, Paprique," Molly finally interjected. "If it can help you find peace."

"So... you really do know. You know everything, and you really don't care?"

"No... I care. Just not the way you'd imagine. In fact--I want to help you, someday."

"...Why?"

"It's... complicated," Molly said slowly, uneasily.

Paprique scowled--more than usual, that is. "If time is the issue, then--"

"No, it's just--" Molasses scowled. "--this town. It's so... perfect. The people, the places, they're so full of love and harmony, and most berries here just seem to take all of it for granted. They don't really see what a paradise it is. Deep underneath it all though, there's this dying limb that everyone else just seems to ignore--and as much as I'd like to, I can't.'

"But, maybe I'm just drawn to broken people because I want to fix them. It's sourness like this that turn a berry sweet down the path of becoming a bitters; perhaps I'm too much of an idealist, but if I can help stop that from happening, even a little... I will."

Molly watched Paprique's chest rise and fall slowly under the strain of his breath, and then his shoulders slump with the weight of his fallen dignity. He seemed reluctant to respond, but after several moments his lips parted and he spoke.

"We're all just stars, you know," he began, gaze settled onto those on the horizon. "Some of us shine more brightly than others, but even the darkest of us have light to share. That's how I used to see every living being--inexhaustably distant, but radiant enough to give hope and meaning to existence. Someday, though, all stars lose what gives them light--and, somehow or another, die into darkness in the vacuum of space."

"Unless, Ms. Macchiato, you have the power to re-ignite a star... I am beyond any help you could give."

Continue to Part 2