Status: Completed, after a three day mad rush trying to get this finished as a friend's birthday present.
Thank You for the Coffee
~ 58 Days Until Hand In ~
“Mikey, you can organise whatever the hell you want” Gerard laughed down the phone, attempting single-handedly to check whether he’d tucked his wallet into his black canvas bag as he’d left the house.
He was on his way to the university library to try and sweet-talk his way out of the book fees he’d somehow accumulated over the last couple of weeks. He had stayed up too late inking some of his work, and even thought he’d only woken up about an hour ago he was still far too wiped to deal with the traditionally grumpy librarian without a hit of caffeine first.
He knew there was a coffee joint around here somewhere, he could practically smell it, but he’d only been there a couple of times before and had forgotten the exact location. Whilst on his hunt his younger brother was chewing his ear off about the birthday celebrations Gerard had promised his mother he would return home for.
“You serious?” Mikey exclaimed into his ear. “I can organise whatever the fuck I want and you won’t complain?”
“Fuckin’ go for it, man. I figure I’m gonna need the break after all the work I’m about to put myself through.”
“How’s that going?” Mikey asked. “Are you doing better now that you’re back in NY?”
Gerard wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued his quest for the missing wallet, trying to keep an eye on the street signs as he went, so as not to end up in this predicament again.
“I can ink my comics fine when I’m back at the house. I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna lug my lightbox around everywhere, and I’m used to inking side by side with Joe anyway. It’s the other stuff I find difficult, you know?”
Gerard could tell that Mikey was nodding, even though he probably didn’t know what ‘the other stuff’ truly entailed. He huffed out a sigh and let go of his bag, defeated. Mikey made a questioning humming sound to which Gerard replied:
“Can’t find my wallet.”
“Did you check your pocket?”
Gerard slapped a hand down to his jeans and rolled his eyes at himself.
“I’ll take your silence as a no” Mikey replied with a smile in his voice. “Maybe you need to set yourself up somewhere else familiar to do the other stuff. I mean changing your surroundings all the time probably won’t help your focus right?” Gerard smiled at how Mikey always knew what he was talking about, even if it seemed like he shouldn’t. “I don’t know, pick yourself out a nice corner of the library or something.”
Gerard halted and turned down the adjacent street. 21st. He needed to remember that.
“Yeah, maybe. Alright, Mikey, gotta go. Gotta see a man about some coffee.”
“I feel you. Shoot you a text when the plans are underway. Later.”
*
It was weird. It was 3:10pm and Frank had only just started work. Usually he’d have already been here for 6 hours, sweating his ass off after the lunchtime rush and pining for home. Instead, he’d just rolled in and was clearing up the tables from the lunch slot he’d just missed. It was different, but he couldn’t yet say it was unwelcome. He hadn’t had to set his alarm for half 7 in the morning, and had actually gone to bed when he wanted to the previous night, rather than just passing out and admitting defeat.
Gary had told him Beth would be his evening co-worker, which lifted his spirits. They got on well and Frank could think of far worse employees to have been stuck with every evening. He assumed she was the only other employee to have agreed to the extended hours, especially as he knew she was saving up for her wedding.
Frank wasn’t sure how these evenings were going to go just yet. If they were crazy busy he might need to lean on Gary to either convince someone else to work the shift or advertise. For all he knew it might be a total flop, in which case his summer might go back to being disappointing before it had even began. He hoped that wasn’t the case. How would they even judge if it was worth it? How many customers would it take to top the money spent on keeping the place open for those extra few hours? He was glad that wasn’t his job to work out.
“Iero, can I have a hand?” asked one of the boys.
A queue had formed amidst Frank’s pondering, so he rushed back to the kitchen and handed his full trays to Beth to soak in the sink, and then keyed his code into the till.
“Can I help anyone, please?”
Westside Cafeteria was mostly frequented by the students living and studying nearby. Most of them were art kids from SVA – sometimes visible by their strange sense of style and of course the massive sketchbooks that some of them carried under their arms. There were others of course, as well as the commuters grabbing a quick drink on their break. It wasn’t a bad place to work, all in all, or he wouldn’t have stuck around so long.
“Um. Can I just have a latte to go, please?” his customer asked.
“Sure.”
He rang up the price, taking the student’s money – he was a student, Frank was sure of it, he just couldn’t pin down the subject – and handing back the change. He turned to start the machine, looking back over his shoulder as he heard a phone ringing. His customer looked flustered as he dug for the phone in his pocket, brushing back dank strands of hair before he could rest the device against his ear.
“Now’s not a good time, Mom.”
Frank smiled to himself and turned back to finish the drink. He slipped a cardboard holder around the take-out cup and turned back just as the guy was hanging up the phone.
“Really, I’m fine, just ask Mikey. Okay. Later, Mom.”
He looked embarrassed as Frank handed him the coffee.
“She worries” he said lamely, by means of an explanation.
“I think we all share that problem, man” Frank grinned. “Oh” he added, remembering the company line. “For your information, sir, we’re extending our opening hours from now until mid-May, so we’re now open until 11pm.”
The customer looked considering, thanking Frank as he moved away to add sugar to his beverage.
