THE DAILY GRIND
Weeks after the initial meeting between her and her new group of friends, Eden had come to the conclusion that her missing keys were at the coffee bar. She called them in hopes that maybe someone found them and had given it back to a barista to hold until someone claimed them. When Eden got conformation of her suspicions, she got ready and stepped out onto the front porch- which was really just a small concrete step at her front door. She locked the door with the spare key and tucked it away in her back pocket as she headed towards town square.
Eden stepped into The Daily Grind, actually taking in the environment since this is the first time she had visited in the daylight. Of course, she had been here multiple times before but she hadn't noticed how dark the interior was. The place looked more like an old small warehouse with the high open ceiling and tall metal pillars lined up parallel to each other down the middle of the room. The hard wood floors were stained lightly in contrast to the charcoal paint. The tables in the middle had silver industrial looking chairs and the booths around the edges of the room were dimly lit with one light bulb fixtures. The wall behind the serving counter had a bunch of modern wooden paneling and chalkboards with their daily menu items listed in fancy writing. Eden also noticed a few of the seats taken by business men and women, probably having meetings and sipping on coffee during a "lunch break", a young couple sitting in a booth to the left and a man two booths behind them. He was hunched over his mug with his elbows on the table and what seemed to be a book or a journal open.
Eden stepped up into the small line and although she was here only to get her keys back, she was being tempted to buy something by the aromas filling her senses. She peeked up onto the list of items that they had available and made the decision to get a latte. When she was finally up at the counter, she first placed her order to get it out of the way.
"Eden?" The barista asked and Eden held up her hand as she smiled. Eden thanked the middle aged woman before looking down at her name tag. Lisa. Before the woman could get busy again, Eden piped up.
"Sorry to bother you but I called earlier about my lost keys? They're hanging off of a red lanyard." Eden said with her free hand on the counter. Since she was a little on the shorter side, Eden noticed every time she spoke up to someone, she'd always step up onto her tippy toes.
"Right. Let me go see if I can find them, love." Lisa said quietly with a smile as she left her station. "David!? Have you seen any keys that were left here!?" Lisa yelled to one of her coworkers as she walked towards the small kitchen. Eden smiled nervously before breaking eye contact with other patrons in the line as she tapped her fingertips on her to-go cup. She began to pull both her lips into a fine line as she bit the inside of her lips, keeping her eyes now focus behind the counter. She then noticed Lisa run back around the corner to her station before speaking, "He'll be right with you."
Eden nodded her head and only a few minutes later, a man with a black apron, a white dress shirt and black slacks came around the corner with her keys hanging around his fingers. He smiled at her, his black hair was slowly fading at the edges into a dark grey.
"I believe these are yours." He said, as he handed them over to her. She thanked him before asking the man if they know who found them.
"Yeah, it was that guy over there." David said quietly as he pointed. Eden's eyes follow his finger to the man she noticed in the booth alone earlier. Eden guessed that when that man heard him be called out, his attention was brought up to them. He was wearing a small black beanie, his hair appearing to be short and dark. He wore a short desert coloured suede jacket over top of a black shirt. Eden thought she saw a small name tag sticking out from under the jacket on the left side of his chest so clearly he was on break. Eden walked towards the door and nodded to the man in the booth, mouthing a thank you to him. He pursed his lips in a small smile and nodded slightly before bringing his mug to his plump lips. She watched his green eyes follow her as she pushed the door open before they both broke eye contact.
With her drink in hand, Eden decided to visit the record store that was just down the street from The Daily Grind. The town centre was bustling with people of all ages, some families, some couples, other people on their own like she was. When she finally reached the store she noticed the large glass windows at the front showcasing hanging record slips swaying in the breeze indoors. Chimes at the door announced her entrance as she stepped inside the warm environment. The floors were carpeted and displayed a dark pattern from what seemed to be the 90s. Eden noticed they were playing a record quietly in the background to aid in the shopping experience for customers. She saw a heavier girl at the counter writing down in a note book and frequently moving back and forth between the front room and the back room. Two rows of hip height shelves lined the walls designated for DVDs and CDs along with a little section for cassette tapes. The two shelving units lined down the centre of the room were specifically for vinyls which is where Eden was headed. She looked up at the walls and saw the Union Jack hanging up on a wall in the back by the cash register, originals of older records on display and a few pictures and posters of bands.
"Where's Harry?" I heard a man say as he stepped out of the back room, his eyebrows furrowed as he held a box in his hands.
"He just went on break..." The heavier girl at the front counter defended him. She had a cute short hair cut that was lilac in colour and wore clear framed glasses. She wore a long sleeve shirt and dungarees over top with a pair of doc martens.
"Well, what has he been up to all day? There's boxes in the back that need to be put on display." The man stated with a tone like he was talking to a child. Eden averted her eyes from the situation as she flicked through the records, taking note of what they had in stock and how much they each cost.
"I don't know... He'll do it when he gets back, Tommy." The girl suggested quietly as Eden saw her roll her eyes and make a face at the man's back. Eden giggled a little wanting to get to know the woman because she thought she was quiet nice. The girl noticed Eden laugh and smiled at her as she shook her head.
"Do ya need any help? I haven't seen ya around here..." The woman said from behind the counter. She couldn't be more than Eden's age, maybe twenty-two at the most.
"Oh no thanks. I'm just taking a peek." Eden explained shortly with a smile.
"Alright, I'm Sophie if ya need anything."
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Fanfiction[ON GOING] [REWRITING] ❝you're not who everyone says you are.❞ cover is edited by me. © tomlinciti. all rights reserved.
