Chapter 2 – With coffee and mice

Santana…

Maybe she didn't love summer break for the same reasons anymore but she sure still loved it. When she was younger it was because she was able to play outside till late at night and sleep in the next morning.

Now it was because she had more time to work at the bar. She'd been working double shifts at The Schuester's all week. Her boss Will didn't like giving her that many shifts because he said she was too young to work that much. He kept telling her that she should spend time with her friends instead at the bar.

On the other hand Will knew exactly that Santana was his best waitress. She was never late, she never stole and she was always friendly with the customers. Those were the three things that Will expected whenever he hired someone new. It wasn't much in Santana's opinion but it was obviously too much for the other waitresses.

The Schuester's was the only bar in town where you didn't want to disgustedly turn around first thing after you stepped a foot into it. It was friendly and fun during the day. There would be families with their kids because they served some pretty good ice cream – or how Will would insist they'd call it: gelati.

At night when there were no more families left, The Schuester's also liked to dim the lights and put on some good music so you could dance. The atmosphere would become different. The waitresses would become flirtier and the drinks heavier.

Will didn't allow Santana to be serving at night though. She was only allowed to work back in the kitchen as soon as it was eight o'clock. She was the youngest among the co-workers and therefore the only one who had curfew. It was ok though… she didn't mind.

She wasn't exactly eager to get hit on by elder men with too much booze in their system. She didn't understand why the other waitresses thought it was kind of cool. Sure, they gave big tips but still… Santana was glad that Will let her work in the first place. She often silently shrubbed the glasses and bowls in the kitchen while everyone else was having fun in the front.

It gave her time to think about what she wanted to do with her life. Not that there were too many choices… she certainly didn't want to stay a waitress for the rest of her life. She liked Will but she'd have some remarks if he ever wanted to promote her once she turned eighteen. For example the uniforms… they were beyond uncomfortable. They were also hideous. Light pink with white aprons. They looked like they were from the seventies or something. Maybe they were…

Today Santana was just about to close the last button on her uniform to start the afternoon shift when her best friend stepped through the front door. She already wanted to wave at Quinn but stopped when she saw the look on the blonde's face.

"What happened?" Santana wanted to know as soon as Quinn came over and sat down at the counter. Her friend didn't respond. Her eyes were red and Santana knew that Quinn must have cried up until a minute ago. "Quinn?"

"I need a drink." She said with a shaky voice.

"Oh ok. What do you want? A coke with lemon juice? Iced tea?"

"No. Something a little stronger. Just give me Vodka, Santana."

Santana stared at her friend.

"Excuse you? First of all; you're not allowed to order that, just as much as I'm not allowed to serve it and second – what the hell? Your parents are gonna kill you if they find out you're here to drink alcohol. And if Will sees you trying to get a drink, he'll never let you put a foot back in here until you're 21. Don't make the same mistake Jake did."

Quinn moaned when Santana mentioned his name. They'd been on and off ever since second year at high school. Apparently it was another off-phase at the moment.

"Don't get me started on that asshole" Quinn mumbled with fresh tears brimming in her eyes.

"Quinn what the hell happened? You come here in the middle of the day, trying to get alcohol and when I say your boyfriend's name, you almost start crying?"

Quinn just shook her head, causing Santana to honestly get worried.

"What did he do this time, huh? It can't be that bad…" She tried with a chuckle but Quinn burst into tears. She hid her face in her hands and winced when Santana tried to console her friend by putting a hand on her arm.

"Please… tell me so I can help you." Santana hoped to get her friend to open up about what was going on but Quinn didn't say. She just cried miserably.

When Will appeared from the kitchen a minute later, Santana only shrugged at his questioning glance. He was usually a good listener and always knew some advice but there was nothing to give advice to since Quinn didn't talk.

He left them alone because there was work to do but allowed Santana to take her break at the beginning of the shift so she could be there for Quinn. Even if it meant to just sit next to her in silence.

/

An hour later Santana still didn't know what had made her friend so upset. At least she wasn't crying anymore. She was standing next to the jukebox in the back and playfully chewing on a spoon of ice cream. If Santana didn't know any better, she would have thought that Quinn was trying to impress the two college boys that had returned to town for summer break. They were trying to make Quinn laugh and it worked.

