she felt warm, her fingertips sparked with an odd mellow feeling as she eyed it from her desk side.
the receipt may look like a piece of paper, but it had something she had wanted for a while.
a friend.
and she couldn't give any perfect time to text her then now, at four am with the urge for company, but also ginger ale. the bubbly drink was her all-time favorite, though, to popular demands, it wasn't very favorable by everyone.
unplugging her phone, she held it in her clammy palms, eyeing the bright screen with hesitation. what if she wasn't up? what if she was disturbing her? what if it was a prank?
she let it get the best of her as she quickly typed in the number into her contacts, groggily glancing at the phone as she pressed call. impishly smiling at the little spark of confidence she welled.
"hey, is this the ginger ale girl!" she could already feel the energy through the phone, like a contagious smile, her lips tilted upwards unknowingly.
"yeah, i was wondering if we could get ginger ale at your cafe right now... of course you don't have to if-"
"of course, it's so boring being the late-night shift, come on over!" fits of giggles transferred through devices before she got her slip ons, "well see ya"
the call ended with a click, slipping out her mahogany door, the moonlight reflected off the small water puddles. last morning was a rain pour and she wasn't necessarily complaining, no, she quite liked it. being pluviophile, she loved indoors. the satisfying sound of water drops pouring and connecting on her window.
it was like they were having a race recital to the bottom, she would always be mesmerized by them and forget what was to become. what the future held, what happened in the past. her worries are and were yesterday when the delicate raindrops fell.
as she spotted the familiar cafe, a light smile danced her lips before ambling slightly quicker toward the little shop. opening the door to hear soft chimes, seeing the known chestnut bob of hair from behind the cashier, the girl had awoken with a ditsy smile.
"hey! finally, you came, thought i'd be waiting forever!" tossing another smile, she immediately went out to the door, opening it suggestively, "well, c'mon! what are you waiting for?"
"o-oh sorry!" she spewed mini apologies as she went out the door, noticing the small circular table that had two mini chairs on each side, but what she really noticed was the two cans of ginger ale that neatly stood next to each other. each dropped in icy water, clearly fresh from the fridge.
"did you know that four am is apparently the most productive hour? it seems the military and billionaires wake up at four am to work out or to study since no ones there to disturb you" the satisfying hiss and crackle when the cam had popped open had brought odd joy to her as she sipped the bubbly drink.
"so are you saying we're billionaires?" she inquired curiously, looking at the crestfallen sky, the navy blue hue bringing out the small sparks of light in the atmosphere. feeling the wavering wind tangling between their locks of hair. the relaxing sensations of cold ginger ale down their throat.
"you'll never know, i hope to be one. make my family proud, but for now, i'm stuck to this cafe, after all, it's been passed down for generations. but now that my father passed away, the responsibilities lie on me" she huffed a sigh, drinking her worries away before putting the can down, "now that we're going out of business with only a few customers compared to the local burger king or pizza hut, the legacy's going to end here"
the girl listened inventively, her head looked back on the wooden chair, "maybe you could get a sponsor or-"
"you don't get it! we don't have enough money and i need to keep this cafe alive! it's just.." another sigh escaped her lips as she turned toward her, "sorry, i'm just frustrated and sometimes i just.. burst"
their cans were already empty, it reminded them of what could become of the cafe that sparked their friendship. one she treasured weirdly, liking the warmth it brought.
"i-i'll make sure it doesn't go..." finding her voice, she cleared her throat, placing the can down as well,
"i'll make sure it doesn't go"