"One tall, nonfat latte with caramel drizzle," Billie said as she passed the complicated order to the customer across the counter. The red-headed woman raised her eyebrows quizzically, but Billie was already on top of things, smiling cheerily. "Don't worry; it's decaf."
"You're a dream," the young ginger replied, her freckle-sprinkled cheekbones rising alongside her grin. "Always a pleasure, Blue."
"Same to you, Maggie. Have a good day."
As Maggie exited the small coffee shop, Billie got back to work. Pulling a dampened rag from the pocket of her apron, she hopped over the counter, proceeding to bus unoccupied tables. She was always moving so quickly; her fiery blue hair appearing to be a flash of lightning to whomever she passed by. She was adoring of her job, working diligently and wholeheartedly at each task she put her hands to. Billie even made an effort to learn the names of her regular customers for no reason other than to be polite.
Still, as sweet as she was, she was quite rugged. She wore her ripped up converse shoes every day with no complaint, and often partook in splattering them in multiple colors of paint. The playlist on her iPhone consisted of mostly metal, which she would often listen to during her shifts; one headphone in, the other dangling down her shoulder. She kept her deep blue eyes lined with a dark liner, though left the rest of her face free of any other products. Billie was quite proud of her freckled nose and cheeks, so she kept them on prominent display.
Her wrists and neck dripped in jewelry, as she absolutely adored her accessories. She was very layered, and while she appeared often in ripped jeans and flannel shirts, nothing of her appearance mirrored her personality. Like her customer Maggie had said, Billie was a dream; both her aura and her hair mirroring the color of the sky.
"Blue!" She heard calling her from the kitchen, and simply at the shrill tone of her sister's voice, her lips curled upward. She finished bussing her last table before hopping back over the counter and heading to the back.
"Yeah?" She asked, her near look-a-like finally entering her vision. "What is it, Tandy?"
Tandy glanced up at the cracked old clock above the shop's deep freezer.
"It's 9:30! Get out of here."
Billie crossed her arms, beaming her bright white teeth at her dark-haired sister.
"It's just Physics," she teased. "I mean, really, Tandy. Who cares about 'String Theory'? Just kill me now."
"Go," Tandy said, shoving her baby sister's shoulder playfully. "Don't you dare be late."
Billie was already removing her apron as her sister spoke, knowing full well that she wouldn't let her skip a single class. As she passed Tandy, she bumped her shoulder; their silent 'I love you' to one another.
Once clocking out, Billie exited through the rear of the restaurant, moving around a pile of cardboard boxes until she uncovered her skateboard. Her sister often referred to the textured board as 'the giant nail file' to which Billie was always reminded just how opposite she and Tandy were.
Popping the other headphone back into her ear and tossing her backpack over one shoulder, she pushed off of the ground and began the short ride to her college campus.
-----
The cobblestone that paved the path to Billie's physics class threatened the life-span of her skateboard's rubber wheels, all the while sending her body into vibration. She ignored this anyway, as she was already running a few minutes late for class, and didn't much care to walk. The shaking of her board caused an earbud to tumble from her ear, and hurriedly she glanced down and reached to grab it. This fraction of a second was just enough to distract Billie from a large dip in the cobblestone's pavement. Her board's wheels snagged against the unlevel stone before propelling backward, slipping right from under her feet. She went tumbling forward, skinning her hands as she caught herself during the fall.
"Ugh," she groaned, once steadying herself. Her backpack had fallen down her arm, the strap still wrapped around her wrist as it lied beside her hand on the ground.
"Gnarly," she heard over her shoulder, and at the sound of his voice, she rolled her eyes and grinned.
"You can say that again," she sighed, picking herself up from the ground. "Nothing nature can't fix," she said, studying the scrapes on her hands. While there was no blood, she felt she had come quite close, as her hands felt raw and tender. Nevertheless, she ignored the feeling, deciding to look up at the guy that had witnessed her fall.
"Are you alright?" He asked, the smug smirk lifting the mole that sat by the right side of his lips. "I've never seen you cry, but after watching that, I'd understand."
Billie laughed sarcastically. "It's just a few scratches," she raised her eyebrows. "But you're always a riot, James." Billie then went to reach for her backpack, but James stopped her.
"Let me," he said, lifting the strap from the ground. As he did this, Billie went to retrieve her board, which was a few steps behind him.
"Suddenly you're a gentleman?" She called out as she jogged over to it. James turned around, only responding once she returned to him.
"I've always been a gentleman," he said flirtatiously, stepping even nearer to her. The backpack dangled between the two of them in his hand, almost tauntingly. "If you'd ever let me take you out, I could prove it to you."
He held her stare for a moment before she slightly laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Just give me my backpack," she giggled, reaching for it. Quickly, James pulled it back, that lustful look never leaving his eyes.
"Just go out with me, Blue," he smiled sincerely. "You can't keep me waiting forever."
"You're gonna make me late," she laughed, and she tried to swipe the bag again, but as expected, he tugged it away. "James!"
"One date," he chuckled, extending one finger with his free hand. "And if it's awful, I'll never ask again."
"You've been asking since high school," she sighed happily. "The answer has never changed."
"It's different this time," James insisted, his eyes briefly catching how the sunlight made her hair seem to catch fire. "This time I'm a grown man, with a phone, and a car, and an ID that allows me to purchase alcoholic beverages."
Billie couldn't help but laugh at yet another one of James's half-assed attempts at getting a date with her. He'd been doing this for some time, even though she had always reminded him that they were just friends; friends that occasionally helped each other study.
It wasn't that he was rude, or promiscuous, or anything that could potentially put her off. It certainly wasn't that he was unattractive; James was likely the most sought-after guy on campus. He was a hot, muscular, hazel-eyed, bearded senior, on the brink of a highly successful career as a doctor. Specifically in pediatrics, which meant that he was great with kids and likely wanted some of his own someday.
In theory, James was what every woman wanted.
But Billie just liked that every single person on campus knew that he only wanted her. She liked that he could have anyone he wanted, and he only wanted her.
And she liked even more, that everyone, including James, knew he wouldn't have her.
"Come on, Blue," he sighed, that charming smile never leaving his face. "What's it gonna take for you to say yes?"
Billie grinned slowly, extending her tender hand. As she parted her lips to speak, she watched the hope enter James's eyes.
"Can I have my backpack please?" She asked, her hand waiting there in mid-air.
Despite her decision to completely ignore his question yet again, he never broke her gaze, and slowly but surely, he placed the bag into her hand.
With that, Billie set the board back beneath her feet, skating away from a still smirking James.
And something about that encounter with him was different than all the others.
