"Crap!" I shout as my wrist makes contact with the hot steam coming off of the espresso I am failing to make. I rub the burn, waiting for the pain to ease. This is the sixth time today I have managed to injure myself. I finish the drink, pouring it into the large paper cup and handing it over to the patron. She smiles faintly and drops a dollar into the tip jar.
I am five hours into my eight hour shift and already I want to call it quits. My head is still pounding from last nights shenanigans and the copious amounts of caffeine I have ingested seem to do nothing for the exhaustion that has been creeping up on me all morning. That is the last time I let Daphne con me into going out on a night where I have to work a morning shift. The whiskey probably didn't help either. I have never been much of a drinker.
"Large coffee. Black," a velvety voice orders. I jump at the sudden sound, fully aware of who the voice belongs to. I look out from underneath the brim of my low pulled visor and into those freak green eyes from last night. The chills show their face again, racing down my spine. Ugh, I was hoping I had imagined the whole thing in a drunken hallucination.
Creepy guy from last night looks better in the daylight than he did lurking around the halls last night. He no longer looks like a character from The Outsiders, choosing to dress himself in a well fitting blue sweater and a pair of worn jeans. I eye the black ink that crawls its way from under the collar of the sweater, twisting itself into strange designs up his neck and stopping below his ear.
I ring up the order, trying (and failing) to ignore the fact that he has not stopped staring at me since he walked up. Then again, it could be because I am taking way too long to ring up a simple coffee order.
I manage to choke out his total, steadying my hands as he places the cash into them. His fingers brush over my palm, a quiet pop of static rings on on the contact. I withdraw from the odd sting, drawing a light laugh from creepy guy.
He takes the cup, curiously eyeing at the phone number scribbled onto it in red marker. I jut my head back towards Casey, the bubbly brunette working the coffee maker, just to let him know that it was certainly not from me. He flashes me a smile, taking a seat in the far corner of the cafe. Great, just what I needed today, creepy guy looming in the corner while I attempt to work.
I round the counter, taking the break in traffic as a sign to go ahead and clean up the seating area. I scrub furiously at the sticky tables. I focus my attention on anything that is not the amazingly good looking guy in the corner. The one I can feel staring holes in my back.
"You look...lively today," Daphne says as she approaches the table, Aaron in tow. I do my best to give her a genuine smile but fail. I am sweaty and covered in coffee grounds. There is not much to smile about. Was it not for the fact that I was ordered to work by the state, I would be anywhere but here. I pull her keys from my apron pocket, dropping them in her hand.
"That guy is staring at you," she whispers, "Like full on staring at you." I don't need to turn around to know who she is talking about. I shrug it off.
"That's the guy from last night," I respond equally as quiet, "The one from the party that I was telling you about."
Daphne squeals, drawing a few looks from the patrons at the tables next to us. I place my finger over her lips in an attempt to calm her down. I swear she is the most easily excited person I have ever met.
"You failed to mention how gorge he is," Daphne oozes, "He is like, really good looking. No offense Aaron." Aaron grunts an inaudible response, his head too buried in his phone to care. I guess it is safe to assume that they managed to 'work through their differences' last night and are now back together.
"If creepy guys who stalk you around a party insulting you are your idea of hot than, sure, he is super good looking." My words drip of sarcasm. Daphne lets it roll off of her, shooting another look back towards where creepy guy sits.
"Ohmygod he's coming over here. Omera I swear if you do your normal 'I-hate-everyone-hear-me-roar thing I will seriously disown you," she warns.
"You forgot this last night," creepy guy says, placing my Ipod onto the now overly cleaned table top. I had spent a good half hour this morning looking for it and had just assumed it was hidden somewhere under the pile of clothing in my room. I manage to mumble a 'thanks' and shove the device into my pocket.
"HI! I'm Daphne and this is my boyfriend Aaron," Daphne greets cheerily, "I don't think we've officially met. Your party last night was amazing. Seriously, I have been to tons of those things and that by far was the best."
Aaron looks up from his phone, giving the guy a once over before returning to whatever he was so focused on. I guess he doesn't consider creepy guy a threat or else he'd be hanging off Daphne like a leech.
"Jackson," creepy guy offers. He takes a seat at the table, Daphne and Aaron join him. I stare down awkwardly at the group, suddenly feeling out of place. I fumble idly with the hem of my apron, inspecting it closely at a dried bit of syrup.
"Aren't you going to join us?" Daphne urges. Her eyes flicker to the empty seat next to Jackson. I roll my eyes.
"I have to get back to work," I interject, "But you guys have fun."
YOU ARE READING
Omens (wattys2016)
Paranormal"I am too busy staring into those eyes, the ones that have been haunting my nightmares for the last seven years. The same eyes that watched me from the corner of a darkened room as I slowly accepted that I had bled to death." She watched helplessly...
