Work Text:
Day 20 - Coffee Shop
Cam Watanabe is known amongst the student body for certain things, mostly his intrinsic hatred of people. A lesser known fact is that he isn’t particular about coffee. But never the less every day the past month and a half, Cam has walked into the university café, ordered a black coffee, and situated himself in a tiny nook to study. Hatred for the situation evident on his face, it’s just that the cafés are the best place for him to study. Somehow the bustling noise of fellow student’s chatter helps him. It’s better than the silence that his room at the Wind Academy offers. At least college has provided him with freedom, far far away from the stifling presence of his father, the consent reminder of family he has lost.
Its December now, midway through the academic year, holiday leave looming ever closer. Every deadline ever invented appears to be in for next week, and Cam can do nothing but study. The café thing might be relative to the fact his roommate is constantly in some state of drunkenness, or just the fact that actually the coffee is half way to decent. The café is decorated appropriately for the season, not to gaudy or over the top, understated, apart from the gigantic Christmas tree in one corner. It’s a reasonable temperature, though he might regret the turtleneck after his fourth or fifth coffee.
A tap on his shoulder a few hours later alerts him away from his textbook,
“Hey Buddy, closing up in 10”
“Sorry, I’ll be on my way.”
Cam packs up everything into his backpack, returns his cup to the bar with a smile and a polite goodbye and heads out the door.
“Huh”, he’d clearly missed the snow that had fallen and was still falling around him, softly. The walk back is calm and reflective. Cam might be realising the magic in coffee shops.