Contest entry for octaves. 4946 words.

She poured the piping hot liquid into the cup. The steam ascended into misty vapors. She held the cup in her hands and felt her hands becoming warm. The strong aroma of the liquid could captivate anyone. She placed it in front of the customer. He smiled at her.

"Thank you." he said politely.

Erica smiled back and went to wipe some glasses. He stayed seated in the counter and leaned over to see what she was doing. She caught him glancing, and so he quickly began typing on his laptop again. He sipped his drink. There was no other way to survive through the tough winters.

Erica's friend Jessie came over to her. She glanced at the man and smirked.

"I think he was totally checking you out."

"I doubt it."

"Why? You're attractive and men have a thing for baristas these days. It's why I decided to actually stick to a job for once."

"Why does it matter? I have Eric."

Jessie stared at her in disgust. "You guys are still together?"
Erica looked back in shock at her friend's rude and blunt statement. "Why wouldn't we be?" she put the glasses away. "We are perfect for each other."

"Please there's no such thing. Besides he doesn't seem half as interested as you do."

"There's nothing like that!" Erica stopped pacing around and organizing to defend herself. "Eric is just not a very expressive person."

"Yeah I can understand that, but why's he always bailing out on dates and stuff? He's always preoccupied with something."

"He's a busy person."

Jessie just looked at her friend skeptically.

"And you know what? He's taking me on a romantic dinner date today to celebrate the New Year. He requested it himself."

"That's really strange- coming from him."

"There's nothing strange about it. Eric has always been the one for me. I mean think about how well our names go together- Eric and Erica."

"Well if that's all you need, I can find you plenty of other Erics."

Erica scowled at her. "Eric and I are high school sweethearts. He was my first kiss and my soulmate."

"How are you soulmates? You both have like nothing in common."

"Because he has the key to my soul and heart. Ah he's like the perfect Prince Charming."

Jessie just stared at her and rolled her eyes. There was no point. She went back into the storage room.

The story of the coffee shop obviously did not revolve around two baristas. There was a lot more going on. The whole atmosphere changed when a really gorgeous girl put foot inside the shop. She looked like she walked straight out of the runway. She had beautiful golden curls, bright red lipstick, and huge, sky blue eyes. All eyes were on her. It was as if they had seen a goddess. She came and sat next to the man. He glanced at her for a second but soon looked away. Her eyes, however, were glued on him.

"One expresso!" She said still looking at him. "Aaron, it's me."

He stopped typing. "I noticed. Actually, everyone noticed."

Erica kept looking at them wondering what was happening. She was so concentrated on this crazy scene that she spilled some of the boiling coffee on her hand. The woman was amazing. She wondered why the man just ignored her. Any guy or even girl would be distracted by her aura, but he just kept typing.

"How have you been?"

He didn't look at her. "Pretty good, and you?"

"I'm fine." They were silent. Aaron just kept typing. He was definitely arrogant. It was true he was handsome. He had a good physique. Okay he was very desirable, but she wasn't any less either.

"Can you at least look at me when I'm talking to you, Aaron?" she was getting annoyed.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were done." he still didn't look at her.

"Listen, I'm really sorry." she finally blurted out. Things were getting intense. " I shouldn't have done that, but the truth is I can't live without you. Can you, perhaps, give me another chance? Please can you forgive me."

Erica's eyes were fixed on the conversation. This was probably the most interesting thing that had ever happened in the shop.

"I forgave you long ago." He answered.

Her eyes brightened up, and she smiled. Wow, she had a gorgeous smile. "Does that mean you'll give me another chance?"

Aaron looked up at her and smiled too. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Erica spilled the coffee on the table. "I'm sorry." She said, grabbing a towel and trying to wipe it off. Was this guy crazy? She couldn't imagine what the woman had done wrong, but how could he reject her so effortlessly, especially when she looked so beautiful and pitiable. Then again he had not once looked at her face to see that. Instead, now he was watching her closely as she wiped the counter.

"Why, Aaron? I thought you forgave me."

He closed his computer and actually sat facing her finally. "I did, but we broke up a long time ago. I'm over you now. I've moved on, and you should too."

