Falling In Love at a Coffee Shop

Chapter 2

As the adrenaline rush died down, the anxiety levels quickly rose, my brave and bold-façade slipping in a matter of seconds, as my mind replayed the scenes that happened not too long ago; how could he be so heartless? Fucking asshole. I've never felt so degraded in my life and embarrassed all in one. I didn't realize I was shivering. Imogen's arm wrapped around my shoulder as she guided us to the girls bathroom, my lungs felt heavy and my throat tightened with each breath I took.

Reaching the bathroom I left Imogen's hold and walked to the sink. Leaning over it to take some deep breaths, trying to feel the air in my lungs again and trying my best to ignore the heart pounding roughly against my chest.

It was quiet for a moment, staring at the worn out white sink until my breathing came to a steady pace. There was milkshake residue on my skin, turning on the water I quickly washed my hands. Slowly looking up, I was met with a not-so-pretty site, my makeup was officially ruined with streaks of a mix of mascara and dried up tears stained my cheeks, a couple gems missing from my eyes, and my highlighter was nonexistent. I hate the person that I see staring back at me, I just look so pathetic and weak.

"Why am I letting this stupid shit get to me like this?" I ask turning around to face Imogen. Tears threaten to spill once again and I can feel my face radiating heat.

"Um, because you're human V, those pricks did a fucked up thing and you have every right to feel the way that you do." She hands me a tissue from her bag with an empathetic look. Taking it, I wipe away the makeup and splash some water on my face in hopes of getting rid of the mess.

"Okay so how about we ditch the rest of school and you just come over to my house so we can have a girls night and take your mind off this whole mess?" Imogen suggests.

"As much as I would love that, I have to be at work after school. " I say with sadness in my voice. " But if it's okay with you I'd love to come over after my shift."

"Girl you don't even gotta ask, of course it's okay." She walks over to me and gives me a hug. "It's gonna be okay, trust me." I close my eyes and hug her back.

Imogen offered to give me a ride to the cafe but I decided to take a walk instead and clear my head a bit. I put my airpods in and listened to the playlist that I made for when I have days like this where my anxiety/depression are worse than usual. Right now I decided to play the song 'Control' by Zoe Wees.

After the 15 minute walk, I make it to the cafe, the sign 'Thanks a Latte Cafe' hangs above the entrance and I see the beautiful yellow and lavender flowers placed around the door. A small smile spread across my face as I entered the cafe, it just had a comforting feeling to it. The room was a bit dim with twinkly lights all around it just felt nice, not to mention the smell of the freshly brewed coffee that was just delightful. I made my way to the back where the office was and began to work on my tasks.

Liz Cooper is my boss, she's in her early 50's and has one of the kindest souls I've ever met. When I first applied here, Liz was hesitant about hiring since I didn't have any experience. But of course with me being myself I was very persistent and told her I would work a week for free so I could prove I was capable for the job. Of course she wondered why someone my age was in desperate need for a job, after telling her about my situation she was very understanding and did everything she could to help me get to where I am now at the cafe. She's been an amazing help in my life and is always understanding.

Typing up schedules for the following week was one of the first things I do at the beginning of each Monday, running by everyone's availability accordingly. A knock resounds from the door, "Come in." I say looking up to see Alex's built 6'1 figure entering the office.

Alex was one of the employees here, he is the same age as me but goes to a different school.We used to go to the same school in our elementary days but lost touch when we started going to different middle schools. We were thankfully reconnected with one another when he walked in one day to get a job here. I'm so happy that he's back in my life, Alex is one of the kindest people I know, he's always in a positive mood no matter what, very funny, and very open minded.