Maple woods district,
Silver crest city.
Owen was riding his motorcycle on the road of the silent street, a wide grin could be seen on his face as the wind rushed through his hair, it was like he couldn't contain his excitement about something.
At a point, he then skillfully maneuvered his motorcycle, performing a smooth stylish slide as he drove into the front porch of a two-story craftsman house.
With a burst of energy, Owen dismounted his motorcycle after properly parking it at the side, and then he rushed to the front door, bursting through it while letting out a loud scream of excitement that echoed through the house.
He jumped around, and even somersaulted a couple of times. "Mom! I have very good news!" He yelled, while facing the staircase which led to his mom's room.
"Mom's not home yet." He heard someone say, and that was when he noticed he wasn't alone in the living room.
His mouth went agape in surprise as his eyes took in the scene in the living room. Avery, and Madeline were settled on the plush couch, with a cozy blanket tucked over them, while they each held a bowl filled with popcorn. They were watching a movie!
Owen had to check his wrist watch for the time. It was just some minutes past one in the afternoon, and if his memory served him right, the Cuppa Joy café closes at 7PM.
"Uh… aren't you both supposed to still be at work?" He asked with his eyebrows creased in confusion.
Avery suddenly burst into tears, albeit a fake one at that, and Madeline took her in for a hug, patting her head, while making a soothing sound.
"Yes, you are right, Owen. We are supposed to still be at work by this time, except that we don't have jobs anymore." Madeline was the one who spoke, and when she was done speaking, Avery's fake crying went to a whole new level.
"Avery! Can you just shush? I know you are faking it." Owen had had enough of Avery's annoying wailing, which was sounding like a dog in labor.
"Can't you be sympathetic towards your sister? We both just lost our jobs, and it's taking a huge emotional troll on us. The least you can do is to offer us your love, and support." Avery said, deeply immersed in her acting, while Madeline was finding it hard to stay in character. If Avery had said one more word, Madeline would have surely burst out laughing.
If Owen hadn't lived in the same house with Avery all his life, he would have fallen for it, but he knew Avery like the back of his palm, so he was already used to her top class acting.
Rolling his eyes, Owen gave in, and said, "Alright, whatever you say. Just tell me why Mr. Ben fired you guys? If he had only fired Avery, that would have been understandable, but firing you both at the same time? Sheesh! What exactly happened?"
…
An hour ago, at the Cuppa Joy café.
Mr. Ben had pulled Avery into his office, and slammed his door shut in a very intimidating manner.
"What was that you just displayed out there?" He asked in a menacing tone, while looking at Avery like he wanted to hurt her – real bad.
Avery didn't know why, but for some reason, she didn't feel intimidated at all, maybe because within her, there wasn't even a tiny bit of regret for what she had done. "That man was constituting a nuisance out there, holding up a line of customers. I had to do something, or the other customers would have left in annoyance."
"So you thought throwing a hot cup of coffee on a customer was the best solution?"
Avery sucked in a breath, and said, "I admit that was a very rash response on my end, and I'm sorry about that, but you also heard how arrogant he sounded. He even went as far as degrading me, asking what I had done with my life when he knows absolutely nothing about me."
"All these you are spewing are just flimsy excuses. I have told you time, and again that the customer is always right." Mr. Ben said as he slammed his hand against the wall behind Avery.
Avery flinched a bit, but she still managed to retort, "No, you told me a customer is always right, unless he or she doesn't anything that could put us at risk of losing other customers. You are only saying this now because you just found out that the customer in this case is the CEO of one of most successful companies in the city. You are scared to offend him because you feel he is all high, and mighty."
Mr. Ben's face had now gone so red. It wouldn't even come as a surprise to Avery if his ears started to release steam. "I've had enough of your bratty mouth, young woman. You can hand over your barista apron now, you are fired! Half of the supposed monthly payment will be forwarded to your account."
Avery's eyes widened in shock, but then she shouldn't have been shocked. She had gotten on his bad side once when she had been late to work on the second day of getting the job, and now she had the guts to engage him in a heated argument, instead of pleading for mercy, what did she expect?
Avery didn't bother to argue anymore, or even plead with him to reconsider. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction, as she knew that no amount of begging would make him change his mind.
She silently removed her apron, and handed it to him before turning about to leave the office.
The first thing Avery saw when she left the office, was Madeline's face which was making a sympathetic expression. "He fired you, didn't he?"
"He sure did." Avery replied with a shrug of her shoulder, then she looked around, and noticed that most of the customers had already left the café, including the arrogant CEO. The ones that stayed behind were busy glancing at Avery with curiosity, some even took sneak pics of her.
"I've got to go, Madeline. I guess I'll see you later." Avery said, and then began to head for the door, but her hand was pulled back, causing her to stop.
"If you think I'll be happy working in a café where my best friend got fired for standing up for herself against some high class jerk, then you've got something else coming." Madeline said, and then to Avery's surprise, she removed her barista apron and tossed it to the countertop. "I quit!"
Avery was monumentally shocked to her bones, but she quickly recovered and said, "You can't be serious. You need this job!"
Madeline waved her hand, and said, "Nonsense! To hell with the job. The only thing I'm worried about now is the loads of nagging I'm going to get from my mom when she hears about this."
Avery laughed, and said, "My mom's definitely gonna kill me."
Madeline then placed her arm around Avery's shoulder, as they walked to the door of the café. "What do you say we go to your house to watch a movie?"
"I say that's a brilliant idea." Avery answered, then she placed her head on Madeline's shoulder as she whispered, "Thank you, Madeline." Then they exited the café.
And that was how they both walked out of the café with heartfelt smiles on their faces. No one would have guessed that they had just lost their jobs.