The Activity Club Cafe was exceptionally calm today. It was a crisp autumn day, and all Isaac wanted to do is go on a walk or something. He was stuck inside, however, with two lazy co-workers and mostly condescending customers. Isabel and Ed, said co-workers, were crafting paper airplanes and flying them around the shop, testing which kinds flew faster. Which, one more than one occasion, hit Isaac in the back of the head.
Isaac was resting his chin on his palm, tapping his other hand to the ticks of the clock. The only reason he still worked here was because of the store owner, Mr. Spender. Spender was Isaac's uncle, and he tended to give him a "family bonus" to his pay check. Isabel and Ed rarely help out; normally they're goofing off like today. Isaac is the only one who knows how to make 90% of the drinks, so he couldn't leave the Activity Club in such a dire state. What a weird name for a coffee shop, he'd have to ask Spender about that later-
He's snapped back into reality by the jingle of the door; a customer has entered. Isaac sat up, readjusting his apron and forcing a smile. "Hello, welcome to the Activity Club Cafe, how may I help you?"
The guy who walked in looked disoriented. "Oh, um, hi." He ran a finger across the brim of his hat (probably a nervous habit) and sat down at the counter, eyeing the menu board behind Isaac and bringing his messenger bag to his lap. "Can I have a medium Scrapdragon?" Isaac nodded and got to work preparing the drink as the customer retrieved a black bound notebook and a pencil from his bag. He began to sketch out some ambiguous figure as Isaac put the finishing touches on his drink.
"Here you go," Isaac said, sliding the cup over to the customer. Said customer passed him the money and continued working, not saying a word. The room fell into silence, save for the clock, sounds of pencil on paper, and Isabel and Ed's idle chattering and giggling. "What's your name?" Isaac asked, for lack of a better conversation topic.
The customer looked up, blinking. "Max. And yours?"
"Isaac," he said, nodding. "What're you drawing?" he asked, tilting his head to get a better view of the sketchbook.
"Just some homework for my art class. I'm an art major, in case you haven't figured it out already." Max lifted the book, turning it so Isaac could see. The page was littered with scribbles and eraser marks and (some) smooth lines. He seemed to have a very cartoony style. "I actually write and draw a webcomic called Paranatural. It's not that popular, I don't know if you've heard of it…" His voice trailed off as he turned the sketchbook back to face him.
"No, I haven't, but I'll read it sometime. I'm a meteorology major myself, and I go to University of Mayview. Dr. Zarei is an awesome professor; her class is fun, albeit... non-traditional," Isaac said, thinking of the right word to describe Dr. Zarei's class.
Max laughed at that; everybody on campus knew that Zarei was insane. "I suppose she would be better than Garcia's or especially Starchman's." At the name Starchman, both shuddered, followed by a laughing fit. "Seriously, Garcia is a pretty cool guy, despite the fact that he's tired 24/7. I heard that one time he was drunk or something and ended up in the river." Isaac chuckled; that story seemed farfetched. "Although I can't say the same for Starchman."
"Yeah, Starchman is undeniably the most inane person I've ever met. You listen to the band Insolent Children?" Isaac asked, noticing the logo on Max's hoodie. Max was a pretty cool guy; maybe they'd be friends. He didn't really have that many friends; he was a little introverted and socially awkward. This could be a nice change of plans.
"Yeah! They're my favorite band!" Max spoke excitedly, his face lighting up.
Their conversation continued like this for a while, with Max ordering more coffee every once in a while and occasionally telling stories from his frat house. Isaac found him interesting; he's a lot of uncommon interests put together. Comics, baseball, even parkour! He always thought parkour was cool, if incredibly challenging.
When Isaac looked outside the shop windows, the sun had fallen and the moon was rising. "Oh shoot! What time is it-" Isaac looked at the clock; 7:48. "We were supposed to close two hours ago!" he sighed, hastily throwing his apron into the general area of the hangers and snatching his coat. He noticed a sticky note on the wall. We're leaving early. Make sure you close the shop on time. -Ed and Isabel. They know you so well.
"Sorry, Isaac; I tend to make people lose track of time," Max laughed, stuffing his sketchbook into his messenger bag.
Isaac snorted. "You're about as smooth as sandpaper, Max."
"Hey, hey, hey, that's not true! I am severely hurt," Max said, following Isaac out of the store and into the cold outdoors. Isaac locked the door and shoved the keys in his pocket. "Well, bye Isaac. Seeya later," Max nodded, waving at Isaac as he walked to his car.
"Bye, Max." Isaac began walking in the direction of his house; he still didn't have a car. He couldn't believe he closed the shop two hours later than normal! Spender is going to kill him! Well, at least he made a friend; that counts for something, right?
you do not know how hard i wanted to make him go home via rollerblades