Caffeine

One

I walked into the coffee shop, worried as anything. I just got my first date at the age of eighteen.

If you knew me, you'd know why.

I wear a jacket in Arizona. I'm on the fencing team. I have a hairstyle that went out of style thirty years ago. I'm lactose intolerant, short, and live with my adoptive brother. People think he's weird, too.

And I'm late for my date.

Rollo said to be there at seven. It's seven-o-three.

I take a deep breath and push open the door.

My eyes scan the room, but it appears he's not there yet.

I line up to order my drink and pull out my phone.

I decide to text him to let him know I'm here.

Hey, I'm here for our date. You on your way?

Then the reply came.

Who's this?

That's when I should have known something was wrong. I checked the number. It was Rollo.

This is Keith.

Keith who?

Who are you?

Nyma? Rollo's girlfriend???

I felt my breath catch in my throat.

I press the power button, but the screen lights up almost immediately.

Shit I didn't mean for her to see that.

See what? That you're cheating on me?

We aren't even an official thing! I just wanted to hang out over coffee, but you thought it was romantic. And I felt too bad for you to decline.

I growl.

I just want to be friends. Is that okay?

Well, now it isn't.

I put my phone on airplane mode and shove it in my pocket.

"Hey, dude. Can I take your order?" The barista looks at me like he's been asking for two minutes. Maybe he has. I immediately panic and say the first thing that pops into my head.

"Uh, large latte."

"Name please?" He smiles patiently.

"Keith Kogane." I mumble.

"Keith Caffeine?" He starts cackling.

"Stop laughing!" I snap.

"So... you're coming to a coffee shop and your name is Keith Caffeine and you expect me not to laugh." He looks at me.

"Kogane. It's Keith Kogane." I roll my eyes.

"Coming right up." He grins. I can't tell if it's from the laughing or if he's a weird human who likes his job too much.

I stand next I the counter waiting for my name to be yelled.

"Keef Caffeine?" Shouts a short girl with round-framed glasses.

He didn't.

I grab the cup, only to see exactly what the girl had said written across it in neat cursive writing.

I mutter some swear words and sit down at a table for two. I push the other seat away, so I don't look too inviting. I know I'll regret it later, but I take a big gulp of the milky beverage.

It burns my throat. I frown, then head over to the table with the sweeteners on it and pour in some cold cream. Maybe all this dairy will kill me. I honestly don't care.

I grab a handful of stevia sweetener packets, tear them open with my teeth one by one, and dump them into my drink. I glare at the cup and a girl with dyed white hair gives me a concerned look. She mouthes 'are you okay' and I promptly turn away from her.

I sit there for hours in a grim mood.

The concerned white haired girl leaves first, getting picked up by a man who could only be Nigel Thornberry's stoner twin. As she passes me, she peels a sticker off of a sheet and pats it onto my hand. It's a cute cat.

I'm guessing she doesn't understand Korean, because the words on it say "it will be a bad day". Why anyone would put that on a cat sticker is beyond me. I pretend to be thankful for the sticker, and rip it off as soon as she and Stoner Nigel leave.

Another employee leaves. This one passes by the sweetener table and shoves a ton of sugar packets in his bag.

"Sure, Hunk. Take the whipped cream while you're at it." Glasses girl says sarcastically.

"Oh, really? Thanks!" He snatches up a can of whipped cream. The baristas look ready to protest until he places the nozzle in his mouth and starts to practically inhale it.

The area is silent for another ten minutes.

"We need to close up, buddy." The girl in glasses says.

"I know." I frown.

"What's wrong? You looked really upset for the entire time you were here." She gives me a soul-penetrating stare, and I start crying for some reason. "Sorry, I don't speak waterfall. Lance?" The boy who took my order sighs, putting down a magazine and coming over to my table.

"Okay. Give me the lowdown, mullet." He seems very disinterested. I make an unintelligible sobbing sound. "I see." He nods. "Coffee breakup. You need some chocolate, my dude. Come on over to the back room." He grasps my arm and drags me to a door that clearly says it's only for employees.

"I'm going home and locking up. You got a key, right?"

"I have it in my pocket." Lance replies.

The door clicks shut and we go to the back room. Lance plops me down on a beanbag chair.

My mood is automatically improved. I always wanted a beanbag chair. I curl my fingers into the plush material.

"These were Allura's worthwhile investments." He says. "She's the sticker girl." He scoots a blue beanbag over and opens up a resealable ziplock filled with Snickers. "You're not you when you're hungry." He winks. I laugh lightly and gorge myself on chocolate, only adding to the amount of dairy ingested. "So, what was their name?"

"Rollo." I whisper.

"Okay. This is the first step to feeling better. Repeat after me: fuck Rollo!"

"Fuck Rollo."

"No, no, no. You gotta shout it. You hate that guy!" Lance elaborates.

"FUCK ROLLO!" I scream.

I do feel a bit better.

"What did Rollo do?"

"Nyma, apparently." I've recovered enough to regain my sarcasm.

"Alright. Fuck her, too. But, like, not literally. You know what to do." Lance encourages.

"Fuck Nyma!" I yell, grinning

"Allow me to get the door for you, my good sir." We go back to the main room and Lance reaches into his pocket. His eyes widen.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"I left my keys in my other pants."