Army of Two

three

It was a decently hot and dry summer morning. One would think summer mornings would be amazing since all you get to do is sleep in and relax. Unfortunately, my summer mornings are the complete opposite. My eyes shot open to the sound of my annoying alarm clock going off, sounding like an army of police sirens echoing through my ears. It was 7:00am and I had to go to work. Like any other teenager/soon to be college student, I had a job to do to earn money. It sucks though because this job is terrible.

I worked at a little cafe/diner in downtown Baltimore. It was a shitty little place that's not too popular where people come to get cheap coffee, comfort food, and wifi. Literally, that's all there is to it. I get payed pretty decently though. It was boring, but I could really use the extra cash. I got up and got ready as quick as I could, throwing on a pair of jeans and a plain white tank top. My parents were at work so luckily I could just slip out of the house without worrying about waking anyone up. I grabbed an apple to act as my breakfast, and headed out the door and to my car.

It's been 3 months since my audition for the Performing Arts school. I think about that day a lot and I find myself going over every event from it. I thought about how I did, how the judges looked at me, and if I made the right amount of effort to seem like a nice and cheery person. I am a nice and cheery person, but I just hoped my nerves didn't get in the way of everything. I'm supposed to get a letter from them soon, telling me if I have been accepted or not. My parents still don't know that I even auditioned...which is a little funny to me. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret this long, but I stood corrected. And that's a good thing, considering they wouldn't support my decision to audition at all.

I got the cafe around 7:30, just in time for my shift to start. There was already a decent amount of people in here, and I could already recognize our morning regulars. I hastily made my way to the back of the cafe to put my purse down. The waitresses and chefs all waved to me and said their greetings, and I kindly returned them.

"Good morning, Aria." My boss, Lauren, waved to me.

"Morning!" I called back, throwing on my black apron. I grabbed my pen and pad of paper, and walked out of the back room to get started on the day.

...

By the time it was around 5:00 pm, I was more than tired and ready to get out for the day. Luckily for me, I only had one hour left of my shift. It was the same old thing everyday: take orders, bring the orders to the kitchen, and then take the food to the customers' tables. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty good workout, but let's be honest, if I wanted to get a good workout in, I would go dance. But hey, I'm getting payed, right?

"Hey what time are you off?" Lauren caught up to me and took a plate full of food out of my hands to help me out.

"Six," I replied. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," she laughed. "Trying to memorize everyone's schedules I guess."

I nodded and said thank you for helping me carry the food to the table I was headed to. I walked back to the bar table at the front, where we prepare drinks and stuff. Nothing alcoholic or fancy like that, we don't sell much of it here. Persnonally, I think this place sells amazing frappaccinos and milkshakes, but that's just me. I had no one to cater to at the moment, so I stood behind the counter and let my eyes wander around the room. I looked down to the end of the bar out of boredum, and my gaze was caught by a figure sitting at the very end. A boy sat there with a moppy head of light brown hair falling over his face, and his eyes staring down at a menu. I tilted my head to the side, studying the boy for a few seconds, until he glanced up and looked around the room as well. He glanced around casually, until he looked my way. Once our eyes locked, his widened a little bit. They narrowed, as if he was trying to focus on me and soley me. We seemed to tilt our heads at the same time, and after a couple awkward moments his face it up. With a huge smile he waved me over. I let out a small laugh, finally putting the pieces together of how I knew him. He was at the audition as well, and he was the only person who talked to me. His name was...uh...fuck. Ashton...I think?