"Small caramel frappuccino!"
It was a really busy day at the Rider's Café. Casual beachgoers and surfers alike were all crowded in. It was the beginning of a long weekend and it seemed like everyone was on vacation.
Where is Onua? I can't handle all this myself! thought a harried Daine Sarrasri. It was just her first month as an assistant manager and Onua, the café owner and basically Daine's older sister, had already trusted her with running things alone, leaving her with a mob of thirsty customers to help out a friend with some problem or another.
"Yo, Boss," called Farant, "We've been running out of straws for the last hour."
Uh oh. Straws. Where are they again?
"Out back, Daine-y!" Miri said walking by her. With a pixie cut and a splattering of freckles across her face, she was the impersonation of mischief and everyone's best friend.
"Um, hello? Anyone there? Can it understand me?" Farant's harsh voice echoed in her ear.
"Lay off, idjit," Evin announced, walking into the café for the beginning of the shift. "No worries, lambkin. He's just pissed Onua didn't even consider him for your job."
Evin Larse was a dear. A joker most of the time, but always helpful. Like Miri, actually. Those two are meant for each other.
"Thanks, Larse! And Farant, courteousness is expected of all our baristasat all times. Please do remember that."
She walked over to the dark room, waiting at the entrance with her eyes closed. The room was tiny and she doubted she'd ever get used to it. Small spaces still made her uncomfortable. Grabbing a stack of cups, she left as quickly as possible.
The others were working as fast as possible, trying to keep up with the flurry of orders. Well, all except Selda. She'd made it very clear that she was only working because otherwise her "Darling Daddy" had threatened to block her credit cards. This was apparently supposed to be a study in responsibility. Funny, because Daine always thought being responsible at work kind of meant actually working. Based on personal experience, she'd always tried not to judge others based on their backgrounds, but Selda… Now she's picking at her perfectly manicured nails.
Daine sighed and leaned against the counter, checking the clock. Half past three. I can make it! She'll be here soon! There were quite a few customers in line, dripping sea water and sand all over the place. That'll take some cleaning up. Maybe Farant could do it… Hard work might help fix that snarky attitude.
"Hey Dee," Miri slid next to her, adding an extra shot of espresso to some drink or another. "Doing anything later tonight?"
"Well, not really. Onua wanted me to stay back though. It's inventory night."
"Oh that stinks. Cute guy a few days ago mentioned a new club I thought we could check out!"
"I'll pass. Clubs aren't really my thing. Way too cramped."
"Ugh fine," Miri whined. "But we have to do something about your nonexistent social life. Speaking of, the blonde one over there looked interested in you! And he's definitely at least a seven… Oh look! Dimples! Now he's an eight!"
Daine could help smiling at Miri's indecisiveness. "Miri! We're working! We don't rank the customers, we make drinks for them. Now go make that vanilla whatchamacallit."
Miri grumbled something about a boring ol' hermit, picked up a cup and sloshed the milk in it everywhere. Graceful as a swan, that one.
She's right about the hermit thing though. Having some fun every once in a while wouldn't hurt…
No. It hasn't been that long that I can just forget and move on with my life.
It's been years! How much longer should I wait?
How could I just get on with life like that! Anyways, I need to get serious about finding a job.
I have a job! It may not be permanent and definitely isn't what I want to do, but it's a job! Appreciate it!
First, Onua gave me this job as a favor. Sure, I'm overqualified and yeah, I do try my hardest here, but I still need to get out of her hair as soon as possible. And there's no point in having goals if I don't try work towards them. I've always wanted to rebuild Ma's clinic. There's no point giving that up now and that's the end of it!
Daine shook her head. This was an old argument, one she'd had many times since moving to Corus. It never seemed to get resolved.
Her phone buzzed on the counter. It was a text from Onua. Apparently things were taking longer than expected.
The crowd of customers was beginning to thin now. A lot more breathing room now. The summer sun was low in the sky.
"And time's up! Laters," called Selda halfway through the door. She still had twenty minutes left. Oh well! Not like she was doing anything anyways. Speaking of shifts though, Evin's had been over for almost an hour now.
"Larse, you should leave. You don't get overtime." Daine called, looking for something to eat. She'd forgotten to lunch once again.
