I was late. Again. But that was nothing new. In fact, I had been late to every shift this past month…and then the month before that as well.
I was also a little bit drunk. But again, nothing new.
As I had just left my apartment, it would be a good thirty minutes before I reached the airport for my shift at the only Starbucks there. And that was not accounting for the time for me to get cleared by security before I was let in.
Whipping out my phone, I shot my friend a quick text.
Yasemin: I need you to cover for me
Yasemin: Again
She texted me back almost immediately.
Tia: Where have I heard that before?
Tia: Don’t worry, girl. I got you
Tia texted me again a minute later.
Tia: I’ve managed to convince Conor to stick around until you come back
Yasemin: Thank you!
Keeping time was my worst flaw. I liked to think of myself as many things. Intelligent, rational thinking, and not bad on the eyes either. But keeping time was not something I was particularly good at. It wasn’t even something that I remotely good at, and everyone who knew me, knew that.
Even my boss. Especially my boss.
I don’t know how he knew, but he somehow always knew when I was late to a shift. The only thing I could think of was that there was a snitch amongst our midst. Either that, or our cranky boss often watched the security tapes to see when we were arriving for our shifts and leaving.
With employees like me, I didn’t blame him.
The best part of working as a Starbucks barista, other than getting to work many shifts with my close friend, Tia Prasad, was that I got two drinks every shift. Three if I worked the night shift, which I often did. The other perk of the night shift was getting paid an extra three bucks an hour.
What can I say? I liked the green
Another of my fatal flaws was overreacting. I liked to think I got it from my mama, who got it from her mama and so on, but I wasn’t going to get into that right now.
Thankfully, I only struggled with only one fatal flaw of mine as today was one of those off chances that airport security was a breeze. It usually was when I clocked in for the night shifts – I didn’t quite know how I felt about that.
“Sorry, Conor,” I apologised immediately with a pout as I arrived at work, breezing past the small group studying the menu and joining my two co-workers behind the counter. “Thanks for covering for me. I promise this won’t happen again.”
“Save your lies for someone who believes you, Yas,” Conor snorted and laughed, his fingers working quick to get the apron off him. “I’ll see you girlies next time.”
Tia and I bid Conor goodbye before she turned to me, an excited grin on her face.
Tia was a little brown Goddess, all five-foot three of her. Her hair was long, dark and wavy, falling past the middle of her back. She always had it down which made her look like a princess, and only put it up when she was serious or forced to. Like now when she was at work. Her eyes were nearly as dark as her hair, and her features sharp, giving the illusion that there was something rough around the edges when it came to her.
“I have so much to tell you!” Tia grinned, all but bouncing on the balls of her feet in all her excitement.
Tia and I met on the first day of college, all the way back in our freshman year. We were roommates back then, sharing a small apartment only minutes away from campus and now we were now seniors, and these were our last two semesters before we were done with education for life. Except, I was contemplating doing a Masters which meant even more time in school and even more debt but at least that way, there would never be a reason for me to return to education.
We were roommates for two years before she moved to live with her long-term boyfriend, Ethan. I had taken in a new roommate, Luciana. She was in her second year and for the most part, we were somewhat friends.
We didn’t have much in common. She was studying Biology and I, Media & Journalism, so I guess they couldn’t get more different if we tried. I was a night owl and had at least two or three night shifts every week, and Luce was the kind of person to wake up at the crack of dawn to go for a morning jog. When she got into bed at night, my brain was just starting up for the night. If I wasn’t working during the early hours of the morning, then I was studying.
The one thing that we did have in common was when things got tough, we sat in front of the TV in our small living room and watched Pride and Prejudice. It was both of our favourite movies and when she told me this the very first day, I had to hold myself back from saying yes to her right way. I made her sweat it out for two days while I reviewed some other candidates, but I knew she would be the one.
Despite our differences which meant that we probably would never be close friends, I was grateful to have Luce as a roommate. She was very chill and understanding, and we hardly ever clashed heads. Only when she tried to get me to eat some of her tofu and vegan chicken.
“You’re going to have to make it quick because those guys look like they’re nearly finished making their mind up,” I said as I reached for my apron. Once it was tied, I moved over to the sink to wash my hands.
“You’re never going to believe me when I tell you.”
“Try me,” I prompted her, curious.
“The Mancini Mafia is all over the airport right now,” Tia announced and did a little bounce on her feet. She almost fooled me for a second into thinking that this was actually something to be worth celebrating.
“Why would I care if they’re catching a flight?” I asked.
“They’re not here to catch a flight!” she shook her head frantically. “From what I heard, they’re here to stop someone from catching a flight.”
“And who is this someone?” I asked curiously, turning off the tap.
“I don’t know exactly but some people are saying that it’s someone who stole from them, and others think that it’s a contract killer who couldn’t end up killing the person he was assigned to.”
“You’re right, I don’t believe you,” I laughed and reached out for a paper towel to dry my hands.
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you when you see a crazy mafia mob running around the airport looking for their next victim.”
“And you think their next victim will be me?” I laughed.
