Eponine had the morning shift the next day, starting at 5:30 AM. This endeavor, of course, was barely tolerable, even though she had managed to get to bed at 9 the day before. Even worse, she was scheduled to work it with Grantaire. Not that he wasn't one of her best friends, but he would stumble in late and hungover and be completely useless until at least seven, leaving Eponine to fend off the early-morning businessmen and women to herself.
It was her least favorite crowd. They were pompous and well-dressed, and, despite their apparent need for coffee, they looked fully awake. They also wanted all sorts of modifications on their drinks: no foam, extra espresso, low-fat whipped cream, soy milk, the list went on and on. Usually they wanted three or more changes made to the basic latte, and remembering all of them so early made her head throb. It was throbbing now, just at the prospect.
One good thing about Combeferre is that he did allow Eponine to eat from the coffee shop's supply as her breakfast, though, so she unlocked the door at 5:15, throwing her coat in the break room and shaking snow from her hair. Tying on her apron and flicking on the lights, she grabbed a scone out of the case and set it on a dish, then set about making a London Fog. She could hear Grantaire in her head saying how stuck up she sounded and how it was just a fancy name for earl grey tea latte, and how disgusting they were anyways, but she didn't care.
As she popped a tea bag in the water and let it steep, she looked around for the milk and sugar. Before that, she put in half a pump of vanilla syrup from the line of flavored syrups in glass bottles. She had just stirred everything together when the door chimed and the first customer walked in.
Surprisingly, she raised her eyes not to see some middle-aged man asking for extravagant coffee, but Cosette, the girl Grantaire was so bent on her trying to date.
"I thought I was first for the day, but apparently you're the first customer," she laughed with a clear, high pitch.
Eponine offered a smile and pushed the drink to the side. "Nope, just making it to get through the rush before my coworker stumbles in." Considering that she had said to much to someone who was just a customer, she grapped her Sharpie and hovered one hand over the cups. "What can I get for you?"
Cosette looked back at the door. "Hm, I have time. What do you recommend?"
As much as she would never admit it to Grantaire, she did feel strangely warm at the thought of Cosette wanting to spend her extra time here with her, even if it was just for coffee.
A mischevious idea came to Eponine's mind, and she gave Cosette a smirk. "How about I make you one of these, and once I get your review, I can prove to my coworker that they're the best drink that ever existed?"
Cosette smiled. "Well, what is it?"
"If I told you, it would ruin the surprise," Eponine said with mock horror at the mere suggestion of telling her the name. Okay, she decided, she could flirt if she wanted to. Grantaire wasn't around to give her an earful anyways, and she would have one more opinion to prove that London Fogs were not just some hipster tea-coffee hybrid that she drank to seem cool and exclusive.
Cosette ran her tongue over her lips (which even Eponine's strong resolve could not deny the attractiveness of) and nodded. "Okay then."
In order to keep her air of nonchalance, Eponine took a cup and paused before writing the name. "Cosette, right?"
The girl who Eponine obviously already knew the name of nodded, staying at the counter and leaning over onto her elbows. Hiding the cup behind the milk carton so Cosette didn't see the tea bag, she constructed the drink as quickly as the steeping time for the teabag would allow her. Taking the bag out and fixing the lid on the top, she passed it over the register, where Cosette was still waiting. Eponine grabbed her own drink, and went to take a sip before Cosette delicately touched their coffee cups together in a "cheers" motion, raising her eyebrows.
Eponine pressed her smile against the lid of her cup and forced herself to not let he giddy side show, focusing herself on Cosette's reaction. At the first, her eyebrows knitted together, but then she took another sip and put it down. "It's good, but I have no idea what it is."
"It's a London Fog, which is basically an earl grey tea latte with some vanilla," Eponine explained, taking another sip of her own.
Cosette nodded thoughtfully. "I wouldn't have guessed that," she admitted. "But you can tell your coworker that he's wrong, then."
Eponine nodded and laughed, studying the girl in front of her. Maybe she had been wrong; whether he guessed or chose carefully, Grantaire definitely knew her type. Still, she tried not to read too much into Cosette being the first one in the place, or that she had stayed to talk – some people were just really friendly by nature.
"I should go," Cosette decided out loud, "I have an early lecture class to get to."
Eponine ignored how her heart fell just a bit. Of course she didn't wake up so early just to come toy with your affections, she's here for caffeine to get through her classes. I should have seen that one coming.
"See you later!"
Eponine looked back up to find Cosette already at the door. She gave a wave, and slumped against the counter when the door closed. She could already see a woman in a blazer and a trench coat, hurrying across the parking lot to the door. And of course, Grantaire wasn't here yet. She could call Enjolras, but he was probably still asleep. Or she could call Musichetta, but she had early classes too and would likely be unavailable.
Too late. The bell on the door chimed as the woman came to the counter. Before Eponine could even say hello, the woman was rooting in her purse and saying "Venti iced latte, soy milk, half pump of caramel. No sweetener besides the syrup."
Eponine bristled at the command, but didn't say anything as she scribbled it all down on a cup. Another customer walked in behind the woman, and Eponine sighed as she realized it was another day of collecting orders while simultaneously making drinks and trying to ring people up.
Hope you're fucking happy, Grantaire, she thought, but she pumped the caramel syrup all the same.
Only half a pump, of course.
A/N: I'm going to make a playlist for this story soon! The chapter titles are taken from the songs on the playlist. I'll link all of you to it once it's done, probably by the next chapter.