Comfy Closets

7|| Flirts and Hopes

The next morning, I felt lighter. The talk I had with Gia really helped me release this tension I hadn't noticed had built up in my mind. She really sorted out some weird crap in my brain and gave me actual good advice along the way. I guess that's what your bestie is for. And free food. I felt like that was more important to mention.

As I was on my way driving to my part-time job, I have to admit I'm not a morning person. I don't think I should even be allowed to drive on the road this early. They should really make it illegal just because of me.

I stumbled into my workplace to set up for my morning shift. I'm so glad I work at a coffee shop. The first thing I did was treat myself to a double shot of espresso so that I would be able to function for the rest of the day.

My colleague Sara and I were the only ones that were here this early, and so we took advantage of that fact by playing our own music through the restaurant speakers before our boss arrived later. She sang along to the lyrics whilst I hummed along, not confident enough to sing in front of others.

I was buzzed by the time the first customer entered through the doors; glad I was awake enough before Jemma arrived.

The morning passed quickly, with the usual morning rush passing and going, keeping me and Sara busy enough. It was noon soon enough and I only had two more hours left of my shift before I got to go home and relax for the rest of the day. And I know you might be thinking, doesn't this girl have any homework to do, like damn she's free all the time. Well, I do have homework, I just like to leave it till the last day. I don't like to call it 'procrastination' though, more like 'motivation to finish it quickly when time is running out'. It sounds better.

Jemma had arrived to help about an hour ago, and we had to quickly change the music back to the relaxing and soothing instrumental tunes before she walked through the door. I had a feeling she knew about it anyways but was nice enough to let us have our way. We kind of looked at her in a more motherly way anyways, as some people just exuded that motherly vibe, even if she was only in her thirties.

The afternoon rush hadn't hit yet, but I could tell it would soon, as the tinkle of the bell over the door had rung more often in the past ten minutes. I was working the cashier and delivering orders, not really noticing the faces that walked up. My hands and mouth just moved automatically when I was in work mode, the repetition of it all lulling my mind into a daydream.

I was in the middle of imagining myself playing soccer with the soccer legends Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath, who were weirdly wearing unicorn onesies while passing a ball around when I was suddenly interrupted from my thoughts.

"Excuse me, can you take my order?"

Snapping out of it, I blinked for a couple of seconds and looked down at my hands that were holding a ceramic cup full of steaming coffee. I realised I have been working on this order for a while, that I must have left the cashier spot empty for too long. I turned around slowly and headed towards the serving counter with the cup in hand, my eyes fixed on the coffee to avoid any spilling. "Order number forty-two, please!"

Placing the cup on the saucer, I smiled a friendly smile at the guy and turned back to the customer waiting at the counter. "Hi there, sorry for the wait. What can I get you?" I said in a pleasant tone, trying not to let the tiredness I felt slip into my voice. I needed another fix, stat.

The girl waiting had her head down, concentrated on her phone's screen with her wavy hair covering the view of her face. Her head snapped up when she heard my voice, and I definitely wasn't expecting who I saw.

Is she following me? Was the first thing that popped into my head when I realised who was standing in front of me. I have seen her way too often in the past week to count it as a coincidence anymore. The second thought that came afterwards countered that point, thinking a girl like her wouldn't go to that much effort to see little ole' me.