Page 3 of All Stars Fall
And now I was sitting in an empty coffee shop while Judge Judy yelled at some pimple-faced kid for breaking his mom’s window and then suing her for physical harm.
“Hello?” I called out in a loud voice, hoping that Jennifer, the lady I’d talked to, would answer. “Hello?”
“She’s not here,” a voice said from behind the counter. I peeked around the corner. A girl who looked maybe fourteen popped her gum and stared down at her phone. “Went to Subway—likes their bread.”
“Uh-huh.” Seaside? Really? Why not Portland? Seattle? Boise? “I’ll just wait for her then. I’m Penelope. I’m the new—”
The bell rang over the door.
I waited for the teen to get up.
If anything, she seemed even more concerned with her phone.
There was something vaguely familiar about the man that stepped up to the counter. “Have you ordered yet?”
“No.” I waved him off. “Actually I’m supposed to start work here and—” I sent a glare toward the girl still sitting. “—you know what, I’ll just help you, what do you want?”
His eyes raked over me briefly before he gave his head a shake. “Black coffee, three hot chocolates, and advice on how to get gum out of both real and synthetic hair.” His smile was brilliantly white, movie-star level. What was a guy like him doing in Seaside? And I was officially staring a little too hard.
I ducked my head. Great. I just met a gorgeous, probably taken guy and I was willing to bet I smelled like potato chips and diet Coke, not to mention my makeup had completely melted off my face during the drive.
“I’m not sure about the gum, but I think I can help you with everything else.” My voice came out more like a croak than something sexy or even remotely normal, just adding to the embarrassment and total panic now that I faced the machine.
Why had this been a good idea again?
The teen popped her gum behind me.
I gritted my teeth.
I could do this.
Easy.
Cake.
I’d done this a thousand times. I closed my eyes, exhaled, opened them again, and let myself default into barista mode.
Within five minutes, I had all his drinks and was staring down the oldest looking cash register I’d ever seen in my entire life.
Did the thing even work?
“Peanut butter.” Surly teen said from behind me. “Really creamy peanut butter, get it up to the root and start pulling the gum away one hair at a time.” She tapped against the register. “That’ll be seven-fifty.”
He handed her a ten, but locked eyes with me. “Keep the change.”
She flashed him a bored smile, stuffed the extra change into the empty tip jar then walked slower than I thought physically possible back to her stool and slumped over her phone again.
Unbelievable.
The little bell on the door went off as he left and I found myself staring after the teen who still couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge me.
“You’re welcome,” I found myself saying.
Her head didn’t even lift. “Uh-huh.”
That was it. When I had kids, no screen time! They got books and puzzles, nature!
You know, if I didn’t repel men.
