The Last Drop
Chapter One
Madeline McKinney grumbled under her breath, as a chilly wind whipped across her face. Pulling her sweater tighter around her, she tugged open the door, walking into the humidly warm coffee shop and leaving the chilly October air behind her.
As she stepped in, she closed her eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of heavy coffee grinds. The smooth elevator music played, and the quiet chatter of the relaxed customers filled her ears. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door behind her, and breathed out all the tension and stress she’d had.
Madeline wasn’t usually one of these types. She never organized her furniture for good karma, avoided broken mirrors, or walked in the street to avoid walking under a ladder. No, she just thought like this when she was having a bad day.
And boy, was she having one of those.
Opening up her eyes to reveal the familiar interior of café colors like browns and tans, she began her trek behind the counter. She tossed her oversized purse that her older sister had gotten her onto one of the hard plastic chairs in the back; and took the uncomfortably rough green apron and tied it to her body.
“You know, you could at least fake a smile.” A voice pointed out to her, playfully. Madeline glanced up and met eyes with her co-worker, Jade. She was a shorter woman, just a few years older than herself. Her hair was cut short, and died black, with the occasional red streak through out it. She was tougher, but her personality was the sweetest, and at times like this, incredibly annoying.
“Trust me, after a day like this, a fake smile wouldn’t even cut it.” Madeline stated, with a shrug. Her hair was tugged up on her head in a messy ballerina bun, which matched her tan, ballerina body. Funny, how some one so fit for a sport like that could end up here.
“Is our little Maddie having a bad day?” Jade cooed, her dark eyes widening into a sorrowful puppy dog gaze, going up to rub Madeline’s hair. She quickly ducked out of the way, slapping Jade’s hand.
“For your information, yes, yes I am. Now, I would advise you not to put your hand that close to my face, because I can and will bite.” Madeline stated, matter-of-factly, before sporting a frown.
“Oh come on, Mads, smile will ya?” Jade asked, stretching her large red lips into a happy grin, her lip ring moving slightly, shimmering in the light.
Madeline promptly shook her head. “It’s a lost cause, Jade. Now, if you will, I have to get back to work.” She stated shortly, as Jade’s face fell. She shrugged like a lost puppy dog, sulking back towards the cashier, her earlier spot.
Madeline sighed, and rubbed her brightly manicured nails on her temples. She hadn’t meant to be mean to the girl, but it had been a horribly rough day.
It started when her alarm didn’t go off. Somewhere in the night, her crowded apartment building seemed to have lost power, restarting the whole clock. Instead, she woke up at least two hours late. In her rush, she had ripped a large whole in her new jeans, before settling on a pair yoga pants.
While rushing out the door, she spilled her tea down her shirt, burning her stomach. That caused her to run back inside which delayed her even more. In her hast, she had forgotten to eat breakfast, causing her stomach to rumble.
”That’s just another thing to add onto the list.” she thought, bitterly.
Madeline wasn’t always this rude to the people around her, though she wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. She was often snippy or short with people, judging them on their first few words with her or the way they carried themselves. If she didn’t find anything intriguing, then she’d usually walk away or ignore them. It wasn’t her fault if the world was full of freaks.
Yet, if that person did intrigue her in such way, they weren’t off the hook that easily. They usually had to meet Madeline’s expectations, despite her bitterness, mood swings, and snippy comments made towards them slyly. That was of course until she warmed up to them, but people rarely made it that far.
Thank god that Jade was one of the few people who kept faith in her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t has accustomed to her bitterness as others were, such as her sister and mother.
“You still never asked me how my day was.” Jade pointed out, as Madeline gripped a damp rag in her hand. Madeline let the question bounce off her as she moved towards the first messy table, wiping away the crumbs. It soothed her mildly OCD mind to be cleaning all day.
It was sort of a rule, in this run down old coffee shop, to ask each how their day’s had went. Madeline never agreed to it, though she was immerged in the already well-established traditions. Sighing, she cleared her throat.
“How was your day, Jade?” She asked, half-heartedly, though that seemed to be enough for Jade to begin.
“It was actually pretty bad.” She stated, her cheerfulness on full throttle, as she fixed up a coffee for herself, something totally against the rules. Not like people followed them anyway.
“It couldn’t be worse than mine.” Madeline shook her head, with a sarcastic chuckle.
“Oh, but it was. Some one threw a bottle of soda at me.” Jade stated, with a pause. This caused Madeline to turn around, her eyebrows raised in a unasked question. “Though, it didn’t hurt. It was a soft drink.” She stated.
This was what did it for Madeline, as she allowed the corners of her mouth to rise up. She glanced at the crazy girl in front of her. Sure, she was a bit too peppy for her exterior, but her antics did make her smile.
The bells above the clear glass door chimed, as Madeline turned around on her heels, glancing over with a fake smile towards her first customers of the morning.
