Making It

Chapter 3 - Friends and Stalkers

I reluctantly stride towards his table. He seems too engrossed in his work to notice me, thank god. Aaand, I talked too quickly. He looks up at me, and right away, I see the anger and recognition glaze over his eyes. Well, my efforts were useless.

"You're the sleeping girl from last night! What are you doing here? Are you following me or something? Also, why are you guys so slow. I ordered my coffee and muffin 3 minutes ago," he exclaims. That's when the anger started bubbling inside me. What right does he have talking to me like that? So, my idiot head decided that I should share my opinions with him. Bad idea.

"Who do you think you are? You aren't a king or something that I have to slave away for you. I'm working in a cafe all by myself so I'm sorry I'm a little late. Also, I wouldn't waste my time stalking an arrogant piece of shit, so don't think so highly of yourself. Now you can either drink your coffee and eat your muffin in peace, or you can leave. What will that be? Sir." He looks flabbergasted, and honestly so am I. I look around to see some customers looking at me weirdly. Well shit. He opens his mouth and closes it again, lost for words. I feel my cheeks burning and hope that it doesn't look as bad as it feels. I let my hair come around my face so I can hide myself from the embarrassment. Good going Mel. Good job. 

I turn to walk away and save myself from the embarrassment, when he grabs my hand and makes me turn towards him. Immediately, I see the anger in his eyes and regret my actions. I start to stammer, "Uh, sorry, um, I, uh, just got a little worked up." He looks into my eyes for a little longer, until I look away and then he gets up, packs his stuff, and storms off. Well that was a close one. I walk back to the counter and recover from the scene and get back to work. 

For the rest of the day, nothing special really happened, which I was really grateful for. At about 4, the bell at the door rang and I looked up from the counter to see Ophelia there with her backpack. "Hey Lia! How was school today?" She beams at me and skips toward me. She starts firing words at me at lightning speed talking all about her day and how she made a new friend named Marlice. I was surprised, she hadn't really made a good friend since starting grade school a few months ago, so this was something great. "You want to choose something from the pastries to take tomorrow to share with your new friend?", I say. "Oh yes please! Thank you! You're the best mommy in the world!" She runs up to me and hugs me while I freeze and stare down at her. She just called me Mommy. That's a problem. If Courtney came back and Ophelia thought I was her mother, there would be trouble. I dismiss it because it's the first time she's called me mommy, so it might've just been a mistake. Though, I still couldn't stop the warm feeling that spread through my chest when she said that. I felt proud. Happy. I hug her back and go to the counter to get her some Strawberry Cheese Danishes. She loves those. I put it in a bag and handed it to her. 

I start cleaning up the place and getting ready for it to close. When everything's been washed and cleaned up, I take Ophelia by the hand and we head out. I put up the close sign and locked the door. We start to head towards our apartment, but I keep on getting this feeling like I'm being watched or something. I pull Ophelia a little closer and she doesn't seem to care, thinking that I just wanted to warm up a little. I look around, but see no one, so I shrug it off. It's most likely my imagination. Isn't it?