Little Doll

Chapter 1: Unlikely Hero

Arabella

Walking towards the coffee cart, I smiled at the man to show him in advance I was going to be a nice customer, but I felt my breath hitch as he greeted me with a tone of annoyance.

Looking down at my feet feeling completely frustrated and fed up with this cruel world, I plucked up the courage to look back at him.

Yet even though he was rude to me, I didn't have it in me to serve it back to him. I hated myself for being like this. I wanted to scream at the people for being rude to me for no reason, but like always,  I brushed it off knowing there was no point fighting pointless things.

"Yes, hi, um could I please have 2 regular lattes please".

I was surprised he didn't already know my order. I came here almost every single day and ordered the exact same thing every time.

The man rolled his eyes and before I could even frown at his foul mood, he took the money from out of my hands before handing me my correct change.

Shoving the change back into my purse, I began to look around at the University campus admiring the peace and quiet, but more so the beautiful sunrise that was peaking from beyond the horizon.

"You should be careful" the grumpy barista spat out as he turned his head around whilst making my coffee.

I opened my mouth to question him, but before I could, he continued his morning rant.

"You think you're doing a good deed, but trust me, one day honey he'll show you his true self" he scoffed as he looked over to the bench where the elderly man sat every day with his sketch pad.

"He's homeless, not a monster. Maybe if you were a nicer person, you'd have more customers" I corrected him as I took the cups of coffee from his hands.

I could feel myself on the verge of tears from frustration at the idiot's words. People were so cruel, especially to those who had less.

Walking over to the homeless man who was engrossed in his drawings, I stood before him and waited for him to look up.

"Good morning, here's your usual" I smiled at him as he slowly took the cup from my hands.

The elderly man's eyes softened as he shakily brought the cup to his lips.

"Thank you petal" he whispered out as a cold breath of air evaporated from between his lips.

"What happened to your scarf? It's awfully cold out here".

The homeless man always wore a scarf that looked to be hand knitted. It looked as if it was his most prized possession, but now it was gone.

"It was stolen from me during the night. Some stuck up University boys wanted to act tough to take what little I had all for laughs. It's alright though petal, the sun has risen and it's a new day and a kind lady has blessed me with a cup of coffee" he chuckled as he lifted his cup thankfully.

Even though what happened to him made me feel sick to my stomach, I couldn't help but feel the infectious happiness that the man was feeling as he continued to draw the sunrise.

"Here, it's not hand knitted, but it'll keep you warm".

Slipping my scarf off from around my neck, I handed it to the man chuckling at his reluctance to take it from me.

"If it's the colour, I promise pink looks great on men, it's just a stereotype. Start a trend and rock it" I laughed at him as he finally relented and wrapped it around his neck.

"Your kindness is unmatched petal, have yourself a lovely day. And look after yourself" he muttered with a soft smile on his face.

Smiling at him once more, I quickly turned on the balls of my feet and rushed towards my University building eager to get out of the cold, but also to get to my lecture with enough time so I'd be one of the first in there without having eyes on me.