Laundry Boy

Java Jumble

Most people despise their jobs. Whether it be as a student, an accountant, or even a celebrity –not many people can honestly say that they enjoy their livelihood. It’s the waking up at the crack of dawn, the pressure to please and succeed, and the stress that comes with the responsibility. All of these factors make working seem more like jail time; all of these factors make most ordinary people hate their jobs.

Aspen Carter is no ordinary person.

Unlike most of the population, Aspen always loved working. She loved being a student, she loved her first job at the local farmer’s market, she loves being a dance instructor, and she loves working at the small café just down the block from her apartment.

Even if Aspen spent six hours teaching the select senior company how to thrust their hips without making it look like a pole should come with, and then immediately had to pour coffee to strangers for another six hours, she never hated her jobs.

Of course working as much as she does does exhausted her, but she couldn’t quit even if she wanted to. It is her sole responsibility to help pay for her family’s regular bills and hospital bills. Her mother was incapable of even leaving her bed, let alone working, and her father hadn’t worked a day in his life. Even Mitch refused to help their parent’s financial woes all because of some feud he had with her mother.

But, Aspen owed this to her parents. She hadn’t always been a courteous and giving person –far from it- and working constantly to support them is her way of apologizing and gaining back all the good karma she had lost during her short-lived college days.

Of course, this mentality isn’t always so easy to keep when you are as mentally and physically drained as Aspen. Some days are harder than others.

And this is one of the hard days.

“Barista! This coffee is too hot!” A stout woman in a power suit squawked at Aspen’s retreating figure behind the counter and she had to bite her tongue to keep from spitting out the obvious. That’s because coffee is hot.

Aspen mentally scolds herself for her sarcasm; it’s when she’s this exhausted that Rebel Aspen really comes out to play.

She shoots the woman a polite smile regardless, and tends to cool the coffee, scanning the rest of the café for any needy customer’s. It’s a rather slow day at Tranquili-Tea and Aspen is slightly grateful for that. When the café isn’t busy with the hustle and bustle the city usually brings in the afternoons, the quaint shop is actually quite calming.

The counter is the first thing you see when you walk up –situated in the front right corner. White marble and wood make up the counter’s half-circle shape, with an old school register and all the machines just beyond it. It’s small and separated by the rest of the dining area by a wall that creates an alcove where the bookshelves are kept; almost like a little cave of books and bean bag chairs. The rest of the café is quite small with floor-to-ceiling chalkboards where patrons can draw and write whatever they please. There are only four other tables in the small shop and then a few barstools surrounding the counter. An array of plants –thanks to Aspen- and candles serve as the only real decoration besides the books, but it somehow fits.

The place is cluttered and often chaotic, but very homey and Aspen adores it.

“Are you on your daily grind?” The familiar baritone makes Aspen stop wiping off the espresso machine to turn to her friend, still adorned in his sweatpants and tank.

“Was that a pun, Johnny?” She smirks devilishly at her friend, but he just gives her a blank stare, head tilted in thought.

His dumfounded expression only amuses Aspen more and she has to bite her lip to keep from laughing at him. Only Johnny would make a joke without even realizing it was a joke. He tended to be on the bit of the… slower side.