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 Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:11 pm
Espresso Yourself is a pretty funky name for a coffee shop, Arian thought to himself as he pushed open the coffee shop door and walked in.
The dark-haired teen had walked past the cheerful-looking coffee shop a few times and on occasion had even paused and glanced at the treats on offer on the menu hanging up in the window. Today was the first time that he'd stepped in the shop however.
Arian was actually out picking up a few groceries for his cousin, but the coffee smells had smelt so inviting, that he'd figured that it probably wouldn't cause any harm for him to take twenty minutes or so to stop and get a vanilla hazelnut latte – maybe he would really indulge his sweet tooth and treat himself to one of the sweet treats on offer too.
Making his way down to the front, he waited for the green-haired teen there to notice him.
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:56 pm
Harm was adjusting to like back in the grind. It wasn't very hard to get back into the old routine but there was something about the freedom in space and even in death that she missed but she was happy to have her old job and most of her old life back. She noticed Arian when he came in and started rummaging for her camera even before he got to the counter. He seemed photogenic enough. She turned around and snapped one candid to be sure.
"Stand right there." she instructed, waving him back before moving back herself. She had to get the light just right over his body reflected from the windows. The others on staff and even most of the customers laughed at her, happy to have the old Harmony back. For a while it had seemed like she'd be gone for good. They were used to this behavior by now and as long as he didn't seem to mind her managers didn't care.
She snapped a few more of him with various expressions but nothing caught the off guard smile she'd first captured. Good naturedly she put down the camera when she was done and offered him one of her trademark charming smiles.
"Whatever you want is on me." She told him, meaning it. "Thanks for being such a good sport."
Not everyone liked being mobbed by photography.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:45 pm
Arian had been expecting the green-haired teen to at some point ask him what he wanted to order. He'd peered at some of the treats on offer, contemplating just which one he wanted to get to go along with the latte since they all looked sooo tempting. It was safe to say however, that he hadn't expected to be greeted by the click of a camera – or that her request for him to shift position was a prelude to more photos.
“It's okay” Arian returned the girl's smile with a bemused smile of his own. “I was hoping to try a vanilla hazelnut latte” he responded. “Do you greet all your customers this way?” It was certainly a novel way to be greeted.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:22 pm
"Coming up!"
She marked the cup and handed it off to someone else to make. They all knew how she was when the started talking to someone, especially a cute guy, so no one said anything. Really she was a hard worker but it was a slow day. They let her have her fun. It was actually an attraction to the coffeehouse. A lot of artist types came there and her photos were plastered on a bulletin board where people signed their photos or put up artwork. Espresso Yourself, indeed.
To his question she simply grinned and clicked the camera again to capture his look. Most of her customers were used to her habits by now. This was a clear indication that he was new. She had photo albums, many, dedicated to the coffee house alone. All her favorite snapshots were in the three volumes.
"Only the cute ones." She handed him his drink and offered him her hand. "I'm Harmony."
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 11:30 am
That answers that Arian thought feeling slightly amused as his answer prompted another click of the camera.
He was unable to help the flush at Harmony's 'cute ones' comment. Despite it not being the first time that someone had called him cute, Arian tended to link it to the fact that he didn't look his age – easy enough to get compliments when you looked a few years younger than you actually were.
“Thank you,” taking the the offered drink he set it down carefully before shaking the offered hand. “Nice to meet you Miss Harmony. I'm Arian, Arian Laith.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:26 am
"No miss. Just Harmony. I'm not my mom."
For some reason to her it sounded patronizing or made her feel older than she was. He was probably her age, she estimated. Maybe a few years off but not a lot of children liked coffee. She didn't think she needed to be worried about his age and certainly didn't want him thinking she was old. Did she look old to him? She shook her head softly. No, certainly not.
"You're new here. Obviously."She grabbed a cookie from the case and slid that out to him, too. "Hazelnut chocolate cookie. It should be great with your coffee."
Harm was generous when it suited her but she certainly hoped he didn't think she treated people this well all the time. She was both being kind because he'd tolerated her hobby and because she was a good employee wanting him to come back often. And she wanted to see him again. She liked repeat customers.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:57 pm
“Um okay. Pleased to meet you Harmony,” Arian said feeling awkward. The dark-haired teen hadn't actually meant to upset the other teen – he actually addressed pretty much all girls as 'Miss' – he just hoped he hadn't offended her.
He nodded at her next comment, hoping that he didn't look too grateful at the change in subject. “Yes, but I was tempted in by the coffee smells.” A smile “And the really cool name helped too – Espresso Yourself is a really neat name for this place.”
