AVERETTRUIZ
She notices quickly how adeptly he moves to fix her mistakes, and marks it down for later. The ability to do things SHITTILY with the reassurance that the customer ( always right, Jack had reminded her ) wouldn’t be impacted was, truth be told, a godsend. It lifted the pressure off her back, and, therefore, any desire to actually kick her ass into gear. It wasn’t that she was lazy, per se. She always did her homework, and tinkered with random appliances stolen from forgotten corners of their home — alarm clock gone unmissed in the age of the iPhone — and things picked up from Goodwill. Ava had already finished her summer reading assignments for next year. SENIOR YEAR of high school is what loomed over her, not some stupid job in a coffee shop. A forehead finally free of acne and teeth finally free of braces had left her with a newfound energy to rejuvenize her social life, and while she liked Jack … hanging out with her MOTHER’S friends wasn’t exactly at the top of her list to become cool. Neither was making lattes all day. “ I don’t have to do stuff, ” she reminded him. “ I could like, bring a book or something. Sit in the back. Or just like — … ” She’s quiet for a beat, trying to figure out how exactly to present her dream scenario. “ Not come. A case of let’s not and say we did, you know? ” Another beat. “ Or like, say we did to … Odette. Say I did, if we want to get into specifics. ”
he’s utterly baffled to the point where he has to consciously stop laughter peeking from the corner of twitching lips . ‘ nuh-uh , that totally defeats the purpose of a job ! ’ an exclamation rooted in good faith , too oblivious to see her rebellion as anything more than a playful banter that’d subside with time . though a part-time job at fourteen had never been anything less than a dream for him , an exhale to the end of a school day ( however scarcely attended ) . so it strikes him as odd when she doesn’t display the same sort of enthusiasm he had , or really , any at all . ‘ you can read on your break . ’ he tries , brows coming together to a peak , still moving within the conversation as he deposits the filter into the basket . though he stops himself before he gets an further , gosh , maybe he should ask emma for some teaching tips . he steals a moment of nothingness for himself , a gentle reminder to slow down . leaned against the counter , his arms cross , a frown etched with sprinklings of disappointment hard to hide . so much for responsibly cool . ‘ you’re breaking my heart here . you get free coffee and donuts , you get paid ! a smooth workplace relies on people showing up , and i can assure you it won’t go over well with your co-workers if they’re called to cover you at seven in the morning because you just didn’t feel like it . ’










