Sophia's life took a monotonous hue. Mrs Higgins left after the doctor checkup. She was now officially back to normal. So she would wake up in the morning, do some rehab exercise, have breakfast with the family, go to school with the twins, attended classes, practice piano in school, back to home, learn in her room, back to dining hall to dinner, back to room to read and learn. In weekends, she left home very early and came in late.
Sophia didn't ask what happened about Adam Arlov and she really didn't care about that matter. Whatever the explanation was given, it had satisfied her parents.
She decided to take risks in small amounts. She played few stocks. Commodity stocks were considered riskiest but they paid the highest too. Generally,who worked in the field would take the risk and buy those stocks. Sophia was green horn. Hedging based entirely on her intuition.
The coffee shop was renovated completely. The name remained the same. The manager was same. No one knew management had changed hands. The ideas she had given was implemented and decora were on the spot.
Sophia had divided the coffee shop into two parts. One for peacocks, one for others.
Peacocks! That was her code to show offs. Which student from Sky Lark High didn't come from impeccable background, money and more? They didn't dare to show off in school. Outside, they were all proud peacocks. So, she would give them a place to flaunt themselves. The interiors and decorations there were all top class. The cases - not replicas. The flowers and greenery, needed professional care. More importantly, all these made nice background for all the selfies. The mirrored tones in the walls and tables were just a last minute touch. The seating arrangement was so blatant that there was no hidden corner. You will be visible, very much visible.
The menu also got upgraded. The sizes were reduced. All the items in this side were bit sized, minute but cute as button. The price was raised. Had to do it. Making minatures was labour intensive and needed experienced staff. But for calorie conscious foodie, this would be a heaven.
The second part of the shop was for those who didn't want to show off. Small cozy tables for two. Lots of greenery to seperate the tables. Seperate entrance. Limited menu. Buzzer to call the waiters to order. But what do you know? Privacy costed a lot more too.
The staff number raised. The uniform included apron, gloves and masks. No need to let others know you are working here. Nah, she was not that philanthropic yet. She just wanted her staff to be good background in the selfies of those peacocks.
The go-to cups for those yummy drinks were to die for. The coffee shop also had pretty go to pastry boxes. No, they were not pink coloured. Sophia had spent days planning the box colours and designs before playing one with cream box with gold accents and had greenery surrounding the shop name.
They had spent more time in planning menu, making items, getting bits and pieces ready than furnishing the place. It was not easy buying those decorations. More difficult was to buy the cutlery, plates, cups, boxes and other miscellaneous items used in the shop.
As the items in the menu were more widespread and minute, the prep work was done elsewhere. So.Sophoa had to shell out some more money to rent a place to do the bulk of the work out of the premises.
But all the efforts, the headaches, the worries paid off. The dry run done on friday was good. The staff performed well. The workload was not much as it was still school time. Sophia was going to change that. Better to know the problems and work out the kinks as early as possible.
She got few of her 'friends' from her class to be the customers.
"Guys! I just realised that I never thanked you all for your help during this time. I know I promised you all a treat before. I didn't forget but we were all busy and I was still searching for a good place. I found a new place. So how about we try it out? My treat!"
Sophia surely can talk when she needs to. And these classmates were not that bad. They were just fair weather friends. Atleast they didn't stop her when she was down. That's a big plus.
"Where is this place? If it's too far, count me out. I have big plans for weekend and need to go home early." That girl did have a valid point. Clamouring for a treat was just talking. Who didn't have money to treat? Who was waiting in holding breath for someone to give treats?
"It's very near our school. I am shocked that I didn't notice it before." Sophia answered the girl.
Some of the boys, who like to roam around looked interested. "Near our school, you said. Then I'll definitely try. Count me in."
Thus treating few friends turned into class outing. Sophia was happy. More customers, more money, more exposure. And this hodge podge of group of students would test how well the staff could handle the customers.
When they were near the shop, they stopped suddenly. How was this a new shop? They had come here before, lots of times. Only one question was running in their minds. Did Sophia forget few things due to accident? Did she really recover completely?
When they reached the place, it clicked. The shop was renovated and rebranded. Oh! My! Gosh! Isn't it such a wonderful place? Few girls fell in love with just the exterior. It was whimsical and charming. Cream, gold and accents of green. It can be boring, especially for the rich who saw all shades of yellow. Gold or bling meant it was for rich. Yeah, I like gold, I like bling but not in everything and not every moment. Oh, the woe of rich people. It truly can't be understood by the poor. They lacked such imagination.
The interiors were match to the exteriors. Selfie mode on. The staff just stood at their place even after the kids spent some time flitting here and there. Points for that, Sophia noted to herself.
As the group was quite large, the staff helped the customers to two adjacent seating areas. Sophia asked classmates to order whatever they wanted as it was her treat. A chorus of yes, yes, we will order a lot came back as reply.
True to their word, they did order a lot. Practically the whole menu was ordered.
Sophia decided to be party pooper. "Guys, guys. I am not saying I am not paying but please don't order too much. What to do if we can't we all of it?"
The waiting staff, a boy , assured her. "No worries, ladies and gentlemen. If you like the food or drinks here, we can pack them for you."
Not a word about wasting food. But a reminder that they had pack and parcel facility.
The drinks came first. Another round of exclamation. Few had ordered hot beverages and few cold ones. The healthy options, trendy options, good old favourite options. The commonality - they were presented so prettily and they were tasty too. Teenagers get impressed easily and get bored easily too. The food when it was brought, everyone realised one fact. There would be no waste.
The itsy bitsy pieces just lingered on their palate but didn't fill the stomach at all.
They had to order more. Try few more drinks. Just like that, more than an hour gone.
True to her word, Sophia paid. The bill was not light. But she would get bulk of the profits back into her wallet. This expense can be written off as advertising.
When they all got ready to leave, they found that the exteriors of the coffee shop changed again. Romantic cosy chairs lined up under the canopy of glittering lights. Date night? Want to show off your partner? The venue is fixed. The boys had hundred and one plans to use this place. The girls had a mushy moment. Let them enjoy. Anyway, they'll turn out to be pragmatic ladies whose romantic lives would be decided by their parents' orders. If you have to suffer through a boring date, atleast the venue and vibes are good enough.
Brian had bought nearby shops and had expanded quite a lot. Need a lot of space to create those exemplary backgrounds. Even after added tables and chairs out, the place didn't feel empty. And it was just first day. No advertising, no marketing.
Sophia received a drop to her place with one if the classmates. The car had already ferried the twins to home. And it had not come back to pick her up.
Others didn't think much. Few others also shared the cars with the classmates, dropping them on the way to their home.
The whole way home, they chatted about the shop. The food, the drinks, the ambience..... A new fad. If it becomes viral, they could say they turned it viral.
As soon as Sophia reached home, she informed she already ate outside, thus would have a late supper and rushed to her room. There were lots of things to do.