Lily Sunday, 5:30 PM
I knew this day would come, though I still prayed it was a dream. And what was that?
High School
Filthy, high school
Where we were once boss, the top of the tier of middle school, to the lowly, pathetic rank in high school as freshman.Where we no longer have lots of known friends and familiar hallways. Where everything is new.
I hate changes
But on the bright side, I had suffered from the death of summer vacation, I do not look the most appealing right now.Not wanting to allow anyone access to my unflattering state, my door is locked and remained locked, and remained locked for the past hour.
"Dinner, honey!" Rufina calls for possibly for the seventh time. She is my awesome, pimp Grandma
"I'm not hungry," I repeat for the seventh occurrence as well. The angry, grumbling hole in my stomach told me otherwise
For some irrelevant reason. the sense of change has always made me think back to the tragic times like my father's sudden disappearance or the time when my bra fell loose during gym class (stupid weak hooks). Or when I accidentally slapped my geometry teacher because he was drilling me with annoying criticisms when I was at "that time of the month". Maybe it's just the sadness
Or I'm just paranoid
Yeah I must be
Only once I hear the front door snapping open then closed, and the familiar revving of the car announcing that my Grandma was leaving to pick up some groceries do I unlock my door and slink out.Pulling an old sweatshirt and slacks and scraping my hair into a half-hearted braid, I pick at Granny's concoction of (ordered) pizza and step outside into the crisp, chilly air.
I'm opting for some sharp coffee right now. Even if it's 6 PM
Maybe that can help me focus for the first day of high school tomorrow and drive away the howling in my stomach.
It is a shame that none of my friends can make it tonight. So I'll have to go by myself risking my own butt; something about Granny informing me about creepy guys roaming the streets at night going by myself. But I really want to try that new coffee shop in town.
The "Pumpkin Spice Dream Mocha" sounds promising
I walk, because it's only about three blocks away. Besides, I can use some fresh air. It takes about fifteen minutes to walk there, and it takes me a while to locate the small body of the cafe.
My first impression of the coffee shop when I walk in is to appreciate the warm gust of air that followed my arrival. Then I take int he appearance of the inside and the overall atmosphere.
It is very quaint and cozy, but I can't help but notice I am the only customer in this, it is 6 PM after all so I actually might be the weird one here.
I choose a window seat and gratefully in the cushiony seat-my feet ache from walking a mile. I peer out at the red and gold raining leaves. Autumn never fails to impress me.
I am wondering, how should my day play out tomorrow? Would I be horribly lost in the daunting hallways of high school? Be picked on? Shoved in a locker? Have crabby teachers?
...Get a boyfriend?
I will have to have a deep and meaningful girl session with my girlies Anna and Onodera. We can discuss how to plan accordingly tommorow to avoid public humiliation (that's the worse) and possibly make new friends. Maybe.
Nobody can beat those two in my circle of friends.
I must have been pretty lost in thought because I am suddenly knocked out of my thoughts when I hear a throat clearing. Quickly compromising myself, I turn my head nonchalantly to acknowledge whoever wants my attention.
He is a waiter
My waiter
"What would you like to sip on today?"
He is wearing a dark green plaid shirt with black slacks and a messy blond hair. His eyes are a gorgeous blue.
And he is undeniably cute.
It takes me a (long) second to realize he is waiting for an answer to a question I don't remember him asking
I can't take that handsome look he's giving me. So I whip my head the other way and dive into the contents of my purse muttering an excuse along the lines of "I need to get my wallet"
Good Job. Lily, I scold myself
When I know I can't have my head in my purse any longer for it to be awfully weird, I reluctantly pull my head out and stare back at the smirk he has slapped on his face. I hope my blush isn't too obvious.
"Would would you like?" he repeated his question patiently.
A hot waiter in front of me before the first day of high school. Go figure.
"I'd like to try the Pumpkin Spice Dream Mocha please. It sounds nice"
To my surprise the blond waiter laughs a charming laugh. I feel as if I've melted a little.
"I'm sorry," he says after calming down. "It's just that this Pumpkin Spice Dream Mocha you're speaking of already has a bad reputation since this store opened"
"Oh?" I am genuinely curious.
"Who knows? Any drink that is labeled a reputation from the first person who tries it out. And this one's first taster thought it tasted horrible." There was that stupid irresistible smirk again.
"Oh, I see" I say
"But the funny thing is" he piped up, "it's one of my favorites"
I nod. "Alright. I'll give that a try." I toss him a small smile, which is hard considering it takes all my strength to not let that huge, gigantic grin to come out.
He leaves and doesn't notice that my eyes linger a bit too long on his back.
A little while later
It doesn't take long for my drink to come since I am the only customer in the whole cafe.
I spot that same waiter before he sees me, and when he does, I have to look away from the sudden contact with those dazzling blue eyes. I continue dumbly looking at my lap, wishing I had brought my phone or a book or anything that makes me look as if I'm not interested in my thighs.
I notice him standing next to me with my peripheral vision, and I am forced to look up, and I am greeted with his hand placing a large cup of a bright orange liquid topped with a mountain of whip on the small marble table in front of me. I admire it, mentally cooing, "Oohs" and "Aaahs"
"Thank You," I start to say, but am thoroughly astonished when he sets an identical drink across from me and places himself in the seat opposite from mine. In that seat
He is sitting across from me
He must've noticed my confused expression (way to go me) because he flashes that killer smile once again and explained, "it gets slow around here. Especially in the evening.And I can't refuse to have my favorite drink when I'm forced to make it when it never gets ordered!"
