Simon Muhn felt exhausted. When he wasn’t helping change Han’s bandages or avoiding Mimi’s suspicious glare while still encouraging her to eat, he had his niece to worry about. When he did lay down to sleep, cold blue eyes haunted even the darkest corners of his mind. While, really, Simon wanted nothing more than to spend a day, or even an entire week, sleeping under the dome of blankets in his bedroom, he had other matters to attend to. Which was how he found himself in line at a cafe. The line moved much too slow for Simon’s liking. The man at the cash register had arrived all the way to the cash register yet hadn’t already decided what he wanted to order.
“Oh my god…” Simon grumbled under his breath, loud enough that only the individuals next to him could have heard. “How can you wait in line for five minutes and still not know what you want? I left my apartment knowing what I wanted: a single coffee with as many shots of espresso as they’re allowed to give me. Why can’t he just pick something already?”
The college coffee shop was busy, like it was every weekday lunchtime. Parker was working the register, taking orders and passing them down the line to be made. The majority of the customers were students, professors, other admin staff of the college and so she usually had their order on lock, ready in her mind before they could even open their mouth, she’d been working here for a while now, it was a talent. In all honesty, the two worst types of customers were, in order: those who called you by your name as though they’re your best friend just because you used your customer service voice on them, and those that spend ten minutes in line only to umm and ahh once they got to the register. Staring at the man opposite her, pen already poised over the cup, the blonde narrowed her eyes as he squinted at the board and pondered what he wanted to order. After a couple of minutes, she cleared her throat and smiled at him sweetly “listen, buddy, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that after all this thinkin’ and pussyfootin’ you’re just gonna order a skinny decaf mocha with no whip, because that’s what you have. Every time you come here. Which is every day. Monday to friday. Every week.” writing the order down, he opened his mouth to protest before deciding it wasn’t worth it and shrugging “next time you hold up my line when I’m five minutes from clocking off, I’m giving you full caf” she warned, giving him his change and directing him to the drink collection area to wait dismissively. “Hey Professor, black coffee extra twoshot?” she suggested, already writing the familiar order down “sorry ‘bout the wait. Some people” she glared down the line at Mr indecisive pointedly “forget that I’m here at the same time every day and that I know them better than they know themselves” she laughed, shaking her head “you doin’ alright?” she liked to make small talk with the professors, they were usually interesting.
