Chapter Text
El reread the note approximately forty three times (give or take a few.)
She then promptly folded it in half again, placed it back where she found it underneath the desk, and went back to her studies. Every time she convinced herself that it had been a figment of her overactive, energy-drink fuelled imagination, she would hesitantly run her fingertips along the underside of the table, barely touching it to avoid any wayward chewing gum, and would pull her hand back when her she felt the sticky note as if it had stung her.
El anxiously tracked every page in her textbook that she read, and once she reached five chapters, she stopped typing her notes mid-sentence and shut her laptop with a loud clink! She reached once more for the sticky note, this time finding its location instantly. She had already committed the three short sentences to memory, but she couldn’t help but read it again, seeking answers that weren’t there.
You wouldn’t think it, but the ice cream place across from the Oakland Building actually has amazing coffee. I think they shut at 5pm though, so I don’t know if that’s any use to you.
P.S. Did you meet your deadline?
- (Not so) White Converse
Why had he left it? When had he left it? Why was he being nice to her in the first place, when she had been a total idiot, and a rude one at that? How did he know she would find it? How did he know which desk she was sat at?
The last question made her pause. For him to have known where she had been sitting that night, he had to have noticed her before she had launched hot coffee all over his feet. El knew that this should creep her out, that she should rip the note up into little pieces and never sit at this desk again. Instead, she felt her cheeks flush with heat and her heartbeat increase. Had he purposely sought her out when she went over to the coffee machine, wanting to start a conversation with her? The idea of that sent a sharp thrill through her.
El had spent pretty much the entire time she had been sat in the library trying to come up with an acceptable reply to the note, but when she actually put her pen to paper, she drew a blank. Frustrated, she shoved all of her belongings in her bag, though she took extra care placing the note inside one of the side pockets, and went straight to Max and Lucas’s.
It was incredibly rare that El would show up anywhere unannounced as she typically had her weeks meticulously planned out and tonight was not a scheduled Max!!! night, but Lucas did not mention it as he opened the door to her. He kindly didn’t mention the frenzied state she was in either; simply stepped back to allow her into their apartment and got her a cold can of soda from the fridge.
Max was laid on their couch, legs sprawled out in front of her with her laptop resting on them. She did not react when El came rushing through the door, simply moved her legs so that El could sit down next to her.
As El rummaged through her backpack for the evidence, she filled them in. “So, you know I texted you about that guy at the library, the beautiful one?”
Max nodded. “Ah, yes. The one you bailed on your date for.”
El cringed, momentarily sidetracked. She turned towards Lucas. “Oh, I’m so sorry about that. Was your friend alright?”
Lucas waved her off. “To be honest, he was relieved. I kind of sprung it on him, too. He also had a last minute assignment to work on, which leads me to think you’re perfect for each other. I would’ve won the bet anyway.”
El wanted to reassure Lucas that after her lacklustre date with Max’s friend Dan he had definitely won their silly bet, but her thoughts had already slid straight back to the sticky note she now held gingerly in her fingers.
Max rolled her eyes at them. “ Anyway, yes . The poor victim you scolded with boiling hot liquid.”
“I didn’t! -” El took a deep breath. “He left me a note under the desk I was sitting at that night. I just found it today.”
“A ransom note?” Max asked at the exact same time Lucas guessed, “A love letter?”
El held out the small green paper out towards Max, who took it and positioned it so Lucas could read it too over her shoulder. In Max’s hands, the folding lines on the sticky note seemed more noticeable, from where El had been constantly unfurling the note to reread it. El hoped they didn’t notice.
Max looked up at her. “Well? Is it?”
“Is what?”
Max gestured to the paper in her hands. “Is the coffee nice? From the ice-cream place?”
El eyebrows shot to her hairline. She took the note back from Max. “Oh! I don’t know. I’ve never been.”
“You clearly like this guy - don’t give me that look, El. You ran to my apartment because he wrote you three sentences. You clearly like him, and he suggests getting a coffee with you and you don’t show up?”
“What?!” El exclaimed. “I don’t even know when he left me that note! It could’ve been there since last Friday!”
“Maybe he’s gone there everyday, hoping you’d show. He’s probably waiting there right now.”
Lucas made a noise like he disagreed, but it was too late. The world had already stopped spinning, the colour had drained from El’s face, and she had her backpack swung over her shoulder; note safely tucked in the side pocket. She had shouted her goodbyes to Max and Lucas as she left but they had sounded more like a bird’s squawk! And she hadn’t stuck around long enough to correct herself.
It was 3:53pm, so she had little over an hour to find the ice-cream shop and see if Max was right. Every part of her body felt coiled too-tightly, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to break through her very being. She declined to even acknowledge the sweatiness of her palms. She did not feel prepared in the slightest. She couldn’t even think of how to respond to his note earlier, never mind meet him for coffee. She refused to even entertain the possibility that Max might be right about it being a date. There was no way, especially after she launched her drink all over him. However, after everything, the idea of bailing on him was worse than the countless possibilities of what could happen if she met him there. The countless ways she could make even more of a fool of herself.
