When he sees me (A Rayllum story)

Chapter 2:

The Magic Brewery always opened at 8:00 a.m. sharp, but Rayla always made it a point to get there at least half an hour early to get things ready. Usually, Claudia would be there, too She always seemed to make it a point to get there at the same time as her friend. But today, things were different. When Rayla biked up to the cafe, she noticed Claudia's bike wasn't there.

Maybe she's inside the coffee shop, Rayla thought. She pulled her key to the cafe out from her jean pocket, and slipped it into the key lock. When she pushed the door open, the distinct, cheery chime of the bell above the door rang loudly, but still, there was no Claudia.

After closing the paned glass and wood door behind her, Rayla decided to call her friend. She took her phone from her pocket, but before she dialed Claudia's number, her screen showed that she had a new message from her. Rayla tapped on it and held her phone up to her ear.

"Hi Rayla," Claudia's pre-recorded voice came through to Rayla's ear. It sounded ragged and slightly nasal. "I got a cold today. I can't come over- ACHOO!" Claudia let out a loud sneeze. "I'm sorry. I gotta go. Take care for me." BEEP! The message ended.

The next hour was fine, if not slightly mundane. Rayla put on her apron, treated herself to a cup of plain black coffee, and at 8:00 sharp, she flipped the 'We're Closed' sign, to the other side that read 'Open'. And then, nobody came. For at least half an hour.

People eventually came in, two regular patrons and one who was new. All of them rude, and crude. One of them stayed and poured over a newspaper, the other two left as soon as they got their orders. And then, eventually, after the one guy finished his double shot espresso with milk, he left, too.

Rayla really, really wished Claudia were here right now. Claudia's spritely attitude and cheerful demeanor made things much spunkier and fun. Without her, working here was kinda pointless.

It was only 10:27, yet it felt like forever. Nobody was in the cafe. That is, until the bell jingled. For some reason, this time it felt different to Rayla. Familiar, but not in an unpleasant way like when a rude customer arrived.

Brushing a strand of hair away from her face, the snowy haired teenager looked up and, to her amazement, she saw the boy from yesterday. He had a different shirt on, this one was shorter sleeved, and was more of a crimson color.

But apart from that, he looked the same as he did the day before. Same forest green eyes, same messy brown hair, same red scarf wrapped around his neck. Something gave Rayla the feeling that he wore it everyday. And, same sketch book clutched in his arms.

Rayla still could not remember his name. She had tried to find it in the back corners of her mind when biking from work to home yesterday, and again when coming into work today. Hmmm. Maybe she needed to hear it one more time in order for it to be really hammered down in her memory.

Fortunately, the boy walked up to her. "Hi again!" He said cheerfully.

"Hey," Rayla greeted in a friendly tone. "You're Callum?" She asked, unsure. "That's your name right? Clem, or was it Camel?"

The boy cleared his throat awkwardly. "No, you're right, it's Callum," he confirmed. "Is Claudia here today?" He blushed.

Rayla frowned. For some reason, it felt like something, an unknown emotion, was tugging at her insides. "No. Claudia's got a cold, so she couldn't come into work today," she responded, continuing to grimace.

"Oh." Callum looked surprised.

"Were you hoping to see her today?"

"What?! No!" Callum blushed a heavy shade of red. "Why would I? That's ridiculous! He stuttered before clearing his throat. "I was actually coming here today to sketch some stuff. This place is really pretty and it gave me a couple ideas for some drawings."