Sweetheart

Familiar

Hey, guys! Here's a shout-out to @GrandestNerd for being an awesome writer!

After the last bell finally, FINALLY rang, I ran out the doors so fast Usain Bolt would’ve been jealous. Okay, maybe not that fast, or I would’ve tripped. But, it was fast for a person like me. Unfortunately, I still had that coffee shop thing with Alec in ten minutes. I saw him waving at me from his car. Gulping audibly, I made my way over to his car, looking both ways before crossing the street. 

“What did you do in homeroom? I heard you got into a fight!” Alec attacked me as soon as I’d crossed over. “Who won? Are you hurt? Woah! Look at your forehead!”

“It was not a fight! And- wait what? My forehead?” I sidestepped him and looked into the rear window. There was a huge purplish blue bruise that was the size of a quarter blossoming over my right eyebrow. “What the heck? How did that get th—ohhh. Yeah, I tripped and fell this morning. You probably didn’t see it ‘cause my bangs were covering it,” I said in realization. That was probably why I was getting all those weird stares this afternoon, after I had tied my hair back.

“Clumsy kitten. Awkward as always,” Alec chuckled and shook his head. A large gust of wind whistled through the air and I involuntarily shivered. Noticing this, he ushered me into the car and closed the door. Once he’d started the car he turned on the heater and pulled out of the parking space. “So, did something happen today? Did you really get into a fight?”

Wow. News travels fast at this school. Don’t let the students fool you. They are vicious gossipers. “Not really. It was more of a misunderstanding. I accidentally tripped, and I got a detention from Mrs. Carter. Also, Logan wouldn’t stop tapping his pencil, so I broke it. And then he wouldn’t stop tapping his pen! I threw it in the trash can.” I was out of breath by then.

“That’s it? I thought there was more, the way those people were talking! By the way, Kay and Mo are demanding a full account of what happened tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I presumed as much,” I muttered. He laughed in response as we pulled into the coffee shop’s parking lot.

“Mama Lisa’s Bakery and Coffee Shop,” I read aloud. As we entered, I noticed right away that the whole bakery smelled like cinnamon, sugar, spice, and something else I couldn’t quite place my finger on. It was cozy, with soft cushioned booths and classical music playing. The menu had an elegant touch, written in chalk and decorated at the edges with beautiful flowers and leaves bordering the script. A deep voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Hello, and welcome to Mama Lisa’s Bakery and Coffee Shop. What can I get for you today?” 

Turning around, I found myself staring into familiar blue eyes. I recognized the eyes, but not the boy. They were captivating to look at- electric blue with a hint of defiance. Suddenly, a hand blocked my line of vision.

“Rhea? Rhea? Are you still there? What do you want?” Alec was snapping his fingers in from of me, trying to get my attention.

“Uh, sorry. I’ll have the hot chocolate with extra whipped cream.” The boy was staring at me in amusement, his lips twitching up to laugh. Heat was creeping up my neck at an alarmingly fast rate. 

“Uh, man. She ordered… You okay there?” Alec was now snapping his fingers in front of the blue eyes. Shocked, the boy jumped a bit and said, a bit flustered, “Sorry. What did you want again?”

“Hot chocolate with extra whipped cream please.” I was trying to hold in the laughter that was rising in my chest. Looks like I wasn’t the only one who had been distracted. I read his name from his tag- Luke- while he punched in the order and read from the screen, “That will be $6.78.”