She began to cry. Wow she was even pretty when she cried. Wait, that wasn't the point. Erica couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. She frowned at Aaron. What could she have done that was so wrong? He placed his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it. Then she hugged him. He patted her back. It was almost like a drama. From his expression it was evident that he couldn't wait until she let go of him.

A young man was staring at them. He had been looking at the girl ever since she walked into the store. He was skinny, had some freckles, and some messy, long hair. He began sketching. He completed all the shading as the woman walked out of the door. It was a picture of her smiling but with tears in her eyes. Then he wrote, "Emily, even the tears that flood your face cannot scar your beauty, but I cannot bear to see you in pain. So please, smile always- because that's how you are in my dreams..."

He looked at his words for a minute and then quickly erased it. He closed the book. His book was probably filled with a hundred sketches of her. Emily never came to the cafe. She was never so pathetic. In fact he had never seen her do anything other than smile. Her joy was contagious. She, unknowingly, laughed him out of all his problems. It was all he knew of her, so he could not draw her crying no matter how much effort he put in. He wished she had smiled today as well and relieved him because today was the day of his grandfather's funeral. It was true that the man was old and lived a long fulfilling life, but for the young man, it felt as if he had lost his best friend. He walked out, and a girl came to sit down in his place.

"What would you like to order today." Jessie asked her.

"I'm waiting for someone." she answered.

"Oh, I see. I'll come back later then." Jessie looked at the girl. She was staring outside the window at the falling leaves. Jessie looked too. Winter had come, but some trees were a little late in letting go of their iridescent assets. The man she was waiting for never came.

***

Erica wore her best dress and makeup for her date with Eric. She was extremely thrilled and almost hysterical. It had been a while since they went on a date. She heard the bell ring. She could imagine her dreamy Prince Charming escorting her like a gentlemen. She screamed with glee. She opened the door. He smiled at her.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready." she smiled back. He stopped smiling.

They were silent for the whole journey. Erica tried to make conversation, but he ended every opportunity with his one word answers. Erica stared at the dull scenery. He had not complimented on how pretty she looked despite all the effort she put in. Something was off.

Dinner was just as awkward. Eric hardly touched his food and seeing his mood made Erica unenthusiastic about eating her favorite steak as well. She asked if something was wrong, but he just shook his head. He was probably stressed from work. After dinner, he drove to the park. Erica stepped out of the car and beamed at her surroundings.

"Eric, this was the place where we met right? Oh my God you are so romantic!. And this is the best place for fireworks. Speaking of fireworks they're about to start..."

"Erica, I need to tell you something."

She looked at him, worried.

"Erica, I think it's time that we ended this."

The fireworks shot up in the sky. The clock struck twelve and everyone began yelling Happy New Year.

"What are you saying?" Erica looked at him, absolutely confused.

"I'm breaking up with you."

Erica just stared at him. "I'm sorry. It must be all this noise, but it almost sounded like you said that you're breaking up with me. It's crazy right?" she started laughing awkwardly.

Eric sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You're serious." She stared at him. He didn't deny it. "But why? We've been dating for five years. We've never had a fight..."

"Exactly, we never fought."

Erica just stared at him. "Are you in the right mind? Did you get drunk or something? You wanted us to fight?"
"I want to talk to my girlfriend on equal terms. I want to be able to share my issues with her."

"You could have very well shared with me. I would have listened!"

"How could I? You are always in your own fantasy world thinking that everything is perfect. You never get your head out of the clouds. You know what, you never grow up! True, your childish games and innocence were cute when we were young, but I'm sick of it. You never change."

"True! I've been so consistent, but you, Eric, have changed a lot."

Tears filled her eyes. She started to wail. Eric was annoyed. He had wanted it to go a lot smoother. "I don't think you'll want me to take you home. I'll order a cab."

With that he left her alone in the dark and drove away.

***

Erica was super disorganized the next day. She could not get a single order right, and she vented so much stress and anger on the objects, that she broke many utensils. The owner finally begged Jessie to do something.

"What in the world has gotten into you?"

Erica looked back at her.

