Clarity → camren

One

July 31, 2020

It was a typical Saturday morning for Lauren. Unlike most people of her age, she wasn't plagued with deadlines or bothered by bosses and higher ups to do things that were expected of them to do. Instead, she was having a rather peaceful day in a coffee shop just across the building she'd known to be her home for half a decade now. The coffee shop was nearly empty at that time of the day – which was odd because she had expected people to be coming in and out to grab their cup of coffee, something that definitely helped a lot of people to deal with their tasks for the rest of the day.

She wasn't complaining, however.

It wasn't always that she would find herself in a relatively peaceful and quiet place aside from her home. Even her home could be anything but silent for most of the time. Fingers tapping against the keyboard, phones ringing here and there, a pencil's lead scratching against tons of papers. Peace and quiet wasn't a permanent resident of her life, so as she walked up to the counter, she greeted the lady standing behind with a little nod of her head, a smile on her lips. She rarely smiled.

"I'll have a caramel brulée latte. De-caff, no foam, and non-fat."

The lady standing behind the counter responded with a nod, her hand busy with jotting down the extra details that she added right after stating what she wanted for the day. Since there was no one else standing behind her, she decided to remain on her spot and wait for her order to come. Sparing the lady with extra work, such as walking and delivering her cup to the table, would be considered a nice deed, and Lauren figured that it's the least that she could do for humanity, considering the fact that her job was nowhere near humane.

Whilst waiting for the lady to come back, Lauren distracted herself by observing the interior design of the shop. There was nothing special about the place; well, save for the painting on the wall that showed people of different colours enjoying coffee together. The colours used in said illustration were warm, which only added to the overall warmth that the coffee shop exuded. Perhaps, that was what made the shop special. Acceptance. Warmth. Unity. Come to think of it, Lauren never heard of troubles rising in that particular coffee shop.

Indeed, it must be special.

Allowing her eyes to trail down from the wall, Lauren finally noticed another costumer; apparently, the only costumer aside from herself. The woman was sitting at the back, right next to the floor to ceiling glass walls, and her eyes were locked on the car parked outside the shop. Her slender fingers were loosely wrapped around her cup of coffee, as if they were there just to feel the heat of her beverage radiating through the alabaster cup. Strands of brown were neatly separated at the center, allowing her shorter hair to create waves beside her face, framing it exquisitely. It definitely gave her such a warm look.