Coffee Shop Encounters

First Encounter

"Hey, Tyler, I'm really sorry to ask you this but could you work today's shift? Liza called in sick again." Tyler's boss Olivia's voice pleaded, as this was the third time this week. Tyler sighed into the phone, then said, "Yeah. Sure. When should I come in?" She exhaled, "Thank you so much. Could you come in around 11?" He looked at the clock. It was 9. "Yeah. I'll be there. Yeah. See ya." He hung up and sighed.

Olivia hired Liza about a month ago, and she was great. She did her job, came in early, and worked overtime. But after a while, she stopped showing up. But Olivia, sweet, sweet Olivia kept giving the girl second chances.

Tyler had to deal with those second chances. He was always the one who got called up and asked to work the shifts. He sighed again and finished making his breakfast, a simple egg, and toast with a mug of hot coffee.

Sitting down and eating, he considered what work would be like today. It was Monday, so it would likely be moderately busy. He quickly finished his breakfast and checked the time. 9:30. He proceeded to his room, got dressed, and looked for his roommate.

Then, after he knocked on his roommate's door and didn't hear anything, he opened it and was met with the stench of disgusting human.

His roommate, Kai, was sprawled on his bed. A blanket that barely covered his body hung off the edge. Tyler nudged Kai's shoulder, and said, "Hey dude, you need to wake up. You have school, remember?" Kai groaned, stared up at him with bleary brown eyes, and grumbled, "fuck off dude I don't have classes until 10." Tyler smiled, "It's 9:30." Kai jumped up, looked at the clock on his bedside, and yelled, "Well fucking shit dude! You could've woken me up earlier!" He then scrambled around the room, picking up random pieces of clothing and putting them on, then bolted out the door, hopping as he put on his shoes. "I'LL BE BACK BY 2:30" Kai yelled out, then promptly ran out the front door.

Tyler shook his head, a small smile on his face as he got ready.

By 10:30, he was already at the coffee shop, so he figured he might as well clean the place up. Obviously, the person who had the late shift yesterday hadn't bothered, because the place was absolutely filthy. At least, Tyler's eyes say it was.

He was scrubbing one of the tables when his coworker, Adam, walked in. "Oh- um... Hey, didn't expect you to work the shift today." Tyler continued scrubbing as he replied, "Liza dropped her shift again." Adam nodded, then said, "Well um... I'm gonna get the kitchen set up... if you need anything just- call out." "Ok." Adam then scratched his neck uncomfortably as he backed away.

The door opened, sending a blast of chilly autumn air as someone entered. Tyler looked up at the person. She was short, maybe 5'0, 5'2 if you count her hair. She had long, red hair that was swept back into a ponytail. She wore a large coat and gloves that both looked a size or two too large.

He thought she was boring. She looked like she had tried way too much to be cute, or different. "Not like other girls" bullshit.

He noticed how she stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. He sighed, then called, "Hey, welcome to Lucky Clover Cafe. If you'd like to order, come up to the counter." She spun to look at him and nodded, blushing. 'What the hell is with this girl?' He thought, then walked up to the front counter.

"So what would you like to order today?" He asked in a bored voice, to which she hummed, staring at the menu, twirling a chunk of her hair that had fallen out of her ponytail, then shrugged off her jacket a bit and leaned on the counter, then said, "Well, I dunno, what do you like..." she read his nametag, "Tyler?" He pretended to think, then listed off a random drink, then added in the ✨hand✨ to hint to her that he wasn't interested.

She exposed her chest more, obviously not getting the hint, then said, "Well how about I get that drink, plus your-" she reached out to put a finger on his arm 'gross' "Number, Tyler." He raised an eyebrow, which made her giggle, and then said "Okay, one drink and a number coming up. Go ahead and sit at the table and we'll get your drink ready." She giggled again and sashayed to a table.

He groaned under his breath, "I hate pick-me girls." He shook his head, remembering why he preferred to keep his distance from women like her. He focused on his work, determined to ignore her flirting. He served her the drink and turned away, ready to help the next customer. He rolled his eyes and dealt with the next customer, shaking his head. He didn't understand why women thought they had to act like that to get attention. He continued to deal with customers, none bothering him the way the girl did, thank God. But some of them tried to make a conversation, which was... less than ideal. He smiled politely but kept his answers short and impersonal. He didn't need any more distractions. He just wanted to do his job and go home.

"Welcome to Lucky Clover Cafe, what can I get you?" He asked the most recent customer, to which the customer replied, "Uhh how about a hot cocoa and some peanut butter cookies, please?" Tyler quirked a smile, ringing the order up, "anything else?" The guy, who had nice-looking blue hair, thought for a moment, then smiled, "for you to keep that smile on your face. And uh- make sure my cocoa is warm, but not too hot." The guy set down the money and walked away, to which Tyler quirked an eyebrow and shook his head, going into the kitchen to make the hot cocoa and grab the cookies.

"Adam, can you work at the front? I gotta brew a drink." Adam's head popped around the corner, "Yeah, sure. Did you finally get tired of talking to people?" Tyler shrugged, "Just wanted to make drinks for a bit. I also need to bake more cookies." Tyler was usually the one who prepared the baked goods during his shifts, it was almost an unspoken rule among the workers. Adam rolled his eyes, but he had to admit that Tyler made the best cookies. He grabbed his apron and headed to the front, ready to charm the customers with his usual charm.

Tyler sighed in relief at being alone once more. When he finished making the drink and grabbed the cookies, he headed out to serve them to the guy. A smirk appeared on the blue-haired guy's face as he approached him, and he said, "Wow, that was quick." Tyler shrugged, set down the mug and cookies, then turned and walked away.

Having returned to the kitchen, he started baking with the ingredients he had absentmindedly grabbed. Being able to control that one thing in his life, which is always constant, is therapeutic for him, knowing every single ingredient and how much of each goes in. He smiled as he mixed the ingredients together; the feeling of something he could control brought him peace. He enjoyed creating something delicious and being able to share it with people.

He put a few more sheets of cookies into the oven, then looked up at the clock. 'Huh. Guess this shift ends sooner than I thought.' It was 1:30, and his shift ended at 2:00. He continued to bake and bake, taking sheets of cookies out of the oven, and then baking until his shift was over. He quickly cleaned up and got ready to leave, but not before the last batch of cookies was finished. He was relieved when he pulled out the last sheet, and he smiled as he looked at the rows of perfectly baked cookies. He grabbed his bag and left, satisfied with a job well done.

Adam stayed since he worked until the next employee got there, which was at 5. Tyler got into his car and drove home, waving at Adam as he left.

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Halo! First chapter is done :) Hope you all like!

Lmk (respectfully) if there's any bad grammar or anything, or anything you think could be changed!

Thank you all for reading!

~luka