The Starbucks Message

Chapter Four

Samantha

I sighed with relief as I flipped the sign from Open to Closed. That day had felt like it would never end, and there must have been something in the water because everyone that came in that day seemed to be in a bad mood. Constant complaints that their drink was ‘too cold’ and when I warmed it up it was ‘too hot’. No matter what I did; it wasn’t good enough for any of them. It soon grated on my nerves and it took all of my self-control to not slap this one woman who asked if I even knew how to operate a coffee maker. Or the thirty year old man that asked how old I was and if I was married.

“Are you leaving honey?” My dad appeared from the back room, he wiped the sweat from his forehead next to his graying temples. His brown eyes shined behind his long black eye lashes that matched his midnight black hair with streaks of gray. He put his hand on my shoulder and I noticed how his hands were calloused and felt like worn leather, they were the hands of a hard worker, someone who has gone through many rough patches in life but had buffered through them. I was glad that my dad was a hardworking man, that he’s been able to keep this family afloat all this time… that even when mom left the earth… that he didn’t fall into the pit of despair and left me to fend for myself.

My mom died when I was ten years old and we both have never gotten over it. My mom was an absolute angel with blonde hair and blue eyes that I inherited, her happy disposition could bring a smile to our faces no matter how bad of a day we’d had. She had died in an accident, snatched from our lives unexpectedly, leaving me and dad devastated. We’ve both mourned ever since, never quite ‘getting over’ her death. It was the worst when I was fifteen, when I felt like I needed a mother’s opinion the most. I had been in a dark place… a place I don’t even like to think about, and I was almost engulfed in it. I almost even gave up on life until I found… them.

Who are they you ask? They’re One Direction, the biggest boy band on the planet. I know, it sounds like the most cliché and cheesy thing in the world and probably made you roll your eyes… but let me explain.

I didn’t even know what I wanted to be, my self-esteem was shot because of the carelessness of those around me as they ignored my pleas and continued on their way. Dad was constantly working to provide for the both of us, picking up odd jobs in order to get food on the table, meaning he wasn’t around to guide me. I became lost, falling into depression over my lost mother and about how I was ugly and would never amount to anything.

Then I noticed them, I heard their names echo through the halls at school… until finally my curiosity won out and I looked up ‘One Direction’ on YouTube and came across some lovely videos called ‘The Video Diaries’. I hadn’t even heard them sing yet when I saw these, I just warily watched each and every one of the videos… slowly falling in love with their personalities. But like many fan girls before me I noticed one above the rest… Louis Tomlinson.

It wasn’t off looks either, his personality caused my attention. He was so carefree and confident; it starkly contrasted my own personality that it just… appealed to me. I decided that I would be more like that. Soon enough I started being more upbeat and happy, my depression vanished and all thoughts of despair faded. All because of One Direction, notably Louis Tomlinson… and before I knew it, I was a Directioner. Of course, with that came all the drama and all the accusations that you’re “obsessed” but it didn’t matter to me. I knew what I was; I knew I sincerely loved them for who they were… and most of all I was desperately in love with Louis Tomlinson.

Of course, with that came swift heartbreak. Everyone told me I could never possibly be his; the periods of time when he was single seemed to end in the blink of an eye. The worst blow was when he started dating Eleanor… at least when he had dated those Hannah she wasn’t a freaking model. I knew Eleanor was nice and some of the fans seemed to absolutely worship her, claiming that they were in a fandom that sprung up quickly called Elounor. I tried to like her… I really did, but something inside of me refused to accept she was the right one for him. Deep down I still hoped that somehow it would be me. The only thing that I could accept about her was that she made Louis happy… I even found myself defending her when she was getting hate.