for me. To my dismay, Samuel was with her. She was wearing a short summer dress and all I could think was that she must be having a hard time walking in those heels.
Trying to be friendly, I smiled at Samuel. A look of surprise briefly crossed his face, but then it settled back into his usual scowl. He didn’t smile back. Today he was dressed in a black t-shirt and khaki shorts, and his hands were once again resting in his pockets.
“I heard you worked here,” said Leslie, smiling at me. “Nice to know the gossip mill is still going strong.”
Samuel stared hard at the menu.
“You remember Samuel,” said Leslie, not seeming to notice that Samuel was very unhappy she was talking to me.
“Hi again,” I said politely.
He merely nodded and went back to memorizing the board.
“We’d like two iced coffees to go, please,” Leslie said to me.
Turning to Samuel, she asked, “We don’t need to rush out of here, do we?”
Then, turning back to me, she said, “Still, you can put them in to-go cups if that’s easier.”
“Fine,” Samuel muttered. “Just as long as she doesn’t touch it.”
I had no idea what that meant, but Samuel looked uncomfortable. Leslie looked angry.
“I brought Nick something,” Samuel said, waving the white and blue Frisbee he held in his left hand. “So that he never has to borrow one or use the beach’s if he wants to play again.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” I said. “He’s over there.” I pointed toward Nick, who waved to Samuel and his cousin, motioning for them to join him. Leslie made a noise that I would have said was a groan if it had come from someone who looked less stuck up, but I’m sure Leslie would never stoop to groaning in public. Leslie had just been so nice to me that I wondered at her reaction to Nick.
“Alright, alright,” she said to Samuel, “only because…you know.” As she reached over to pick up her drink I noticed a strange design on the inside of her arm. I say it was a design instead of a tattoo because it was light-colored, almost so faint as not even to be there. It was gone in a flash. After she’d grabbed up her drink she went over to sit with Nick, while Samuel waited for his coffee to be ready.
I couldn’t imagine a more awkward situation. He clearly didn’t want to be there, but Leslie had ditched him and I was pretty sure it was intentional, which again left me wondering what was going on.
As soon as his drink was ready, I quickly tried to hand it to him. He just stared at it until I set it down on the counter, then he picked it up and walked away.
It might just have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that after he left the area around the counter, the air got warmer. Maybe a draft was coming through one of the windows and the wind had just shifted; it was probably just a coincidence, I decided. Shrugging, I got back to organizing the shelves and ignored my new friends at their table.
The rest of the morning went on like that. Carley came back from her break and we helped a steady flow of customers. There weren’t a lot of places in Castleton to get coffees, so UP UP and Away was pretty popular. Plus, it was right in the center of town.
It got to the point that when I heard customers come in and I was performing some little chore behind the counter, I finished up what I was doing before I helped them, because otherwise I’d never get everything done.
I was performing one of these tasks (putting to-go bags under the register), when I heard a customer come in. It was Holt. He was wearing a blue shirt and light khakis. He also wore a black bracelet, something that Nick would have been teased for if he had worn it. Somehow, it managed to make Holt look even more attractive. It was the first time I had seen him with other people along, two girls, both of whom looked like they were nearer my age than his, maybe even a little younger. One girl’s hair was the color of oranges in the sun and I vaguely wondered if it was
Trying to be friendly, I smiled at Samuel. A look of surprise briefly crossed his face, but then it settled back into his usual scowl. He didn’t smile back. Today he was dressed in a black t-shirt and khaki shorts, and his hands were once again resting in his pockets.
“I heard you worked here,” said Leslie, smiling at me. “Nice to know the gossip mill is still going strong.”
Samuel stared hard at the menu.
“You remember Samuel,” said Leslie, not seeming to notice that Samuel was very unhappy she was talking to me.
“Hi again,” I said politely.
He merely nodded and went back to memorizing the board.
“We’d like two iced coffees to go, please,” Leslie said to me.
Turning to Samuel, she asked, “We don’t need to rush out of here, do we?”
Then, turning back to me, she said, “Still, you can put them in to-go cups if that’s easier.”
“Fine,” Samuel muttered. “Just as long as she doesn’t touch it.”
I had no idea what that meant, but Samuel looked uncomfortable. Leslie looked angry.
“I brought Nick something,” Samuel said, waving the white and blue Frisbee he held in his left hand. “So that he never has to borrow one or use the beach’s if he wants to play again.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” I said. “He’s over there.” I pointed toward Nick, who waved to Samuel and his cousin, motioning for them to join him. Leslie made a noise that I would have said was a groan if it had come from someone who looked less stuck up, but I’m sure Leslie would never stoop to groaning in public. Leslie had just been so nice to me that I wondered at her reaction to Nick.
“Alright, alright,” she said to Samuel, “only because…you know.” As she reached over to pick up her drink I noticed a strange design on the inside of her arm. I say it was a design instead of a tattoo because it was light-colored, almost so faint as not even to be there. It was gone in a flash. After she’d grabbed up her drink she went over to sit with Nick, while Samuel waited for his coffee to be ready.
I couldn’t imagine a more awkward situation. He clearly didn’t want to be there, but Leslie had ditched him and I was pretty sure it was intentional, which again left me wondering what was going on.
As soon as his drink was ready, I quickly tried to hand it to him. He just stared at it until I set it down on the counter, then he picked it up and walked away.
It might just have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that after he left the area around the counter, the air got warmer. Maybe a draft was coming through one of the windows and the wind had just shifted; it was probably just a coincidence, I decided. Shrugging, I got back to organizing the shelves and ignored my new friends at their table.
The rest of the morning went on like that. Carley came back from her break and we helped a steady flow of customers. There weren’t a lot of places in Castleton to get coffees, so UP UP and Away was pretty popular. Plus, it was right in the center of town.
It got to the point that when I heard customers come in and I was performing some little chore behind the counter, I finished up what I was doing before I helped them, because otherwise I’d never get everything done.
I was performing one of these tasks (putting to-go bags under the register), when I heard a customer come in. It was Holt. He was wearing a blue shirt and light khakis. He also wore a black bracelet, something that Nick would have been teased for if he had worn it. Somehow, it managed to make Holt look even more attractive. It was the first time I had seen him with other people along, two girls, both of whom looked like they were nearer my age than his, maybe even a little younger. One girl’s hair was the color of oranges in the sun and I vaguely wondered if it was
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