"Oh how could a man leave you two damsels in distress to deal with all those thirsty peeps? Really though, I tried but I got this weird, sick feeling in my stomach. I think people call it guilt?"
"Well one damsel just left and the other, well, I don't think Farant appreciates you calling him that," Miri laughed. Yup. Totally meant for each other.
"Ha ha ha. No, I've got a date with a lovely brunette near here in about ten minutes. I'll be out of your curly curls soon, my dear Veralidaine."
Daine slammed the apple she'd been nibbling on the table. No one called her Veralidaine. No one. Well her last boss, Ozorne, had insisted on it but he was absolutely disgusting. Real touchy, that one. One threatened sexual harassment charge and a swift resignation later, he wasn't a problem. Of course, I am still looking for a job… Even though I have a job. No! We're not starting this again.
Wait, talking to yourself is a sign of impending madness, right?
Mouse manure. Can't bother about being mad now.
She checked the clock again. Quarter past six. Nearly closing time now. Might as well start inventory since no one's here.
"Miri, could you help me set up for inventory? Farant, cleaning's yours today. Finish up quick and you can go home early."
Farant sullenly stalked towards the closet, feet dragging across the floor. Miri skipped to the music player and changed the music from some instrumental Mediterranean songs to some obnoxious pop artist or another.
"Background music!" she chirped. Daine preferred indie to pop music any day but she let it play. Farant seemed to like it if his wagging rear and off-key vocals were any indication. Plus Miri hated songs that didn't play fifty times over on the radio. Need to keep her happy to get work done.
Inventory was Daine's least favorite part about this job, mainly because it was so time consuming. There were a lot of things to go through; Onua was meticulous when it came to record keeping.
Farant finished up in record time, out of the door in minutes. Miri struggled, trying to carry far more than she actually could. Daine rushed over to help her.
"Daine? Why can't you go into the closet?" Miri asked hesitantly. " I mean I get if –"
"Claustrophobia." Daine answered. It was a common question.
"Oh… Did something happen or…?" Miri continued, glancing at Daine from the corner of her eye.
"Umm… Not really. It's always been there." She'd always been afraid of small spaces. Her Ma always said it was because of her free soul. It had only gotten worse over time though, and what had happened all those years ago didn't help much either.
No. No more thinking about that.
With all the boxes now stacked up on the counter and every other tabletop available. This will take some time.
"Miri, you can go. It's been a long day. I can wait for Onua."
"Are you sure? You'll be here all alone and I don't mind, really!"
"It's fine! I can take care of myself. Go on! You have all those tv shows to catch up on. Who am I to stop you?"
Miri 's freckled face broke into a lopsided grin as she quickly gathered up her stuff. "Thanks Daine! I've been keeping off the Interwebs for ages now trying to avoid spoilers!"
Daine rolled her eyes. Some people just got so obsessed. "Have funsies!"
"You too! Inventory all the way!" Miri called from outside. "Night! I'll call tomorrow to make plans for later!"
Darn. Hope she'd forgotten.
Daine looked at all the boxes around her. This was no task for just one person. Onua would be pissed if she started by herself. She always complained Daine worked too hard.
Well, guess this is free time!
Pulling down her bag from a hook behind the counter, Daine slipped out her laptop and settled down on the floor between boxes filled with coffee beans from all over the world. Onua was insistent on getting the widest variety of coffee available. Daine sometimes thought it was more for herself rather than the customers. That woman seemed to inhale the stuff.
Getting herself comfortable, Daine switched off Miri's music and booted up her computer. Her lifelong dream was to open a clinic in honor of her Ma. Her Ma had been a doctor, and a great one at that. She often treated patients for free, insistent that no one should have to spend exorbitant fees to live the healthy lives they were meant to lead. She'd had a makeshift clinic of her own but Daine had to have it shut down due to financial troubles. Treating patients for free meant her Ma had been deep in debt.
She managed to work her way through college but was now paying off an insane amount of debt. The only way she'd be able to open a clinic within her own lifetime would be by finding a very generous investor. So far, no one thought she was capable of running such an establishment due to her young age.
Odd's bobs! I helped out in Ma's clinic from the day I could do long division. My age is definitely not a problem!
