With A Cup of Coffee, Please

Cafe Insomnia

RING RING!

Miya awoke shortly after. "Just 2 hours this time huh," mumbled Miya as she looked at the time on her phone.

It was a weekend, but her insomnia and nightmares prevented her from having a decent sleep. Like clockwork, she stumbles to the toilet and washes up. Taking exactly 15 minutes to get ready, she grabs her stuff and sets off for her favorite place: Cafe Insomnia.

Miya's day always started with a stop at the cafe to order black coffee. She hated it. But it was the only thing on the menu capable of keeping her awake through half the day.

Ding! went the bell as she opened the door to the cafe, still empty. Even the employee that always greeted her was nowhere to be found at the counter. Miya pressed the bell and waits for a familiar face to appear.

"Hey there, sorry for the inconvenience," said a girl emerging from the staff office. Confused, Miya asked, "I-Is Janet still back there?" The girl shook her head as she finished tying her apron on. "Called in for a sick leave, so I'm opening today," she smiled.

Miya was taken aback. The Janet she knew always did the opening shift in her 2 years of visiting daily, not missing a single day. Well, except for Sundays.

"She caught the flu, totally unexpected I know," remarked the girl. "So for today, I'll be your server. How may I serve you today?" she asked joyfully.

"I'll just have a ham toastie, I'll have it here," said Miya as her order was inputted into the till. "Wanna get a cup of coffee with that?" smiled the girl. "With a cup of filtered coffee, please," Miya said as she pulled out her card. "Black or white?" she asked, looking back up at Miya.

"Woah..." said Miya as her gaze met the girl's. The girl had heterochromia, a mix of an earthy brown and a stoney gray that glimmered as the sunlight spilled into the cafe. The girl breaks eye contact, bringing Miya out of her trance. "B-Black is fine," said Miya, still in awe.

"That'll be 67 dollars," said the girl with a nervous smile. As Miya tapped her card on the reader, it beeped, prompting the girl to make her order. Miya could not take her eyes off the girl, who moved gracefully and efficiently. Once more, their gazes met, only this time it was Miya who'd broken it first, feeling embarrassed. Unbeknownst to her, the girl had found her reaction cute, and smiled as she finished up her order.

"Here you go; two slices of Ham Toastie, with a cup of coffee," she smiled. "Thanks, um..." began Miya as she tried reading out the girl's name tag. "Raine. It's my pleasure, miss," she smiled. Miya turned around to hide her now flushed face. Before walking to her usual spot, Miya spoke out. "Miya. You can call me Miya," then walked away.

Taking a sip of her coffee, Miya took out her sketchbook and began sketching away. First, the general background, then the tables, then the details, and finally shaded where necessary. She was so immersed in her sketching that she'd only noticed at the end that she'd sketched Raine sweeping the floor. She looked to Raine, who was in fact sweeping the floor. "Was Janet supposed to be doing that every morning?" thought Miya.

An hour and a half had already passed by, yet the cafe remained void of life except for the two. Miya tried to keep herself busy, but often ended up daydreaming about Raine, her gaze for the most part. Surprising her, Raine took the empty seat opposite her with a cup of coffee and sighed.

"I-Is something the matter?" Miya asked sheepishly, worried she'd done something to warrant a sigh. "It's the new closing team. A bunch of newbies they are; cafe's still in need of cleaning," whined Raine as she propped her head up on the table.

"Anyways, what are you still doing here?" asked Raine as she sipped on her milky coffee. "Normally, people just buy a single cup of coffee and leave, and if they stay, it's not for as long as you do," remarked Raine.

"I've got classes in a few hours, so I'm just spending them here," said Miya as she emptied her second cup. "And that's the second," smiled Raine, causing Miya to feel a hint of embarrassment. "Why not just...wait at home?"

"I'd rather not."

Raine was curious, but decided to not push it further. "Then...what do you do until your classes?" she asked, taking the final sip of her coffee, feeling disappointed. "I sketch stuff. Do you...wanna see them?" asked Miya, something she'd never asked anybody, not even her close friends. "I'd love to-"

Ding!

A customer rang the bell. "Sorry, be right back," smiled Raine as she hurried behind the till. Miya thought nothing of it...or at least tried not to. That moment of being alone raised the question in her mind that appeared in bold, size 72 text:

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, SHOWING YOUR SKETCHBOOK TO SOMEONE YOU BARELY KNOW?"

"What WAS I thinking doing that?" she asked herself, feeling embarassed and confused. But despite the turmoil in her brain, her heart seemed to flutter.

Raine shortly returned with two cups, one was white, and the other black.  "Here," she said, placing the black cup of coffee next to Miya's sketchbook. "So...is that deal still open?" Miya looked at her dumbfounded. "What deal?" she asked, genuinely confused. Raine pointed to her sketchbook as she sipped on her coffee. Miya's face turned a light shade of pink as she began sputtering noises, unable to make a single word. Raine giggled. "Is that a yes or no?" she asked with a smile. Miya took a deep breath and nodded.

"Dang, you weren't kidding," remarked Raine as she observed each sketch with attenention, occasionaly pointing out small details she thought was amazing Miya even saw to begin with.

As an artist, Miya was not new to compliments like this, as her artwork was often praised in her art class. But somewhere in her heart, she knew they were empty praises, only sung to get close to the daughter of a well renowned artist.

"I feel like you could've fixed the lighting here though, it looks weird," remarked Raine.

No one has ever criticised her art but herself. Not even teachers in her art class made any negative remarks towards her works, thinking the daughter of an amazing artist could do no wrong. Her class always put her on a pedestal, so Raine calling her art 'weird' felt strangely... liberating. "Now that you mention it...you're right," apologised Miya.

"What are you apologising for? It's not like it's a bad thing or something," laughed Raine off as she put the sketchbook down. "If anything, it's good you make mistakes like that, it's serves as a checkpoint to see how you've improved."

If Miya's heart wasn't considered fluttering earlier, it certainly was now. The words echoed throughout her mind, with each echo making her heart beat faster. It made her flustered, confused...embarassed? She had no clue what she was feeling, leaving her stumbling on a response.

"Hahaha...that's so cute of you," laughed Raine at Miya's attempt to respond. "I...don't know what to say, really," answered Miya truthfully. Miya looked up to Raine's gaze paired with a soft smile. Before they knew it, they'd been looking at each other, and broke eye contact once more, both feeling flustered.

RING! RING!

"Shoot..." said Miya dejectedly. Raine tilted her head, looking at her in question. "I gotta go. Can't be late for class..." said Miya, packing her stuff. "Oh, is that so," replied Raine as she stretched. "Well...I hope you have a great day today!" she smiled, making Miya's heart flutter once more. "You too, Raine. See you around," she waved as she left the cafe. Raine waved goodbye, and for the first time, Miya felt energized to attend class.

Her class teacher had taken a sick leave, and so the class was left to sketch on their own. Some messed around, a couple decided to leave early, while others hung around Miya like usual. Miya could never sketch with others around, feeling obligated to reply to all questions thrown at her. But that day felt different. Ignoring her classmates' questions, she got to immerse herself in art class. She drew in different poses, different backgrounds, but it was always...Raine.

As the sun fell, the moon taking its place in the now-starry sky, Miya took melatonin pills as usual and lied down on her bed. But for the first time since her insomnia started, she found herself drifting to sleep sooner than usual, and that night...her nightmare was absent.