Hatchetfield.

Gives You Hell // Ted Spankoffski x Reader

Emma enters Beanies through the alley, slamming the door shut behind her and grumbling. It's the small period of time before the morning shift, and you've gotten used to the consistent door slamming and the groaning that follows Emma's entrance; it's practically become your daily 6:50 am alarm. You wave at her sheepishly, and she waves back at you in exhaustion. It's clear that her botany class somehow managed to wear her out and that you might have to pick up some of her slack for the day, but at this point, you don't mind.

"Good morning, Emma." You call out to her as she puts her bag down and slips her apron over her uniform.

"'Morning, newbie." She replies as she walks towards the front counter to give you a firm pat on the shoulder.

"You know I'm not exactly super new here, Em." You raise an eyebrow at her as she proceeds to slump onto the counter. "It's been about a week and a half since I got hired." She chuckles in response.

"I guess" She raises her eyebrows at you and then gestures to her light eyebags, "Just wait until you get these, and you'll know you've earned the real Beanies barista experience." She trails off and then stares forward, gazing out of the large glass windows and swinging door that make up the front of Beanies. It's peaceful outside, quiet, and only filled with the sounds of occasional passing cars that make up the morning of this small, cramped Michigan town. You've only been here for less than a month, and it's already feeling like home, even if that "home" is a shitty studio apartment that you can barely afford.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" You scrape for any kind of small talk to fill the quiet atmosphere of the small cafe, "just... serene."

"Yeah, the morning coffee rush hasn't hit yet." She brushes away some of the loose strands of hair that stand out from her updo as she leans on the counter. You've worked at Beanies for only a short while, but Emma stood out to you for her nonchalant behavior and general chill attitude, unlike some of your other coworkers, who were the complete opposite.

"Ohmygoddddd yesss!!" You hear a chipper voice from the back of the cafe force its way into your conversation; goddamn it, it's Zoe. "This weather is sooo good—I gotta get out more." Zoe rushes next to you, scaring the hell out of the already disoriented Emma. "Hell, YOU gotta get out more _______- You know, this town has a pretty good nightlife for its size. If you like, ever want to go out with me and some of the girls after work, it would be like, so cool."

"I'm.. good." You try to put down her invitation nicely because a night out might not have the best impact on your finances. (In all honesty, Zoe manages to keep the same consistent loud energy throughout work, and you do NOT want to see how it gets when she's drunk with her theater friends). Emma rolls her eyes at Zoe's advances, clearly bothered by her boisterous behavior as well.

"Are you sure? It's musical theater karaoke night at this reallyyyy nice bar downtown. I'm sure you'd LOVE it." She blinks at you with her puppy-dog eyes, pleading as if she were trying to coerce you into joining her karaoke night like a siren trying to beckon a sailor to the deadly sea. You didn't particularly want to drown at the moment.

"Yeah, I don't want to though." You fidget uncomfortably, tugging at your apron and praying for something to break this awkward tension, and almost as if God himself heard you pleading for something to break the silence, you hear the jingling bells of the front door as someone enters the cafe. It's Paul, a cafe regular (and Emma's boyfriend?? Lover?? Unlabeled intimate partner??) from what you've learned over the last week. Emma's eyes light up as she rushes to meet him at the counter, abandoning the weight of her obvious lack of sleep she got last night.

"The usual?" She leans toward him at the counter, raising her eyebrows at him. He flusteredly nods at her as he fidgets with the cuffs of his jacket.

"Yeah, just black coffee."