The Study of Coffee

❦ of which ideas came to life

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀O N E:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❦ of which ideas came to life

⠀⠀⠀⠀Elise made her way into the cafe, her pale and slim fingers gripped onto the metal bars as she pushed the glass doors open. The aroma of coffee beans invaded the store. The smell attacked her nostrils, and she shook them of carelessly. She made her way to the cashier where a brown haired guy stood behind it. His hair was dark and it's ends we're reaching his forehead.

"One hot chocolate, please. No milk," she recited her order with a smile. The boy silently watched the way her peach lips mover in sync.

He pressed a few buttons on the cashier before reciting her total. "$2.50," he said with a smile.

Elise's mood lightened as her eyes made contact with such an amazing and bright smile. The smile could've lit the whole world like he sun, she thought. She dug inside the pockets of her pink jeans, she soon pulled out a neatly folded five dollar bill which she carefully placed on the counter.

"Thank you," he got the bill and unfolded it as he straightened it up. Pressing a button as the cashier drawer opened, he then placed it to it's rightful place. Once the reciept was printed, he then handed it to the purple haired girl together with her change.

"Your change, $2.50."

"Thank you," she replied as she carelessly shoved it into her pocket, but not before leaving a dollar into the donations can. His heart warmed up as he saw her small action, actions speak louder than words. The thought of the children suffering were too much to bear, some small change could change their lives.

He smiled before making his way to make her beverage. He got a plain white mug and filled it with steaming water. He then added three tablespoons of cocoa powder, and two teaspoons of sugar. He handed it to Elise on top of a brown tray, but not before he added his secret specialty.

Elise gratefully took the mug onto her hands which were slightly covered by her knitted sweater. She left after she sent a warm smile towards the cashier boy. She headed towards a table by the window. She pulled out a book from her bag, and started reading the pages while drinking her steaming beverage.

Meanwhile, she doesn't realize the eyes of the cashier boy slowly glancing at her every now and then. He noticed her deep expression as she was engrossed on the probably interesting book. He noticed the way her fingers would slowly and gracefully turn the pages. Also the way she carefulpicks up the handle of the mug. Never has he ever seen such agile movements.

As the clock passed five pm, Elise sipped the last of her drink before closing her book. She has managed to finish it during her short stay in the cafe. The ending made her sad in a happy way, if that's possible. She loved how the author has been able to wrap up the story and made the reader wanting more, yet enough to fill them on the whole story. She gathered her things and stood up, she left a few change as a tip. She then exited through the glass doors, and into the snowy city.

The cashier walked towards the table she stayed in. He cleared up the table while humming the tune of a catchy pop song he heard a while back. With every movement he made, he thought about the girl who was previously sitting there. Once he finished, he noticed some change lying by the corner of the table. He immediately got it with a smile and stuffed it inside the pocket of his brown apron. He promised he'd share it with the young boy working inside the kitchen.

As Elise reached her apartment, she reached for her keys inside her bag. She never got why she never just stuffed them in her pockets. When her hands came in contact with the cold metal keys, she fished it out and unlocked the huge brown sliding door. Her apartment wasn't much, dirty windows that overlook the New York City traffic, red brick walls, high ceiling which gives you an open view of the water pipes, and lights that looks like they came from the interrogation room.

It was beautiful for her, the two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living room alias kitchen was enough for her. Living alone isn't much of a problem, it's basically less bills. The apartment was just one of her uncle's property that was left to her after his death, she never really had much to begin with.

She dropped her bag on the couch before heading to her room where a pile of work is waiting for her. She headed toward her cabinet, and changed into grey sweatpants and a crewneck. Kicking her used clothes under her bed before making her way into the bathroom. It was a habit of hers, she'd just pick them up when it's time for laundry.

After the enternity of brushing her teeth, washing her face, she finally finshed off by tying her hair into a messy bun and headed to her wooded work table where her work was waiting. College was seriously making her life misrable, project, payment, due dates, they were a recepie for stress. She lit the small study lamp that was sitting on the corner of the table. She noticed some eraser shavings lying around, she brushed them off the table and into the ground. They were probably from last night when she did her Graphic Design project. She didn't mind the splatter of paint that was sporting on the table, she thought of it as a representation as an artist. By word, by pencil, and by paint.

By nine pm, she was able to breathe a sigh if relief. The treacherous number of homeworks and projects have just been reduced into zero. She was about to head to bed but not until she saw a foled paper peeking through her canvas bag. An feeling of curiosity and disappointment washed over her. She grabbed and saw something that had to be passed for her writing class.

'Make a short story bassed on an experience you have/had in your life. It could be by any genre, let your imagination go wild. This is dued after the christmas break.

-Miss Christine'

She realized she haven't even had any idea on what to do. Her head is buzzing, none of her few experiences are good enough for this. Head throbbing and is filled with worry, her once calmed and relaxed mood was now replaced with a tensed and stressed one.

Placing the paper back in her bag, she went to the kitchen to get hot cocoa. The heater in her apartment wasn't enough to keep the winter bliss warm. She reached on top of the cupboard, she felt her hands touch an aluminum canister. Once she saw what it was, her face made a distorted expression. It was a pack of expresso from Starbucks. It wasn't hers, that's for sure, it was her mom's. Her mom would usually come down to New York and stay with her, she probably left it there.

She took a seat on one of the four chairs that were surrounding the brown wooden table with the canister in hand. She started at the material for a while, what would she do with this? She was sleepy, stressed, and freezing, a canister filled with coffee had to be the least of her problems.

After a few agonizing minutes, she placed the canister back into the cupboard. She noticed a few more canisters lying around. But with different kinds of coffee. She sure was gonna scold her mother for using her cupboard as a storage room.

That's when an idea popped into her mind. She could try coffee, with the fact she hates coffee, it could be a nice idea for her writing subject. She would try the famous kinds of coffee, and write about her journey. It would hurt her taste buds, and probably her pride, but will it be worth it?

Happiness and pride welled up inside her. She went back to her room, got her black moleskin notebook and immediately wrote down the idea. Finally, something to rejoice about. After setting the notebook aside, she laid down on her bed with her white thick comforter pulled up against her. It was like the ones you find in the hotels, the soft kind. She slowly slid her eyelids close, she sure was gonna get some goodnight's sleep.

Edited! You may want to re-read cuz I added a few things. :)

Dedicated to @yourstrulytrina, she's one of the BEST authors, I kid you not. Her works just gets me everytime. And to show some Filipino pride :D

Video to the side is Sweater Weather by The Neighborhood, cuz I mean The Neighborhood, duh?! Also the music video is one of the best, so go check it out. Banner is by meeee!