Starbucks was a zoo. This wasn't too unusual; it was Monday at noon, and people were pouring in from all over the city to get their mid-afternoon caffeine fix. A Lady Suit was ordering from one of her coworkers. Mr. Suit2 was next to her, blabbing on his cell phone like a loud obnoxious bitch. Except that he was male, so he really couldn't be a bitch. But it was the same thing. She couldn't wait until she could get another, better job than Starbucks. Unfortunately, she was all but chained to this particular store. Next to Cora, she was the only intelligent person who worked there. Lame.
As she filled the last order and handed it to Lady Suit3, she heaved a sigh and finally looked up. She took in the state of her store, and wasn't paying any attention at all when a guy slid up to the counter and spoke to her. It took her a moment longer to process the words. Readying a glib reply, she turned to him, arms crossed, a scowl on her face. She figured it was one of her pals from class but, to her immense surprise, it wasn't. It was someone else. Who was very familiar.
Nathan was there.
For a moment, she stood in dumbfounded silence. Oh, yeah, she knew he was real. He had chatted with her on the forums. There was no question he was real once he told her Maggy's name. But the fact that he was now standing in front of her was, somehow, irreconcilable in her head. He was gone, lost somewhere in Musings, not over here in Humanity. She hadn't talked to him in what felt like ages, but now there he was, chatting like they were old friends. Okay, so not really like they were old friends. But the sentiment stood.
She stared a moment longer, then worked up a reply. "Well, you know, the pumpkin spice latte is one of our best sellers," she managed. Then, stupidly, she added. "Hi, Nathan."