Dax & Violet: “Coffee Break”
It’s the middle of December, in New York no less, and here he is, sweating like a pig. Not that pigs sweat all that much, he muses. He figures he will have to look up that expression some other time. For now, the tsunami of people flooding into his workplace in search of hot beverages need more of his attention. He wipes the sweat off his forehead with the bottom of his apron, then continues preparing the next order. They’d ordered “two ventis”; on any other day he would’ve let it go. Today, he reminded them that this isn’t Starbucks. He’d managed to prevent himself from saying anything snarky, but bits of snark were peppered into his tone.
“Order for Denise,” Dax calls out, setting it down on the pick-up counter.
“It’s Dennis,” the customer retorts sharply before snatching up the cup. Dax apologizes, chocking it up to the rush, but the man leaves without another word. This continues, more or less, with the others in the shop. He slips up on a few orders, having to redo them, so rushing wasn’t really helping him at all. As much as he loves coffee, being around coffee, and coffee enthusiasts, it’s all too much for him. The finals he has coming up in his classes had added enough stress. He didn’t need this.
He expels a dramatic exhale as the last customer in line picks up their order. The shift isn’t over yet, but at least the heavy foot traffic had dwindled down. He seats himself down at an empty booth, after letting the other barista know he’s gonna be taking a short break. He lays his face down on the cool table before him and groans, hoping that the holiday break would come early.
