Caffeine | PUBLISHED

01. Café Latte

a/n is this your first time reading or a re-read? i'm curious!

0 1 . 

café latte

"MORNING, ASPEN. YOUR USUAL?"

My tired eyes drifted up to the perky barista, Vivienne, her black hair tied into a high ponytail as her pale fingers resting above the cash register. I gave a weary smile in return.

"You know me too well."

She flashed her pearly teeth at me, typing in the order and accepting my money, exact change. I made my drowsy way towards an empty table. While Café de Fleur was a gorgeous little coffee lunch that made the best soy lattes in town, it wasn't the most popular, making finding a table easy for me.

As I took my seat, I couldn't help but let my eyes drift over to the table beside me, hidden in the very furthest corner of the café. Isaac Hensick sat alone at his usual table, his long, tanned fingers sliding a graphite pencil across a sketch pad hidden from my sight.

Beside his muscular arm sat an untouched cup. His soft green eyes fluttered across the page, one step ahead of his hand as he marked the paper with his pencil.

Isaac was my classmate, although he was barely seen in class. To be completely honest, my morning visits to the café were the most I'd see him all day. He was a popular boy, well-liked – if not loved – across the entire school, but he was definitely not the studious type.

Every morning for the past two years he'd been sat in that chair, too focused on his drawings to notice me and too absorbed in his own world to even sip the coffee he always ordered.

Black coffee, three sugars.

"You're staring again, Aspen," Vivienne's booming voice woke me from my thoughts. "Here's your latte."

I looked up to see Vivienne in front of me, her arm extended with a take-away coffee cup in her hand and a small brown bag, containing my usual biscotti.

I flashed an embarrassed smile, taking my order from her hand.

"Thanks Viv," I mumbled gratefully, taking a long sip from my coffee. Almost instantly, my pounding headache was relieved. I let out a sigh in relief, the hot liquid sliding down my throat and scalding my tongue.

I grinned up at Vivienne and she sent me a knowing smile.

"Have a good day at school," she said before returning to her counter, busying herself with tidying the cake display.

"You take care," I replied, my eyes subconsciously moving back to Isaac.

He was in my French class, meaning he'd have to leave now to get there before the bell, but he made no effort to move from his seat, instead staying occupied with whatever he was drawing. His coffee remained untouched beside his scribbling hand, the steam long gone.

Turning away from him, I opened the door to exit the café and make my way to school. He could miss class as much as he wanted to, but I was going to turn up on time.

As I began my walk to school, I watched the people on the street, familiar faces of neighbours and classmates who probably didn't even know of my existence.

I guess I was what you'd call a wallflower. I was never involved with any school dramas or the subject of the grade's daily gossip. It's not like I minded it, though. It was always fun to observe, to not get caught up in all the drama, even if it made my life completely uneventful.