I Found Home [Completed]

Chapter One

Sam Hernandez

There was nothing interesting about a boring Tuesday.

What a drag.

I sighed and glanced at the latte in my hand. The pretty hearts were floating on the surface of the drink, pulling me into a daze, but I snapped out of it and rounded the counter. Setting it down on Table 8, I glanced at the girl who was a frequent patron here. I usually ignored her like any other customer, though a few other baristas during my shift just simply adored annoying her with petty flirts. Not that I cared. Actually, if they did their job more, they would be able to actually see her a lot instead of leaning on the counter and whistling to her whilst giving the coffee shop a bad name. I rolled my eyes. As if. No way in Satan's name is that happening.

"Good morning, Glen!" One of the baristas called, interrupting my short burning thoughts about them.

An elderly woman opened the door and bowed politely before heading to a table. I barely turned around, only to catch a glance at myself in the window of the shop. The forest green eyes staring back at me looked exhausted, almost laughing at life straight to its face. I immediately zeroed in on the strawberry blonde hair that always got me made fun of by other baristas, but my employer found it to be eye captivating. She used it to that advantage of being able to attract customers, especially females who would think I looked presentable. And again, we had zoomed back to the shitty and inevitable present.

The slow motion unfortunately wore off.

I turned around and went back behind the counter, with the small hope that maybe someone else would do something for once. Sitting down on the stool, I put my arm on the table, my head resting in my hand and my eyes scouring around lazily. I peered at the girl once again, who was looking at the drink with her cheeks flushed. It was most likely due to the cold outside, since it was the beginning of December. Light snow danced across the sky, and we hoarded most customers with our warm and cozy environment. Her eyes glanced up at me, and I took a good look at them. Many of the baristas said that she seemed to take a liking towards me.

I always thought they said this because she usually got me to take her orders, but that was because I did my job. The glint in her eyes seemed to shine, almost reflecting off the lamps around us. Her cheeks turned redder when she noticed I was staring at her, and she immediately looked down, trying to ignore my gaze. Girls always overreact in some way. I smiled lifelessly at her response to my gaze. She's probably analyzing this whole situation right now. I stood up and stretched out a bit before turning around and grabbing Philip by the collar. Philip was one of the workers here, and a new employee, who did absolutely nothing. He immediately squeaked when I came face to face with him. I glared him right in his golden eyes.

"You," I said, "do your damn job and ask that girl you've been infatuated with if she needs anything else. You haven't done shit here."

Philip nodded vigorously. "Y-Yeah, okay!"

The other baristas snickered as Philip half-ran, half-tripped over to the girl. I whipped around and glared at them as well, making them freeze in their spots behind the counter. "You guys," I added, tossing my head to the customers' tables, "start doing your jobs. Whoever was greeting Glen— MAYBE GO ASK HER WHAT SHE WOULD FUCKING LIKE."

You could say that when the manager was gone, I was put in charge and managed people around the shop. Deciding to get away from the madmen I sent off, my feet strolled me into the kitchen and looked at the two bakers in the room. One, a young female American named Luna, was icing the top of a sugar cookie, small hearts dotting the edge. The other, an old Scottish male named Brent, was watching the oven with a bowl in his arm and a whisk within his grasp. I clicked on a button on the wall, and a small vibration went through the floor.

Luna looked up and smiled when she saw me. She released her left hand from the grip of the icing and signed, "Did you tell them off yet?" Luna was deaf, but despite that, she was extremely talented.

I nodded. "They were being annoyingly loud today, especially with the tons of customers flowing in like a flood."

Brent laughed and continued whisking the chocolate buttercream frosting he was making. "That's expected from a few teenage boys who can't do anything. I don't know how Manager Kim thinks they'll attract any girls."

Luna giggled slightly as she read our lips. "If anything," she added, "they'll scare away the girls with bad pick-up lines and constant flirting."

Brent held in a laughter but snorted as I clicked my tongue and crossed my arms. "Yeah. That's expected." Luna smiled and went back to work, turning her back to us.

"You'd better get back to work too," Brent said, pointing at me with the whisk. There was a ding, and Brent put down the bowl in his hand, letting it sit on the countertop. "Manager Kim will be coming back soon."

"Alright, alright," I dragged along, waving my hands around. Turning on my heels, a hand landed on the back of my head as I muttered, "The moment of peace was enjoyable while it lasted."

Brent chuckled at my quiet comment, and I headed out. I looked up from my feet, only to spot the hoard of baristas surrounding Table 8. Are they all idiots? I turn my back for a second, and you think you can just do WHATEVER YOU WANT?! I snatched a clean towel from the counter by the cash register and calmly walked up the table. The girl sitting at there was frantically trying to turn down the persistent baristas, her cheeks red with the embarrassment and sudden attention. WHACK! The towel hit the back of Philip's back lightly, and he whipped around. As soon as his eyes laid upon me, he choked on his own spit and made a run for it, helping Glen, who was watching the scene behind her thick glasses and squinted eyes.

The others noticed Philip leaving and followed where the slapping sound came from. My mood darkened, and they all dispersed with their eyes wide. "Get back to work," I snapped at them, threatening in a low voice, "before I tell Manager Kim what you do during your shifts."

They immediately scattered, just like children running away from a tagger. The girl seemed relieved and flushed at the same time after my much-needed assistance. "U-Uh.. thanks.." she whispered quietly. It was almost inaudible. Her brown eyes locked with my gaze, and I noticed the line of a slight black in them.

"No problem," I said. Then I reverted back to my working self, "I sincerely apologize on the behalf of those assho— I mean, baristas. Please come again. Then on, the service will be better." The girl seemed a little surprised by the apology. I wasn't really one to be sincere, but those idiots really do have a way to get on every single nerve in a person's living body, and I guess my demeanor wasn't judged to be very calm and collected.

"It's fine," she said, sighing heavily. "Really. I'm used to it anyway."

I didn't know what else to say, so I took out a small tray from the pocket of my apron and her receipt. I placed it on her table. "Just call when you're done, and we'll pick up the money. I hope you have a nice day."

I whipped around and left her to watch me as I headed back behind the counter.