She threw her head back while touching one of the guy's biceps. Santana always admired Quinn's ability to flirt so shamelessly at every hour of the day. It came naturally for her. Her pretty face and her blonde hair were only bonus. Quinn made everyone fall for her within minutes.

Santana wasn't jealous though. She hardly ever felt the desire to flirt with those guys that Quinn enchanted before anyone else could try their luck.

Santana didn't know why she didn't like flirting. Or maybe she would have liked it but the right guy just hadn't showed up so far. Either way, she didn't recognize Quinn's behavior lately…

Santana knew it wasn't easy to be the reverend's daughter. It must have been hard to live up to her parents' expectations. The older Quinn and Santana got, the less Quinn was allowed to go out. They hardly allowed her to stay the night at Santana's anymore, too scared that the two of them would sneak out at night to meet boys or something.

Santana and Quinn never even did that but her parents still didn't trust them. They had no idea Quinn and Jake Puckerman had secretly been dating for over a year now. They probably would have locked Quinn in the basement if they had found out.

Santana was still lost in thoughts about what might have upset her friend so she didn't see the new customer coming in. Only when someone appeared right in front of her face, she startled and spilled coffee all over the counter.

"Shit" She hissed and tried to soak everything up with a thin napkin.

"Can I get one of these, please?" Santana looked up into a girl's face she had never seen before. "But you know… in a cup instead of a counter."

Santana didn't know whether the girl was trying to make a joke or to be unfriendly. Then a small grin formed on her lips.

Santana exhaled with a short laughter.

"Of course. Sorry about the mess." She explained and grabbed a towel to wipe her hands.

The blonde-haired girl sat on one of the barstools. Her blue eyes roamed all over the now sticky counter.

"No worries. You should see my aunt Patty's couch table. It's nothing compared to this. You'd think you couldn't make a bigger mess on such a small table but it's not just her couch table. It's also her dining table. And the table to polish her fingernails, as well as the table to read her tarot cards. Yeah…"

Santana pressed her lips together in order not to laugh again.

"Sounds like one messy table" She commented without thinking. Then she realized that she was talking to a customer. "I mean… I'm sure she's a clean lady, your aunt."

The girl smirked at Santana's clumsiness.

"Yeah, it's really just the table."

Santana quickly turned around to get a fresh cup and a napkin. With a couple skilled moves she folded the napkin into a mouse. She wasn't sure why she did that, but she felt like doing something funny in order to make up for the sticky mess she had created.

She always folded napkins for her brother Iker when they had ice cream at home. He loved to watch her and then play with whatever animal she made for him.

She pushed the cup in front of the girl, filled it with coffee without spilling this time and then put the white mouse right next to it.

"There you go. Your coffee in a cup and a mouse."

Santana watched how the girl's eyes widened at the gesture.

Was it silly? Suddenly Santana felt utterly silly about the napkin. Why on earth did she make a mouse? Seriously – a mouse?

"Oh my God this is the cutest thing I've ever seen." The girl said when she raised the napkin to take a closer look. "You're really good at this!"

Santana shook her head and put a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh it's just something I do for my brother sometimes. It's nothing. Do you want sugar in your coffee?"

The girl nodded with a resting smile on her face.

Santana almost handed her the saltshaker because for a short moment her attention got drawn back to Quinn in the background. She was now sitting at one of the tables, sharing her ice cream with one of the college guys.

"There you go", Santana mumbled when she handed the girl the sugar, her eyes still trained on her friend.

"Thanks but I like it a little sweeter than that."

Santana looked back at the blonde sitting on the other side of the counter.

"Huh?"

Shoot, she probably seemed all uninterested because she had been focused on Quinn.

"You gave me the salt. I'd try it but I've done so in the past and what can I say, it's… gross."

Santana stared at the girl in front of her, once again not sure if she was serious or not.

"I'm Brittany, by the way. I only just moved here a week ago."

Santana blinked at her several times until she realized that slender fingers were reached out to her.

"Oh" She lifted her hand to shake Brittany's. That's why she had never seen her face before. "Nice to meet you, Brittany. I'm San…tana."

She didn't know why she felt funny to be shaking hands with a stranger. She must have come from far away where people actually still did that.