"Oh my God, what is wrong with your face?" Jessie jumped back in horror.

Erica looked at her reflection on the glass. She looked like a mess. Her hair was disheveled. Her eyes were puffy from crying all night, and worse, her breath stank.

"It's nothing." she sighed.

"No girl, it's definitely something."

Erica looked into her friend's eyes and sobbed into her arms. Jessie did her best to console her.

"That jerk! And he just left you there in the middle of the night, all alone?"

Erica nodded.

"You know, if you were in a better mood right now, I would have said I told you so."

Erica looked absolutely pathetic. "You were right. There's no such thing as a Prince Charming or destiny or soulmate."

"Now girl, don't you just give up already. There's plenty of guys out there- so many fish in the sea. You can't just give up now."

"You're right. I must prove that I can find an even better guy than Eric- someone who doesn't have his dreamy brown eyes, or gorgeous hair or..." She began to cry again.

"No, no. Don't cry. Look it's that guy from yesterday."

Aaron walked into the shop and sat down with his laptop.

"Hey you know the party coming up at Stephanie's house. Eric will be there right?"

"Ah yes. So?"

"Well invite this guy to come with you. It'll be the perfect revenge."

Erica considered it for a minute until she came back to her senses. "No way! Revenge? With him?"

"Yeah, when Eric sees you with an attractive and accomplished guy like him, he will be begging on his knees for you to come back. Then you can laugh at him and walk away."

"Now that's way too cruel."

"Compared to what he did on New Year's?"

"That's true, but what makes you think this guy will come. You saw how he rejected that gorgeous girl yesterday."

"So? She just happens to be like the stereotypical gorgeous girl you see in shows or movies. He must have gotten sick of her. You, on the other hand, have that charisma and sweetness. In fact look at how well you are working with that terrible, disorganized hair and lack of makeup, which actually would have aided in concealing your problems. He'll definitely find you charming."

Erica looked at her a little skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" she nudged her. Erica walked up to Aaron. Jessie breathed a sigh of relief but quickly realized that she had gotten ahead of herself with her rage towards Eric. There was no way Erica could lure that guy in with her current state. Oh no! What had she said? She wanted to rescue her, but it was too late. They were conversing. Jessie scolded herself. What was she thinking? She kept her fingers crossed.

Erica walked up to her a few minutes later with a pen.

She looked at her, proud. "Guess who said he will call me soon?"

Jessie's eyes widened. "You serious?"

"Better yet, he asked for it himself."

Jessie could not contain her joy. She began to leap up and down screaming.

"He'll hear you." She shushed her. They were both excited. This was the perfect revenge.

Now Emily arrived at the shop. The young man was sitting down, writing in his journal when she came and sat next to him.

"Brandon! It's me, Emily."

He looked up. She was sitting right next to him. Was this a dream?

"It's Emily. You remember me from high school right."

Brandon nodded. She hugged him. He felt extremely awkward and confused. He could not quite hug her back.

"How have you been?"

Why was she suddenly talking to him now? He had always been there; she'd just not noticed him. Why was she being so friendly now? They'd never really talked much before.

"Well I got to go. Do you have a business card or something? I'll call you."

He handed it to her. She got up, glared at Aaron, who still had his back to her despite how loud she was, and left.

Brandon thought nothing much of the encounter. He didn't expect her to actually call him back. He got up and left. The girl came and sat in his spot again.

***

A week had passed. Erica and Aaron were very close now. She actually enjoyed his company, and felt bad when he would glance at her occasionally. She felt bad for deceiving him when he looked so sincere, but she thought about it. He was perfect. He was the engineer of a huge company. He was good looking and quite a gentleman. There's no way someone like him would fall for someone like her. Emily was more of his type. She was probably just a way to pass time for him, but she definitely enjoyed his presence. She wished that they could continue to be friends. When she was with him, she realized how much of a jerk Eric really was.

Brandon and Emily hung out a lot too. Brandon was thrilled of course. He spent hours just choosing the best tie for his suit whenever they went out, but this was strange. Why was she being so friendly towards someone like him? She used to practically ignore him before unless he could be of some use to her. He let it slide, but honestly, being with her was not as fun as he imagined it to be. She would talk about the most stupid and unnecessary things. She dragged him around wherever she went. She was not exactly his dream girl.

