On the outside, Alorah is a simple, diligent, and caring 17-year-old girl who only sees the good in people. Yet, behind all that is someone who has worries of her own. A strong worry that keeps her heart racing every time she lies in bed at night, r...
"You did not do that!" Amelia exclaimed, leaning against the counter as I took out a slice of blueberry cheesecake, a hit-selling product in the cafe.
"Who are you, and what have you done to our sweet and innocent Alorah!" Layla added, drinking the iced citrus tea I made for her.
I chuckled at their reaction while setting the plate of cheesecake on the tray for Dereck to take away. Before bringing my attention to these two silly friends, I wiped my station clean and then folded the towel.
Today is the grand opening of Cafe Reagen, and I nearly forgot about it when mom told me this morning. Thankfully, dad sent a message in our group chat wishing us the best of luck and that he'll visit us after work.
Because of my excitement, I texted Amelia and Layla while I was on the way home, leaving a stunned Julian back in the classroom.
"It's not that surprising," I said, finding it a little amusing. Amelia and Layla raised their eyebrows, giving me the 'Really? You're going there?' and I gave in, "Alright, it's a little bit surprising."
I felt a tap on my shoulder and was surprised to see a ticket in front of me. I grabbed it, reviewed the items, and gave Cassy a wink before mouthing thank you to her. She returned the gesture before focusing on her next customer.
While I was preparing the hot chocolate and the custard cream puff, a scoff caught my attention. I glanced up to see them both still staring at me.
"May I help you?" I said, switching to my work voice, earning me the look.
"Oh, don't give us that," Layla rolled her eyes as she sipped her drink.
"Which part of this conversation are you directing that response to?" I asked, even though I knew she meant my sudden character development and how I used my work voice at them.
"Both," She responded flatly before adding, "and you knew about it, so stop acting like you don't."
I chuckled at her without forgetting to do a victory dance in my head for knowing my best friend well.
"And you would know I was as surprised as you guys are. I didn't think I had it in me until...it came out naturally," I paused at what I was doing for a moment, realizing how naturally those feelings, actions, and words came out before setting the cream puff and hot chocolate on the tray.
Dereck grabbed it immediately and speed- walked to the customer who ordered this.
"How did you feel with this new...change?" Amelia stared at me when she asked that, and I smiled, knowing she was giving me all of her attention despite her favorite dessert sitting right in front of her.
"It felt new and foreign," I confessed, noticing a tired yet hurried-looking Dereck heading in my direction with a tray full of dirty plates. I smiled and reached out to help him with those, and he returned the gesture before running to who knows where. I returned my attention to the girls as I washed the dishes, "yet it wasn't an annoying development.
The bell rang, and I heard my co-workers yelling out a greeting, which meant that the bell came from the door and a customer walked in. I secretly glanced at the door and almost dropped and shattered the cup when I saw who the customer was.
Amelia and Layla seemed to notice the sudden shift in my mood. Curious as to why I was acting this way, they followed my gaze, and their jaw dropped when they realized who it was.
"Julian freaking Hayes?" Layla whispered-yelled, "What is he doing here?"
The three of us watched him standing there, surveilling the surroundings before it landed on where we were at. A smile erupted on his face as he walked towards us.
I mirrored his expression as I set the cup down and turned to face him. He wore a black t-shirt with "I rule the world" printed in the middle, paired with blue jeans and black and white sneakers. My smile widened when I realized how perfect his outfit looked against the cafe's interior.
A new wave of emotions started hitting me as I remembered our conversation this afternoon.
My mouth and heart might have a mind of their own since I felt the urge to add on what I had said to Amelia and Layla, all thanks to the guy who was a few more steps away from reaching us.
"I guess these new changes happened all because I met him," I added, loud enough for the girls to hear but not that loud for Julian to hear.
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