I nod stupidly. Say something, I scold myself. "It looks delicious."
"Trust me, it is." The handsome guy takes a long drawl from his cup, while smearing his upper lip.That just makes him even more frustrating to ignore.
"What's in it?" I say . Does it have nuts? Because I'm allergic to nuts and I can have them, or else I'll break these nasty rashes and I-" I shove the glass in my mouth and gulp down the warm drink to shut myself up. Mmm, this drink is really good.
Whoever said this taste horrible is a knucklehead
But he just chuckles again and assures me, "There aren't any nuts in here. Just coffee beans,milk,pumpkin and cinnamon."
He picks up his napkin and dabs it on his lips to remove the cream, which was too bad becuase I was enjoying that look.
It's not hard to stare at him and his gorgeous features. His dirty blond tresses look so soft and fluffy, I want to run my fingeres through them. His amazing blue eyes can compare to my boring, dull shade of blue. His lips looks so soft and lucious and-
OMG, Lily, whate the hell are you thinking? I blink my eyes to shake myself back to reality. I stare at his nose, because there's no way I can keep a stable stare at his eyes. Hm, even his nose looks perfect.
"So, may I ask why are you this coffee shop at six?" he asks.
For all I know, he may be one of those creepy guys Gran warned me about, I think suddenly, still staring at his nose.And it's even more true when I'm all by myself! I should have brought my friends for backup or at least had my phone on me. Oh my gosh. I so stupid and why-
"Something on my nose?" I instinctively peer up to meet his whole face which has creased with confusion... and was that embarrassment?
No way, I'm the more embarrassed one
"No, sorry!" I stutter, placing my cheeks in my hands to hopefully cool it off.But he was lifting his empty (when did he finish all that?) glass and peering at his reflection to see if there was really something on that perfect nose.
After an awkward moment of me feeling pathetic on saying that and him checking his nose in his glass, he finally puts it down on the table and his distinguishable smile reemerges.
"If I may ask again, why are you taking time out of your schedule to come to this lowly coffee shop?" He flashed a half smile.
"Oh uh," I stammer, "... just wanted to try something new before I start my first day as a freshman tomorrow".
Kill me now that sounded pathetic
But instead, his eyebrows shoots up and a full smile comes out.
"Really?" he exclaims. "Because I'm going to start the first day of high school tomorrow, too!"
I smile a genuine smile.It's so cool that I have something in common with this cute guy, much more the same age. Maybe I do have a chance
... no, bad girl, Lily, you're probably going to see him just this one time.
"I'm kinda nervous,you know, from being the top of the tier in middle school to lowly pathetic freshman in high school," he
says wistfully. and my mouth mentally drop open. Can he read minds...?
But I nod and agree sincerely, "I totally agree with that" and track on, "My Grandma would want me to excel in all my years of school because I'm her only 'child'..." Insert awkward smile.
He grins back at me and comments
"You have any siblings?"
He looks downcast all of a sudden, and I mentally punch myself for saying something that must have been a very sensitive subject topic for him.
"No," he says sullenly. "... I'm adopted."
"Oh, I'm sorry for asking that!" I blubber, heat jumping to my cheeks once again
"No it's okay," he says just as quickly, "It only makes sense to ask that after what you said." He discreetly fans himself with his hand.
I bet I'm making such a great first impression.
"So why did you get a job here?" I ask as casually as I can
"My parents want me to get a part-time job to help raise money."
'Do you like it here?"
"Yea, I guess. Boss is really nice. I am his first worker to be employed"
"Sounds great," I lamely comment.
He checks his watch, and with a startles expression, he says, "Oh, I didn't notice how much time has passed.Sorry to steal some of your needed sleep for school tomorrow."
"Same for you; you must have to get some sleep as well for your classes tomorrow," I reply.I finish the last gulp of the delicious coffee. "Besides, this coffee's probably going to keep me awake for a few more hours yet."
"Me too," he says as he peers at his empty cup.
He gets up from his seat across from me and scoops up both of our empty cups. "Thanks for stopping by at SquareDCafe'!"
He flashes me a cheery grin.
I smile back and reply, "Thank you. It was a pleasure chatting with you"
Then I remember something
"Oh! May I ask how much was that drink?" I pull out my wallet, crossing my fingers that I have enough loose cash to pay for the delicious coffee.
But I nearly jump out of my skin by his warm touch on my wrist, effectively stopping me from pulling anything out of my wallet.
"Free," he jumps in. "Free for the person who entertained me during the boring hours of the evening."
Then he notices his hand of my wrist.
He immediately pulls backs and apologizes, "Oh sorry!" He turns back to me and hastily walk to the door where I assume coffee is prepared. He throws a backwards wave and says, "Nice meeting you! Good night, and good luck tomorrow!"
The he disappears.
... What just happned?
But still, I slowly tug a five-dollar bill and place it on the table he and I were sitting at. "Good night, and good luck too," I whisper at the closed door and allow a small smile to creep out.
I leisurely walk out the glass double doors knowing full well I might not be able to see him again, considering I can't sneak out here every day.
And then I realize, before he had suddenly turned away, I had caught his name tag pinned on his shirt.
I whisper it slowly, testing it out, and smile at the sound of his name.
Ace.
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