Food Courting

Chapter 9: Ceasefire

Cora hadn't expected to have an epiphany during her lunch break, but she was glad she did. She hadn't realized how off track she had gotten, and if something hadn't jolted her back into focus, who knows how far she would've gone before she noticed. After years of hard work and dedication, she couldn't afford to be distracted. Not again. Not when a brighter Cool Beans future was almost within her reach.

When she tied her brown apron again, it was with firm double knots. She donned her black flat cap snugly on her head, just above her tight ponytail. This wasn't a game, nor was it a battle. She could have fun later, but for right now, this was her job—this was her life. And she took her life seriously.

For the next few hours, she kept her focus within Cool Beans territory, refusing to give in to her temptations across the food court. At first, it was a struggle, and Cora would've buried her head in the ice machine to restrain herself if it wasn't a health code violation. Instead, Cora immersed herself in the rush of caffeine-hungry customers, challenging herself to foam just enough milk with minimal waste, then to guess the next customer's order before they placed it.

And if she just so happened to dispense espresso grounds to the rhythm of Fruitastic's jingle... Well, that was a coincidence, and no one had to know but her.

Even when Kevin caused another bottleneck at the registers, Cora kept to herself and the next drink that popped up on the order screen above her. She noticed Darlene glancing her way, as if daring Cora to jump in, but Cora diligently stayed out of the way. Maybe one day she could run the store the way she wanted, but now wasn't the time. She had to get promoted first, and she couldn't do that by playing games with the competitor—she couldn't be having fun, regardless of her urge to simply peek at Fruitastic's line of customers. All Cora had to do was her job.

After Kevin's shift ended and Cora and Darlene took care of the rest of the rush, Cora continued through her list of tasks before her manager could say anything. The only thing Cora raced against was Darlene's minimal patience, darting around the store to replenish the coffee machines, condiments, and napkins before her manager or a customer could snap at her. Every time she felt the urge to see what Farron was up to, she dove deeper into whatever task was before her—sometimes literally, in the case of fishing out a moldy drink lid from the back of the trash compartment. As it turned out, sticking one's head in a smelly cabinet was enough to drown out Angie the Orange's entrancing—no, excruciating—songs. Even after that, Cora began to sweep the floors, only pausing when she spotted customers heading her way.

All the while, Cora wore her wide Cool Beans smile.

"Are you trying to leave early or something?" Darlene asked as she took inventory of their coffee ground supply beneath the counter. "No amount of work is going to get you out of closing."

Cora glanced up from dusting their display of mugs and tumblers, a much needed task when their stock was stagnant. "Of course not! I love closing actually. It's like I get to set our team up for success!"

Only when Darlene stopped her work to raise her eyebrows at her did Cora realize how fake her answer sounded, even if it was the truth.

Before Cora could prove her sincerity, Darlene shook her head and turned back to her clipboard. "Wonderful, because you're closing by yourself today. I'll be at the main office."

Cora continued to beam, even after Darlene disappeared when she crouched below the countertops. "Can't wait!"

Actually, Cora could wait a very long time. If her earlier observations were correct, Farron had the closing shift as well, and Cora would be running out of distractions from Farron's challenges long before then. Okay, maybe they were Cora's own challenges, but Farron still participated, and Cora couldn't keep doing that. She needed to take her job seriously. She couldn't afford to slip up.