"How long have you been waiting?"
And he jumped straight up from his seat. It was like he was bit in the ass by something living in the chair. Which I knew definitely hadn't happened because we keep things extremely clean and classy here at the café.
"Jeez, dear God. Don't sneak up on people like that. Did you skip the second grade?"
"WOW! Okay. You kiss your mother with that mouth, mister?"
Might not be the zingiest thing I've ever said but sarcasm is the best retort and at that moment, I went along with a response that was as lame as his accusation.
"Alright, listen up. You don't have to be so grumpy-"
And I was cut off. By my own brain. Yep, my instincts betrayed me. I came around the edge of the table to face him with the mug of coffee in my hand. Huh. Gorgeous grump.
Whoa! Gorgeous?
The thing is, not everyone can pull off glasses. I hadn't seen many guys here already, but the school was enough for me to make this decision. Both my old and new schools.
On the other hand, he was so grumpy because maybe he hadn't had his coffee. All this gorgeous nonsense in my head could also be because I haven't gotten my coffee fix yet either.
Coffee is a lifesaver. Oh, to be able to always have coffee and not have any other problems.
"Andromache?" he whispered.
"Who?"
Andro-what? Was this guy some sort of a crazy scientist or something? Oh dear God, should I ask him to leave the coffee house?
I need to talk to Pearl right now.
"What, what?" he questioned me in turn.
Damn, his voice was deep. Hot. Me like.
Oh, shut up, brain. Focus on the present. Come on, hormones.
"You said something."
He hadn't been looking me in the eyes before either, but now, he looked like he stole something from me. His eyes were moving here and there, like there was something he was hiding. Guilty.
"I most certainly didn't," he said, very sternly.
"I heard you muttering. "Certainly" didn't feel like nothing"
"Why did the coffee take so long?"
Misdirection. Oldest trick in the playbook. Everyone learned it from Monsters University.
"I'm new here. Sorry for the long wait," I said, trying to sound nice while placing the mug in front of him on the saucer that was already on the table.
"Long enough to have read all about the hologram cloak," he commented.
"If you read a page of the research paper for about a minute or a minute and a half on average, then you've been here around twelve minutes or eighteen. Hmmm. That's till under twenty minutes. I don't think that's very bad, given we have a thing called "morning rush", right? Sounds fair?" I said, a little angry. Come on, it's still my first few days. Cut me some slack, good-looking monster.
He looked at his watch and then looked up at me.
"How come you made that estimation for a page?"
"You definitely look like a guy that's used to reading."
Oh, shit. The words slipped out of my mouth before I thought about them twice. Did that make me look like I was thinking about him? Did it make me sound bad? Did it make me-
Okay, classic overthinking. Deep breaths.
While I was busy in my head, I hadn't realized that he had paid the bill and kind of blew me off. Rude, rude, rude! I would've argued about that but just then Pearl appeared at the table.
"Pearl!" he said, no exclaimed, and flashed her a wide smile.
Okay, what just happened? This guy could smile? This was conclusive proof that his teeth could not only bite but also make someone happy. The coffee probably fixed him. Me, I did that.
"How are you doing? It's been really long since I saw Jan. How's she doing?"
"She's perfect kiddo, just like me. I think better than me because she's popular in her school. How's that possible? School is supposed to be horrible."
I think I heard that guy laugh. The whole thing dumbstruck me. So much so that I was staring at them. No, no. Just him, actually. How much a smile could change someone's face.
"You guys already know each other," I said, stating the obvious.
"Of course, Ash is my favorite of all the kids in this neighborhood."
"I thought we agreed on you not calling us kiddos since you're almost a kiddo yourself."
"Ah-ha! I never agreed to that. And, I own this place. I'm more than far from being a kiddo."
He seemed to be talking very easily with her. Then she went away. He looked back at me and seemed to stiffen. Even though he wasn't even a bit welcoming, he could work his way by the looks.
Realizing I was lingering, I went to the back again. Someone called Pearl and she vanished again.
After some time, "Your shift is over kid. Go home."
"Thanks for the assist."
She snapped her fingers. "You got it."
And I walked home back up the road. Surely, Avy was ready with her questionnaire. She pranced upon me as soon as I entered through the door.
"How was your first day? What did you do? Who taught you? Was it a good place? Did anyone bully you? What did you-"
"How much coffee did you have? And would you at least let me in?"
She looked like she had at least ten cups. I shoved her from the way and I went in.
"None. Why?"
"You don't remember me waking you up, do you?" She didn't have to answer. Her face said it all.
"Oh. That happened again today?"
"Most certainly." I smiled.
"Okay smirky face, shut up. Just answer me."
And I did, in the order, she asked me. Then Maya came rushing from the kitchen.
"Oh, my big girl, how was your first day?"
Her eyes were all wide with excitement. And a little worry too.
"It was amazing. But I met a grump. A good-looking guy. Emphasis on good."
"Met?" Avy asked, with a wide smile.
"No. I just know his name. Ash. Geek. He doesn't know my name though. Looked like around our age."
"Geek like you."
Nuh-uh. Definitely not. I could tell that.
"Oh. He's another level of geekiness. Trust me."
"Uh-huh. How do you know that? You're not one for first impressions, are you?"
She was eying me like I was some archaeological deposit. But the truth is, she was right. I never estimated a person at first sight. That wasn't what happened here though. I hadn't evaluated him. I said that because it felt like I knew him. Deep down, somewhere.
Also, it was time to change the topic.
"So, you like that guy you met the other day on the basketball court?"
"The one who was bet up or Anwir?"
"The second."
"Ah, no."
She seemed clear, but also thoughtful.
"Why?"
"Not my type. But he makes a very good buddy. So, yeah."
"Funny you didn't tell me the other guy's name."
She groaned at the mention of the other guy. Avy never really left any opportunity when it came to making friends. It wasn't particularly hard for me either. I was just picky. But she hadn't asked him for his name. That meant that he really was ugh.
"That ass. He didn't tell me!" she said as if she knew what I was thinking.
"Said, 'it doesn't matter'. God, that guy."
"Maya, something's burning!" Neil screamed from the kitchen.
"What? Oh, no! Neil, you're right there. Take care of it" she screamed, already on her way down to the kitchen.
"I didn't know what was burning. You filled the whole freakin' stove."
"Well, making ratatouille isn't easy." And just then I was pretty sure I'd become crazy. Because there was no possibility she'd known about a dish from an animated movie. Maya loathed movies. Any and I slowly crept into the kitchen and gasped at the sight and the aroma. She was actually making it. Both of us looked at each other and ran up to Maya and Neil and hugged them fiercely.
"Are you guys all right?"
They hugged us back. I looked up at Neil. He was frowning.
"We're all right girls, what about you? Why did you ask if we were fine?"
"Because you guys were making a food item which, literally a rat made in an animated movie. You had that question coming" stated Avy.
"Well, you guys thought it was yummy when you first looked at it and it took me this long to watch that movie and bring myself to make it."
She was just…. perfect. I didn't know how she could love us so much.
"A plus for the effort guys, but we're over the food crush. Now, we'll make you something."
And with that, we shoved them out of the kitchen.