Conversations and Coffee - Noah & Leigh One-Shot

       0: Esther

     

      Esther had been having a bad day. Scratch that, an awful day. It had started when she had tried to turn off her alarm at 6 am, and instead hit the glass of water perpetually sitting on her nightstand. Throwing a digital clock into a pile of rice before school to dry it out had been stressful, to say the least. 

        After receiving the first tardy of her life in first period, she had quietly slipped into her seat, and tried to become invisible. It hadn't worked, and she walked into math unmistakably palpable. After finishing a quiz she had been feeling confident about, she realized she had skipped a question, and as a result got a D. Esther didn't get Ds. It was traumatizing, to say the least. So far, Junior year officially sucked.

        But the cherry on top of her no-good day was at work that evening. A rude patron insisted that she hadn't put a shot of caramel in his iced coffee like he had requested. She had, and was in fact cleaning the device when he stormed up to her murderously. Gritting her teeth, Esther profusely apologized and offered to make him a new one free of charge, reminding herself mentally that the customer is always right. Even when they're wrong.

        After the balding man stalked out of the cafe with the exact same drink Esther had made him 10 minutes ago, she collapsed on the stool behind the register and closed her eyes. 

        For the most part she loved working at The Queue, with its cozy interior and eccentric clientele. And really, people like her last customer were a rare occurrence; most were incredibly understanding if she fumbled a bit with their drinks.

        Hearing the door open, Esther snapped her eyes open and smiled welcomingly, trying to make it seem less forced. When she saw who it was, her grimace morphed into a genuine grin. 

       In the few weeks since she has started working at the coffee shop, Esther had seen the particualr boy who had just walked in regularly. He had been, after all, her first customer. His name was Noah, if she recalled correctly.

        She was surprised she hadn't scared him away, since she had been too overwhelmed with memorizing orders and trying to figure out the cash register her first day on the job to leave a great first impression.

        He kindly hadn't commented on her hysterical appearance. In fact, he probably hadn't even noticed, since his eyes had been drawn to a girl in a blue jacket who had stepped in from the cold moments after he ordered. 

        Esther had been preoccupied, grabbing him his donut from the display case and making him coffee. She had only taken notice of the girl when the cute boy with glasses and messy hair had cleared his throat and politely tapped her shoulder.

        "Excuse me, but could you please give this to the pretty girl in the navy jacket and say it was from Noah?"  he thrust a bag into her arms, and gestured to the charming girl observing the menu in front of the register.

        Esther's heart melted a bit. She really was a romantic at heart. "Of course, I'll make sure of it," she said, a smile spreading across her face. 

        As the boy hurried out of the store, Esther turned to the girl and passed on the donut. At the name 'Noah,' the girl's face lit up and she bit her lip, obviously trying to downplay her excitement. Scurrying out the door after the mysterious Noah, the girl gave a little skip before disappearing from Esther's sight.

        Pulling herself out of her memories, Esther addressed Noah, who was bouncing in front of the register. "Hello, welcome to The Queue," she chirped mechanically. As she rattled off specials and discount items, she could see he was distracted, as every few seconds his head swiveled in the direction of the cafe's door.

      "Um, I'm going to take a few minutes and think about it, is that okay?" he asked, sounding nervous.

        "Of course," Esther replied, slightly confused, but brushing it off. 

        After a good 10 minutes of standing behind the deserted counter, she moved into the sitting area and began clearing away people's dirty dishes. As she heard the door chime open, she almost called out a greeting, before spotting Noah's face.

        Turning around, she saw the same girl from all those weeks ago looking intently at every person sitting in the cafe, until her eyes narrowed on Noah. 

        Abruptly, Noah stood and walked towards her with a purpose. With painstaking softness, he took the girl's face between his palms and kissed her with a heart-melting sweetness.

      Esther sighed and blushed, looking away from what was obviously a very private moment. Bustling past them with a tray of discarded plates in her hands, she overheard Noah say, "Hi, Leigh. I'm Noah."

        Esther's day had suddenly gotten a little bit brighter.