Daine quickly checked her inbox and then, after deleting a mess of spam, opened her proposal to investors. The last firm hadn't even glanced past the first page, saying the estimated statistics were far too optimistic. Time to check them over again!
She immersed herself in her work. Starting the clinic was her purpose but business was her passion. She'd always loved the behind the scenes work that went on at the clinic. Business school had almost been easy for her.
Time passed by. She quietly worked on, her only companion the rapid taps from her keyboard.
The door suddenly jangled and crashed open, breaking the silence. Daine leaped up and yelped. Gosh darn it! What the heck?
"Hey Daine! I'm ba- Oh did I scare you?" Onua asked, noticing her expression for the first time.
Daine glared at her. "Maybe if you came in like a person and not an… an… Ox!"
Onua's huge dog came bounding up to Daine, jumping all over her and knocking her on her back. His name was Tahoi, but Daine affectionately called the big beast "Ox." He was a Great Dane mutt on the outside and the cuddliest sweetheart on the inside.
Ox sniffed Daine all over, only pulling back after licking every inch of her face. He then sat down, tail thumping the ground, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Daine patted him on the head and pushed herself off the floor.
Onua was inside now, picking her way through all the boxes to the coffee machine. "Coffee, Daine?"
"Yes please!" Daine started packing up her bag again. It was time to get inventorying!
"You, Numair? We'll probably be busy for a long time." Wait, what? Who? She looked up at Onua in confusion. Onua was looking towards the doorway, a mischievous smirk on her face.
Daine awkwardly turned to the doorway, still in a half-sitting position. Woah that's tall! He almost reached the top of the doorway. His hair nearly reached his shoulders but was tied back. His eyes were dark, looking at the jumble of boxes in shock. He's the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Never thought that was possible… It took him a moment to answer Onua.
"Umm… Yeah! Coffee sounds good! Great…" he finally broke his gaze away form the mess. His voice was soft but deep, almost hesitant in the way he articulated each word.. "Onua, what's all this?"
"Inventory!" she grinned evilly.
"Wait, we have to go through all of this?" Now he just looked scared.
"Well, think of this as a lesson to always check your gas before leaving for a roadtrip!"
Daine watched the exchange between the two, amused. Poor guy. Onua can be ruthless.
"You'll also be giving Daine a break, so that's good," Onua added. She turned to Daine, balancing three cups and a plate of muffins. "And I expect you to take it easy, young lady! Today must have been a lot to handle."
Numair looked at Daine, noticing for the first time that there was someone among the boxes. His face broke into a shy smile.
"Hi, I'm Numair. Onua's told me a lot about you," he said, walking over to help her finally get up.
She smiled up to him and took the offered hand. "Oh has she? I don't recall her saying anything about you to be honest."
"Oh he's the one who that thought he was a hawk the first time he got drunk!"
He blushed.
"Oh that's you? Guess I have heard about you! Wait isn't that the same one who accidentally dated those twins at the same time?"
His face flushed even more. Heh. He's totally awkwarded out.
"Yeah! He also –"
"Haven't you already stained my reputation enough?" He had finally regained his composure. The hesitance in his voice replaced by a nonchalant drawl, his long body gracefully leaning against the wall. He's like a cat… A big cat. Big but graceful. A panther?
"Oh I haven't even begun," Onua cackled evilly. She passed a cup to Daine and sat herself down on the floor. "Daine, don't feel obligated to help. You've done more than enough today. You can actually go early if you want… Though I was going to order Thai."
"No worries. I'll stay. There's a lot more to go through this time and I haven't got much else to do."
Numair came over to sit down next to Onua. "So, what do we have to do?"
Daine walked over to e counter to get Onua's work laptop. Onua was mumbling instructions, unable to talk through the muffin she had stuffed in her mouth.
"We basically open up all these boxes, count what's left in them, and record those numbers here," she translated.
Numair nodded. "Seems easy enough. What should I do?"
"You'll carry things and count them and do whatever else we want!" Onua proclaimed, slamming her fist on the floor. Poor guy.
He sighed. A tired, look on his face as he looked at her. Daine came over to sit on Onua's other side, the three of them making a triangle on the floor.
"Well, time for box numero uno! Oh Numy-dear!"
Author's Note!
Hiya everyone! Real quick, is this worth continuing?