I come in at 8:11, and he smiles and says, "How are you?"
When he smiles and says, "How are you?"
I could swear my heart grows wings!
Oh, what I would do to prolong this peace, Sakura thought, as she sauntered carelessly on the street, swinging her shoulder bag back and forth. It wasn't as heavy as yesterday. Today it was void of bound papers and nine-hundred-page books about the human muscles.
Today was also the day that Ino forgot to text her the usual morning greeting of 'FOREHEAD WAKEY WAKEY!' (to which Sakura replied with the usual 'get out of your hibernation cave, BOAR'), and while she usually enjoyed the mindless phone banter that accompanied the twenty-three-year friendship, she could easily appreciate a day without one. Aside from that, her hodgepodge of cousins was still sleeping when she left her apartment. Naruto, Shikamaru and Tenten were half-siblings and her cousins for so long that she didn't know who was really related to each other anymore. Anyway, they had crashed into her apartment at three in the morning, after a smashin' party (or so the drunk Naruto had announced) and promptly found places to sleep in on her living room. The doctor-in-training Sakura couldn't help but shake her head at the amount of alcohol they imbibed, and prepared Aspirin and glasses of water right where they could see it. She missed them, though, and couldn't wait to hear the news from home (and of course, the reason why they were here when they were supposed to be at their schools).
Ah, life is good.
It was on a whim that she visited the same Starbucks she did yesterday (not for cutefrustrated!guy! or so she convinced herself, Inner Sakura was cackling like a mad, stoned witch).
It was exactly eight eleven; she noticed absentmindedly, tilting her head at the digital clock on the wall. She stood in line, and lo and behold, cutefrustrated!guy (as she had branded him in her head) was the one grumpily ringing up everyone's orders.
It should be hot, mysterious, predictable guy, Sakura thought, as he grunted at her again.
"Venti double latte, Sakura," she intoned, almost bored, tempted to examine her fingernails. She shouldn't have done that, she belatedly realized, since she couldn't hear his (hothothotnot!) voice anymore. Inner Sakura despaired as the outer one gazed forlornly at the direction of the machines—
-to find out that cutefrustrated!guy was still at the cashier and not writing her name and whatnot in a cup. He was raising an eyebrow at her.
So she raised an eyebrow back (dude! what else was she supposed to do?).
He grunted and said, "No shot of espresso today?"
Needless to say, Sakura was shocked. He remembers me? Cutefrustrated!guy remembers me? She resisted the urge to march up to his face and poke her forefinger on her chest saying me me me me?
"Couldn't help but remember someone looking as stressed as you."
He smirked at her widened eyes, and Sakura straightened and cleared her throat, trying to smother the fury that threatened to come out of her chest like a caged, enraged lion. "Nope."
He shrugged. And that was that.
The nerve!
Her happyhappyjoyjoy day was now ruined! As she was marching out of the coffee shop and into class she pulled out her phone and texted Ino.