𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐩

𝟏𝟔 || 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧

Aldric

It's been a few minutes since Adam and Flora left the staff room, and I still haven't seen Estelle. I'm not sure what even happened, but all I know is that she ran into the staff room, and I swear I could see her crying when she looked back. Does that have anything to do with me-

"-Hellooo? Earth calling Aldric?" Lucas calls out to me while tugging on my sleeve.

"Yes, what." I respond, more angrily than I expected.

He looks at me with squinted eyes for a split second before holding up his cup and pretty much shoving it in my fucking face. "Why does this drink taste like shit? What is wrong with you?"

''What? Is that.. black coffee?'' I don't know why I'm so offended, but I am.

''Yeah, it tastes like shit. How the fuck do you drink it Aldric?'' Lucas asks as I take the cup from his hands. I take a sip and almost spit it out. What happened to my two precious sugars?

''You didn't add sugar, dumbass.'' I put the cup down and grab Jacob's cookie from the plate. Jacob's jaw drops as he watches me take a bite.

''Okay, rude. You could've just asked.'' Jacob places a hand on his heart as he shakes his head sarcastically.

I shake my head. Not even a minute later, my eyes land on the small girl that slips out of the staff room door, wearing a new uniform, and all conversation is blurred out. It looks like it's two sizes too big for her, but all I can see is the red rims around her soft brown eyes. It looks like she was crying and I doubt it's about the uniform.

I watch as she walks up to her friends and quietly says something to them. They nod and go back to talking to this black-haired dude that I didn't even realize was sitting there until just now.

Estelle suddenly pulls out her phone only to put it back in her pocket almost immediately. But her expression is different, silently different.

All signs of emotion disappear from her face, but I can tell she's upset and annoyed. At least more than before. I wonder what she saw on that phone. Fuck, why am I so interested in her.

''You guys drove here with your bikes?'' Lucas's question breaks me out of my thoughts. We all nod, then agree to go on a ride.
___
Estelle

They finally all left, the roar of their motorcycles letting me know. Flora left after them, her father texted her and told her to come home since it's pretty late.

And now it's just me and Adam, awkwardly sitting in an empty café.

''You good?'' Adam asks, I nod and plaster a smile on my face.

''Estelle, go home. I'll close the café today.'' I don't bother arguing with him, knowing Adam would never let me close up after a terrible day.

I thank him, take my apron off, and grab all my stuff before saying bye to Adam. I head towards the door and pull it open, the wind blowing in my face.

I close my eyes to relish in the moment, this is why I love having night shifts. It tingles at my face just perfectly, that it even makes me smile, however the smile drops when I see a bright light approaching me, and the sound of a motorcycle.