It was the night of the party and Erica made sure she looked better than she ever had before. With her skilled makeup applications and gorgeous tight dress, she could defeat even a bride on her wedding day. Aaron arrived at her apartment to pick her up. She opened the door and he couldn't stop staring at her.

"Wow." he said. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

"You're too kind." she replied.

The dress was too much for him to handle. It was too showy. Actually it wasn't technically that bad, but he just couldn't control himself. He tried his best to focus on the road and tried to hide his blushing face.

They arrived at the party and Erica could not wait to show off her boyfriend. She was displeased, however, when she saw Eric with another girl. He came up to them and introduced her.

"Erica, hello!" He gave her a hug. She awkwardly hugged him back. "This is my girlfriend Vanessa. Vanessa, this is my friend Erica."

Girlfriend? And why were they so comfortable around each other? It had only been a week. Wait, was this why he broke up with her? Was he cheating on her all this time?

"Hi Erica. Eric has told me so much about you." Vanessa shook her hand.

He had. She wondered what he had told her- about how cruelly he had broken her heart?

"Hi. This is my boyfriend Aaron."

Aaron shook his hand with them.

"And Aaron this is Eric, my ex-boyfriend from last year. We decided to start afresh at the beginning of this year."

The situation was awkward. Everyone was quiet. Eric looked down. His girlfriend tried to smile. Was that too much? Erica thought. No, he deserved it.

The party was boring, but the food was great. Erica stuffed her face as she glared at Eric and Vanessa dancing. They were so cute and oh how they laughed. It made Erica cringe. She pulled a giant lobster apart with her teeth and chewed on it. He had never laughed so heartily around her. Aaron was in an awkward position with everyone asking him questions, and all the girls flirting with him. Erica was not doing a good job of defending him. She kept staring. This revenge was not going well. She had to do something to make him jealous.

"Let's dance!" She pulled Aaron to the dance floor. He rushed along with her, startled but relieved.

"Thanks." He said. "You saved my life."

Erica nodded, but her eyes were on Eric. They were still laughing.

"Oh, Aaron you are so funny." She began laughing as loud as she could. He looked at her confused, not knowing what to do. He tried to laugh with her, but he didn't know what was so funny. All eyes were on them.

Erica finally stopped and saw Vanessa fixing Eric's tie.

"Your tie is crooked." She pulled on Aaron's tie. It was actually perfect, but now that she handled it, it became crooked.

The two were dancing now. Erica pulled Aaron as close to her as possible and held him tightly. She was so close that Aaron couldn't help but blush. His heart was racing now, but Erica's concentration was completely elsewhere. She gasped in shock as she saw Eric kissing Vanessa's forehead. She knew  she had to do. She grabbed Aaron's face and pulled him into a deep passionate kiss. Before Aaron could grasp the situation, she lost her footing, and they both fell, knocking the table over and spilling the soup all over themselves. Now everyone's gaze was on them. It was so embarrassing. Darn it! Why hadn't she practiced wearing those high heels before?

"I'm sorry." She told Aaron as they were cleaning themselves off at her apartment.

"For what the soup? I'll just get it dry cleaned." He said angrily.

"No, for tonight. I'm sorry. My boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend actually, dumped me so ruthlessly on New Year's Eve. He just left me on the streets as I cried the whole night. I just wanted to get my revenge. That's why I did all that to you."
He looked at her. "So you're saying that because your boyfriend took advantage of you, you took advantage of me?"

"It's not like that." She tried to explain.

"Not like what? Do you know how much of my precious time I wasted on you?"

"I know. I said I'm really sorry. Besides it's not like it would work out for us anyway. How could someone like you like someone like me? I was probably just someone for you to pass time with."

He glared at her now. "And who are you to decide who I should fall for? Are you questioning my sincerity?"

"No, I'm just being practical. I saw your ex-girlfriend. She was so gorgeous. That's your type of girl. I'm not."

