TEH COFFEE

• Annabelle Younes, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2019

I’m woken from my Monday morning daze to the doorbell. My first customer. A navy suit and gelled back hair, brief case in one hand and a phone in the other; you know the type. He can’t even take his eyes of his phone for a second to order. I know what he’s about to say but I’m polite; “what can I get you?” I ask as chirpy as you can be on a Monday morning. But before he can answer, I interrupt; “Short black?” I can’t help myself. The man looked up confused, “yes, how did you know”, “just a guess” I shrugged.

Another bell ring, and my next customer struts her way over, before she can place her hands on the counter, she pulls out a sanitary wipe from her vintage Prada handbag and sanitises the table. I try my best not to roll my eyes. She has wrapped herself with unnecessary clothes. A scarf that trails to the floor and that giant diamond broach that probably costs more than my house. “Chai Latte please”, she snaps in a shrill high-pitched voice. Of course, coffee might spoil her breath or heaven forbid stain her $1900 scarf.

The bell rings again. She’s short, her frizzy curls splayed across her shoulders. Her long pink and yellow sunflower dress sprawls slightly as she slowly steps toward the counter, assessing the menu board above me. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion as if she has no idea what any of it means. Minutes pass and she’s still staring at the board. I tap my fingers on the counter, hoping she’ll get the hint and order. It’s not rocket science just pick one. “Sorry” she giggles. I smile back “what can I get you?” But she remains still, staring at the menu board. She just stayed there ‘with a really weird look about it’
“Surprise me” was the words that came out of her mouth. I look up at her confused, waiting for her to explain. But I get nothing, just a smile. I stare back at the machine and back at her, she’s still smiling. Sweet, the coffee has to be sweet. I add a dollop of caramel syrup to the bottom of the cup before I place it on the machine. A shot of coffee drips into the cup. The coffee should be sweet and creamy. I heat up the milk until almost all of it is frothy. Before I pour it into her cup, I add a dollop of strawberry syrup, it reminds me of her pink sunflower dress. Then I add a swirl of whipped cream, fluffy just like her hair. To top it all off I add 3 small marshmallows.

My hand twitched as I handed the coffee to the lady. As she took her first sip I glanced up trying to read her facial expressions. She smiled, ‘I see those kind of things less and less these days’. I'm hoping that it’s because she loved the drink since ‘it was great fun’ making it. She looked at me and opened her mouth. “I absolutely loved it, I think it is the best coffee I have had in my whole life”. A huge relief just lifted off my shoulders. I shook her hand aggressively with my sweaty palms thanking her for everything.

Then the next day I put up a special board and wrote on it, the “mystery coffee”. It was a hit I had people from left right and center coming in. Apparently it was all over social media, and since I have started it, I have absolutely loved work, I find it so much more enjoyable and I actually want to be here. I love seeing the smile I put on people’s faces day in and out, and when they take their first sip, oh the joy it brings to my heart. I finally belong somewhere!