One
Present
Crack. POW!
The sound of animal-like whimpers rang through the woods, along with the voices of hunters. Calling to each other, closing in on the large black wolf that lay now wounded in the marsh. His eyes pleaded for help, as the hunter's flashlight beams came into view. A huge, sandy brown wolf came into view, his eyes burning with rage. A low growl rumbled from his chest as he locked eyes with me.
Past
"Theo" Someone called.
I blinked out of my trance and placed my book down. I turned to see my co-worker Cassidy rolling behind the café counter, with a cart heavily loaded with milk, whipped cream, and other assortments.
"Hey, what's up?" I nodded.
"Here, come help me put the stuff away" Cassidy insisted, as she made her way around the cart, into the stock room.
I tightened the strings on my barista apron and made my way over to the cart.
"Let's get it done while it's slow" Cassidy insisted, as she opened the fridge.
I nodded and began unloading the gallons of milk from the cart and handing them off to her. Once everything was put away, Cassidy callously wheeled the cart away and in the direction of the back of the store.
"Oh, Edith said you're closing tonight" Cassidy called behind her.
"Oh, come on seriously?" I yelled after her.
Just then, three girls around my age entered the store. They stepped passed the threshold of the alarm sensors, making the doorbell go: Beee-booo. They turned right and made their way towards the café counter. They were deep in conversation, and from their tones they were quite serious. One girl had dark hair, almost as dark as my long, Onyx colored mop top, which I had pulled back in a decent looking man bun. She was dressed in black and white, Taylor wedged sneakers, blue leggings, and a white sweatshirt covered in Greek lettering. Maybe in a sorority? I tilted my head to the right in amusement.
Beside her stood a pretty blonde, that was more fashionable clothes and caked on make-up than she was a person. She was arguing back nonchalantly, while she dug around in her purple, leather Prada bag, hanging from her right shoulder. Standing behind them, the shortest of the three was a strawberry blonde, dressed in a long sleeved, flannel shirt, black, tight fitting, cargo sweatpants, a pair of black and white converse, and an ACDC beanie over her long, vines of hair.
"Oh my God Liv you are so basic" grunted the blonde.
"I'm telling you the wolves are out early this year Shyla" Liv replied, as she rummaged for her wallet.
I cleared my throat. They all looked up at me.
"How can I help you ladies; will it all be one order?" I probed, flashing my most sincere grin.
"Yes, I'm paying" Liv smirked.
"You paid last time" Shyla frowned.
The strawberry-blonde didn't say a word, she just looked up from her phone every now and then. You could tell from her expression that the bickering between the other two happened more often than she liked to admit.
"Whatever" Liv said, rolling her eyes and tossing her American Express over the counter so fast, I couldn't catch it. It landed on the countertop with a Tap. Tap.
"Let me get a Grande caramel macchiato, with soy milk, extra shot of espresso" Liv smacked her lips.
"Let me get a skinny latte' with sugar free vanilla, one shot of espresso, Grande please" Shyla demanded.
Basic bitches, I thought with a slight smile.
"One shot?" Liv smirked.
"Yes, my mom says espresso ages you."
"No, it doesn't."
"Says the eighteen-year-old who looks thirty."
"Bit..." Liv started.
She was quickly interrupted by me clearing my throat once more. They both looked at me, but I was focused on the strawberry-blonde scrolling through her Facebook feed.
"Ma'am, did you want something?" I asked patiently.
"Mags" Shyla muttered, nudging the strawberry blonde with her shoulder.
She looked up with surprised, and then squinted up at the menu for a moment.
"Let me get a chocolate and caramel frap, with whipped cream and Oreos on top."
She said what she said and dropped her head back to her phone.
Her friends looked at her perplexed.
My kind of woman, I said to himself, fighting back the smile that was threatening to creep across my face.
The girls sat in a booth together, they were deep in conversation about everything from Harry Styles' latest look to events that took place at prom, to graduation. I watched with amusement, curious about the female species. Especially, by the one labeled Mags. The girls talked about these events at the same school as me, but I couldn't recall seeing any of them in the halls. But then again, I averted my eyes most days in the hall, especially, from any of the popular crowd. As, I began cleaning out one of the filters on the espresso machine, one of the girls approached the counter. She tapped the counter lightly with a freshly manicured nail, and I raised my head in her direction. It was the bougie blonde Shyla whose crooked grin greeted me.
"Was there something wrong with your skinny latte'?" I questioned with a look of concern on my demeanor.
"No, it was fine, but how old are you?" Shyla asked.
"I'm eighteen?" I replied looking confused.
"You go to J.D., right?"
I nodded accordingly.
"I told you" Liv called from her seat in the booth beside Mags.
"Whatever shut up, okay?" Shyla yelled over her shoulder.
"Is this going somewhere?"
Shyla's grin grew as she leaned further on the counter and twirled a finger around her bushy, crimped, sun -colored locks. Her breath smelled heavy of mint and coffee; a mixture of her beverage and the gum she was currently chewing. In her low-cut V-neck blouse, I could see her spicy red bra, barely holding in the girls.
"My friend thinks you're hot" Shyla grinned, tossing her hair a little.
Suddenly a scone came soaring across the room and connected with the back of Shyla's head. I stifled a laugh, apparently Mags was doing the same.
