#poncho paintings incoming if i have the energy

[aldercaps]

Chief poncho boy sadly sans-poncho (for now)

[maeziwo]

Coffee Shop

Hi! So, this is the beginning of a story I started last year, but I don’t think that I’ll ever end up finishing it. I’m pretty proud of how this chapter turned out, though, so I thought I’d go ahead and post it!

~*~

Akiko stared out of the cafe window, elbow digging into the counter-top and chin placed haphazardly in her palm. Her chestnut eyes were droopy and slightly glassy as she fought to keep them open.

It was much too early to be awake. It was much too early to be in her uniform. It was definitely much too early to be manning the shop. 

But, here she was. At four in the morning, covering a shift for her coworker, Rene, who had been smacked in the face by some huge marine biology assignment.

The rain was in no way helping Akiko in her struggle to stay awake. The rhythmic pitter-patter of water droplets was much too relaxing. Normally, Akiko would have loved it. She got stressed out a lot, with her unfortunate combination of double majoring, renting her own apartment, and working at a cafe as her only source of income. Well, technically it wasn’t her only source of income. But her other “job” really didn’t pay much, and it was as far as you could get from a steady income as possible.

Akiko’s eyes drooped closed, and she jolted herself awake and off of the counter-top. Slapping her cheeks a little, she shifted from foot to foot, straightening her posture. As much as she loved sleep, and not working at a coffee shop before dawn, Akiko did not want to get fired today. No Siree.

Akiko wistfully stared at the array of coffee machines behind her. God, she could do with some coffee right now. But there had to be about thirteen rules about not drinking the cafe’s stuff. She looked away before she could get tempted to steal any beverages.

The chime on the door was a welcome distraction. Akiko perked up as the poncho-wearing customer slowly and carefully shut the door behind them, muffling the sound of rain once more.

“Welcome!” Akiko said, smiling as cheerfully as she could muster for- Akiko’s eyes flicked to the clock- 4:46 in the morning. God. It had only been 46 minutes. This was going to be one long shift.

The customer lowered the hood of her neon yellow poncho, smiling shyly as she shook out her short, ear-length brown hair, which had been slightly flattened by the weight of the hood. Her streak of bright blue hair was a stark contrast to the rest of her well-maintained locks, but not in a bad way. The colors complemented each other.

The customer walked up to the counter, wincing apologetically as some water dripped off of her poncho. She looked up nervously at Akiko, who waved her hand and smiled reassuringly in a classic “don’t worry about it!” expression.

“Uh- could I take the…” she trailed off, head cocked in confusion as she trailed off, staring at the menu written on the blackboard paint of the wall. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the ‘Coffee Shot?’”

Akiko smirked.

“New to these parts?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah…?”

“Don’t worry, we all start somewhere!” Akiko chuckled to herself, “Anyway, a bit of backstory. So, the Coffee Shot is pretty notorious around here, since it’s basically a shot of the most highly caffeinated coffee on the market. Our trademark too. A lot of people drink it as a challenge, of sorts, since it can be...well, what you’d expect from a high dose of caffeine,”

Akiko leaned forward on the counter, suddenly feeling a bit more awake than before. “I gotta warn you though, I’m legally required to advise those with heart problems to avoid it. It’s that strong,” She adopted a bit of a teasing, challenging tone at the end, grinning a little.

The customer’s blueish-grayish eyes started to sparkle a little with determination.

“I’ll take one Coffee Shot please,”

Akiko’s grin grew full size.

“Super-energy, worse-than-five-sugar-highs, or x-treme?”

“X-treme,” the customer replied without a moment of hesitation.

“X-treme Coffee Shot it is. That would be two-ninety-eight,” The customer passed over a five dollar bill, and Akiko broke the change. The customer put all of it in the tip jar. “Can I have a name to go with that order?” Akiko reached for a paper shot glass (custom made, because what company in their right mind would want to sell a bunch of paper shot glasses?) and opened the lid of her sharpie with an audible pop!

“Ella,” the customer said, before quickly adding “with two ‘l’s in the middle.”

Akiko worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she scribbled the name and order down.

“Coming right up!” She announced, turning to fill the shot “glass.” It was barely thirty seconds before she was placing it on the counter-top and shouting “Ella! X-treme Coffee Shot!”

Ella jumped a little.

“Was that really necessary?” She asked, gesturing towards the empty cafe.

“Yep,” Akiko made sure to pop the p. “I need to practice, y'know?”

Ella glared at her playfully, reaching for the shot glass and downing it immediately, smacking it down on the table with a sigh before chucking it into the trash can.

Ella waved goodbye and smiled before pulling the hood of her poncho up and starting for the door.

“Have a good day!” Akiko called.

“You too,” Ella responded, gently pulling open the door and stepping through.

Akiko could hear the sound of receding footsteps, through the sound of rain for a few seconds, before the door sealed itself shut and the noises from outside all became muffled again.