Cacophony

chapter one: cafe latte

The cement on the sidewalk was cracking, but in it's defense, it must have been laid out at least twenty years ago. 

Elisa kept one foot ahead of the other, careful not to step on a crack. Not that she was superstitious, but her late grandmother had always mumbled about cracks or black cats or something she couldn't be bothered to remember. The caretaker had said it was normal for dementia patients, but Elisa had always thought that some truth rang through her grandmother's mangled words. The walk from her mother's apartment to the bus stop was relatively short, and the cool, fall breeze was refreshing against the tips of her ears. When she reached the aged bus stop, she dropped her messenger bag on the rusty bench and listened to the multiple conversations taking place.

The woman who was wearing the green sweater two days ago was pregnant, and had been rambling on the phone about her sonogram for weeks, was absent from the stop this morning.

Her bus friends were talking quietly among themselves, throwing around phrases like "depression", "divorce", and "abortion". They all probably worked together, as they wore matching outfits; a red polo shirt and khaki-colored pants. Elisa thinks they could work at a grocery store, but possibly somewhere high-end. Maybe Food Lion. Two of them are blonde, but the other has silky black hair. Elisa considers asking the black-haired one about her hair-care routine, but decides against it. Sometimes, she forgets about her social anxiety if she ignores it long enough.

The man with the thick beard had gotten a promotion last week and went out to buy a new, expensive car, only to ironically total it on the way back from the dealership. He was nursing a cast on his wrist while sporting a frown. Elisa feels sympathy for him, but then again, it was totally hilarious. He's talking on his Bluetooth earbud, probably to the car insurance people again. She wonders if by the end of this week he'll be sporting a couple gray hairs as well.

The teenage boys who usually gawked at Elisa were standing as far away as her as possible, which was definitely odd, but they were holding books, which suggested that their exams were today. The lanky boy with the mop of blonde hair usually led the other boys in the teasing, but he was holding on to his Calculus book for dear life.

He was the biggest pothead on the block, her mother had commented, a real bad dude to hang around. She rolled her eyes and turned back to observe the rest of the bus stop. "Hey, Red. Guess what happened yesterday?"

She knew what happened yesterday. The local University had issued an arrest warrant for whoever had spray painted the vulgar words on the side of the Engineering building, and it was obviously his work. It was a miracle he hadn't even been questioned under suspicion yet.

"Some of the cops thought I vandalized the Engineering building. So they took me in for questioning, and I got to miss half of Physics 301." He told her pridefully, and she barely shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Hey, Red. I'm getting really tired of having to talk for you too."

The bus rolled up to the stop, and she silently picked up her bag, walked up the bus stairs, handed the driver her ticket, and sat in the same seat she sat in every Wednesday.

As the wheels on the bus moved, so did the rest of the day.

☽ ● ☾ ◯

"Two black coffees. Under the name of Ryan."

"One caramel latte, under the name of Liana."

"Three hot chocolates with extra whipped cream. Oh, and can you just heat up some milk for my kid? Thank you so much, yeah, for Xavier."

"Ma'am, you spelled Elisabeth with a "Z", can you change it so I can instagram my coffee?"

"Can I get a medium cup just full of whipped cream?"