Damn Good Coffee

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa had taken to hanging out at Cool Beans even when Maddy wasn't behind the counter. They served good espresso, and their pastries didn't get stale from sitting in the glassed-in case for ages. A small portion of her paycheck was going into the register at Page Turners, providing her with paperbacks. She had a major crush on Jackie Collins' Lucky Santangelo.

The vampire was currently taking up space on one of the couches near the back of the establishment. There was a book in her lap and two empty cups on the table to her left. The plate that accompanied the cups was sprinkled with crumbs from a blueberry scone. Even though she couldn't really taste food anymore, she liked the play-acting that eating involved.

The bell above the shop's door jingled, and Theresa glanced up from Lucky's adventures in the mob to see if she knew who had just stepped inside.

Comments

Damn Good Coffee

[melodymagic]

Another double shift at the magic shop had Melody buzzing with excitement. She had finally perfected a potion she had been trying and the timing had finally all come together. Some of the buzz was also from her growing addiction to the caffeine in the coffee she was regularly getting from Cool Beans and she was heading in there for one now, in celebration.

As she entered she looked around and saw the girl sitting on the couch, reading, and headed to the counter to order her usual. She looked around again and back to the girl on the couch as the milk was heated. She was kind of disappointed Maddy wasn't there, as she could have told her all about the potion, and how it had finally come out the exact colour it was supposed to be. Now all she had to do was test it, and she really did want Maddie to be around for that, just for safety. The idea of testing it on herself didn't scare her, unless it went terribly wrong, or even more so, terribly right! She looked across at the girl and wondered for a brief moment if she could possibly be a potential test subject, but chided herself that she should wait for Maddy.

"Is that a good book?" she asked instead. She didn't read a lot of novels, but friends at school had always been reading one author or another. Melody had always preferred reading the books she managed to get from the store she now worked in, but didn't tell any of her friends about them.

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[tiny_dancer81]

"The first book was better, but the sequel's pretty good too."

Theresa had returned her attention to what she was reading when she didn't immediately recognize the girl, but she looked up again when the figure approached the place where she was sitting. A vague memory flitted across her mind, and she put her thumb between two pages as she closed the paperback.

"Melanie. Right? From the New Years's thing at the Dive?"

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[melodymagic]

"Melody," the young witch corrected, then remembered where she had seen the vaguely familiar face. "And yes, I was there, with Maddy," she continued, her head on the side as she looked at the other girl a little more openly. "Theresa? And you had purple streaks which looked great! You work there, don't you?" she said, smiling widely as she remembered that night, and meeting Theresa and Brian.

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[tiny_dancer81]

"Melody. Sorry. I knew it started with an M, though."

Theresa scooted over on the couch in case the other girl wanted to take a seat, then added, "And yeah, I still work at the Dive. I let the purple fade, though. It costs, like, thirty bucks a pop to get streaks, and I can't always afford it."

She wondered if Brian's slight weirdness around her had caused Melody to twig as to her real nature, then decided probably not. The girl would hardly be so friendly if she knew the truth, would she?

"So what's up? I haven't seen you around the place in a while. I'm guessing clubbing isn't your usual thing, though."

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[melodymagic]

Seeing the shuffling as an offer of a seat Melody sat down, shaking her head.

"No, I don't really get much time to clubs really, well, other than when I'm working for my parents, because... well, I'm usually working for my parents!" she said, with a smile at the end. She knew a lot of girls her age didn't get it, and that was okay with her - she loved her parents, and family, and while there was the occasional time she would have liked to go somewhere, to something some of her friends were doing, she had usually been okay with staying home or working. She had gone to the best school, and her clothes and books and everything she needed had always been bought, without hesitation. It was something she knew other kids didn't always have, so did not begrudge her parent's work ethic or expectations of her to work hard also.

Plus she had found her calling, and she had plenty of time to immerse herself in that world. And her parents had started to see that she could be trusted, with both going out, and with her craft.

"And also sometimes the smoke, it makes my eyes water, and makes me cough," she added, realising it sounded a little like an excuse. "My father, he has asthma, and they say that sometimes, in air like that? I might get it too. So it's okay, I don't mind not going," she went on to explain, "but I know I miss hearing bands, but it means I can save up and buy the tapes!" she said, pulling her Walkman out of her pocket briefly, then shoving it back in. "I like Maddy and Brian's band, they were good that night!"