"You witch, I did not say that" Liv protested.
"So, you didn't say his eyes were sexy?" Shyla reported, turning to face her friend.
I didn't understand what the big deal was about my eyes. They were only normal eyes to me. My bright, azure eyes that I'd inherited from my grandmother, always seemed to be what people noticed first, especially girls. I had them to thank for the two passed relationships I had and virginity I'd lost. And my hair was as black as tar and tied into a messy bun. My upkeep was very tedious. Just then Liv stepped up to plead her case.
"Please ignore my friend her blood sugar is low and that can cause her to act like an idiot" Liv apologized.
Shyla gasped.
"It's perfectly fine I swear" I chuckled.
Behind them, still sitting in the booth and watching the scene, Mags giggled. It was a ridiculously cute, infectious giggle. It filled the space around us and made my ears tingle, and the hairs on my arm and neck stand up. Later that evening I was busy at the closing tasks of the night. As I cleaned the counters, I lifted my tip jar to wipe under it. Suddenly, I realized there was a note on top of the stack of crumbled ones. Reaching into the jar, I pulled out the piece of paper and unfolded it.
Olivia
(907) 828-3476
Call me 😉
Out on the deck I did the usual cleaning routine, sweeping, grabbing the trash, putting the chairs up on the tables. It was cold that night, strangely cold. I could feel the wind, whisp under my dark blue hoodie. I knew I had to hurry and get back in. Alaska summer nights rarely felt like summer. As opposed to the constant days of endless daylight, the weather never got above the late seventies. My phone buzzed to alert me of a text message. I pulled it out, read the message, replied, and then slid the phone back in my pocket. I turned to grab the last chair to put on the table when I saw something. I would have sworn I'd seen a pair of eyes in my perinphial. A pair of hazel eyes reflecting back at me. Watching me in wait.
I peered out into the mostly empty parking lot, surveying the area. I knew I wasn't seeing things. Was I? After a moment I shrugged it off and headed back inside. I headed home that night a little after ten. Although, the temperature felt like it dropped, I still kicked my skateboard across town. The wheels were loud as they rolled, grinding into the pavement with every push. A fog began to build as I made it home and light rain started to fall. It was only May, but it looked like summer was opting out of making an appearance. I picked up my board and made my way up the steps of the house. As I stuck my key in the door, I heard something. I gasped, jumped, and began looking around.
Was I hearing things, or did I hear a growl? I chuckled to myself, turned the key, and headed into the house. I shut the door behind me, and then placed my skateboard in the corner beside the large cylinder that held our umbrellas. I took my lanyard, holding my house key from around my neck and hung it on the corner of a small shelf by the front door.
"Theo is that you?" Dad called from the den.
I could hear agitation in his tone.
"Yea?" I smirked.
I wondered why he asked if it were me, I was the only child and he and Mom were already in the house.
"Get in here" he said.
I knew from that tone that whatever this agitation was, I was the source. I readjusted my backpack on my back and made my way down the foyer and into the entryway of the den. Dad was sitting in his huge burgundy lazy boy, while mom was sitting on the couch holding the t.v. remote in her hand. I exhaled, shrugged my shoulders, and gestured with my hands to insinuate me saying: What's up?
"What are these?" Dad asked, dropping three envelopes on the coffee table.
"They look like letters Dad" I pointed out.
"I'm fr..." Dad started.
"James, blood pressure" Mom interrupted.
Dad exhaled.
"I'm aware that they're letters Theo. I found them in your wastebasket. They're letters from Fairbanks; they haven't even been opened" Dad growled.
"First off, please stop rifling through my trash, you're gonna find a condom in there one day" I informed.
Mom gasped.
"Second, I don't want to go to Fairbanks, I want to go to UAS, or New York" I announced.
"Do you understand the strings I've pulled to try to get you an interview with the dean?" Dad grimaced.
"Yes, I know, God knows that I know" I groaned, running my fingers down my face.
"GRADUATION IS IN A MONTH THEO, YOUR FUT..." Dad yelled, getting up from the recliner.
"I KNOW THAT DAD, I FREAKING KNOW THAT, YOU WANNA KNOW WHY, BECAUSE YOU REMIND ME EVERYDAY!" I yelled, approaching my dad.
Mom hopped up from the couch and got in between us. Her very petite, five-six frame looked so helpless between my six-one height and Dad's five-eleven.
"DON'T DISRESPECT ME BOY!" Dad yelled.
"WELL THEN SHOW ME SOME!" I yelled back.
"Stop it you two right now" Mom growled in between us, pushing at our chests.
I really didn't know what she thought she was trying to accomplish. If Dad and I wanted to take a swing at each other, it would have been easy to do right over her head. I removed Mom's hand from my chest and took a few steps back.
"I'm going to bed" I muttered, as I turned on the heel of my feet and started out of the den.
"We're going to address this another day" Dad called after me.
"Indeed" I called back.
In my room I laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling, with my hands behind my head. A calming soundtrack played from my phone as I quietly contemplated thoughts of New York and going there after graduation. I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with the phone number on it. I was in between thoughts of, this is a joke, and what are you doing, call her. I picked up my phone and began to text the number.
Hey Olivia? It's Theo from the coffee shop.