[ WP ] The artificial gravity on a generational colony ship is on the fritz , prone to randomly switching directions . It 's been like this for at least 200 years , and society has adapted .

`` So your cafe latte with two shots of espresso comes out to about fifteen credits.'' the blonde barista took Tim's hand. `` Scan please?'' 
 
 Tim opened his hand and she pressed it against her own. However, the haptic vibration that signaled a transaction was absent. 
 
 `` Huh, that's weird...'' she tried again. Tim broke a sweat. The barista covered her mouth as her eyes went wide at a sudden realization. 
 
 `` YOU ARE --'' Tim pressed a finger against her lips. 
 
 `` Yes it's me.'' It had been a crazy week. 
 
 For the last thousand or so years, he'd been in hibernation alone in another vessel. Well, not quite alone, but the rest of his team had died in their sleep due to various malfunctions aboard the then experimental spacecraft, one of many of the failed first wave of deep space voyages funded by a reckless billionaire. It was pure luck that the Columbus happened upon him in the vastness of space itself. And it was compassion that led them to take him aboard as one of their own quietly. Although, it would be impossible to keep it quiet for long. The rumors were already spreading about a mysterious stranger found upon an ancient craft. Tim leaned in close enough to smell the strawberry scent in her hair and whispered. 
 
 `` Listen, I can pay you back as soon as I get my implants and an assignment but I really need this drink right now. I've been -- Oh shit'' Tim's feet left the ground as the gravity shifted for the fourth time today. Or was it the fifth? Tim was n't sure anymore how to divide the days as he had n't been able to sleep due to the indecisiveness of the gravity drive on board. He'd been warned of course, it was the first thing they told him, but it's always a surprise when it happens. As a result his body had been slowly turning into a giant bruise. Tim slammed on his side onto a railing on the wall, which was now the floor. 
 
 The barista on the other hand was n't as clumsy. The railings all over the walls and floor were for holding yourself up. When the direction of gravity changed, she felt her weight shift and adjusted herself by gripping a turn-handle perpendicular to the axis of rotation and bent her legs. The handle would then turn with you as long as you kept your center of gravity below it. Just like they taught in school. But nearly everyone can also just land on their feet even without the assistance of handles. Then again, it was much easier for them, the universal implants would vibrate their pinky fingers when an imminent anomaly was detected in the gravitation drive. 
 
 `` Are you okay?'' the barista asked. Tim could read her name tag as she bent over him. Bruno. What kind of a name for a cute barista girl was Bruno? 
 
 `` I do n't think I could ever get used to this. Back on Earth, gravity always pulled you in the same direction.'' 
 
 `` Whoa! I do n't think I could ever get used to THAT!'' Bruno's blue-green eyes sparkled at the idea. A place where down was always the same. An alien world. She'd never been anywhere but Columbus before. 
 
 `` Listen, my breaks coming up. I'll give you that latte for free if you'll tell me more about Earth!'' she grabbed Tim's hands and gently helped him to his feet. 
 
 `` Shh! Not so loud! And yes of course'' he agreed. 
 
 Tim sat at a booth and waited. The booths were a little claustrophobic. The seats resembled retro diner seats from the twentieth century except they were also on the ceiling and the walls. In the spaces between the seats were tall tempered glass windows which you could open that served as the entrances. The table was odd as well. It was magnetized and its shape resembled two laptops opened at ninety degrees, glued together side by side with their keyboards level in such a way that the left laptop was facing you and right one was upside down and facing the other direction. In addition, there were also square panels perpendicular to the floor such that the table looked the same no matter which direction the gravity was in, and yet also allowed eye contact. Tim noticed the one metal support beam that held the table in place. It was perhaps the only asymmetrical detail in the booth. 
 
 Tim lifted his cup with a snap of magnetism from the table and took a sip through the straw. He sighed. Every drink he's had so far on Columbus was through a bottle or a straw. He ca n't remember the last time he used a regular old-fashioned cup to drink. It's a hard life for a spaceman. 
 
 Bruno stepped in through the glass doorway took her apron off and sat down across from Tim. 
 
 `` Hey there, stranger from space!'' She really did have the greatest blue-green eyes. Tim could n't put a finger on what they reminded him of. 
 
 `` Hey there, coffee girl. So, what do you wan na know?'' 
 
 They talked for what felt like millennia. She already knew about his story, the rumors were all true apparently. Tim wondered for a second about which one of the admin let the cat out of the bag but quickly brushed it off. He told her about Art, Religion, The Beatles, Subways in New York City, Piranhas in the Amazon River, Mount Everest, and all the fascinating wonderful terrifying things about Earth. And she told him about Columbus, the eternally broken gravity drive, how people dance where the floor is always changing, and the coffee they make. 
 
 `` But the coffee on Earth is way better than the coffee here! This tastes like coffee substitute made from yeast or something!'' 
 
 `` Actually it is, Tim'' Bruno said. 
 
 Tim spit out his bitter brown yeast coffee imposter and Bruno could n't help but laugh a melody sweeter than words could say. He laughed along of course, blushing all the while. He could get used to the future, he thought. Even with the weird booths and bad coffee. Even if he'll never see home again. It's all going to be alright. 
 
 `` Anyway, Tim I got ta get going. My fiance is picking me up soon. It was nice chatting though!'' 
 
 Tim felt a punch to his gut 
 
 `` Fiance?'' 
 
 `` Yeah! I'm getting married tomorrow! Cool, huh? Wan na come?'' 
 
 Tim held his smile tight as the world turned upside down again. 
 
 
 -- -- - 
 
 Hi. Long time reader, first time writer. This prompt was too cool, so I just wrote the first thing that I thought of and it turned out to be this cheesy little love thing. It was the setting that really intrigued me though and I managed to turn it into a metaphor so hey thats something. Had a lot of fun writing though! A great idea for a setting