El wasn’t familiar with the Oaklands Building, so it took her a while to locate where she needed to go. She eventually found it, and she had to admit the fear that the words ‘SCOOPS AHOY!’ generated in her was so absurd it was funny. The parlour was bright blue with red windows. It was exactly the kind of place she would usually avoid, but she found herself taking the biggest breath of her life and stepping through the door, recoiling ever-so-slightly at the bell above her announcing her arrival.
It was just as brightly coloured inside. There was one guy behind the counter serving a group of teenage girls and he was dressed as a sailor, complete with a misshapen sailor hat. There were other patrons sitting at the tables, but none were the guy from the library. El paid no attention to the heavy disappointment curling in her stomach. This was good. This was what she wanted.
The high-schoolers were still being served, so El opened up her phone and texted Max.
And it was all EL-low : You were wrong. No date. No BS.
MadMax : No bullshit????
And it was all EL-low : Beautiful Stranger!!!!
MadMax : What’s BS is that you expect me to know that.
MadMax: Now you can try the coffee and thank him for his recommendation.
MadMax : I mean, that’s presuming it’s good.
MadMax : If it’s bad you can say ‘Wish you were here! So I can throw this on you.’
El pocketed her phone, not dignifying Max’s torment with a response. She was right, though - at least El now had something she could respond to the note with.
She looked up behind the counter, seeking their drink options but the only thing on the board were ice-cream flavours and extravagant sundaes with weird, nautical-themed names. It dawned on her then that this may have all been a joke from the stranger, that he was getting pay back on her for spilling her coffee over him. It seemed like an odd, elaborate, far-fetched form of comeuppance, but in that moment, the idea of the boy wanting to embarrass her felt more believable than him wanting to get to know her, even if it was through silly little sticky notes.
El swivelled, hand outstretched for the door, ready to flee and never speak of this again when she heard her name being called from the group of young girls. El had only been living in Michigan for two years and did not think she knew many (if any) high-schoolers, so presumed she had either misheard or there was someone else here with the same name, but then the girl repeated herself, closer now. El started to panic, instantly jumping to the conclusion that these girls were somehow involved in her imminent downfall.
El steadied herself and turned back towards the group. Whilst it took a second to place the girl that had spoken, once she did she felt incredibly foolish. Of course a boy she didn’t know hadn’t organised a swarm of adolescent girls to humiliate her. She needed to get a grip.
“Oh, hi, Erica!” El smiled at Lucas’s younger sister. They had only met once before when Lucas had kindly invited El to one of the Sinclair’s notorious Halloween parties. El and Max had gone as Daphne and Velma. “I almost didn’t recognise you. How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you. I just wanted to see if you were coming to the party again this year?”
El grinned at her. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
The guy behind the counter passed one of Erica’s friends her sundae and the group of girls dispersed, with Erica giving El a small wave. El attempted to follow suit, but she paused when she realised the server was now fully focused on her. He was around the same age as her, with unruly curly hair that was sticking up out of his sailors hat, and he was beaming at her. A quick, seamless exit was not an option.
“Sorry, I was totally eavesdropping. You know the Sinclairs?”
El nodded. “Oh, yeah. My best friend is dating Lucas Sinclair.”
The sailor’s eyes widened. “No way! Max actually exists?! We thought he made her up!”
An incredulous laugh escaped El. “What?!”
The sailor was laughing too. He was so smiley that El couldn’t keep a grin off her face, either. “Me and my roommate run a D&D group and Lucas is a member. Oh, sorry, D&D stands for-”
“I know what D&D is.” El cut in. “My brother is obsessed with it. I’ve played a few campaigns with him.”
She didn’t think it was possible but the server smiled even wider. “You guys should totally come along to our club sometime! We’d love to have you.”
El was genuinely touched at his invitation. She didn’t always have the easiest time making friends. “He actually lives back home in Indiana, but that’s really kind, thank you.”
“Oh, cool! My roommate is from Indiana, too. You are still welcome to tag along anytime you want. Bring Max! That is, if she’s real.”
“Ahem.”
Neither of them had noticed the door behind the counter swinging open, and the abrupt sound made them both jump. Stood in the doorway was a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair. She was wearing the same sailor uniform as the server was, and whilst El wouldn’t go as far as to describe it as cool, the girl definitely pulled it off better than he did. She had her arms folded across her chest and was staring at the boy expectantly.
“Oh, right, yeah.” The boy’s mouth formed an over-exaggerated stiff smile that looked slightly painful. His voice became robotic. “Ahoy there! Welcome to Scoops Ahoy. My name is Dustin and I will be your server today. What can I get you?”
Dustin shot a thumbs up over to the girl, who rolled her eyes and disappeared back through the door she had come from. He turned back to El who was trying, and failing, not to giggle.
“They really make you do that everytime?” She asked.
