A sigh was breathed past the pursed lips of a certain barista as she stood in front of the sink, her hands dunk into the soapy warm water as she gripped a hold of a plate in one hand, washing the plate with the wet sponge she gripped in the other hand. “Jeez,” she murmured to herself, flicking a stare around the café.
For a moment, and only a moment, the owner/manager of the Huggamug Café looked annoyed, breathing a second sigh as she watched her co-worker, the frizzy-haired, onyx-eyed young man smirking as he manoeuvred from table to table, stopping every now and then to chat with the doe-eyed, attractive women as a plate of dessert or a steaming hot beverage was set down in front of them.
“The lunchtime traffic was heavier than I thought it’d be today. Nowadays, it’s not so empty in here anymore,” she said, cluing up her thoughts.
Despite her initial irritation, a small smile pulled on her lips as she mentally mused. I shouldn’t be complaining. More customers means more business, after all. she thought, raising her wet, dripping hands out of the warm water.
Droplets of lukewarm dripped down her fingers, soaked the palm of her right hand as she set the plate in the dish tray. The female barista dunk her hands back down into the water, removing the soapy, moist sponge and pulling out the sink stopper. There was a noticeable gurgle as the dirty sink water was sucked down the drain, something which the young barista paid no heed to as she set the sink stopper and wet sponge aside.
Muse Barista flicked her hands a few times before she pivoted on her heels, raising her hands and squirting some hand soap into the palm of her hands. She rubbed and ran her hands over the other, turning on her heels to switch on the hot water for a few moments. Warm water flowed from the sink’s faucet, running down her fingers, her hands as vanilla-scented soap suds began to run their course down into the sink, sucked down the drain along with the dirty water.
The hot water was switched off as, again, the female barista turned on her heels, ripping off a piece from the paper towel that hung from the rack adjacent to the sink, wiping the damp feeling off of her hands. The moist paper towel was tossed into the garbage, the barista breathed another sigh as she glanced up, meeting the bespectacled eyes, the teasing smirk of her co-worker as he rounded the service counter.
“Akira.” she said, greeting the man with a nod.
Zero complaints? Who are you, and what have you done to my snarky co-worker, Akira? she mused, pursing her lips as she shook her head. It’s best not to dwell on it. He seems to be in a good mood, at any rate.
The sudden ding of the small bell above the café’s entrance alerted her to the arrival of a customer, something which caused her expression to light up with a small smile. However, she noticed that it wasn’t a female as was per the norm, but a male.
The oddity caused the young barista to do a quick once-over glance of the young man, silently sizing him up. He seemed to be a high school student, and a second-year at that, not a day past the age of 16. He wore a hoodie despite the temperature that was slowly warming up, hinting of the long, grueling summer months that were a few short weeks away.
Nevertheless, the young owner made herself appear as welcoming to the newcomer as possible. She was still smiling as he stood in front of the service counter, waiting to be served, instead of making his way to one of the empty tables nearby.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to the Huggamug Café. I’ll be your server today. What would you like?”
Muse Barista was still smiling as the young man voiced his request, his voice was as she expected it to be: low, gruff, speaking in a to-the-point manner. The young woman’s smile twitched at the corner as she nodded, reiterating the customer’s order.
“A mocha latte with lactose free milk? Coming right up, sir.”
She polished off her words with a short bow, setting herself to work. However, she couldn’t help herself from sparing the teenage high school student one last look before she stood in front of the latte machine.
He certainly is an unusual one, and I don’t think that just because he’s a guy, but... Ah. A customer is a customer.
It may have been just her first impression of him, but he seemed like the impatient type.
Muse Barista made a mental note not to keep him waiting too long for his order...