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[tiny_dancer81]

"Yeah, they were rockin' that night. Tat was the first show I ever helped put together. It was like my final exam, to see if I could keep the job. I'm glad I passed."

Theresa didn't have much experience with parents who actually, well, parented. Not in her own house, anyway. She hadn't been abused, per se, but getting hit would have meant they knew she was around. The streets hadn't been awesome, but anything was better than being ignored.

"Where do you work?" she asked Melody, for her cup before remembering that it was empty. "I'm not much of a day person. I'm a total insomniac, so staying up all night is a habit. But I don't get out much during the day, so I've probably never seen you if you work in a store or something."

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[melodymagic]

"Oh, just next door, at the magic shop," Melody answered, and was about to continue when the coffee she'd ordered appeared on the counter. She gave Theresa a quick smile, and excused herself for a moment to collect it before returning.

"I also work for my parents, doing waitressing at their catering jobs, and sometimes Maddy has helped out too, with some big jobs when they need extra wait staff." She sipped at the coffee, her tongue darting out to lick the foam off her top lip as she lowered the cup.

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[tiny_dancer81]

Magic. Huh. Theresa believed in that stuff, at least now she did. She watched Melody claim her cup, then dogeared her spot in the book and set it aside.

"My dad used to take me to magic shows when I was a kid," she said once the other girl had returned. "I saw this woman get sawed in half. It scared me shi- gave me nightmares, even after she got out of the box and was okay."

The self-censoring was rare, but it occurred to the vampire that Melody might not be used to what appeared to be someone close to her age having a filthy mouth. She fiddled with her empty cup. "What kind of stuff does a magic shop sell?"

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[melodymagic]

"You wouldn't believe half of it!" Melody laughed, shaking her head as she started to recite the stock that was 'front of store' type of merchandise. It even included trick card packs and all the accoutrement of a backyard magician-wannabe.

"That's the stuff that pays the rent, my boss says," Melody said after taking another sip of her coffee. "The rest of it is a little more well, specialised?" she continued. Her fingers wrapped around the large mug she was holding, her thumb rubbing against the edge of the handle as she talked.

"We have clients who need things they can't find anywhere else, for their work, and they come to us. Things like crystals, and ingredients like essential oils and the like."

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[tiny_dancer81]

"Huh. So you believe in all that stuff? That magic exists, I mean. You don't look enough like a hippie for that."

Theresa smiled when she sad it, then lifted her weight off of the couch to get a refill. The counter guy had just finished with the espresso maker, so it didn't take long to get back. The vampire settled back against the cushion, freshly filled cup in hand.

"So are these, uh, clients of yours witches or something? Or do you just figure it's better not to ask?"

Re: Damn Good Coffee

[melodymagic]

Melody was about to answer Theresa's question when suddenly she headed off to order herself another coffee. So instead, while she waited, Melody considered her answer, hands cupping her mug for the warmth as she sipped from it. She had never realised that being a witch was considered as being a 'hippy', and she tried to think of a few of the customers, then realised that perhaps some might appear a little 'hippy-ish', so shrugged internally and looked around as Theresa waited for her refill.

And it was when she looked toward the windows to see the passers by, that she saw, or didn't see, something she expected, or didn't expect.

Theresa's reflection wasn't there. The guy serving her wouldn't have noticed, given the signage on the windows where he was standing, but the angle Melody seeing gave her a different view, and the guy was talking to himself as Theresa paid for the coffee. She blinked and checked again, and wondered if it was 'Meet a Vampire Week', at least for her, after meeting Daniel a few days earlier.

She sat there and waited as Theresa returned and settled back into the cushion.

"Well, we have all types of clients, or customers," she answered, "some who are regulars and also do some work from time to time, like creating wards and specialty items, and others we can pretty much guess are on their 'learner's permit' and we also get a few others who are looking for some help with different... conditions." She looked at the window, where again she could see only a reflection of herself, and no-one sitting on the dented cushions.