Pumpkin Mocha Breve

Part 3

Date- March 20

I opened my phone in the morning to four new texts from Penny. 

One- "Sorry, Simon."

Two- "I won't be at work today. I hope you can handle it on your own."

Three- "I quit working at the coffee shop last night. It's just too stressful to manage a part time job with all the classes I'm taking. I don't have enough time to do my homework every night and I keep having to pull all-nighters."

Four. "I hope you'll understand."

She quit? 

I couldn't really be mad at her... I knew she had a lot on her plate. I was surprised she'd lasted working this long already. She'd had work 7-12 every day, then classes 12:30 to anywhere from 3 to 8 or 9. At least now maybe she'd get a couple hours of sleep every night.

But now I was alone at work. Baz would be disappointed. He'd only been coming here six days and already the good coffee maker had quit. Hopefully there'd be a new person soon to help me that was better at certain coffees than me. 

I dressed in my usual uniform (I was never going without doing laundry for so long that I had to wear that cream t-shirt again) and stepped out the door on time. 

I heard the ding of the bell over the door five minutes after opening, and Baz stepped in, same time as always. He seemed the type to always be punctual and reliable. He stepped up to the counter, narrowing his eyes when he didn't see Penny step up to the register, only me. 

"Only you today, Snow?" he asked, sarcastic as always.

"Yep," I replied. "Penny quit last night. She was too stressed from her classes to continue with the job. You're stuck with me now." 

Baz rolled his eyes. "Great. Now you're the only one that can make coffee around here. You'd better hire another person fast before you lose all your business."

I ignored his insult, as much as I wished I could vault over the counter and punch his stupid pretty face. "Can I take your order?"

"Pumpkin mocha breve. It's my favorite, and Penny made it the best I'd ever had. Don't screw it up." 

I punched the order into the register and Baz handed me a five dollar bill. "Keep the change," he said, and I dropped it into the tip jar. Baz waited, watching as I made his coffee. He didn't seem like the type to order a pumpkin mocha breve. They were incredibly sweet, even too sweet for me. It tasted like you were drinking a candy bar. I preferred to eat mine. I felt very pressured, having Baz watch as I made his complicated order. He gave me a skeptical look as I handed it to him. 

"This better be good, Snow." He took a sip, pausing. "Terrible." 

I tensed, thinking he was being serious, but he kept drinking the coffee as he walked out the door. I must not have screwed it up that bad.