Metal Band One-Shots

Coffee Days (Tarlissa)

 Alissa hadn't planned on working in a coffee shop, of all places. But somehow, she ended up with the job, anyway. It was the best thing she could find locally, and she would be getting a salary, so she would just have to settle.

 Her first couple of days on the job were long and boring. She found nothing interesting about it, nothing at all, and she wished she could find another job. But for now, this was it.

 On her third day, she arrived at the shop to find someone else standing behind the counter. It was another woman in a apron, long black hair tied up in a messy bun.

 "Um, hi?" Alissa said, stepping over.

 The woman looked up at her and smiled. "Hi. Are you Alissa?"

 "Uh, yeah. Do you...work here, too?"

 "Sure do. I'm Tarja. I heard we finally found someone new to pick up some of the work. It's actually been hard to finding new employees."

 Alissa shrugged. "Well, I needed a job. Like, I really needed a job. I finally have my own place, and I don't want to have to move back in my parents, you know?"

 Tarja nodded. "That's understandable. So, do you like the job so far?"

 Alissa shrugged again. "It's not bad, I guess. It's not the job I would have chosen, but I couldn't find anything else local. How long have you been working here?"

 "It's been a little over a year now. I'm sort of like the seasoned professional around here. Most don't stay that long."

 Well, that was understandable to Alissa. This didn't see an exciting area at all, and she only planned to stay until she could find another job.

 At least that was plan at first.

~~~~~~

 A few months went by, and Alissa still hadn't found another job, which meant she was stuck at the coffee shop. That was the exact opposite of what she had wanted.

 But something began to change in those few months. Alissa found that she was liking working there. She got better at making coffee, and she could take breaks and sit down to relax on days when business was slow. Sometimes she and Tarja could sit and chat for a while, and those became the times that Alissa liked best.

 Once evening, when the shop closed up for the night, Tarja said to Alissa, "We should hang out sometime. Outside of work, I mean. There's a movie theater not far from here."

 Alissa smiled. "Okay. Yeah, that sounds great."

 "Great." Tarja returned her smile. "Next time we both have a day off. See you."

 Alissa watched her walk off down the street as realization hit her. There was a reason she had putting less work into finding another job, a reason why she had come to like the one she already had.

 Tarja. She was the reason why.