Polar Opposites

t e n : e x t r a o r d i n a r y f e a t s

TEN: e x t r a o r d i n a r y f e a t s

Ben was in the kitchen again the next morning. Theresa was still barking orders at him, but she seemed a bit more patient today. That had to be a good sign, right?

"Good morning Kristy," she said when I walked in. That was when I noticed that we were missing someone.

"Where's Austin?" I asked looking around the kitchen. He always beat me here. I was always here a 5am sharp, so who knew what ungodly hour he usually got here. Theresa gave me this odd, understanding sort of smile. I wanted to tell her to stop. That there was nothing to understand, but it felt like if I needed to do that it would just help prove her point.

"He called in sick today," she said with a shrug. I don't know why I thought him being away was odd, but I did. He had seemed perfectly fine yesterday during detention.

"Oh, okay..." I said suddenly no longer in such a good mood.

It turned out that Theresa used the fact that Austin was away to her advantage. Ben worked with me behind the counter, he was actually pretty good at it too.

Ben was just about to hand a customer their drink when I intercepted it. "What did I do wrong?" He asked obviously going over what he had done in his head.

I picked up a stir stick and drew a quick daisy. "You didn't draw anything in the foam," I said handing him back the cup.

"Noted, I won't make the mistake again," he said maintaining his constantly cheerful personality. Somehow he managed to pull it off so that it was less annoying then Celia.

I turned back to the cash register and was met by a group of giggling girls, probably a year younger than me. "Good morning," I greeted them.

"Good morning, Kristy," one of them said reading my nametag.

"Where's Austin?" Another blurted out.

Service with a smile. Service with a smile.

I had to remind myself when I was hit with the overwhelming need to grimance... and possibly make a rude remark or two.

"He isn't here today," I said and took a small bit of pleasure when their faces fell. I mean really if he wasn't there where did they think he was? Conveniently in the back getting ready to propose?

"That's a shame," one muttered eyes trained on the floor.

"Is he alright?" The other asked. I rolled my eyes internally.

"He's fine," I said sharply. I'm pretty sure that they could tell my smile was forced at this point.

"Then why isn't he here?" Why were they interrogating me? I was innocent, and even if he was sick, it's not as if I had handed him the freaking germs.

"Are you going to order something or not?" I snapped. Realizing my harsh tone I quickly plastered back on a phony smile.

They ended up ordering several drinks with long names. I thought about telling Ava for a laugh that morning. Then I realized that she would just tell Austin and the last thing he needed was ego boost.

Later that morning Ava and I sat on the bus in silence. Austin had only been back for about a month and already we relied on his presence.

"Where is the pain in your arse anyway?" Ava asked me breaking the silence.

"He's sick," I said and I could hear the disappointment in my voice. Wait, but that couldn't be right. Austin wasn't even a friend, I shouldn't be feeling disappointed.