"Nice to meet you, too San…tana." The girl imitated her hesitation with a wink.

Was that a wink? Who did that to another girl?

Santana couldn't help but utter another short laugh. Only when she realized that their hands were still holding on to each other, she took a step back and turned around.

She fumbled with her apron before stepping on her toes to reach another cup from the shelf above her head.

She cleared her throat when she prepared another coffee for a customer she was supposed to wait before Brittany came in and kind of stole the show with her weird couch table talk.

/

About twenty minutes later, Santana took the cash that Brittany handed her over the counter. They said goodbye without any further funny business and Santana watched how Brittany made her way outside with light steps.

She had actually wanted to ask the girl if she was going to be at school once the school year started. She looked about her and Quinn's age. Unless she was completely mistaken… but there had been other people waiting for coffee or ice cream and also Quinn came back to the counter at one point, obviously having had enough of all the flirting in the back.

Santana asked if she was ok now that she was no longer crying but Quinn just shrugged and said that she had never felt better.

Santana narrowed her eyes when she watched Quinn leaving a short while later. There was definitely something up. She had no idea what it was but she knew her friend and when something was up.

It was only a matter of time that she was going to find out.

/

Brittany…

It was her seventh night at aunt Patty's trailer.

It wasn't as bad as she had pictured it to be. It was a lot bigger than she remembered which was funny because usually it's the other way around. You remember something bigger just because you were smaller back then.

Brittany could hear aunt Patty's low snoring through the thin wall that separated their tiny rooms. Brittany was very thankful that Patty had enough space for her even if it wasn't a lot. She had a bed and a blanket, a chair to put her clothes on and through the window she could see a pretty light chain hanging from the neighbor's trailer home.

The kitchen was also kind of cute and the one couch next to it was even comfier than the one Brittany had back at home with her mom.

There was no table inside to do homework but that was ok. Brittany could do that on her bed or sit outside at the garden table. She didn't have homework anyway as school year wasn't going to start for another couple weeks.

It gave her time to ride around town on aunt Patty's old bicycle that she never used anymore. Brittany found it quite nice with the little basket on the handlebar. That way she could ride to the store, that aunt Patty worked at and carry home food for dinner so Patty didn't have to carry it all on her own. Brittany knew that her aunt appreciated it even if she didn't say it out loud.

The two weren't specifically close. They probably still needed time to fully warm up to each other. After a short talk when Brittany arrived last week, they hadn't had lots to discuss any further. Aunt Patty was either working or sitting outside doing crosswords with a cigarette in her hand. Sometimes she also went to sit with a neighbor to have that cigarette.

Thankfully she only smoked outside. Brittany didn't like the smell. She always kind of wondered what it would be like to take a drag but the smell kept her from actually taking one of Patty's cigarette's. She would have given it to Brittany…

Brittany turned up the volume of her Walkman because she loved the song that was playing at the moment. Also she couldn't hear the snoring anymore that way.

She gazed out of the window and thought of her mom.

She missed her. Not like she'd miss her back when she was seven years old, but she did miss her. The feeling of having someone who knew her better than she knew herself. Because now Brittany had to make all her decisions on her own. Patty didn't mind if Brittany went out. She didn't ask what time she'd be back and she didn't tell Brittany to clean up her room.

She was just aunt Patty…

They did look alike though. Aunt Patty and her mom. Patty was quite a bit older and maybe not as thin as her mom. Her hair wasn't as blonde but they both had the same blue eyes. Just like Brittany.

Not like that girl at the bar today.

Santana… what an unusual name. Brittany had never seen such a beautiful girl before. She had also been really nice. Brittany threw a look at the napkin mouse that was now on her bedside table.

If they'd hire another waitress? She could definitely use the money but she probably wasn't good at waiting. The thought of having to carry a tray with actually something on it gave her sweaty palms just thinking of it.

She'd definitely be better at cleaning the tables and counters.

Brittany took a mental note to ask aunt Patty if she could help out at the store sometime. She needed something to do until school started or she'd die from boredom.

Tomorrow she'd go look for a place where she could practice her dancing. She needed it like air to breathe.

When she realized she was about to drift off, Brittany pushed off the headphones and snuggled under the blanket.

She had a feeling she was going to have sweet dreams tonight.