CHAPTER 2: JAVA JIVE
After school, Linus, Eudora, along with Charlie Brown and Frieda, were walking to Ace's Ice Cream Shop for some sundaes. As they were walking in town, Linus smelled some coffee brewing from a nearby coffee café in the area. He took a deep breath and exhaled with a smile.
"You okay, babe?" asked a concerned Eudora.
"I'm fine, Dory," said Linus. "I just love the smell of coffee brewing."
"I didn't know you drank coffee, Linus," said Frieda.
"Haven't yet," Linus replied, "but I'm thinking of trying it out."
"You know coffee is loaded with caffeine, Linus," said Charlie Brown. "Way more than cola or Mountain Dew."
"I'm aware of that, Charlie Brown," Linus responded. "And if I think it's too much, I may try decaf."
"Oh brother!" sighed Charlie Brown.
"Well let's see where this 'heavenly' aroma is coming from," suggested Frieda. And the teens all went over to a place called Java Jive. There were quite a few baristas serving folks coffee and cappuccinos. Linus immediately fell in love with the atmosphere.
"I think I'll try this place out," said Linus. "We can get Ace's anytime. This is something new."
"Well, what do you think, sweetie?" Frieda asked Charlie Brown.
"Might as well," Charlie Brown replied. "You only live once."
"That's the spirit, Charlie Brown!" said Linus, happy that his friends and girlfriend will try the coffee out with him. Linus had ordered a caramel macchiato, Charlie Brown ordered the same, Frieda had green chai tea with lemon, and Eudora got an espresso. They noticed Eudora's choice.
"You know, Eudora, as much caffeine is in normal coffee, espresso contain even more," warned Charlie Brown.
"I didn't know that!" said a concerned Eudora.
"It's okay, Dory," assured Linus. "That's why they serve it in those small cups. And aside from the caffeine content, it's like normal coffee otherwise." And they all sat down to enjoy their drinks. Linus definitely loved his, Charlie Brown liked it too, but not as much as Linus did, Frieda enjoyed her tea, but Eudora struggled to drink hers. Aside from it being espresso, it didn't taste that good to her. Linus looked over at his girlfriend.
"You enjoying it, Dory?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, delicious!" fibbed Eudora. She managed to gag down the rest and already felt the caffeine building up.
"She's going to be wired the rest of the day," whispered Charlie Brown to Frieda.
"No kidding, hun," Frieda whispered back.
Later on, at the Van Pelt house, Linus was doing his homework. Eudora was also there, but she was bouncing off the walls from the espresso she had drank at Java Jive earlier. Lucy and Rerun also took notice to her going bonkers.
"Todaywasanicedayoutdon'tyouguysthinkso?Ireallythinkitwasgreat!Ijusthopeitdon'tgettoocoldoutbeforefallhits!WhatdoyouthinkLucyandRerun?Doyouthinkitwillgettoocoldtooearly?"
"Linus," Lucy began, "where did you guys go?"
"This place called Java Jive," Linus replied. "We had coffee for the first time."
"Oh good grief!" sighed Lucy.
"Eudora is talking a million words a second!" said a bewildered Rerun.
"What did she get?" Lucy wondered.
"An espresso," Linus said. "I think she should get the caramel macchiato like Charlie Brown and I did next time. Far less caffeine in it." They continued to watch Eudora's caffeine-driven fast-talk.
"Youknowred'smyfavoritecolor!I'malsoafanoftheAlabamaCrimsonTide!Frieda'shairisredtoo,didyouknowthat?!Alsotheskinoftheappleisred,unlessit'sagoldendeliciousoraGrannySmith!"
"Okay, she's cut off from anything containing caffeine for the rest of the night," Lucy declared.
NEXT CHAPTER: WAYNE MAKES HIS MOVE