Tristan placed the mug on the counter, opened the tool drawer, then grabbed a single spout Portafilter. He slowly rubbed the handle with his thumb, distracting his thoughts by over analyzing the high grade texture of the wood.

Afterwards, he stood in front of the coffee grinder machine, staring at it as he took deep breaths.

Tristan took a quick glance at Fidel, which he noticed. He rose his eyebrows up and down while smiling at Tristan, silently letting him take his time.

His silent cheer boosted Tristan’s confidence a little.

Tristan placed the Portafilter on the coffee grinder and pressed the button. The grinder did its work as it made a loud noise and coffee grounds fell into the basket.

He took another quick glance at Fidel. He noticed that despite his encouraging smile, he was giving him a somewhat familiar stern look. “Go on.” Fidel circled his hand around.

Tristan tapped the Portafilter lightly with his palm a few times, then removed the excess coffee grounds on the basket rim using his finger. Some coffee grounds stuck on his finger, so he wiped it off on his pants.

It garnered a loud, playful laugh from Fidel. “You remind me of my parents teaching me how to make espresso for the first time! Didn’t even notice the brown stain on my pants until a customer had to point it out.” He pointed at the strain on Tristan’s pants.

Tristan looked down and his eyes bulged as he quickly wiped the visible brown dust in his pants. “T-thank you…”

Once the embarrassment waned, Tristan took another deep breath before he placed the Portafilter on the mat, grabbed a Tamper, pointed his hip towards it, bend his arm in a ninety degrees, and tamped the coffee ground with all his might.

Fidel gasped as he realized what Tristan was doing. “Woah! Don’t over tamp!”

Tristan jolted and let go of the Tamper, almost dropping it onto the floor. Fidel realized what he had done. “Sorry! Sorry! I… didn’t mean to scare you, I have a natural loud voice, so…” he scratched the back of his head, face a little flustered from embarrassment.

“I… I already messed up…” he accidentally said his thoughts out loud. He placed his hand on his chest and could feel his heart pound hard.

“Hey hey hey!” Fidel approached Tristan and pat his back thrice, “You’re doing great! It’s a common mistake to make, even for us professionals. So no harm done, alright?”

Tristan breathe in and out repeatedly, but Fidel words helped him calm down. “T-thank you…”

“Sorry again.” Fidel pat Tristan on the back, and stepped back to give him some space.

Tristan took his time to fully calm himself, and motivation slowly flowed back. He grabbed the Portafilter handle, positioned himself with proper posture, then tried to flatten the coffee bed even.

He gave the Tamper a few twists before carefully removing it. Next, he removed the Portafilter from the mat, placed it on the group head of the espresso machine, and twisted it to the right to lock it in place.

Tristan grabbed a small mug, placed it below the Portafilter spout, then pressed the single espresso button.

He watched as the coffee flowed down the mug until the last drip of crema dropped. Eyes twinkled with amazement.

He grabbed the mug, turned around, then handed it to Fidel with excitement. “Can you try it?”

Fidel’s expression brightened at Tristan’s offer. “Sure!” he gladly took the mug from his hand. He grabbed a small spoon, mixed the coffee and crema around, then took a small sip.

He took his time to taste the coffee, eyes looking around and flapped his lips around. “It’s somewhat bitter. You did over tamped, but it’s not bad for your first time.”

Tristan let out a satisfied sigh. “I’m glad I didn’t completely mess it up…” he whispered.

Out of nowhere, a loud noise boomed around the cafe jolted Tristan while Fidel’s cheerful expression morphed into confusion before recognition replaced it.

Fidel placed the mug on the counter and reached down into his pockets. It was his phone ringing.

He answered the call and walked to the opposite corner of the counter. “Ernest? Yeah, what’s up?… Wait, really?… Oh… I’m sorry to hear about that… Don’t worry…” he turned his head around and took a quick glance at Tristan, “Yeah, the new hire is here… Alright… Take care man, get well soon.”

Tristan felt anxious. Worry replaced Fidel’s cheerful tone.

Fidel pocketed his phone as he turned around with a frown. “So… Bad news. The other barista, Ernest, got sick so he couldn’t go to work.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, agitated by the news. “I’ve never done this before. You’re not supposed to work yet until Thursday. But because of unforeseen circumstance, are you able to start work today?”

“Just take the customers’ orders while I’ll make the drinks. We both can deliver them to their tables depending which of us have less work. Are you okay with that arrangement?”

Tristan noticed Fidel’s pleading eyes. He felt his heart ache seeing him so stressed out, despite only knowing him for a short period.

“I-I’ll do it!” He said with no hesitation.

Fidel looked surprised, like he expected Tristan to decline. His expression quickly morphed into a bright, cheerful expression. “Thank you so much! I’ll try my absolute best to make your work light!”

“I-It’s not a problem! It would be a good early work experience!”

Fidel’s joy felt contagious. It awed Tristan seeing him so happy.

Suddenly, Tristan remembered something. “Be right back!”. He rushed to the storage room, opened his locker, and grabbed the index cards inside his bag.

He rushed back in the counter to see a mildly confused Fidel. Tristan handed the index cards to Fidel, he took the card and shuffled them each. His confusion turned into amazement when he recognized what were the contents of the cards. “Woah! You have recipe cards ready? Nice job!”

Fidel opened a drawer and pulled out similar looking cards in a ring binder. “We also have recipe cards, but looks like you got it covered!”

Tristan blushed at the praise. “I-It was nothing…” he scratched the back of his head.

Fidel placed the cards back in the drawer, then turned his attention back to Tristan. “Alright, how about this? I’ll allow you to make drinks today, but only if there are no customers lining up so I can supervise you. You can use your cards as guides. Are you okay with that arrangement?.”

Tristan let out a soft gasp. He could feel himself slowly get exhilarated. “R-really?”

Fidel happily hummed as he nod, “Yeah! If you did something wrong or needed some improvements, I’ll let you know!”

Tristan nod his head. “Y-Yes! I’m good with that arrangement!”

“Thank you…” Fidel whispered, head tilted a little with a sweet smile.

Then he glanced at the clock above the wall. “Hmm… There’s only two minutes left before opening. I’ll show you how to steam milk and make latte art later.”

Fidel walked towards the cafe doors, held the door sign, and turned around with a teasing smirk, “Are you ready?”

Tristan nod his head. “Nervous, but I’ll try my best.”

Fidel chuckle as he flipped the sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open’.