Almost all at once, four boys wobbled through the door. Each of them had distinctive features. One had unruly curly brown hair, the other tanned with high black hair, another with bright red paints, and another with a cropped brown haircut. Each of them had an excited smile on their face, as though they’d been waiting for this for a while.
The last one to enter was a boy just a few inches above her, his hair blonde and scruffy, pointing out at all angles. She took notice to the way he cockily wore shirts that showed off his toned upper arms. Unlike the rest of the boys, his face was in a heavy frown, as though he was dragged here.
“Welcome to The Last Drop, where you’ll chug your coffee until the last drop.” She stated, with her fake plastered smile. It wasn’t her choice to recite this, it was mandatory.
The one with the curly hair laughed, glancing at the menu with his dark eyes. “Ello there…” He stated, squinting at Madeline’s nametag. “Madeline. Would yeh mind tellin’ me which is your best coffee? We aren’t exactly from around here.” He asked with a smile.
Madeline read off some of their best sellers softly. She didn’t know personally whether they were any good, she hated the taste of coffee herself. Though, she did know about the teas. “I also recommend the Raspberry Chi Tea.” She finished off, flashing a genuine smile. It was rare for a customer to be so nice.
“Well, I know what I’m not getting.” The blonde one said from the back, causing Madeline’s eyebrow to twitch. Even though the small brunette may be rude herself, she had no tolerance for other rude people. It was her number one pet peeve.
“Niall, stop being an idiot.” The brunette with out the colored pants on stated, nudging the blonde, now known as Niall. Niall grumbled as the brunette ushered him away, as they sat down.
“I apologize for him. We’ll take five of those teas, that you were speaking off.” The one with the black hair stated, as Jade and Madeline quickly made their teas. When they finished, she rang them up and wished them a good evening, watching as they joined Niall again.
“Foreign hotties, Mads, we should get on that.” Jade stated, nudging her. Her voice was quiet as a small smile was on her lips. Madeline shot her a warning look before grabbing her rag once more and heading back to work.
Through out the next hour, she continued to glance at said ‘foreign hotties.’ She couldn’t help it. Although she was occasionally bitter and slightly antisocial herself, she was an extremely curious person. She always noticed her surroundings before anyone else, noting every detail about the strangers. Madeline’s father used to tease her about how curiosity would kill her, but Madeline would chuckle and remind him that she was no cat.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, the regulars coming in at their normal times, the stressed mothers coming in to overdose on caffeinated drinks. Madeline was glad it wasn’t too busy for a Friday night, for she knew what she had to deal with when she got home and that was worse than any lunch crowd.
As she stepped in, she closed her eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of heavy coffee grinds. The smooth elevator music played, and the quiet chatter of the relaxed customers filled her ears. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door behind her, and breathed out all the tension and stress she’d had.
Madeline wasn’t usually one of these types. She never organized her furniture for good karma, avoided broken mirrors, or walked in the street to avoid walking under a ladder. No, she just thought like this when she was having a bad day.
And boy, was she having one of those.
Opening up her eyes to reveal the familiar interior of café colors like browns and tans, she began her trek behind the counter. She tossed her oversized purse that her older sister had gotten her onto one of the hard plastic chairs in the back; and took the uncomfortably rough green apron and tied it to her body.
“You know, you could at least fake a smile.” A voice pointed out to her, playfully. Madeline glanced up and met eyes with her co-worker, Jade. She was a shorter woman, just a few years older than herself. Her hair was cut short, and died black, with the occasional red streak through out it. She was tougher, but her personality was the sweetest, and at times like this, incredibly annoying.
“Trust me, after a day like this, a fake smile wouldn’t even cut it.” Madeline stated, with a shrug. Her hair was tugged up on her head in a messy ballerina bun, which matched her tan, ballerina body. Funny, how some one so fit for a sport like that could end up here.
“Is our little Maddie having a bad day?” Jade cooed, her dark eyes widening into a sorrowful puppy dog gaze, going up to rub Madeline’s hair. She quickly ducked out of the way, slapping Jade’s hand.
“For your information, yes, yes I am. Now, I would advise you not to put your hand that close to my face, because I can and will bite.” Madeline stated, matter-of-factly, before sporting a frown.
“Oh come on, Mads, smile will ya?” Jade asked, stretching her large red lips into a happy grin, her lip ring moving slightly, shimmering in the light.
Madeline promptly shook her head. “It’s a lost cause, Jade. Now, if you will, I have to get back to work.” She stated shortly, as Jade’s face fell. She shrugged like a lost puppy dog, sulking back towards the cashier, her earlier spot.
Madeline sighed, and rubbed her brightly manicured nails on her temples. She hadn’t meant to be mean to the girl, but it had been a horribly rough day.
It started when her alarm didn’t go off. Somewhere in the night, her crowded apartment building seemed to have lost power, restarting the whole clock. Instead, she woke up at least two hours late. In her rush, she had ripped a large whole in her new jeans, before settling on a pair yoga pants.