The offer of a cookie took Arian by surprise and he gave Harmony another smile – he couldn't really say no to sweet things. “Thank you, I'll definitely try it. How much is it?” If he really liked it, he would probably buy a few to take with him, he could munch on them as a snack later. It didn't occur to the dark-haired teen that Harmony was offering the cookie 'on the house' as well since she'd already given him the coffee free.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:09 pm
“This one? It’s on the house. Usually? Two dollars each or a half dozen for ten.”
She slid it across the counter to him and gave a little bit of a laugh. Her boss would take these out of her tips or out of her paycheck but she didn’t mind. And neither did he so long as she didn’t mind paying for what she gave away. Between her attitude and her sales techniques she brought in good business, gave them a gimmick and kept people coming back for more. Even if occasionally she caused a bit of a stir with her habits the storm always blew over and no one ever stayed offended for long.
“So…how do you express yourself?”
It was a pertinent question and one asked to every newbie in the house. They had all sorts of artist types so you could see people writing, painting, coloring on their laptops. They usually had music at night and live performances. She liked seeing the new work and the walls were plastered with it. It was all very Soho-bohemian.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:02 pm
“Thank you” Arian replied as Harmony slid the biscuit to him, he took an bite out of it, swallowed and then smiled. “It's really good” he added after he'd finished chewing.
He shook his head at her question “Um to be honest, I'm not really an artist and I'm no writer”he admitted. “About the only drawing I do is when I sketch out some of my jewellery designs.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:56 pm
"Jewelry making is a way of expressing yourself. And very cool, I might add."
What girl didn't like jewelry, I ask you? If he wasn't sure he was in the right place he'd certainly said the right thing because the other girls on staff immediately perked up and began asking him about his designs and what he liked to make and Harmony let them take over as she poured herself some tea. She took a sip and watched how he handled thing silently, listening to his answers.
When she finally caught his attention again she lifted an eyebrow at him and laughed softly. "You seem to have made an impression. You'll have to bring in some of your work sometime."
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:14 pm
Well he hadn't expected to evoke quite that level of response, Arian liked talking about jewellery though, so despite his initial embarrassment at being the centre of so much attention, it hadn't taken long for him to get quite animated talking about the sort of jewellery he made.
He still had a pretty animated expression on his face when Harmony managed to catch his attention “I've got some photos of a few of my finished pieces.” Maybe he'd bring some along with him, if he remembered and was passing by this way.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:28 pm
It was a joy to watch him talk about something he obviously had passion for. Harm couldn’t help but smile at him as he explained to the gals about what he did and why. He even managed to answer the bombardment of questions. When she caught his eye the crowd dispersed.
Harmony smiled and nodded at him. “You should.” She reassured. Jewelry was never turned away in their store. Pictures would suffice for now and she waited patiently for him to get them as she casually sipped at her tea. It was cinnamon apple, her favorite, with just a hint of vanilla.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 3:57 pm
It belatedly occurred to Arian that maybe the Harmony had taken the words to mean that he had the photos with him. “I don't actually have any photos with me today”he admitted, the tone of his voice sounding slightly embarrassed. “I'm sorry if it made it sound like I did. I guess I can bring some next time I'm this way though if you like.”
He blinked as he noticed the time on the clock hanging up on the wall of the coffee shop – he hadn't realised that it had gotten quite that late. Saffy was probably going to kill him – well at least get that naggy expression on her face. “I have to get going soon” he told Harmony. “I'm supposed to be buying groceries and I'm kind of running late.” Well okay a lot late, but Arian wasn't going to admit to that out loud. “It was nice meeting you though.” He'd make a move as soon as he finished his coffee and the biscuit.
“Could I get a couple of those hazelnut chocolate cookies to take away with me?” They really were delicious – so delicious in fact that mayhaps his cousin wouldn't be too naggy if he offered them up as a very blatant bribe.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:15 am
“Oh.”
She was a little disappointed but not enough to really bother her. If he didn’t have any pictures with him today he’d simply have to bring them in next time. Which meant there’d be a next time. And she was ok with repeat business. Harm shrugged and smiled in her own charming way.
“It’s ok. No worries.”
She sold him the cookies and took his money for them, letting him go in peace. Her boss watched her with mild amusement. She almost never judged anyone wrong. Those that belonged, belonged. Those that didn’t? Well, that was always pretty obvious. She turned her back from the counter after saying goodbye and moved to wipe up the counter. Not everything was flirting.
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