“You said it, not me,” Tia grinned in a sing-sang voice.
“Excuse me? We’re ready to order.”
“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a conversation right now?” I huffed, sending the man a bored look from over my shoulder. “Give us a moment.”
“But–” he tried to protest but neither of us made him any attention.
“Why would the Mancini Mafia care so much about one person that they feel the need to swarm the airport like this?” I asked, turning back to Tia. Even though I claimed to not believe her, that was before. My interested was piqued and now I wanted to know more.
“How am I supposed to know?” Tia shrugged, but the look on her face – the one where she looked like she was going to burst at any given moment now – looked like she knew more than she was letting on.
“What?” I prompted her.
“If anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me, but I heard one of them speaking on the phone,” he voice dimmed at the end into a small whisper, as if she was afraid that someone would overhear us.
“What?” I asked, my eyes wide with surprise.
“Well, it wasn’t like he was wearing a cap that said he belonged to the Mancini Mafia, but he certainly looked the part.”
“How so?”
“He was wearing a suit and had an earpiece in,” Tia explained. “And he kept looking around while he whispered on the phone.”
“Do you know how many men are walking around the airport in suits right now?” I snorted and chuckled.
“Yes, but the earpiece,” she insisted.
“He could be airport security?” I suggested.
“He certainly wasn’t talking about the kind of things that airport security talk about!” Tia snorted and sent me a pointed look.
“How did you manage to hear so much if he was whispering on the phone?”
“I was sat on the other side of the bench,” Tia grinned, looking awfully proud of herself. “One moment I was speaking on the phone to Ethan while I waited for my shift to start. What with him getting home from spending the weekend with his parents, and the next I was telling him to shush so I could hear what the guy behind me was saying.”
“Go on then,” I sighed dramatically even though on the inside, I was itching to hear it. Not only was Tia good at gossiping, she also had a great way of spinning everything into a story that anyone and everyone would want to hear. “What was this supposed mafia man talking about?”
“I missed the beginning and end of the conversation, but it sounded like they were looking for a someone. A woman, I think. Something about her trying to escape the country because she knew the truth is going to come out in court tomorrow.”
“What?”
“He got up to leave before I got that part, but they’re very desperate to catch this woman.”
“Excuse me? Did you hear me earlier? Our drinks?” the same annoying man from before called out to us, waving his hands in the air, but I was quick to dismiss him with an annoyed wave.
The nerve of the man! Couldn’t he see that we were in the middle of a conversation right now?
“You know how crazy this all sounds, right?” I asked Tia, a peculiar expression on my face.
“I know it sounds crazy but that’s genuinely what I heard,” Tia shrugged. “I didn’t want to make it obvious that I was eavesdropping on his conversation, what with him being in the mafia and all. I only caught the side of his face but let me tell you, this man was one of the most beautiful men that I had ever seen. He looked like an ice king. Imagine Jack Frost, but frostier.”
“You have a boyfriend, remember?” I joked, a playful smirk on my face as I sent her a pointed look.
“Ethan doesn’t mind as long as I know that I can look, but not touch,” Tia grinned, looking awfully proud of herself. “Ethan is handsome in his own right, and I know you sometimes joke that he’s a pretty boy, but you’re right. He is, especially when I compare him to that mafia man.”
“If you leave Ethan for the Mancini Mafia and break his heart, I’m going to come for you.”
“It’s great to see where your loyalties lie,” she replied dryly, but couldn’t keep the humoured grin off her face. “And like I’d ever leave Ethan. I know how lucky I am to have him, but just because I’m in relationship doesn’t mean that I’m blind to attractive people.”
“I’m just joking,” I chuckled. “Besides, if he heard you speak about him like that, I’m sure he’ll put a bullet between your eyes.”
“That’s not funny,” Tia gasped and narrowed her eyes at me.
When I burst out laughing at her horrified expression, it wasn’t long before she joined me.
“If I’m being honest, I’m lucky that he didn’t catch me eavesdropping,” Tia chuckled, looking a little nervous.
“Don’t worry, Tia. If he comes looking for you, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” I teased. “Now come on, let’s get back to work.”
“Fine,” she sighed and turned around. “I can’t wait for my shift to be over. I haven’t seen Ethan all weekend.”
“Stop right there before you go into too many details,” I cringed and moved to stand behind the till. I would much rather pour burning hot lava in my ears before I had to sit around and listen to Tia and Ethan’s sex life.
“All I’m going to say is I haven’t my boo all weekend and when I get home, I’m going to give him a big surprise,” Tia grinned and winked, ignoring the horrified expression on my face which matched that of the group of customers stood on the other side of the counter.
I laughed and shook my head to get into work mode.
“Welcome to Starbucks and thank you for waiting patiently,” I smiled brightly at the man who couldn’t have been any more impatient if he tried. He was lucky this wasn’t a restaurant, and I wouldn’t have the chance to spit in his food before giving it to him. If anyone deserved that sort of horrid treatment, it was definitely this man. “My name is Yasemin, and I’ll be making your drink today. What can I get for you?”
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Layla Knight
20.01.2022
