Blue Hair

The Barista

"That'll be 5.98 mam'." The jerk says over the counter. I hand him the $10 I have left in my pocket after buying 3 macaroons from the French bakery across the street. "5.02 is your change." He stuffs the change into my hand on top of my receipt. "Thanks." I say coldly. He rolls his eyes and walks back into the kitchen. I sit down in the chair nearest me, and eat my macaroons quietly, reading to some comments my fans wrote for me. I love surprising them, they always get exited when their idol comments on their photo. I invited my best friend Diana to have some tea with me, but I guess she's a no show. With my tour going on, I haven't been able to see her nearly as much as I used to. I take a sip of my tea, and immediately spit it back into the cup. It was apple cider, not the green tea I asked for. How do you even mix up "Green Tea" from "Apple Cider"?!? I head back to the counter and ring the small bell on the counter. The same man walks back up to the counter and says, "What?" His manager gave him the stink eye then walked back into his office. "Sorry. Had a rough day. What would you like?" He says. "Thanks, but I asked for green tea, but you gave me apple cider." I say trying to ignore the fact two other people lined up behind me, waiting impatiently. "Oh sorry, a lady came up to me earlier saying she got green tea instead of cider. Must of got your orders mixed up. Sorry bout' that." He smiles and throws the cider in the nearest garbage bin. "I'll be right back with the tea." He walks back into the kitchen. He had a beautiful smile, and big brown eyes, with a backwards snapback cap. I couldn't catch the logo that was on the front, but oh well. He comes back with a steaming hot cup of tea. "Thanks" I say as I take the tea. As I grab it, our hands touch and he smiles as I blush. I quickly grab it back and scurry away, avoiding the dirty looks for taking to long in line. I sit down back where I was, and I realize I forgot to tip him. Him. What was his name anyway? I guess I didn't look at his name tag on his StarBucks apron. I grab the five bucks he gave me earlier, and wait in line behind the two people that were behind me earlier. They quickly got their drinks, unlike me. Josh. That was his name. The letters on his name tag were crooked, only stickers placed on top of the actual tag. "Hello?" He waved his hand in front of my face. "Huh?" I sounded so dumb then. He laughs, "You're back again I see." I blush and avoid his smiling face "Yeah, I uh, forgot to tip you." I give him the five dollars slowly and his warm hand touches mine. It almost made me shiver like an idiot. "Oh uh, thanks. You didn't need to." I smile, "Well, I didn't just wait in line to have my tip rejected." He chuckles and stuffs the five dollar bill into the jar labeled "TIPS". "Thanks." He says. As I start walking away, he shouts, "Wait!". His facial expression looks like he immediately regretted shouting. Almost everyone in the café turned around to his face turning pink. I giggle and walk back towards him. "Yeah?" I whisper, not wanted to draw anymore attention to us, so he doesn't get into trouble with his manager. "Sorry about that, but I have a lunch break in a few minutes, maybe we could hand out? I know we just met but, would you mind?" He awkwardly smiles, trying to read my face, although I'm basically unreadable. "That sounds tight." I say trying to sound chill. He smiles a genuine smile this time, a face of pure joy. "I'll be out in five" He says anxiously, and walks back into the kitchen, leaving me there. I walk casually back into my seat and smile to myself. What was that?! I'm supposed to be that "Badass singer with rad hair" and then I was "Bubblegum and happy-go-lucky girl". What if he thinks I'm to I'm that bubble gum girl, and gets disappointed when he finds out I'm the badass from the Badlands. I worry to much. It's my worst flaw. I pick up my phone and pretend to text someone, although the screen is pitch black. I keep looking at the clock, constantly checking if it has been five minutes yet, only to be disappointed every time I look away. I sigh and finally unlock my phone and start playing some random games I happened to download. That very second my heart jumps when I see the time at the top of my screen. It's been five minutes! I quickly turn my head to hopefully see Josh walking towards me. In disappointment, I turn back to my phone. I continue playing random games when I hear muffled yelling from the managers office. I turn my head once again, to see Josh sluggishly walking out of the office with his head down. He looks up and sees me, and gives me a fake smile. I've experienced one of his genuine joyful smiles, and that was the opposite. He whispers into my ear, "Can we go hang somewhere else?" I nod, and gather up my things and we head out slowly, since he seemed down, I didn't want to rush him. I suggest the French bakery across the street, and he shrugs. So we head across the street, and enter the small bakery and take a seat.