Time out of the house was good, she could sit down at a bar, have something to drink and listen to the company about her, even if the place itself wasn't entirely relaxing, but pubs and bars often weren't relaxing places to be in general, she'd try her best to relax regardless in the place, and the fact it wasn't too busy today was helpful in that regards, less people might notice her also.

She had been a fairly frequently guest of Hopworts since its opening, sure she may not manage every week but she was a regular, she was on decent terms with the owner Pollux, he was always nice in return to her also, she can't fully remember but she believes she managed to pay off a tab before with top rate tickets to a match she was in...that or it was a gift she was fairly drunk at the time so it was hard to remember really.

She sat at the end of the bar, it was quieter up here and hopefully she would be left alone.

Alex sipped at her lemonade gently and glanced into it, trying to block out the other noises, dressed in a black button up shirt that might of been slightly too big for her so she rolled the sleeves up, aswell as black trousers that had those weird semi circles cut into the end of them, and a set of black shoes.

She'd only just managed to get herself away from some interviews and needed the opportunity to calm down, she'd only went for one but of course it was an interview so there seemed like atleast a hundred reporters, she didn't last long before leaving, it was all the same questions over and over again and the same answers over and over, she hated interviews, they were terrible. All you could do was say the same line to fifty different people one by one.

"Can I get another?" She asked softly. "Maybe some chips also...or anything to eat really." She trailed off with a mumble.

It was a relatively quiet Wednesday night at Hopworts, which wasn't surprising since the little tasting room had only recently expanded its hours in anticipation of spring. Pollux had spent most of the evening gabbing with one of the regulars down at the other end of the bar, but when his mate had finally left, he'd gone back to making his rounds, checking in on the various parties and taking a moment to tidy things behind the bar.

Young Alex was a bit of a mystery tonight. The usually boisterous Quidditch player had come alone tonight, without the gobs of teammates that he'd seen her with in the past. At first he'd assumed she must be here to meet someone, but she'd had her gaze fully fixed on her drink since she'd settled in, rather than keeping a watchful eye on the door.

He would have stayed clear and left her to her thoughts, but the request for a second lemonade and some food was plenty of invitation to engage.

"Another?" Pollux echoed, cocking an eyebrow at her.

He scooped up the empty glass, and then dug behind the bar for a moment. It took a moment to find the flat, thin wooden plank that served as the menu for the vegan butchery next door. An array of different meat-free sausages and other food options had been seared into the smooth wood, each with an equally-tempting description. Along the right-hand side of the menu, someone had helpfully annotated the Muggle prices with conversions to sickles and knuts.

"Have you a look," he said, flashing the young lass a smile as he slid the wooden menu across the bar to her. He dropped the empty lemonade glass into the dish tray near the sink, and then turned to fetch a clean one to fill. "Let me know what you'd like to send for, aye?"

"I don't know..." She mumbled as she looked over the menu. The vegetarian sausages made little sense to her, what's really the difference between Quorn and Soya? Or Tofu? It was annoying and she hated it, she wasn't even sure if they were options on the menu as she struggled to read, one thing stuck out to her and she latched onto it quite firmly as she finished the lemonade and pulled out some money slowly.

"The pickle and onion sausages, with the chutney if possible. And a lemonade please." She said gently as she slid the money along the counter and pushed her glass so its more easily reachable for him to take away and clean, or just refill, she didn't know how he ran his bar, although perhaps she should try working here while she was out of Quidditch, who knew if she was going to be replaced at all?

"You looking for bar work here now that I'm on hiatus from Quidditch?" She asked as she leaned forwards onto the bar, hers resting down on the surface with her elbows widely spaced apart, her head resting down onto her joint hands so that she could rest her head down properly and relax a little bit more then she currently could do in the bar seat, why were they always so high and uncomfortable really?

"I doubt I'll be able to make it back onto the team anyway." More quietly this time as she closed her eyes, almost seeming like she was half drifting off, she was still fully aware but it was oddly comfortable here as her hair draped a little over the surface of the bar...she'd not slept well for a few days now and it was starting to catch up to her...annoyingly this was comfy...

"Aye, always am!" Pollux replied cheerfully, as he scooped up the money and the menu, dropping each in their respective places behind the counter.

The brewer paused to scribble Alex's order on a notepad, and then ripped the sheet clean off. Turning, he stopped in front of what looked to be a beat-up Muggle toaster, which had clearly seen better days. The chrome metal was scuffed in multiple places, and its dangling black electrical cord had been sheared off above six inches below the device.

Pollux folded the paper with the order crisply in half and then popped it into the toaster, pushing down on the black handle so that it sank out of sight.

"The food'll be along in five," he told her, leaving the non-functional toaster behind him as he turned to fill up the second glass of lemonade. "What about ye, then?" he asked her over his shoulder. "That's an awful long face on a Wednesday. Surely your team will have you back once you're done and ready."

"Possibly they may, although I'll be out of the game for awhile, barely able to practice, what's to say they don't just drop me and replace me with a younger player or just flat out replace me after a few months?" She sighed as she kept her head rested down, eyes closed still, it wasn't a far out possibility, she didn't think it would be during her hiatus they drop her, but later on certainly.

"Who want's an out of the game, reckless player?" She moved her left hand out from her rest and gently rubbed at her eyes to clear them of...whatever mess was really in them, none was actually there however.

She slowly sat herself more upright as she looked back at the man, taking her eyes over to watch him a little, she did like Pollux, he was very friendly and charming, it was a very comforting thing to have around her.

"I'm just...down I guess really, being on hiatus, nothing to do. Maybe I should retire and become a bartender anyway, like that old show my dad used to watch...Cheers I think?" She gave a thin smile at the idea, the place likely would collapse almost instantly but it was always fun to imagine. Her actually being responsible for anything was just a fun idea. "Or maybe I should become a seamstress. Madam Malkins..."