Nobody Compares
Prologue
“What do you mean, you’re moving?!” I couldn’t believe is. Jess was probably my best worker; she’s been here since before I even started at The Coffee Shop; she just never wanted to become manager.
“Well, my dad got a job offer in New York, and we are all going to move with him. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and there’s no way he was gonna turn it down. I’m so sorry, Brooke. I’m really gonna miss you.”Jess had one of the saddest looks on her face. Besides being an amazing employee, Jess was one of my closest friends. I guess working with someone for so long can do that to people.
“So when do you leave?” I asked.
“He found out yesterday, and we started packing this morning. Most of my stuff is ready. Dad has to be down there in the next two weeks, and I’ve decided to move when he does. The rest of the family will be gone in the next month and a half. You know how I’m ready for a new beginning? I think New York will hold that for me.”
Wow. Just a couple weeks, and she’d be gone. The store had been pretty quiet since lunch ended, so I jumped a little when we heard a bell chime from the front, meaning someone had come in. Jess got up as I did, and she said, “I really will miss you. I’ll come back and visit, if you promise to do the same. No, scratch that… I’m coming back to visit regardless of if you do the same,” she knew I’d visit; there’s no way that I wouldn’t. “Well, I guess this is it. I’ll be busy packing, but before I leave I’ll forsure come and see you.” She gave me a hug before heading out the back door.
When I walked out into the main store, I instantly knew who it was waiting on me. A tall man in dark clothes with a camera strapped around his neck was standing at the register, sweating and nervous looking. He had to be paparazzi, though I hadn’t seen him yet. I decided to play dumb.
“What can I get you, sir?” I asked with the most sincere smile I could muster up. Knowing that he was paparazzi, he would probably order something simple to go, like black coffee.
“Uh, I actually don’t want anything to eat or drink. I’m kind of new at this job and the guy I’m working under told me Madelyn Baker comes here often? He’s near her flat and said she left and looked like she was headed this way and to try and meet her here and--”
“Yeah you’re obviously new. Paparazzi don’t normally come in, they hide outside. And even if they did come in, they wouldn’t ask about the celebrity. You need to find a new-“
A door in the back slammed followed by a loud scream, “BROOKLYN! C’MERE!” Crap.
“Speak of the devil,” I said more to myself than to him. I hurried back to the break room and told Madelyn to sit tight because of who was there. I figured he would ask me the normal stuff that I read about in the cheap tabloids… How close are we, what does she order, is she seeing anyone, are the rumors true about her being gay, and could it possibly be me?
“Tell him you have to hurry and make me my black coffee and bagel, because I like them piping hot and won’t eat it any other way.” She smiled as she sat down and pulled out her phone, “You do need to sell more bagels, right?”
“You ma’am, are correct. We keep losing money on them. You’re honestly the best famous person I know--”
“The only famous person you know, mind you.”
Pushing through the door, I told the man what she told me, and after nervously writing it down, snapping a quick picture of a bagel in the display case and leaving me a good tip, he nodded to me and headed out the front door. I made Madelyn her actual usual—a cup of green tea with two lemons—and went to close the door to the shop, since closing time was only 15 minutes away and we don’t usually get a lot of business on Thursdays. Madelyn’s cup of tea and a handful of cookies in my hand, I headed back towards the break room, eager to find out why she was here unannounced.
See, Madelyn normally will call when she heads this way, because the back door is almost always locked… It had to be good luck that Jess had just left and I didn’t lock it back. It’s not really store policy that it stays locked since it’s hard to get to from the street, but I lock it because besides the coffee shop being my work, I also live in a small flat in the upper level of the building, and the stairs heading to it are located in the break room.
I handed her the tea and set the cookies down on the table, and then went and locked the back door. When I sat down, I asked her what she wanted because I didn’t have a warning.
“Can’t a girl just come get some green tea without a warning?”
“Yeah, unless she’s a world-famous singer that’s in basically every magazine and newspaper I own. Which, by the way, nice story about you in that magazine,” I said, pointing to one that was carelessly thrown in the corner while I shoved a cookie in my mouth.
She laughed and set her phone down and said, “Well, you remember me telling you about my sister, Evelyn?” I nodded, seeing as my mouth was currently full of the best chocolate chip cookies I had ever eaten. I knew quite a lot about Evelyn, seeing as Madelyn is so fond of her. She’s my age, currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, doesn’t like having her picture taken, and was ready to move in with Madelyn and start a new life in London. Madelyn was just waiting on the call saying when her flight would be. Most of Evelyn’s things had already been flown over… I knew this because I helped Madelyn move things out of one of the extra rooms in her flat and unpack most of Evelyn’s things. It would only be a matter of days before she showed up.
Madelyn continued, “Well, I finally got the call! Her flight leaves soon, she had a layover in D.C., and then will be here tomorrow about 4! But see, I have a problem,” she gave me those puppy dog eyes, blinking at me way too many times.
“And what might that be?” I asked, trying to sound annoyed, but my smile gave away hat I was anything but.
Laughing, she said, “See, I have this charity outing tomorrow at the Children’s Hospital. It starts at 2, but I won’t be done until probably 8. Can you pick her up for me? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?” She had resulted to begging. I laugh at her for a good five minutes before I told her I would. She told me when and where to pick Evelyn up, where to take her, then handed me some money before heading out the door.
Little did I know that the next day I would be meeting my newest employee, my best friend, and the girl that would ultimately bring the boys of One Direction into my life, forever.
