Coffee for Charlie

Java Chip?

There was a boy sitting at her table.
Her table for two. H
She tried to act like she couldn't see him and continued grading the stack of papers in front of her. After a few moments of being ignored he started coughing abnoxously.

She looked around the cafe, and then back at the assignment in her hand. She still hadn't looked at him. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge him he would go away. Even as she thought it she knew it wouldn't work.
She knew she was being rude but she had a ton of work to be done and she didn't have it in her to have a pointless conversation with a stranger. (Besides he was the rude one for bothering her when it was clear that she was busy).

He lifted his hand and she flinched. She flushed bright red when she realized he was only waving to someone walking by.

She watched as the man walked behind the counter across the room and started cleaning a few utensils. There were others behind him also working in a desultory fashion. She snorted. If they thought making coffee and tea was boring then they were something else.

"Are you Charlie?" the boy asked. She could hear a hint of a Russian accent in his voice.
She looked up to find a handsome boy staring at her curiously. The half opened blinds from the window beside her sliced the sky into bars of light and shadow over his floppy brown curls, tan skin and light brown eyes, making him seem dark and mysterious.

"Yes I am Charlie, you are?" She said feeling a jump in her stomach. She wasn't prepared to meet a student. She still had her brown curly hair in a messy bun and she had SWEATS on!

"Carter. My name is Carter," he said grinning and holding out his hand, "I'm sorry to bother you but I am pretty sure you are my Language Arts teacher and I decided to say hey. Maybe get some brownie points in case I fail a test or something. Is that what you are doing ? Grading papers? Yeah you are, there is no other reason you would have a stack of papers 10 feet tall!"

"Uh well yes, that is what I am doing," she said, ignoring his hand. Student or not Charlie was still annoyed at him.

"Would you like some coffee? I work here so if you want some I can give it to you on the house! Or do you not want coffee breath?" He pouted, looking genuinly sad. He leaned forward a bit. She could see his entire face now, it was thin and his caramel skin looked soft like a peach. He was really cute. Beautiful really.

But he was obviously young. Maybe even young enough to be a freshman.

"Well I don't just come here for the view," she gestured to the cheap wooden tables and chairs and the display of cake pops and muffins, "so yes I will gladly have one."

She didn't think it was neccassary to tell him that she had had 2 already and it was only 4:00 a.m.

"Java chip?" He asked as he made his way behind the counter. He pulled a green apron from a hook on the wall and started getting a few coffee beans from a bag from somewhere Charlie couldn't see.

"Yes please. How did you know?" She asked warily as she glanced down at the table for an empty starbucks cup. She had a java chip an hour ago.

"It's my job. I can see what people want before they even know it," he winked at her playfully and started the blender, preventing her from saying anything further. She took this time to study him, although she could only see his back. He was thin but muscular, he probably played sports and his hair almost reached his broad shoulders. He was quite yummy.

"So you have super powers," she asked when he stopped the blender. Now it almost seemed too quiet to her.

"The best of the best! Do you have any? Maybe we can be partners in crime. Coffee boy and professor chip." She thought she could hear a smile in his voice.

"I am afraid I have to cut your dreams short, my only power is the power to give someone an F- with a smile on my face."

"That sounds more like a villain," he looked at her over his shoulder with a thin eyebrow raised and his bottom lip poked out. His light brown arms moved quickly in the way that people who had been working at Starbucks for years did. Swift and fast.

"Hmm. Good point. I guess I am a villain. Villains are cooler anyways." Charlie said and put her pen down. There was no point of trying to ignore him and work. He wasn't going anywhere. Nor was their conversation.

He didn't reply instead he just laughed, a loud and ugly one. It was the kind of laugh that was contagious, the kind that made others want to laugh too even if they didn't know why they were laughing.

He put a lid on the cup and walked back to her table in the middle of the room but not before he tried to wave at one of the enployees, almost spilling her drink. He smiled embarrassingly at her and continued to make his way towards her. Slower this time.

"You think the joker is cooler than captain america? Or that ultron is cooler than optimus?" He said smiling and handing her the coffee. She took a sip immediately. It was good. It wasn't too chocolaty this time.

"Thank you. It's delicious. And they don't have anything to do with eachother? They are in completely different movies?" Charlie said.

"Yes I know, I just didn't know any other people with superpowers," Carter said and leaned back while crossing his arms defensively, "but that doesn't mean I am going to give up."

"Bring it on. If this is your way of getting brownie points I want you to know that it's not working," Charlie said smugly.

"Eh grades smades, this is war! My education can wait!"

"Ha okay then."