One afternoon, when business was extra slow, Lucas was scrolling through his phone. Most of the people he followed on social media were celebrities or brands, but he followed some people at school, too.

Irene had posted some photos of herself at a conference. She stood proudly in front of her poster board. Lucas tried focusing on the text of her research poster, but it was too small and unclear in the image. The logos on the top of the poster board indicate her project was a joint effort under the University of Nascenshire and a biotechnology company.

Maria had gotten accepted into graduate school. It was still rather early for acceptances, but she had been interviewing with different schools and it seemed like she connected with a particular lab. Lucas knew she was a genius with an analytical mind. It seemed only natural for her to pursue a Ph.D. and continue on working in research.

There was a ping of shame that hit Lucas. He was happy for his classmates, but it was so easy for his mind to compare his own life to the lives he was seeing others live. It wasn’t like he was doing nothing; he was working a job that was pretty much full time. But before all that, in his previous years of college, what was he doing? He was going to school, doing homework, studying for exams, but outside of school? In an environment where being a student was not enough, he was no one. His only focus was on performing well in school, and as the time passed by him, he never thought about who he wanted to be outside of that. As his college career approached its end, he began to feel more and more lost in the world.

“You look so sad,” said Emilio abruptly. “I mean, you sort of look gloomy all the time. It’s just a bit more noticeable today.” Lucas shut off his phone and shoved it in his pocket.

“I’m not sad.”

“What were you looking at on your phone?”

“Nothing. Just my friends’ pictures.”

“What kind of pictures do they take?”

“Just what they’re doing. They’re cool people doing cool stuff.”

“What about you? What pictures do you take?”

What about me? Lucas never posts on social media. No matter what he does, he doesn’t think “this would be a great thing to post about.”

“I don’t take pictures of myself. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Maybe you should, if your friends do it. You do cool things, too!”

“How would you know?”

“You’re here! You work at this cool place!”

Lucas looked at Emilio in disbelief. He can’t be serious right now.

“Come on, let’s take a picture right now!” Emilio was tugging at Lucas’ arm. Lucas rolled his eyes, but he took out his phone and opened the camera app. They both got into frame and Emilio smiled wide and put up a peace sign. Lucas forced a smile and took a few photos. “Here, take a picture of me cleaning the coffee machine,” Emilio said excitedly as he ran over to his equipment station. Lucas pointed the camera to him and as he took pictures, he saw Valerie in the background through his phone.

“Is it photoshoot time?” Valerie stood beside Emilio and began posing. Lucas continued taking pictures of them, and he began to laugh as their poses became sillier and sillier.

“Let’s have a picture all together,” suggested Emilio. Lucas stood with Emilio and Valerie, and they all managed to fit in the frame. Lucas snapped a few photos, and Valerie immediately wanted to take a look at them.

“Aw, look at us!” Valerie gushed.

“You know, I don’t really take pictures of myself either,” said Emilio.

“Same for me. Good thing we did this today!” said Valerie.

Lucas reviewed all the photos they took. None of them seemed to be social media material, but he figured they would just be fun photos to keep. They each captured a slice in time, singular moments that he could look back on.

Night fell and Valerie checked the time on her watch. She walked to the entrance door and wiped down on the glass, and after a couple of swipes, a face appeared, looking in at her. Valerie jolted back in surprise. The door swung open.

“Hey, Valerie!” A young woman wearing a white dress shirt and black skirt squealed as she entered the cafe. Her hair was neatly tied in a bun. Two more women in matching clothes followed in behind her, smiling and waving to Valerie. One was wearing round glasses and had a bob cut, and the other had a ponytail.

“Oh my goodness! What are you all doing here?” Valerie was smiling, so Lucas figured this sudden visit was nothing to be concerned about.

“We decided to visit you at work today! We knew you would be opening around now. We stood at the door but we couldn’t even see inside, it was so dark! Then you appeared at the window,” said the woman with the ponytail.

“Oh, I see. Well, welcome to Cafe En Gard,” said Valerie.

“It’s so dull in here! Couldn’t you afford some more decorations?” The lady with the bun said. Valerie just smiled back, not saying anything.

“Come on, let’s all get some food! We have a busy day ahead of us!” The women walked to the counter. They saw Emilio wiping the menu chalkboards, as well as Lucas standing there, wide-eyed and mouth open. 

Who are these people and what is going on, Lucas thought.

“Didn’t you have more staff, Valerie? And who’s this guy,” the lady with the bun said, looking right at Lucas. “He looks a little weird. Can’t pinpoint why, though.” Lucas’ jaw dropped wider.

“Oh, he’s a new employee. The team has changed up a bit since I last saw all of you.” Valerie was making her way behind the counter. She pushed Lucas off to the side. “I can take your orders, when you’re all ready.” Valerie picked up the notepad from the counter and gestured to Lucas to hand her a pen, all while looking at the women in front of her.

The women decided to order the most expensive set on the menu, one to share amongst themselves. Valerie joined Emilio in preparing all the items in the set, leaving Lucas to stand there, face to face with the women.

“What’s your name?” the lady wearing glasses asked.

“Lucas.”

“Your name tag looks so rusted it’s hard to read. Valerie can’t get you all new one? Guess things really have been going that bad,” the lady with the ponytail commented. Lucas noticed in his peripheral vision Valerie look up for a split second before looking back down to continue her work on the counter.

“Set E is ready!” called out Emilio.

“Thanks. You all must work so hard, just the three of you here,” said the woman wearing glasses.

“It’s not even busy now,” the lady with the bun said while looking around the cafe.

“Come on, girls! It’s almost time to get to work!” The lady with the ponytail was holding the box containing their food, and the two other women followed behind her as she began making her way to the door. They all said goodbye to Valerie, Emilio, and Lucas on their way out.

“Well, wasn’t that a treat. It feels like forever since I last saw them,” Valerie said.

“Who are they? And what was up with that?” asked Lucas.

“Some girls I know. I guess you could say we were classmates a long time ago.”

“Do they hate you or something? Why were they like that?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that,” said Valerie. “They’ve always been curious as to how things are going for me. I could be working the same job as them. With them, even. But I chose a different path for myself. And now I’m here!”

“You just let them talk like that? I mean, what they said seemed like subtle jabs on you and this place.”

“Well, they don’t understand the whole picture about running Cafe En Gard, and I don’t hold that against them,” Valerie said, putting down the utensils she was cleaning. “If I followed what they did, I’d probably be as successful as them. They would be nicer to me. But that wouldn’t be enough to make me happy. I’m happy being here running my own cafe, even when things are tough. And even when a group of ladies come in and make unkind remarks.” Valerie laughed and Lucas didn’t understand how she could.

“Aw, Valerie!” Emilio dramatically hugged Valerie’s arm.

“Oh my goodness, what are you doing?” Valerie looked down on Emilio, whose bent knees brought him lower than Valerie’s height.

“I’m happy working here, too!” Emilio had the biggest pout on his face. “Even though I never expected to end up here, I’m glad I did. It must have been fate!”

“Okay, what are you even rambling on about? Let’s all get back to work! We need to reorganize the display case!” Valerie lightly pushed Emilio off of her, and the two of them got back to work.

The night continued, with various customers that would maybe alarm regular people but did not phase Lucas at all. When it was time for Lucas to leave work, Valerie walked him to the door. After she opened the door for him, she patted him on the back and said, “one day, you’ll find something that can make you happy every day.” Lucas looked back at her with a confused face, and Valerie just smiled and closed the door. He began walking, and the cold evening air felt refreshing as it breezed over his face on the way back to his apartment.