𝖇𝖚𝖗𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖋

minjae almost couldn’t recognize her. if it weren’t for the fact that he was good at remembering faces, he wouldn’t have known who this girl was. and the fact that he could recognize her car. “i’m actually surprised that it does.” he chuckled, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie. “how did you recognize me? i almost didn’t realize it was you because… you know…” he pointed at his head, referring to her hair. “you got a different look going on.” 

minjae finally managed to join the bonfire despite him not being familiar with anyone here. everyone was talking to their friends and mingling around while he sat by the fire quietly like a shy kid at school. he eventually decided that he would rather be by the lake instead, since it was quieter over there. however, he heard a familiar voice nearby calling someone. he was confused at first, looking around until he saw a girl looking at him. minjae didn’t recognize her at first. “wait…” he spoke, pointing at her as he walked closer. flashbacks of a shaven head girl with a broken down car in an empty gas station in arkansas flashed in his head. “car girl!” he smiled widely. “well, well. i never thought i’d see you again.”  

Her eyes widened when she saw the fists, not expecting such a strong reaction. “Oh sorry..” she apologized and frowned as she studied the other, shaking her head at herself. “I should have known that. It is pretty late after all” Cassia added and rubbed the back of her neck, studying the other woman. Maybe she had been silently hoping that they would close a little later so she could get herself something hot to drink. She needed to calm down after the long day at work, all the meetings she’s had was driving her up the wall. 

ruby huffed, relaxing a little and lowering her hands. ‘well you see, there’s a sign on the door stating our opening and closing times.’ ruby stated, not sounding all too impressed. after years of working many odd jobs involving customers service, she knew all too well that people just don’t read. they’re rather ask employees obnoxious questions or barge in after closing time. well... technically it wasn’t officially closing time yet. just a couple more minutes. ruby bit the inside of her cheek. ‘on a scale of one to ten, how much do you need a drink?’

“ugh, it’s you.” she rolled her eyes. mae was hoping to find the other staff member from earlier, but nope, she had to deal with someone who really disliked her and she disliked right back. “i know that. i’m looking for my phone. have you seen it? i think i left it behind here.” she asked, eyes wandering around the place before settling on ruby again. was she listening to ed sheeran? mae almost wanted to laugh.

avery unknowingly found herself being the exact kind of customer she absolutely loathed back when she worked as a bartender. the one who shows up after last call, two minutes before the doors get locked. “calm down, mayweather. put those fists away.” she said with a chuckle, reaching into her back pocket to grab her phone, checking the time for herself. in retrospect, something she probably should have done before waltzing into the bar. “just really wanted a drink and didn’t realize it was so late. my bad, honestly. should’ve known you were closed the second i heard ed sheeran playing. — sorry for scaring you, babe.”

ruby lowered her hands, letting them rest on her hips instead. without replying to the woman in front of her, ruby looked her over, sighed, and then turned around to grab two glasses. one for the late customer, one for herself. she wished she could say that it had been the sort of day that made her need a drink, but honestly, that was basically every day for ruby. ‘i don’t know who put ed sheeran on the bar playlist but i think it would be better for them if i didn’t find out.’ ruby finally spoke while setting the glasses on the bar. ‘what are we drinking?’

“Ugh, my regular barista was off duty today and they got my venti macchiato order wrong, again…” the blonde said, rolling her eyes and letting out an audible sigh. It was her day off work and Charlotte had planned to spend her morning in a productive way by sitting down at Deja Brew and working on her book or maybe even reading for a bit. She wasn’t even sure who she was talking to, not that she even cared, she was just upset about what had happened and needed to audibly voice her disappointment. Perfect coffee cups meant perfect working days for her, and getting her order wrong completely jinxed her vibe. “I mean, it’s not that hard… I asked for soy milk and no foam but instead got skimmed milk and half a cup of foam. Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the camel.. that is just such a waste of really good coffee.”

@shstarters·

ruby had taken her headphones off while in the queue to order her coffee, not wanting to be impolite to the staff when it was her turn, however it was a decision she instantly regretted. her head snapped into the direction of the woman who was complaining about her coffee, rolling her eyes before scoffing. ‘okay, karen.’ she said in a mocking tone. ruby knew it was best to keep her temper contained, but her reaction was less of a choice and more of an instinctual knee jerk reaction. ‘what are you gonna do? speak to the fucking manager?’ ruby really couldn’t believe the audacity of some people. as if working in customer service wasn’t hard enough already without people feeling entitled to baristas remembering orders as if they were someone’s private chef. ‘have you ever considered not being a jerk and just... ordering a new coffee. it’s hardly the end of the fucking world.’