Chapter Text
Derek had recently gotten a job at this new Café. It was a niche, calm, and quiet place that had opened up a few months earlier. He had only worked there for 2 weeks. The pay was pretty good, and his coworkers were nice.
A new guy had started coming by everyday before work. He was a short boy (around 5'6 AND A QUARTER!!!!), pretty pale, green hair that was dark brown at the roots, a loose band t-shirt and some jorts that went a couple inches past his knees. He wore black running shoes and plan socks.
Derek on the other hand, was roughly 6'2, tanner, short brown hair with the roots dyed red, he had glasses, baggy black jeans, and a red zip-up hoodie with a plain black t-shirt underneath, and some platformers that boosted him up to 6'4.
Derek would be the one taking his order most days. They had grown a sort of friendship. Well— more like acquaintanceship. They weren't THAT close yet. Avery thought Derek looked cool. Hopefully they could be friends!! Speaking of friends, Avery had a lot of those. He was an extroverted person. Making friends came easily to him, unlike Derek.
Derek didn't really have any close friends, socializing never really came easy to him. He was known as the 'quiet kid' growing up. If he was shorter, he'd be shoved into lockers. But since he was so tall, no one really ever messed with him.
Avery was known as the class clown, he was popular, but not the football star, athletic, getting-drunk-at-parties type. He graduated on the honor roll, planning to be an engineer. He attended NYU, majoring in chemical engineering. He'd seen Derek in the halls, but never said anything because he barely knew him.
——
Derek got ready for work, brushing his hair and putting on his clothes. He grabbed his car keys and glasses, getting into his car and driving to work. He put on some music— just some random songs from his playlist.
The drive to the cafe was pretty close to his house, just a 10 minute drive. He pulled into the parking lot and stepped out his his car. He made sure to grab his Airpods. He didn't wanna make the same mistake he did yesterday. That was a rather rough shift.
He walked into work with his hands in his pocket. He clocked in, then made some small talk with his coworker, Msak. The morning went slowly, which was very surprising for a Monday morning.
He tried not to think about it, because it seemed like every time he did they immediately got a party of frat boys coming in and ordering the most complex drink ever, not leave a tip, then left a mess. He focused on his current customer. They ordered a small black coffee.
It was like he manifested it. A group of 3 walked in loudly. A girl in a clown costume, a guy that half existed, and a normal dude who looked like he was 100% a frat boy. They all came in arguing, the clown only speaking in honks. They walked up to him from the other side of the counter.
"Good morning… What can I get for you today..?" He sighed.
"REGECT SHUT UP" The frat boy almost yelled. "Hi!! Can we get a large Americano, a small black coffee, and a Large iced White chocolate Mocha, but like not too much ice, with extra caffeine, like, as much as we can get, EXTRA extra sugar, chocolate drizzle, caramel drizzle, with extra cold foam? "
Derek paused for a moment, muttering 'oh my god' faintly under his breath.
"Uh, yeah… What's the name for the order..?"
"Ze. Spelled Z-E."
"Your total will be $18.30… Will we be using cash or card?"
"Card."
Ze quietly paid, then the 3 of them went to sit at a nearby table.
Derek started making the absolute BOMB they ordered, as he silently eavesdropped their conversation. He made the normal orders, then concocted the nuke the guy ordered.
"Jesus Christ, Ze. Are you trying to get diabetes in your early 20's?" The entity complained.
The 2 argued while the girl honked angrily. Well, she sounded angry. Derek finished the drinks and set them on the counter.
"Order for Ze?" He called out. The group grabbed their drinks and left.
He sighed. Avery would probably be here soon. He normally comes in early in the morning. It seems he was on a streak of manifesting, because the kid walked in just as he thought that.
Avery smiled at him, and Derek smiled back.
The boy walked up to the counter, still smiling. He ordered his usual medium latte, and Derek already knew the name for the order. They chatted a bit while Derek made his drink. Avery was explaining his Chemical engineering classes.
"Oh, what college do you go to?"
"NYU."
"Oh, me too."
"Really??????!!!! THATS SO COOL!!!!!"
Derek couldn't help but smile at that.
"We definitely have classes together!!! I'll look for you!!!!!!!"
"I'll keep an eye out for you too." Derek chuckled.
Avery 'snuck' a $20 (USD) bill into the tip jar, thanked Derek, then left. Derek felt pretty happy about it. He'd definitely look out for him too. He'd make sure of it. The guy seemed like he was chill, so he didn't have anything to worry about.
The day continued on like usual, with customers coming and going. Some were… rather loud, but overall it was a regular shift.
It went by quickly, and he was kinda on autopilot the whole day. Eventually, though, his shift was over. it was time for him to go home. He got in his car, putting on the same playlist he did while driving. He got stuck in a bit of traffic, but he got home in less than 30 minutes.
He immediately rolled into bed and pulled out his phone, doomscrolling. He made dinner, (which was just Mac n cheese.) and went to bed.
:)