Written by Proto
Chapter 5: A New Challenger!"HIYAH!" A shout filled the apartment as Mai air kicked into the living room. After years of hearing about how great it was, Mai had finally rented Rumble in the Bronx. It was an early Jackie Chan movie sure to be chock full of martial arts goodness. The living room was simple enough, a TV that sat on top of rack full of movies and games across from her couch. Every time she looked at it, Mai remembered the first night with April and she couldn't help but smile. Mai punched the air toward her TV before winding up for her finishing move. She pulled her hands behind her "Gaaaaalliiiicccccck…" she readied. Her hand launched forward as she prepared to hit the play button with her index finger and finish the technique. Before she could unleash all her button pressing fury on the dvd player, she was distracted by a sound from the bedroom. Her text message sound was screaming "BABIES!! THEY'RE BAAAABIIEEESSS!" from across the apartment. She perked up and bounced excitedly to her phone, hoping to see her favorite five letter name on the screen. Her happiness came to an abrupt end when she saw Daryl's name on the cover. She put it back on the bed, pretending she didn't see it but curiosity got the better of her and she opened the message. "Emergency! Milly called out. Need help in shop. Cover?" Mai's head fell back as she exhaled loudly. She already knew there was only one answer to the text. This was the downside to working in a small shop with an even smaller staff. She sent her affirmative reply and shuffled to the closet to get her work clothes out. Shortly thereafter she was speed walking in the fading sunlight toward the shop. Being the best barista in the joint had its ups and downs. She rarely had to work evenings but in emergencies was always the first and most reliable to call. She walked in the shop's double doors and walked into the backroom to put her stuff down. Daryl was there getting supplies while the front was unoccupied for the moment.
"Looks like a real busy night out there," Mai said dryly motioning to said empty counter. Her boss frowned, "I'm sorry, hun. Milly called out and I panicked. You know I can't run this place by myself even on a slow night. I need someone. Hell, I needed YOU. Nobody knows this shop and nobody knows coffee like you." Mai unsure of what kind of compliment that was cocked her eyebrows, "You sure know how to sweep me off my feet, Daryl. I'll be up front" she tried to muster a laugh to temper the sting from her harsh voice but managed only a small chuckle. Mai then proceeded to man the front desk for what may have been the slowest night in the coffee shop's history. She tried everything to pass the time, wiping down the counter, cleaning the utensils and even organizing them from largest to smallest. She then reorganized them from useful to useless, then by color, by shape. She reached the point where she was balancing pens on the counter behind her, talking to herself as nobody else would hear. "Well look at the bright side, only two more hours! That's far too long. I should be watching Jackie Chan punch people and insist he doesn't want any trouble. Was that even around back then? Jeez, don't you ever shut up? Oh cheer up, only two more hours. Yeah, you're really not helping. What would Jackie do?"
"I believe he would wall jump off that wall and beat up five guys while simultaneously making himself a mocha frap." A voice suddenly spoke up from behind her. She whirled around to see a young man, mid twenties, standing in front of the counter. His brown hair hung down over his face in a disheveled fashion. A warm smile parted his lips welcomingly. "He always struck me as a cold drink type of guy. Not one to sit around waiting for things to cool off. He's got trouble to not cause, right?" For a moment Mai was completely dumbfounded. Who was this stranger? Why was he talking to her? Oh! Customer. Right. She stepped forward, a confused look on her face, "I'm sorry?" she offered trying to find out what the man was talking about. He laughed and shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. I overheard you talking to yourself about Jackie Chan and I tried to make a dumb joke. My bad" he waved his hand dismissively. Mai's face lit up "OHHH! I get it! I'm kinda slow tonight, bear with me!" she smiled rubbing her forehead embarrassedly. "So, fellow Jackie fan, what can I get you tonight?" The stranger gazed up at the menu and finally decided on a ice tea lemonade. "I too do not have time to let things cool down. I have to many asses to kick. You know how it is," he laughed. Mai nodded along laughing, "Can I get your name?" With a nod the young man responded, "Cid."
Mai quickly turned around and busied herself as Cid took a seat next to the bar and slid his PSP out to show his friend at the table something on the screen. In the backroom, Mai could hear her phone ringing with a special ringtone. April. But she was busy for the first time all evening and the call would have to wait. Rapidly, she mixed the drink and wrote Cid's name on it. She placed it on the counter and motioned him over. He stood up and she got a look at him as a whole. He was almost six foot with brownish red complexion. His clean shaven face made him look younger than he was, no doubt. His long sideburns framed his face well as he ran his hand through his hair, pushing his bangs back. His strong arms fit snugly into his shirt that did a great job of framing his shoulders as well. Unfazed by this, Mai simply handed him his drink and told him to have a good day. Cid paused, caught off guard at the abruptness of it all, "Yeah…you too miss…uh do you have a name barista lady?" Mai did a half turn before disappearing into the back room, "Barista lady? That'll do!" and she vanished from his sight. Cid returned to the table where his friend was waiting with a smile, "Smooth man. Barista lady!" Cid waved it off, "Whatever man, she's just a girl at a coffee shop." He stared off after her a moment longer, "A cute girl, though…"
No comments:
Post a Comment