“Well, my dad got a job offer in New York, and we are all going to move with him. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and there’s no way he was gonna turn it down. I’m so sorry, Brooke. I’m really gonna miss you.”Jess had one of the saddest looks on her face. Besides being an amazing employee, Jess was one of my closest friends. I guess working with someone for so long can do that to people.
“So when do you leave?” I asked.
“He found out yesterday, and we started packing this morning. Most of my stuff is ready. Dad has to be down there in the next two weeks, and I’ve decided to move when he does. The rest of the family will be gone in the next month and a half. You know how I’m ready for a new beginning? I think New York will hold that for me.”
Wow. Just a couple weeks, and she’d be gone. The store had been pretty quiet since lunch ended, so I jumped a little when we heard a bell chime from the front, meaning someone had come in. Jess got up as I did, and she said, “I really will miss you. I’ll come back and visit, if you promise to do the same. No, scratch that… I’m coming back to visit regardless of if you do the same,” she knew I’d visit; there’s no way that I wouldn’t. “Well, I guess this is it. I’ll be busy packing, but before I leave I’ll forsure come and see you.” She gave me a hug before heading out the back door.
When I walked out into the main store, I instantly knew who it was waiting on me. A tall man in dark clothes with a camera strapped around his neck was standing at the register, sweating and nervous looking. He had to be paparazzi, though I hadn’t seen him yet. I decided to play dumb.
“What can I get you, sir?” I asked with the most sincere smile I could muster up. Knowing that he was paparazzi, he would probably order something simple to go, like black coffee.
“Uh, I actually don’t want anything to eat or drink. I’m kind of new at this job and the guy I’m working under told me Madelyn Baker comes here often? He’s near her flat and said she left and looked like she was headed this way and to try and meet her here and--”
“Yeah you’re obviously new. Paparazzi don’t normally come in, they hide outside. And even if they did come in, they wouldn’t ask about the celebrity. You need to find a new-“
A door in the back slammed followed by a loud scream, “BROOKLYN! C’MERE!” Crap.
“Speak of the devil,” I said more to myself than to him. I hurried back to the break room and told Madelyn to sit tight because of who was there. I figured he would ask me the normal stuff that I read about in the cheap tabloids… How close are we, what does she order, is she seeing anyone, are the rumors true about her being gay, and could it possibly be me?
“Tell him you have to hurry and make me my black coffee and bagel, because I like them piping hot and won’t eat it any other way.” She smiled as she sat down and pulled out her phone, “You do need to sell more bagels, right?”
“You ma’am, are correct. We keep losing money on them. You’re honestly the best famous person I know--”
“The only famous person you know, mind you.”
Pushing through the door, I told the man what she told me, and after nervously writing it down, snapping a quick picture of a bagel in the display case and leaving me a good tip, he nodded to me and headed out the front door. I made Madelyn her actual usual—a cup of green tea with two lemons—and went to close the door to the shop, since closing time was only 15 minutes away and we don’t usually get a lot of business on Thursdays. Madelyn’s cup of tea and a handful of cookies in my hand, I headed back towards the break room, eager to find out why she was here unannounced.
See, Madelyn normally will call when she heads this way, because the back door is almost always locked… It had to be good luck that Jess had just left and I didn’t lock it back. It’s not really store policy that it stays locked since it’s hard to get to from the street, but I lock it because besides the coffee shop being my work, I also live in a small flat in the upper level of the building, and the stairs heading to it are located in the break room.
I handed her the tea and set the cookies down on the table, and then went and locked the back door. When I sat down, I asked her what she wanted because I didn’t have a warning.
“Can’t a girl just come get some green tea without a warning?”
“Yeah, unless she’s a world-famous singer that’s in basically every magazine and newspaper I own. Which, by the way, nice story about you in that magazine,” I said, pointing to one that was carelessly thrown in the corner while I shoved a cookie in my mouth.
She laughed and set her phone down and said, “Well, you remember me telling you about my sister, Evelyn?” I nodded, seeing as my mouth was currently full of the best chocolate chip cookies I had ever eaten. I knew quite a lot about Evelyn, seeing as Madelyn is so fond of her. She’s my age, currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, doesn’t like having her picture taken, and was ready to move in with Madelyn and start a new life in London. Madelyn was just waiting on the call saying when her flight would be. Most of Evelyn’s things had already been flown over… I knew this because I helped Madelyn move things out of one of the extra rooms in her flat and unpack most of Evelyn’s things. It would only be a matter of days before she showed up.
Madelyn continued, “Well, I finally got the call! Her flight leaves soon, she had a layover in D.C., and then will be here tomorrow about 4! But see, I have a problem,” she gave me those puppy dog eyes, blinking at me way too many times.
“And what might that be?” I asked, trying to sound annoyed, but my smile gave away hat I was anything but.
Laughing, she said, “See, I have this charity outing tomorrow at the Children’s Hospital. It starts at 2, but I won’t be done until probably 8. Can you pick her up for me? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?” She had resulted to begging. I laugh at her for a good five minutes before I told her I would. She told me when and where to pick Evelyn up, where to take her, then handed me some money before heading out the door.
Little did I know that the next day I would be meeting my newest employee, my best friend, and the girl that would ultimately bring the boys of One Direction into my life, forever.
Notes
Ok Hi I am very new at this writing thing.This story is a parallel story that I'm writing with my best friend.
The link to hers is http://www.onedirectionfanfiction.org/Stories/Read/3447/Here-We-Are/
Tell me how you like it!
plot twist i hate you
3/27/13