“We’re supposed to but, eh. They’re pretty cool, and usually don’t care. Just when I’ve been pissing them off, which come to think of it, is most of my shifts.” Dustin gestured to the countertop in between them. “What can I actually get you? You here for a sundae?”
El chewed on her bottom lip. “Actually, no. I was told you do coffee here? Totally fine if you don’t. You probably don’t. Do you?”
El was aware she was rambling and not giving him a chance to reply, but he didn’t seem to mind or think what she had said was weird.
“We sure do. Regular or iced?”
“Iced, definitely.”
“Whoa. Not a fan of the hot stuff?”
“Honestly, I don’t trust myself not to spill it everywhere.”
Dustin laughed like she was making a joke. She wasn’t. He started working on her drink.
“Have you got any flavoured syrup?” El ventured.
Dustin shook his head. “Sorry. We don’t really have any of the fancy stuff the other places have. I can write your name on the cup if you want, though?”
“That’s okay.” El handed him a few dollars and took the drink when he handed it to her over the counter. “It’s El, by the way. Thank you for my drink.”
Dustin’s beam was back. “It was nice to meet you, El. I’m serious about the D&D campaigns. We’d love to have you there.”
El made her way towards the exit. “I’ll have to think about it. Have a good evening, Dustin.”
El waited until she was outside to sip the coffee, in case it was really bad. She usually liked her beverages super sweet; sickenly so. This was good, though. Not too strong. A lot cheaper than the branded chains, and a hundred times nicer than the sludge in the library. The stranger had genuinely recommended a nice coffee place near campus for her.
When she got back to her apartment, the coffee cup already empty, she finally put pen to paper. She considered asking all of her questions from before: how, when, what, why? However, she already knew she wasn’t going to demand answers just yet. She didn’t want to finish this, whatever this was, before it started.
(Not so) White Converse,
I did meet my deadline, thanks for asking. You caught me on my one and only all-nighter, which I’m going to use as my excuse for my behaviour that night. I’m really sorry about, well, everything. I know your shoes are not so white, but I hope they’re not so brown, either?
Thank you for the coffee recommendation. I almost walked away when I saw it was called Scoops Ahoy!, but I’m glad I stuck around. It was surprisingly good, though they had a distinct lack of flavoured syrups.
4.2 stars.
- Caramel Syrup’s #1 Fan
The next morning, El tucked her reply (which was on a pink sticky note this time) in the exact same spot the stranger had left his, wedged between the underneath of the desk and the wall. The second she left it there, she had wanted to snatch it right back but eventually convinced herself to be brave and leave it there. So what if he never replied? She still now knew a good, cheap coffee place and had made a potential friend in Dustin.
El had no classes on campus for four days after that and no assignments to be working on, and whilst she usually appreciated the reprieve and chance to catch up on TV shows, read her books, and see Max, it had been hellish. She had thought about coming to the library on one of her days off to see if there was a reply waiting for her, but when she had said this aloud to her brother Will on FaceTime, he had called her ‘deeply troubling’ and that had convinced her not to.
Finally, she had a class on campus to attend, and she set off early so she could walk the long way past Scoops Ahoy. She called in, and was slightly disappointed that Dustin wasn’t there, and neither was the girl she had seen last week. Instead, it was a tall, handsome guy behind the counter. There were no other customers.
“Ahoy there! I’m Steve. What can I get for you?”
“A iced latte, please.”
“Coming right up!” Steve started on her drink, though quickly put the cup down and turned back to where she stood. “I forgot to mention, can I interest you in some caramel syrup with that?”
El blinked. “Pardon?”
“We’re trialling syrup with the coffees. A customer rang up and suggested it, said they wanted caramel in particular. If it proves to be popular, we’ll order different flavours in.”
El was bewildered. “Oh, um, yes please. Thank you.”
Once she paid, El left in a hurry. By the time she reached the library, she was dishevelled, hairs had escaped her ponytail and were plastered against her forehead. It was a good thing she took her coffee cold, as she had forgotten all about it even though she grasped the cup in her fingertips like her life depended on it.
She practically threw herself down into the chair at what she now thought of as her desk . She put the coffee cup down, and her shaking fingers found the crack where the notes were instantly. She had no idea if it was new, or if it was still the pink one she left there before.
She took a deep breath, and pulled it free.
It was green.
Caramel Syrup’s #1 Fan,
Sure, sure, whatever you say. I bet you pull crazy all-nighters every day of the week. I would describe my shoes as a delightful shade of beige. I think it’s going to be the next trend. Any day now.
I’m glad you enjoyed the coffee at Scoops. It feels slightly fever dream-esque when you’re in there, but it’s a nice place, despite its distinct lack of caramel syrup. I’ll see if I can pull a few strings.
Can I be completely honest with you? I’m not much of a coffee drinker. That night at the library, I just said it was bad to have something to say to you. I’ve never tried it there, and the Scoops recommendation was actually from my roommate, so I’ll pass on your verdict.
I hope what I just said wasn’t too weird. It probably was.
- Hot Chocolate Enthusiast