We Met Through The Stars

One

Courtney was standing in line at Starbucks. There were at least seven people in front of her, and Courtney had been waiting in line for at least fifteen minutes. Dragging her hand through her bag, she fished out her iPod and plugged her purple earphones in her ears. She spun the click wheel and chose her "Fault In Our Stars" playlist. "Boom Clap" started playing, and Courtney subconciously bobbed her head to the music. Then someone shoved her on the shoulder.

"Hey!" They yelled. "The line's moving!" Embarassed, Courtney took our her earphones and moved forward in line. She was now standing in front of the chalkboard menu. Surveying the cursive writing, she decided to get a cinnamon latte. She hated black coffee. It was too bitter for her. And she could only stomach tea if it had at least three spoonfuls of sugar in it. Her friends called her diabetic, but Courtney didn't care. She'd eat a salad anyday if it wasn't bitter. She hated bitter.

"Can I take your order?" The bored looking hipster barista tapped the counter impatiently.

"Huh?' Courtney's head jerked up. "Yeah, can I have a cinnamon latte please? Grande."

"12 dollars." The barista grabbed a cup, scribbled her order on it, and threw it to a waiting employee. "Cinnamon latte!" she yelled.

Courtney fumbled with her wallet. It was new, and it had a zipper. Her old wallet had used Velcro, and childish as it seemed, Courtney had liked it. It was easy and her money never fell out. Finally yanking the zipper open, she extracted a twenty dollar bill and handed it to the cashier. The barista shoved it in and quickly pulled out eight dollars in coins. She thrust them at Courtney. "Next!" She called, waving to a spotty teenager behind Courtney.

Taking her cardboard cup carefully, Courtney manuveured the cafe with ease, weaving between the knee height stools and plush sofa chairs. When she finally found a table with only one person sitting at it, she set her coffee cup down with a sigh. Her hands were starting to burn. "Is anyone here?" She asked politely, gesturing to the empty chair.

"Go ahead." The boy took his papers, which were spread over the entire table.

Courtney sat down, putting her bag behind her. She popped open the top of the cup and let the fragrant steam waft out. Then she corrected herself. The white stuff wasn't steam, it was visible water droplets. Her science teacher had taught her that just last week. But somehow, saying "the visible water droplets are hot" didn't have the same ring to it. She reached behind her back, and stuck her hand in her bag, and found the hardcover novel. Taking it out, she opened up to a dog-eared page, and started reading.

She had barely read a sentence, when the boy tapped the table.

"Hey." He said, interrupting her. "That's the Fault In Our Stars right?"

"Yeah..." Courtney said, vaguely embarassed.

"I'm reading it too!" The boy grinned, and reached into his black backpack and pulled out the exact same copy. It looked as dog-eared as Courtney's. "Do you like it?" He asked, flipping the book's page back and forth.

"Of course!" Courney rolled her eyes. "It's amazing."

"I'm halfway through." The boy explained. He found his page. "I'm at the bit when she's at the hospital."

"Which bit." Courtney asked, curious now. She had never met a boy who liked TFIOS. "She's goes to the hospital like, a bizillion times."

"Umm." The boy flipped a few pages back, and then his eyes brightened. "Its the bit when she's talking with her cancer doctor."

"Got you." Courtney scanned her book page. "I'm at the bit when they're at Amsterdam. I'm rereading it." She said smugly.

The boy's mouth fell open. "They go to Amsterdam?" He gaped. "I thought her cancer doctor wasn't going to let her go."