Ten minutes or so later, which Ani had wasted swooning over Greyson even after multiple warnings; she finally led me to a small employees room at the end of the cafe. There were a few lockers and a worn-out couch that sat in the corner of the room.
Ani placed her things in a locker as I did the same. Her chattering hadn't stopped, and she kept trying to subtly fish out details about the 'mystery hunk' since I wasn't revealing anything about him. When she realized that she wasn't getting anything out of me, she skipped out of the room with excitement and enthusiasm which made me wonder where she got all this energy.
Step by step, she went through everything. Teaching me the basics as well as coaching me on how to greet the customers because according to her, I always looked irate. She even role-played being a customer so that I wouldn't scare them away and so she could see me in action.
As we were done with whatever I needed to know, I decided to play along which resulted with Ani's constant 'instructions' and my mouth hurting from over-smiling. Having enough of her nonsense, I flicked her forehead which made her shut up.
"I swear, if you say another word, I'm literally going to make you eat the coffee beans." I threatened.
And this girl had the audacity to laugh.
"Elizabeth, you'll just have to get used to it. You're stuck with me now." Giving me a sly wink, she hopped off the counter she was sitting on and flipped the sign on the door.
Surprisingly, Ani was a good teacher and she successfully taught me everything I needed to know within the short time limit we had along with her constant dramatics. The sound of the door opening brought me out of my daze to see making her way towards the counter with a customer right behind her,
I plastered a 'pleasant' smile on my face, ready for my first day. Guess it's showtime.
____________________
People seriously underestimated how hard being a barista was. My respect for them had skyrocketed by the end of my shift.
The constant flow of customers along with their dire need for their coffee so that they could start functioning, tending to the needs of each customer and double checking their order, so I wouldn't get it wrong; and their annoyed glares, when they didn't get their order immediately was stressful, but the day went considerably well.
Alice arrived a little later and helped us when there was a rush which gave her the opportunity to analyse my work ethic and I must have exceeded her expectations because after my shift, she informed me that she was glad with my progress so far.
I was currently slumped down on the couch in the small room while Ani was busy removing our things out of the locker. It was late in the afternoon, and I was starving, the grumbling in my stomach won over my weariness. I pushed myself to get up with great difficulty to see Ani grinning at me.
"You get used to it." She said as if it would somehow help me right now.
"Thanks, that helps a lot." I retorted childishly.
I shoved open the door and walked out into the slightly empty cafe; it wasn't as full when we were working our shift, but enough to keep the baristas busy.
Ani walked by my side, "It's usually less crowded in the afternoon, but because HideOut is quite popular, you never find it completely empty." Which was true as I had never seen the cafe empty. My eyes fell on the red Mustang that was parked outside.
Sensing my excitement, Ani asked me, "What's up with you?"
"My best friend decided to come and save me." Thank goodness, I didn't have to walk home.
The shrill ring of a phone interrupted Ani before she could speak. She looked at the caller ID in confusion before looking up at me.
"Is everything fine?" I asked.
"Yeah, just my brother. I have to take this, so I'll see you tomorrow." Pulling me into a hug, she left.
Pushing the door open, Caleb seemed engrossed with something on his phone and was oblivious to his surroundings. Sneaking up to his rolled down window, I let out a scream which scared him more than I had expected. He jumped high enough to hit his head on the roof of the car and flung his phone.
After that, well, I lost it. I couldn't stop laughing, and it didn't help that I kept picturing his face. I sat down on the empty sidewalk to catch my breath, while Caleb got out of the car and rubbed the top of his head. His face was scrunched up in pain and annoyance.
I didn't think he would scare like that, but it was so funny to see. Once I was done, I got up and brushed myself off; coming face-to-face with a disgruntled Caleb, I held up the coffee I had bought for the twin's, as a peace-offering. He glared at me, but still took it.
"I'm sorry." I said with a smirk.
"One day, I will get you back for pulling all these pranks on me."
"I'll be waiting." I said, swiftly flipping around and hitting him in the face with my hair, by mistake of course. I got into the car, and he followed suit, grumbling about how he regretted picking me up.
"Oh, yeah. How did you know what time I would be done?" I asked as he guided the car onto the road.
"You told Jacob."
"Did I?" I asked, confused because I didn't remember doing so.
"Yeah."
We settled into a comfortable silence and then it struck me, it was never silent whenever the twin's were around and I realized Jacob wasn't here.
"Where's Jacob?" I questioned. I was surprised that the other twin didn't tag along; the two of them were always together.
I didn't get any answer because Caleb was busy brooding, he did look upset about something.
"Hey. Where's Jacob?" I repeated.
Caleb looked conflicted like he was trying to figure out what to say. Something was definitely wrong.
"He went home because he wasn't feeling well."
"He was fine when I last saw him." He was lying.
"Caleb, is everything fine?"
"Everything's alright, Lizzy." Caleb said keeping his eyes on the road, but his tone didn't sit right with me.
"Caleb, seriously. What's wrong?" I asked getting worried by the second.
"Liz, nothing's wrong and Jacob's fine." He said in a frustrated tone.
"But-"
"Nothing's wrong, Elizabeth. Drop it." He cut me off, anger and annoyance written on his face. I knew not to irritate Caleb when he was in his moods, so I stopped questioning him for now.
I was a little vexed and worried with him for lying to me. The rest of the car ride passed by in uncomfortable silence with neither of us willing to speak up. Once we reached my apartment complex, no one made a move to get out of the car. Taking that as a cue, I asked him again.
"Caleb, is everything alright? What's wrong? Cause you're scaring the shit out of me."
I didn't get an answer.
I sighed, "Okay, fine. If you don't want to answer, don't. I'm going to make something to eat, do you want to come up?"
"Yeah, I'll come up. I think Jacob forgot his keys." I guess I would have to talk to Jacob then.
We got out of the car, the deafening silence was smothering in the elevator and I was thankful when the doors swung open.
Caleb was a straight-forward person and never beat around the bush regardless of whether the truth hurt you or not. It made me even more anxious than I should be because something huge must have happened for him to act this way.
Today had been quite a day, and I couldn't wait to get into bed, watch T.V. and eat trashy snacks. I informed a moody Caleb that I was going to have a quick shower, he nodded and sat down on the couch, pulling out his phone to keep himself busy.
I made my way to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Huh? I thought I had closed it when I left this morning.
Overlooking that, I entered the bathroom only to realize that I didn't take any clothes to change into. Walking out, I nearly let out a loud scream when I saw a figure huddled and crouching down near my bed. I searched for something that I could use to defend myself. Where was that damned bat when I needed it?
I trod as silently as I could towards my door, fortunately the person wasn't facing me and they couldn't see what I was doing.
I came to a standstill when I saw that familiar tuft of blonde hair peeking out from underneath the cap.