Madelaine

Chapter ten

   Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buz- my hand slammed down onto my alarm clock, stopping it from making any more of its horrid buzzing noise. It was five o'clock in the morning, and it was my day to set up the pastries and roast the coffee beans at the cafe. I hated this part of my job. Every week, each worker has to have a day they go in extra early to set everything up for everyone else. Sadly in this case, it was my day to do it.

Groaning, I sat up on the edge of my bed and made my way over to the bathroom to brush my teeth. What I saw in the mirror, sure was a sight to see. My hair was knotted in all sorts of places, making it look like a bird tried to make a nest out of my head while I slept last night. I had a slight crusted drool line coming from the corner of my mouth all the way to my chin. I was a very crusty looking morning person, my future husband sure is gonna love that.

After I brushed my teeth and fixed my hair and face, I tip-toed to my closet and grabbed my light brown work shirt, along with jeans and my old white vans. I quietly slipped everything on, making sure not to wake Lily in the process. Once I finished getting dressed I grabbed my phone and wallet and made my way out of the room. I walked to the living room and grabbed my wool coat off the coat hanger then made my way to the kitchen. I decided to go ahead and grab a granola bar for on the way, then proceeded to quietly leave the house.

   As I started my walk to campus I remembered I was going to lunch today with Aiden. Was it a date? I'm not sure, because he didn't exactly say those words. I'm still pretty nervous and excited though. His mysterious aurora makes me want to get to know more about him. Sure he's very moody and we didn't start out on the right foot, but I was glad we were getting the chance to know each other.

   I reached the coffee shop and took out my key, unlocking the door. Taking my apron off of the wood hook, I wrapped it around my waist and tied it into a bow. Walking over to the display, I opened it up to slide in the muffins, scones, croissants, etc. that the pastry chef had made last night. I pressed the button to power on all the coffee machines. After that was all taken care of I decided to sit down and chill for the next five minutes before opening.

Five minutes go past in a blink of an eye, and soon I'm getting up to flip the open sign. I settle behind the cash register, as a few more employees come inside. The sound of the bell signals that the first customer has arrived. "Hello, what would you like this morning?" I ask the customer with a smile.

"A black americano to-go please," the woman replies. I ask her what size and then she hands me the cash. I quickly make her drink and call out that her order is ready. The rest of the morning goes the same. Customers come in, they order, pay, sometimes tip, and then I make it and they're off to complete their next task of the day.

   As I finish up making an order, I look to the clock above the entrance door to see that it was 5 minutes till noon. I quickly place a lid onto the to-go coffee cup and place it at the pick up station. "A black coffee for Mary," I say before making my way towards the back room for the employees. I take off my apron and grabbed my coat before clocking out for the day.

Aiden should be here any minute, and I was kind of nervous. I walked outside and found a bench close to the cafe and sat to wait. Soon enough an old black mustang pulls up and I see Aiden roll down the window. "Hey pretty girl, need a ride?" He asks jokingly with a smile. I laugh at his comment and walk around to the passenger side and get into the car.

   "So where are we going?" I ask curiously, with a small smile. Aiden texted me earlier that he was going to surprise me with where we are going to go.

   "There's this great authentic Italian restaurant in town that I thought we could try," Aiden replied. I loved Italian food. I told him that it sounded like a good idea and we headed off. Aiden reached to turn down the radio and I caught sight of a tattoo around his bicep. I reached out and brushed my finger tips along the sleeve of his shirt to push it up and get a better look. He stiffened slightly at my touch, and my heart beat faster as I felt a rush as my skin touched his. It looked like it was a forest. Black ink created trees, shadows, ground, even a few little black birds. It was mysterious and beautiful.