Gram's Tea & Coffee was a small cafe a few blocks down from the high school. Not a lot of people seemed to know about it, since most of them went to Starbucks instead. Gram's was never filled with customers, and it was rare that there was ever a line at the counter. Oakley liked the peace and quiet. She'd come there to read a few times, just by herself. But, she was usually there with Maxine, her best friend. She often wondered if Max would rather go to Starbucks or another more popular coffee joint, and that maybe she just tolerated Gram's because Oakley liked it. She'd never asked her, though.
As they walked through the door of the cafe, Max was rambling along, "I don't get it. Jaelynn is a complete delinquent, now. A delinquent, Oakley! Agh, and the worst part is that Mom does nothing to stop her. She just lets her do whatever she wants. 'Can I borrow $20?' 'Sure, baby.' But God forbid I ever ask." She rolled her eyes.
Max was quite the chatter box, and was still jabbering along when they reached the counter. The barista at the register had a patient smile on his face, where Oakley gave him a sympathetic look. She couldn't possibly count the many times she had to give that look to other cashiers and waitresses.
"Oh!" She laughed, "I'd like a vanilla iced coffee and a blueberry muffin."
He punched in some keys on the register, then looked up to Oakley, "And you?"
His eyes were a gorgeous blue that seemed to compliment his blond, almost white hair perfectly. His eyelashes seemed to flutter with unbelievable grace with every blink. She wondered if he dyed his hair, and then realized it was such a stupid question. No hair dye could ever make such a perfect colour—
"Ahem."
She snapped out of her reverie to find both the boy and Max staring at her. "I would just like a chai frappe, please," she muttered.
"Coming right up," he replied as he moved to the other wall, quickly rinsing out a blender and reaching into cupboards.
"You're new," Oakley sputtered, trying not to sound too desperate to keep the conversation alive.
"Yeah," he smiled as he continued rummaging through dishes and strangely shaped containers, "I just moved here a few weeks ago. I noticed a 'now hiring' sign in the window and checked the place out. Seemed easy enough to manage, so I thought why not. Plus, maybe I'd be able to meet some people, y'know, make some friends."
Max chuckled, "Yeah, if you wanna make friends with the elderly."
Oakley rolled her eyes at her friend's comment. She wondered what had caught his interest about this place. It wasn't exactly popular or necessarily trendy. Vintage paintings lined the faded floral walls, cracks and stains strewn across the wallpaper. Plus, Max wasn't exactly wrong about the elderly thing. It was an obvious place for grandmothers to sip coffees and talk about their grandchildren. The job probably didn't pay much. He couldn't possibly have only been interested by the "now hiring" sign in the window, which Oakley noticed was still hanging by the door.
"So, you come here often?" he asked as he set the finished drinks and muffin on the counter.
She flushed, "I'm sorry?"
He grinned, "I mean, you obviously know the staff well enough to know I'm not a usual employee."
Max grabbed the small bag with her muffin inside as well as her iced coffee, gesturing for Oakley to follow her to a table. Though, she turned herself to the counter and continued talking, "Yeah, I come here quite a bit."
"Lucky for me," he smiled.
She felt her cheeks redden as Max commented, "You're quite the smooth talker for someone we've only just met."
He didn't take his eyes off Oakley, "Only to the pretty ones."
She was about to open her mouth and reply when a boy pushed open the cafe door and stamped his way to the counter, "Hey, Silven, we have to go. I mean, really have to go."
Silven. His name was Silven.
Oakley was too busy staring at the other boy to think about the unique name. He had dark hair and dark eyes that strangely reminded her of chocolate. The two seemed to emphasize his pale skin, and the fact he was wearing a black t-shirt and navy blue jeans didn't help much.
"Minn, what are you doing here? I'm working. I can't just leave."
"I'm sorry," Max asked, "Who's this?"
The barista, Silven, turned to look at the girls, "He's my twin brother."
Oakley pondered at their contrasting features. Silven's hair was so delicate, shining bright white like the moon, while Minn's was black as night. They looked like complete opposites. The only thing that seemed similar between the two was their jawlines. They were even built differently. Silven's shoulders seemed to curve softly down, while Minn's jutted out, more muscular in a way. She could hardly think them to be brothers, let alone twins.
"Would you shut up?" Minn spat, "Lucinda needs us, now come on."
"He's in the middle of his shift," Oakley grumbled, "Cut him some slack."
Minn turned his eyes to her, managing to not move any muscle in his body except for his head and neck, "Listen little girl, I don't owe you an explanation. If I say he goes, he goes." Bringing his attention back to Silven, he repeated, "Lucinda needs us."
Silven sighed, "Alright, fine. Just for a few minutes. Oakley, you two can stay here. Just tell anyone who comes in that I'm in the washroom or something, okay?"
She nodded.
"Thanks," he quickly wiped his hands on his apron, then pulled it over his head and set it down on the counter. He made a quick smile in the girls' direction before following Minn out the door.
"Boy, that guy was weird. Did you see the way he looked at you? It was like he hated you or something," Max said, taking a seat at their usual booth. Oakley took the seat across from her.
"It's weird," she said, fidgeting with the straw of her drink.
"I know right? I mean, that dude, Silven, flirted with you."
Oakley rolled her eyes, "No, not that. Silven knew my name."
"What?" Max asked, taking a bite out of the top of her muffin.
"He knew my name. We didn't introduce ourselves, did we?"
"I don't think so. That's a little strange."
They never did introduce themselves. So, how did he know who she was? She wasn't wearing a name tag or anything. It must've been a mistake. It must have slipped out at some point. Maybe Max said it. She must have.
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