Being an elevator operator was…
Well at the very least, it was certainly interesting. Although the job itself was ridiculous - who even needed elevator operators anyway these days? People could push their own elevator buttons. But, fancy hotel apparently meant having elevator operators.
At the same time, Moblit kind of enjoyed it. Sometimes people would walk in alone, and they'd start a friendly, one minute conversation before walking out to whatever the day had in store. Or there'd be a group of people, chattering and laughing, and in that case, Moblit would politely step aside and listen. And he couldn't even count how many times some business worker walked in with a phone muttering about stocks and loans and everything else Moblit would never get involved with. The only good thing about the ugly tan uniforms, in his opinion. Helped you blend into the walls.
There were so many interesting characters who passed through Castle Utgard, the lobby constantly bustled with activity.
His first visitor of the day came in, but it was a rude, sour individual with a moustache who didn't so much as say hello.
Moblit didn't care, he found an old possession of his, at the beginning of his operator days. Back when he thought it was the stupidest thing anyone could ever come up with, he decided to keep a journal of the people he met each day.
Obviously he wasn't going to write in it while people were there. They'd think he was a stalker or something. He'd get fired and he really needed this job.
Instead, he'd write during his breaks, and after work. Maybe not every customer, just the ones who stood out throughout the day. Small little anecdotes and observations.
Girl with pink hair. Seemed to greatly enjoy the music she was listening to. I should have complimented her hair. Something to ask if I see her again.
Portly gentleman...if you asked me what I thought of when you said "old english king" this chap fits the picture.
Some businessman with the fuzziest set of eyebrows I've ever seen. I like them.
He stopped writing after a while because actually, that was the stupidest idea anyone could come up with.
When the rude man stepped out the door, Moblit was left to wait. It was a particularly slow day, and so Moblit pulled out the notebook to...reminisce about old days, he supposed.
Everything he wrote was so ridiculous it was like reading something he wrote as a child. He tried to be much more philosophical than he really was.
Three teenagers walked over as he was waiting there. They pressed the elevator button and Moblit walked over.
They looked at him strangely. There were two blondes and one brunette, who was much taller than should have been legal.
"Who are you?" the short blonde girl asked bluntly.
She was terrifying. "I'm uh, the elevator operator," Moblit replied.
The taller, beefier one of the blondes laughed. "This hotel has elevator operators?"
"You're the one who picked the fancy location, Reiner," the girl muttered.
Were they going to get in the elevator or not?
"I think it's cool," the brunette said quietly. Ah so this was one of those silent giant types.
"Bertholdt's right," Reiner - Moblit assumed - slung his arm over tbe girl's shoulders. "I bet this guy hears everything."
His life would be ten times more exciting if he could hear everything within multiple one minute conversations.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Annie?" Bertholdt said. "All the interesting people."
She said nothing, only fixing them with a deathly glare and walking into the elevator.
"Uh, where to?" Moblit cleared his throat nervously and asked.
"Floor ten," she replied.
The ride up was silent, and as the elevator rose, Moblit concocted a story for the sullen blonde girl. She's a writer, he decided. Suffering from debilitating chronic writer's block and has almost given up on being able to write ever again. Her friends try to help but they only make it worse.
There was a ding! and the doors slid open. The three teenagers left, the girl giving a nod of acknowledgement as they walked out. Moblit smiled to himself. You really couldn't judge a book by its cover.
Perhaps he would start up the journal again. There were a lot of interesting people in this world, with places to go and places to see. Being an elevator operator was nice. He was constantly being visited by spheres of experience, and he'd get to have a little taste, just for a moment.
One of his favorites was the old woman with two fat, adorable cats named Sawney and Bean. He wondered if the names were supposed to be ironic.
He could write so many entries based on people's reactions to elevator operators alone.
Like the eccentric brunette woman whom he suspected of spending too much time around cadavers.
"Oh. My. God."
Moblit blinked when the doors opened to reveal yet another strange group of people.
"There's an elevator operator?"
He resisted the urge to cover his ears. The speaker - more like screamer - of said line was a brunette woman wearing glasses, eagerly tugging on the sleeve of the short grumpy man standing beside her.
"Yes, it seems to be so," Grumpy - as Moblit decided to call him - said.
The woman clapped her hands excitedly. "This is so cool!"
Moblit stood there awkwardly when the woman walked into the elevator and examined him like he was an animal at the zoo. His finger was starting to get tired from pressing the button to keep the doors open.
"Levi, I'm so glad you picked a hotel with an elevator operator."
Dang, he couldn't call him Grumpy anymore.
"That wasn't my goal," Levi muttered. "But whatever makes you happy, Shitty Glasses."
The copper-haired woman slapped Levi lightly. "Don't be rude, Levi. Hanji's so happy, look at her."
"Yeah, yeah, it's Be Nice to Hanji Week, I know Petra."
Moblit was still being subjected to Hanji's poking and prodding. This woman knew nothing about personal space. He turned his eyes pleadingly to Hanji's companions.
"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Petra rushed up to help. "Come on Hanji, we should go. We're on a schedule."
"This is officially my favorite hotel ever," Hanji sighed happily.
Levi looked like he wanted to bash his head into the wall, and quite frankly, Moblit didn't blame him. There was something about it all that just made him so… happy.
They were, surprisingly, on floor ten as well. Levi and Hanji bickered all the way up, and Moblit found himself suppressing a smile.
"Thanks," Petra said when they began to leave. "Sorry about that."
"Oh, it's no problem," Moblit replied sheepishly. "Made my day more interesting."
She laughed. "I bet. Well...I guess we'll see you around then."
He smiled as the elevator doors closed and began moving down to another floor.
I really just wanted to write Moblit...as an elevator operator.
This may or may not be continued.