Sugar // Marliza

1

- Eliza -

"Angelica. Angie. Ang. Angel." I said, shaking my sisters shoulders. She groaned in response and promptly hit me in the head with her pillow.

"Ow! Ok, I kind of deserved that. But wake up! Today's the day!" I said, jumping on top of her.

"Eliza, I know you're excited but I swear to God, if you don't get off me, there won't be an owner of the Sugar Café anymore. At least, not a living one." She said, moving so I rolled off of her and onto the floor. I let her be for a little while so I could get dressed.

Let me clarify a couple things. My name is Elizabeth Schuyler, but I prefer to go by Eliza. I'm 20 years old and I'm a sophomore at Columbia University. I share a dorm room with my older sister Angelica, and I have a younger sister Peggy, who is a freshman and is forming with her friend Mary Laurens. I'm dating Alexander Hamilton and have been happily for about three months. Today, I'm fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams and officially opening my café which is just outside of Columbia's campus. It's called The Sugar Café and I couldn't be more excited.

I smiled to myself as I pulled a light blue dress out of my closet. I've been waiting to wear this for months now, and the day has finally come for me to do so. I pulled it on carefully and braided my hair, putting on a little bit of makeup as well.

My phone began to ring a few minutes later and I quickly answered when I saw it was my boyfriend, Alexander.

"Are you excited?" He said as soon as I answered. I giggled a little bit and replied.

"I'm so excited. I can't wait until noon. Angie seems like she can though... she won't get out of bed!" I laughed.

"Hey! I'm up now!" Angelica shouted from the other side of the dorm. I laughed again and sighed happily. Everything was looking up for me.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm crazy proud of you. You deserve this, really. And I'll be there, right in the front to watch you open up the café for the first time, alright?" Alex said. I could hear movement and clattering in the background and I suspected his best friend and dormmate, John Laurens was making all the noise.

"Thank you so much, Alexander. Oh, and tell John I can hear him crashing around over there." I said, smiling. He laughed a little bit and told me that yes, he would tell John to work on the noise a little bit. Soon after, we hung up and went our separate ways to get ready.

For the next hour or so, I occupied my time bustling around the dorm and picking random stuff up, as well as double, triple, quadruple checking to make sure I had everything before we left at 11am.

"Angelica, I'm so excited!" I squealed, bouncing around in my seat as I drove to the café. There was a small crowd already forming around it, many people reading the large banner saying that it opened today at noon for the first time. I spotted Alexander standing with John, talking and laughing with him like they always seemed to be.

I parked and ran up behind Alex, throwing my arms around his shoulders. He laughed and turned around to greet me, kissing my cheek with a smile. I smiled back and said hi to John too.

"So, how does it feel? Finally opening your own café. This is your dream!" John said. I smiled again (I couldn't seem to wipe that smile off my face,) and shrugged.

"It's so surreal. There's still an hour before it's official but I can't wait. I'm so happy. I feel like a little girl again, like when the dream was fresh and new. It's... I don't even have the words." I said. He nodded and patted my shoulder.

"Well, we're all super proud of you. Good luck!" He said. I thanked him and talked to some of the other people standing around the unopened building, and he went back to talking to Alexander.

Soon enough, it was 11:55 and we were just about to start the ceremony to open up. I grabbed the microphone that we had and stood on the front steps in front of the door, where a dark blue ribbon and a pair of scissors sat.

"Attention everyone!" I said into the mic. The crowd had grown in the past 45 minutes or so and my heart was pounding in my chest, a combination of excitement and nerves. The crowd quieted down and turned their attention to me. I took a deep breath and let a wide smile spread across my face.

"Today marks the start of something new. Ever since I was little, I wanted to have my own little café where I could feel at home. That dream is coming true and it's such a crazy feeling, to be honest with all of you. I'm so happy that everyone could be here today, so thank you for coming to support me and the café." I began. I scanned the crowd as I spoke, my eyes landing on my sisters, Alex, the Laurens siblings, and a bunch of other people who I somewhat knew from classes or just seeing around campus. There were also people I didn't know. Older adults and little kids waited in the crowds, looking equally excited as everyone else. It filled my heart with so much joy.

"I can't even begin to express my gratitude to everyone who has helped me along the way to this dream. My family, my friends, my teachers. I'm so proud to be standing in front of all of you to open this café." I beamed at the crowd, meeting my mother's eyes as well. She was standing by Angie and Peggy, and was joined by my dad. She pushed me towards this dream most of all, and she drove with my dad for three hours to be here.

"So without further ado, I present to all of you: the Sugar Café!" I said. The crowd clapped and cheered and I set he microphone aside and picked up the pair of scissors.

"Can I get a countdown?" I shouted. Immediately, I heard Alex shouting back and giggled.

"Five! Four!" He began. The crowd joined in with him and I continued to laugh, overwhelmed with joy.

"Three! Two! One!" They cheered. After one, I snipped the dark ribbon and ran up to the door, opening it up. The crowd cheered and people began to flood into the café.

I stood by the entrance, greeting people and having short conversations. Alexander walked in and stood next to me, picking me up and swinging me around as he kissed me.

"Alex!" I laughed, melting into him once he set me back down.

"Congratulations." He mumbled with his signature half smile on his face, kissing me once more.

"Thank you. Today has been the best day ever." I sighed happily, welcoming more people into the room.

"You deserve it." He said. I blushed and thanked him again, kissing his cheek before shooing him along with the rest of our friends.

A new chapter in life has just begun for me. Where will it go?