While rushing out the door, she spilled her tea down her shirt, burning her stomach. That caused her to run back inside which delayed her even more. In her hast, she had forgotten to eat breakfast, causing her stomach to rumble.
”That’s just another thing to add onto the list.” she thought, bitterly.
Madeline wasn’t always this rude to the people around her, though she wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. She was often snippy or short with people, judging them on their first few words with her or the way they carried themselves. If she didn’t find anything intriguing, then she’d usually walk away or ignore them. It wasn’t her fault if the world was full of freaks.
Yet, if that person did intrigue her in such way, they weren’t off the hook that easily. They usually had to meet Madeline’s expectations, despite her bitterness, mood swings, and snippy comments made towards them slyly. That was of course until she warmed up to them, but people rarely made it that far.
Thank god that Jade was one of the few people who kept faith in her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t has accustomed to her bitterness as others were, such as her sister and mother.
“You still never asked me how my day was.” Jade pointed out, as Madeline gripped a damp rag in her hand. Madeline let the question bounce off her as she moved towards the first messy table, wiping away the crumbs. It soothed her mildly OCD mind to be cleaning all day.
It was sort of a rule, in this run down old coffee shop, to ask each how their day’s had went. Madeline never agreed to it, though she was immerged in the already well-established traditions. Sighing, she cleared her throat.
“How was your day, Jade?” She asked, half-heartedly, though that seemed to be enough for Jade to begin.
“It was actually pretty bad.” She stated, her cheerfulness on full throttle, as she fixed up a coffee for herself, something totally against the rules. Not like people followed them anyway.
“It couldn’t be worse than mine.” Madeline shook her head, with a sarcastic chuckle.
“Oh, but it was. Some one threw a bottle of soda at me.” Jade stated, with a pause. This caused Madeline to turn around, her eyebrows raised in a unasked question. “Though, it didn’t hurt. It was a soft drink.” She stated.
This was what did it for Madeline, as she allowed the corners of her mouth to rise up. She glanced at the crazy girl in front of her. Sure, she was a bit too peppy for her exterior, but her antics did make her smile.
The bells above the clear glass door chimed, as Madeline turned around on her heels, glancing over with a fake smile towards her first customers of the morning.
Almost all at once, four boys wobbled through the door. Each of them had distinctive features. One had unruly curly brown hair, the other tanned with high black hair, another with bright red paints, and another with a cropped brown haircut. Each of them had an excited smile on their face, as though they’d been waiting for this for a while.
The last one to enter was a boy just a few inches above her, his hair blonde and scruffy, pointing out at all angles. She took notice to the way he cockily wore shirts that showed off his toned upper arms. Unlike the rest of the boys, his face was in a heavy frown, as though he was dragged here.
“Welcome to The Last Drop, where you’ll chug your coffee until the last drop.” She stated, with her fake plastered smile. It wasn’t her choice to recite this, it was mandatory.
The one with the curly hair laughed, glancing at the menu with his dark eyes. “Ello there…” He stated, squinting at Madeline’s nametag. “Madeline. Would yeh mind tellin’ me which is your best coffee? We aren’t exactly from around here.” He asked with a smile.
Madeline read off some of their best sellers softly. She didn’t know personally whether they were any good, she hated the taste of coffee herself. Though, she did know about the teas. “I also recommend the Raspberry Chi Tea.” She finished off, flashing a genuine smile. It was rare for a customer to be so nice.
“Well, I know what I’m not getting.” The blonde one said from the back, causing Madeline’s eyebrow to twitch. Even though the small brunette may be rude herself, she had no tolerance for other rude people. It was her number one pet peeve.
“Niall, stop being an idiot.” The brunette with out the colored pants on stated, nudging the blonde, now known as Niall. Niall grumbled as the brunette ushered him away, as they sat down.
“I apologize for him. We’ll take five of those teas, that you were speaking off.” The one with the black hair stated, as Jade and Madeline quickly made their teas. When they finished, she rang them up and wished them a good evening, watching as they joined Niall again.
“Foreign hotties, Mads, we should get on that.” Jade stated, nudging her. Her voice was quiet as a small smile was on her lips. Madeline shot her a warning look before grabbing her rag once more and heading back to work.
Through out the next hour, she continued to glance at said ‘foreign hotties.’ She couldn’t help it. Although she was occasionally bitter and slightly antisocial herself, she was an extremely curious person. She always noticed her surroundings before anyone else, noting every detail about the strangers. Madeline’s father used to tease her about how curiosity would kill her, but Madeline would chuckle and remind him that she was no cat.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, the regulars coming in at their normal times, the stressed mothers coming in to overdose on caffeinated drinks. Madeline was glad it wasn’t too busy for a Friday night, for she knew what she had to deal with when she got home and that was worse than any lunch crowd.
8/11/13