Not From Around Here

My eyes lift from the screen as he walks up to the cafe counter, twenty feet from me. I can't make out the details, and it's rude to stare. Eyes back on my work. I glance again. He is looking for a seat. Maybe when he's settled I can study the odd nuances better. Someone sets a laptop on the table next to mine. It's him.

Silver to brown tight cornrows thread from his scalp to his shoulders, half tied back in a controlled pony tail. His dark skin isn't common enough around here, and I'll be caught gazing if I'm not careful. A crystal around his neck, fastened with wire to a gem-stone rock above it doesn't shine, it just sits there softly. He's not too thin in build or personality. He has a presence, and I'm unsure what it hold.

I ask him how his day's been. This should be interesting.