"So what are you getting?"
Cale attempted at small talk.
"Something to drink"
"...."
Cale ignored her and walked forward, leaving her to dust.
"I was joking..."
"I thought it was sarcasm"
She shuddered slightly at those words.
"Alright I'm going in..."
Catrina stepped forward, going through the open doors with Cale following right in front of her.
"Hello there, how can I help you?"
The receptionist in front of them wore a surprisingly rare hairstyle that you don't usually see in a remote place like this.
She spoke politely to them, as any would.
'Is that ugh...'
Catrina winced at the words she forgot, tapping her foot on the amber wood.
Snap
Snap
Snapping her delicate fingers together, she whispered into Cale's ears curious and slightly envious of the hairstyle the woman had.
'I have it so close to rolling it off my tongue'
Cale having enough whispered back.
'I think its called a Dutch fishtail braid'
'Ah okay, thanks!'
She raised her thumb, her eyes sparked while slowly turning to the receptionist.
"Hello, I would like a milkshake, strawberry flavor"
"I see...What about you sir?"
"I want a smoothie, also strawberry flavor"
"Okay, one milkshake and one smoothie, both strawberry flavor right? Also"
Brows furrowed deeply as the girl spoke to Cale.
An unsettling feeling dug into his mind.
'Is it.. just my imagination?'
She drew closer to them.
"Young lovers get a discount"
The girl, no more than their age playfully probed her nose where it shouldn't belong.
"...."
"...."
Both Cale and Catrina stare at each other. They nodded at the opportunity in front of them
""Yes, we are""
They said, in perfect synchronization, bagging the discount with just a couple of sweet words.
Martha smirked at the lies they both spouted.
"Martha!"
A woman then came from the side and spoke.
"Martha, there aren't any available tables!"
"?"
The woman named Martha looked confused and asked.
"What do you mean by that?"
"There aren't any free tables...It's full..."
Martha's face turned into a bewildered expression, She then turns to us and spoke.
"Well.. you heard her, If you want to get a table you'll have to wait"
The girls voice cracked, it seemed she was a new worker and also appeared to be the same age as Cale and Catrina.
"No, it's okay we were going to get a takeaway anyway"
"Ah... I see, well then please wait for a few minutes for your drinks"
With a bright smile. Martha reassured the two that their drinks would come out soon.
Walking outside the building to wait for the drinks, they talked in the process out of boredom of nothing happening.
"Still, where is your mom? she still works here right"
"She still works here, her shift might have ended or she is doing something else"
Cale's mom has worked at this Café for many years and has not been fired from her job nor did she ever resign from it.
'Still...It's too crowded'
Even if the Café were a popular spot, It's this full? at this time no less.
'Well I'm not one to talk since I've never worked at a Café before'
It could've been an ordinary occurrence for all he knew.
But it didn't really seem like one the more they waited.
"Ugh! It's taking too long!"
Catrina got frustrated after 15 minutes of waiting.
"Can't you have a little bit of patience?"
"No! I mean if we ordered a lot I'd get it, but we only ordered a milkshake and a smoothie! And we can't even sit anywhere because there is nowhere to sit!"
She stomped at the hard pavement in anger, not like she was wrong, there really was nowhere to sit unless they went further away from the Café, not only that but Catrina's legs were sore since the morning.
'Well, I'm also sore all over my body but not as much as Catrina whose legs were trembling like a vibrating phone'
He glanced pitifully at Catrina, he wanted to laugh but he knew that if he did that, she might just push him into the road.
"Ah... wait"
Catrina looked at Cale with a face that looked like it had just received a bright Idea. She then dug Into her pocket to get something out.
"Here"
After scrambling her pockets, she gave Cale a surprising gift.
"?"
'She is giving me, money?'
Cale was about to humbly decline Catrina's kind nature.
"I'll go sit over there, once you get the drinks come to me and also give back my change"
Did he want the money given to him? No. Was he disappointed? Yes he was.
"..."
Catrina then trailed off to the bench she pointed with her finger which wasn't too far away after giving the errand money to her thug.
'I feel like an errand boy...'
***
Snatching their drinks after Martha kept apologizing for the unexpected delay. Cale came walking over to Catrina and gave her the milkshake she bought and her change, he then took a seat next to her, his entire body melting at the sensation of sitting down after a long time of only standing up.
Cale instantly took a gluttonous sip of his smoothie and Catrina also took a sip from her milkshake, even the way they drank was identical.
The smoothie tasted impeccable as it touched the dried tongue of Cale and came slushing down violently in his throat.
It tasted incredibly refreshing, he didn't know how good the milkshake was but seeing Catrina have a similar reaction to him, he judged that she also felt Incredibly refreshed.
"It's so good~"
Catrina answered ecstatically, her face melting under the scorching heat that the sun emitted while sipping on her milkshake.
"I agree~"
Cale was no different.
'This is bliss, truly blissful and relaxing, so much so that I might just completely forget that my survival is at stake and might not live to see days like these'
Dangerous thoughts surfaced in his dopamine-filled mind.
'Well none of that matters since I'm now outside of Gardenia'
'As long as I finished my classes and left School safely, I wouldn't die and be safe'
'So let me just bask in this blissful, Intoxicating moment~'
Cale continued basking in the sun for a while longer with its scorching heat burning and sizzling against his skin. Catrina did the same and they both sat there with faces melting like Ice cream.