Breaking All the Rules

Two

"JORDAN!"

The yell was accompanied by a heavy bang on the door that got me scared that maybe Nicole was losing her mind. I shrugged, turning on my bed. Sharing the same house with Nicole had it perks; I mean even though living with her equalled forfeiture of the right to a decent night rest, I still got to wake early, if that made any sense.

"Jordan, I'll break this door if you don't let me in this minute!"

Sensing the beginning of a major migraine starting to spread through my temples, I yawned, "Go away, I don't want to talk to you."

"The feeling is mutual but we are both going to lose our jobs if you don't get your butt in that shower!"

Huh? It was morning already?

I jumped off the bed. A quick glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table and I literally started to tear off my pajamas.

Thirty minutes and a breakfast of cold lasagna later, Nicole and I somehow managed to find ourselves at Coffee Haven.

"Seven minutes late!" Our sadistic boss, Mrs Fowler, who unfortunately happened to be exiting the cafe the moment we walked in hissed at us.

"Remind me to kill you later!" Nicole had mouthed at me.

It hadn't even been four hours since the customers started to troop in that I found myself sighing breathlessly at the counter. My neck was starting to ache and I couldn't even concentrate on anything I was doing.

"Jordan!"

I jumped.

Why was everyone yelling my name?

Then turning, I saw it was Nyelle, the waitress who worked morning shifts only. She had this worried look in her eyes that got me wondering if I had done something to irk her.

"Nyelle... you scared me. I didn't know you were still around?" I asked, turning back to making the coffee.

This day had to end...

"Uh-uh." She said, glancing at her wristwatch. "I don't have to go until another one hour or thereabout."

"OK."

Days like this brought back memories of life in Detroit. Friendly, black-slapping old folks filing into JESS' asking for some good 'ol ale, Dad smiling from behind the counter at some of their jokes, Greg gawping at me while I pretended to be engrossed in my books...I missed everything. It got me wondering if my life would have turned out differently if I had stayed back to help Dad out at JESS' instead of leaving everything behind and rushing to L.A the minute I graduated college. Maybe I would have felt a little happier... satisfied.

"You're spilling the coffee." Nyelle pointed out. Then, she edged me from my seat in front of the coffee maker. "Move."

"Why?"

"You look tired." She shrugged. "Decaf?"

"Yeah." I mumbled, leaning against the table. "Thanks."

She shrugged again. "What can I say? Jobs like this are meant only for some of us."

I was about to ask what she meant when Nicole strolled in.

"One order pending. Who's got table five?" Nicole asked.

Nyelle quickly rose from the chair. "I'd better get a-going. That woman's a pain in the ass" Nicole and I watched, entranced, as she placed the coffee mug on a tray and made out of the kitchen in quick, measured steps.

I wiped my coffee-stained hands on my apron, looking everywhere but at Nicole. Childish as it might sound, I had been avoiding moments alone with her ever since that argument at the diner the other day. She walked into the living room and I found an excuse to be in the kitchen, asked me a question and I either nodded dumbly or didn't bother to dignify it with an answer.