𝕁𝕠𝕙𝕟

"Oh, I could use a drink alright." John sighed, tiredly rubbing his eyes with his bony knuckles. He then glanced momentarily at the young brunette waitress, who was scrambling to find a pen in her apron and seemed almost too nervous to look at him, even though her friendly customer service voice did not betray any hint of fear.
Jesus, I must look pretty bad, John thought after catching a glimpse of his distorted reflection on a silver salt shaker. His long black hair usually framed his angular face with soft waves, but now his locks resembled electric wires glued to a Frankenstein monster head. At least, he felt so.
He was about to engage the waitress in some friendly small talk to make himself seem less creepy, when he noticed her turning her head to check on the remaining customers. Clearly the young woman was under some kind of pressure and was anxious to move on from him - even he could see that.

John would have shrugged it off and ordered his drink, when a shadow finally descended upon the diner, and for a split second he noticed a strange flicker in the waitress's green eyes - like that of a nocturnal animal gazing out from the darkness, ready to pounce.
Under normal circumstances, he would have simply ignored it and blamed his sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on him, but after all that had happened to John on that fateful day - combined with the waitress's tense behavior - he was ready for anything to be stranger than fiction.
"I'll have a glass of water, thanks..." He replied uncertainly, not taking his eyes off the brunette who seemed more interesting to him right now than even the eclipse.

He was unable to hear the crowds cheering outside over the ringing that had suddenly started in his ears.