“Frank, I need some help with the fries” called Beth from the kitchen. He had no idea how she managed to break that machine practically daily, but he was considering putting the idea to Gary that he ban her from it.
“For the love of God, Bethan!”
He was on his way to the university library to try and sweet-talk his way out of the book fees he’d somehow accumulated over the last couple of weeks. He had stayed up too late inking some of his work, and even thought he’d only woken up about an hour ago he was still far too wiped to deal with the traditionally grumpy librarian without a hit of caffeine first.
He knew there was a coffee joint around here somewhere, he could practically smell it, but he’d only been there a couple of times before and had forgotten the exact location. Whilst on his hunt his younger brother was chewing his ear off about the birthday celebrations Gerard had promised his mother he would return home for.
“You serious?” Mikey exclaimed into his ear. “I can organise whatever the fuck I want and you won’t complain?”
“Fuckin’ go for it, man. I figure I’m gonna need the break after all the work I’m about to put myself through.”
“How’s that going?” Mikey asked. “Are you doing better now that you’re back in NY?”
Gerard wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued his quest for the missing wallet, trying to keep an eye on the street signs as he went, so as not to end up in this predicament again.
“I can ink my comics fine when I’m back at the house. I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna lug my lightbox around everywhere, and I’m used to inking side by side with Joe anyway. It’s the other stuff I find difficult, you know?”
Gerard could tell that Mikey was nodding, even though he probably didn’t know what ‘the other stuff’ truly entailed. He huffed out a sigh and let go of his bag, defeated. Mikey made a questioning humming sound to which Gerard replied:
“Can’t find my wallet.”
“Did you check your pocket?”
Gerard slapped a hand down to his jeans and rolled his eyes at himself.
“I’ll take your silence as a no” Mikey replied with a smile in his voice. “Maybe you need to set yourself up somewhere else familiar to do the other stuff. I mean changing your surroundings all the time probably won’t help your focus right?” Gerard smiled at how Mikey always knew what he was talking about, even if it seemed like he shouldn’t. “I don’t know, pick yourself out a nice corner of the library or something.”
Gerard halted and turned down the adjacent street. 21st. He needed to remember that.
“Yeah, maybe. Alright, Mikey, gotta go. Gotta see a man about some coffee.”
“I feel you. Shoot you a text when the plans are underway. Later.”
*
It was weird. It was 3:10pm and Frank had only just started work. Usually he’d have already been here for 6 hours, sweating his ass off after the lunchtime rush and pining for home. Instead, he’d just rolled in and was clearing up the tables from the lunch slot he’d just missed. It was different, but he couldn’t yet say it was unwelcome. He hadn’t had to set his alarm for half 7 in the morning, and had actually gone to bed when he wanted to the previous night, rather than just passing out and admitting defeat.
Gary had told him Beth would be his evening co-worker, which lifted his spirits. They got on well and Frank could think of far worse employees to have been stuck with every evening. He assumed she was the only other employee to have agreed to the extended hours, especially as he knew she was saving up for her wedding.
Frank wasn’t sure how these evenings were going to go just yet. If they were crazy busy he might need to lean on Gary to either convince someone else to work the shift or advertise. For all he knew it might be a total flop, in which case his summer might go back to being disappointing before it had even began. He hoped that wasn’t the case. How would they even judge if it was worth it? How many customers would it take to top the money spent on keeping the place open for those extra few hours? He was glad that wasn’t his job to work out.
“Iero, can I have a hand?” asked one of the boys.
A queue had formed amidst Frank’s pondering, so he rushed back to the kitchen and handed his full trays to Beth to soak in the sink, and then keyed his code into the till.
“Can I help anyone, please?”
Westside Cafeteria was mostly frequented by the students living and studying nearby. Most of them were art kids from SVA – sometimes visible by their strange sense of style and of course the massive sketchbooks that some of them carried under their arms. There were others of course, as well as the commuters grabbing a quick drink on their break. It wasn’t a bad place to work, all in all, or he wouldn’t have stuck around so long.
“Um. Can I just have a latte to go, please?” his customer asked.
“Sure.”
He rang up the price, taking the student’s money – he was a student, Frank was sure of it, he just couldn’t pin down the subject – and handing back the change. He turned to start the machine, looking back over his shoulder as he heard a phone ringing. His customer looked flustered as he dug for the phone in his pocket, brushing back dank strands of hair before he could rest the device against his ear.
“Now’s not a good time, Mom.”
Frank smiled to himself and turned back to finish the drink. He slipped a cardboard holder around the take-out cup and turned back just as the guy was hanging up the phone.
“Really, I’m fine, just ask Mikey. Okay. Later, Mom.”
He looked embarrassed as Frank handed him the coffee.
“She worries” he said lamely, by means of an explanation.
“I think we all share that problem, man” Frank grinned. “Oh” he added, remembering the company line. “For your information, sir, we’re extending our opening hours from now until mid-May, so we’re now open until 11pm.”
The customer looked considering, thanking Frank as he moved away to add sugar to his beverage.
“Frank, I need some help with the fries” called Beth from the kitchen. He had no idea how she managed to break that machine practically daily, but he was considering putting the idea to Gary that he ban her from it.
“For the love of God, Bethan!”