"I feel kinda bad for the last bartender," Tails thinks aloud as he cleans the wine glass in his hand. "but I have my own troubles too." He finishes cleaning the glass, examines it closely for any spots he may have missed, and puts it away when he finds none. Tails moves onto the next glass, scrubbing it thoroughly with the small towel in his hand. "I wonder how he lost his job though."
"Fired him," Rouge, the owner of Club Rouge, tells the fox. Tails turns his head to find the sweating bat exit the fighting arena. "I'm going to spare you the details though. I'm not sadistic enough to corrupt the minds of children."
"That's...good?" Tails responds. Although in his mind, he has a few ideas of what may have happened. His intelligence greatly exceeds that of a regular 8-year-old. "By the way, Rouge? May I ask a question."
"Shoot Fox-Boy." Rouge says as she grabs a sports drink from a nearby fridge.
"Why did you open up a bar here? A fighting arena?" Tails finishes the glass in his hand and moves onto the next. Rouge takes said glass as she drinks her beverage.
"It's called Club Rouge, kid. It has to resemble that somehow, and what better way than to open up a bar?" Rouge answers while inspecting the glass.
"Makes sense, I guess."
"You missed a spot." She hands the glass back to the fox. "Better work harder, kid. Wouldn't want to lose your job on the first day." Tails nods and continues his task. As he works, his eyes wander the club. The bar is near the entrance of the place. There's plenty of equipment around the area for simply working out. Then there's the fighting arena, Club Rouge's main attraction, in the back. 'I think Rouge said she charges 100 for 10 minutes,' Tails recalls. 'Wait, I can't focus on that. What are the prices here at this bar again?' He struggles to remember the prices for the various beverages around him while cleaning glasses. His focus breaks when a bell chimes throughout the club. He turns to face-
"EGGMAN!?"
"TAILS!?" At the sight of the doctor, Tails accidentally flings the wine glass in the air. The fox's focus returns to the glass, the more important matter, and he quickly catches it. He scans it, releasing a sigh of relief when no damages were found.
"Good thing you didn't drop that. I'd have to cut your salary. Or at least make you pay for another." Rouge playfully teases. The fox sweatdrops.
'The bad part is that she probably would.' Tails thinks. His attention returns to Dr. Eggman. "Anywa-AHH!" The scientist is sitting in the chair in front of him, with his face, sporting a nervous and awkward look, giving the poor fox an up-close view.
"Relax Tails. I've only come for a drink," Dr. Eggman reassures him. The fox glares at him, distrust clearly in his eyes. In response, Eggman tells him, "You and Sonic ruined my plans the other day, and that left me in quite a gloomy mood. I thought coming here may cheer me up a bit, although I wasn't aware you worked here." A bit of Tails' hesitation disappears.
'If he's telling the truth,' Tails considers. 'I guess I can pour him drinks. He would be a customer, after all. But still, he might be up to something...'
"Stop being harsh, kid," Rouge lightly orders him, adding a little flick to the fox's head. "So, can you pay?" Eggman nods and takes out a handful of Rings. "Good. Your order?"
"I'll have a glass of prune juice and a soft-bolied egg," Dr. Eggman answers. Tails and Rouge share a glance, but shrug it off. A customer gave an order, and they must follow through. Tails grabs the bottle of prune juice, which Rouge bought some reason, and the bat makes her way to the kitchen to prepare the egg. She returns no less than ten minutes later with the egg, finding Dr. Eggman hasn't touched his juice yet, and hands it to the doctor. "Thank you."
'So he does have basic manners,' Tails thinks. He gets back to work on cleaning the glasses, despite the uncomfortable silence filling the air after. Tails sees Rouge unaffected, merely admiring a jewel, he assumes, she had gotten during her little cooking session. Eggman, at last, finishes his drink, gets up, and makes his way to the door.
"Oh, Tails?" The doctor calls for him.
"Hmm?" The fox faces his direction.
"You do know you have to be 18 to be bartender, right?" Eggman then leaves with those parting words. Tails continues staring at the spot where the doctor stood not a few moments before.
"Right," Rouge says to herself. That snaps Tails out of his trance and he looks over to her. "That is the legal age." She places her jewel down on the counter if the bar and grabs the towel and wine glass from the fox. "Out the club, Fox-Boy. I don't want anything happening to my club because of you sticking around here." Tails unhappily nods in understanding and grudgingly leaves. The fox sighs, expressing his sorrow again.
"Where can I find some work now?"