Love from a distance

Winter

July 12th, Tuesday 8:32am - 9:48 am

Winter. The best and worst season. The morning chill made walking to work magnificent, it always woke me up and shook the seasonal anxiety from the previous night out of me. That's one of the cons to winter. The anxiety and sleepless nights it brought. Those nights are the one's I'd prefer to forget. 

Nobody ever expects from our small little town in Australia to get snow, yet here I am trudging through what feels like a meter on snow. When I walk past a shop window I see my reflection looking back, my headphones appear to have disappeared into my hair. This playlist is always my favorite to listen to. Indie rock and alt songs have always been top tier to me. 

I push the door of the small café open, taking off my headphones. This place was home, more home like than my actual home. The warmth, the books and the sweet vanilla smell are all things that I find familiar. 

"Glad to see you didn't get distracted by some cat" Angie, the barista who shares morning shifts with me, says when it see's that I've arrived.

"I'm not that easily distracted" I say, rolling my eyes at him. Angie throws me a quick smile in response. This was how most morning shifts went, Angie greets me with some lighthearted insult and I retort back. 

I walk to the back of the store and grab my apron, name badge and pronoun badge. That's another thing I love about the café, the inclusivity. They welcome people who can't get jobs at other places in town because of who they are. 

Walking back up to the counter I spot a book Angie has spent months looking for sitting behind some magazines. I grab it and walk up to the counter. 

s l a m 

"Woah, you good?" Angie exclaims, shoot me a glance while making someone's coffee.

"I found that book you were looking for, 'The Song of Achilles' right?" 

"OH MY GOD YOU FOUND IT? I've torn this place apart looking for that!" 

"Yeah it was hiding behind some cheesy magazines"

"Ugh that's probably why I couldn't find it" Angie roll's it's eyes, passes the coffee to the customer, grabs the book and shove's it in his bag. 

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I look down at my watch '9:46'.

"Excuse me"

Slightly startled, I look up "Hi! How can I help you?"

There's a man standing there. He's probably about 5'8, wearing one of those strange neon orange shirts that every tradie wears. His hair reminds me of Levi Ackerman or Leon Kennedy. 

"Just a small latte and blueberry muffin, both take away please" He replies.

"Sure! A name for the coffee?" I start putting his order into the register.

"Anthony" I grabbed one of the small take away cups and wrote his name and order on it, sliding it over to Angie.

I reach into the display and grab the muffin, putting it into a bag. I pass it over to Anthony and with a quick "Here you go" that gets the usual "Thanks" in return. I watch him walk to a table near the horror and mystery bookcase. 

After that I start to zone out while taking another customers order.

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