He grabbed his coat. He couldn't believe her. He went to the door. "You know what?" he opened the door. "You're no different from Emily- selfish and manipulative."

With that he walked out. Erica just stared on as he slammed the door. What had just happened? And why was she crying? She realized what she had done. She had used him like he was some kind of toy. She had chased away probably the most amazing guy in the world. She did not deserve him, but nevertheless, he was sincere towards her. She hated herself. She fell onto the couch, crying.

***

Days turned into weeks. Aaron, who used to be a regular customer, no longer came. Of course he wouldn't come. Why would he? But every time the door opened, Erica would jump up to see if it was him, only to be disappointed afterwards.

Brandon sat down sipping his coffee. It had been days since Emily called him. He tried calling her, but it went straight to voicemail. He went back to his journal. It had been weeks since he had sketched a picture of Emily. For some reason, he had lost his inspiration. Then the door opened. It was Emily. She was shocked to see him there, and he was no less startled. A man entered after her.

"What's going on? Why are you just standing here?" He placed his arm around her. He was tall and handsome and very well built. Brandon just stared at them. She finally walked up to him.

"Brandon." She finally said. "This is my boyfriend William. William, this is Brandon."

"Nice to meet you." They shook hands. Then he placed his hand on her shoulder and led her to a table. She glanced back for a second, but then looked away. Brandon just sat there, still.

The door opened again. Erica quickly looked across to see that it was the girl.

"Here she is again." Jessie sighed. "She's always waiting for someone and never orders anything."

Erica's face fell as she went back to her work.

Jessie watched her friend. "Oh come on, it's one guy!" She tried to console her. It was obviously not working. She placed her arm around her. "You know where he works right? Why don't you go and visit him? You can talk things out."

"It's no use." she said. "He hates my guts. He probably never wants to see my face again."

"And so you're just going to mope around forever? You've only known him for a few weeks. Just put this behind you as something of the past. As I said, there's plenty of fish in the sea."

"You're one to say. I've never actually seen you date. Besides nobody can compare to him. I've never met anybody like him."

"Hey I just haven't found my Prince Charming yet. As soon as he gets in the picture, it's goodbye single life for me."

"Since when do you believe in Prince Charming? You used to make fun of me all the time."

Jessie sighed. "Since I saw you with Aaron." she confessed. "And now I realize that the reason you're still so upset is because he was the one." Jessie hated bringing it up when her friend was in such a state.

Erica was amused. "I guess it's my turn to advise you." She looked off into the distance. "There's no such thing as a Prince Charming, or true love, or soulmate. I learned it the hard way."

At that moment the door opened. A man entered, and a familiar face entered behind him. Erica looked at him wide-eyed. He looked back, anxiously, and returned to the other man. "Can't we do this elsewhere? Please."

"Nonsense." He replied. "This is the best coffee shop in town. You have to try their cafe latte."

Erica walked up to their table and quietly took their order. She put her head down so that she wouldn't have to face Aaron. He looked at her. Since when did she become so pathetic? She had gotten thinner. Her face was drained of joy. He remembered how much she used to smile. Now it seemed as if she hadn't laughed in days. She went to the counter and began to prepare the coffee. His eyes followed her.

Jessie came up to her. "Now's your chance!" She whispered. Erica shook her head. "Come on." she reiterated. "It can only get better right. Look here's my notepad and my pen. You know what to do." Erica looked at the notepad and took hold of it.

She went up to the table. The two were having a serious discussion. She placed the coffee. Eric looked down to see his coffee decorated to look like a flower. It was beautiful. He also spotted a piece of paper folded up underneath it. He took it and placed it under the table to read it without the man noticing.

"I'm sorry. Maybe Eric was right. I need to grow up. I'm sorry I was so foolish, but I really miss my friend."

Aaron couldn't help but smile. He looked up at Erica who was nervously watching him. He winked at her and smiled the most beautiful and calming smile that had ever appeared on his face. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back after so many days.

"So what do you think Aaron?" The man looked at him, but Aaron's gaze was elsewhere. "Aaron?" He turned to see where he was looking. He caught him and Erica staring at each other and realized that nothing could be done at this point. He would have to wait. He tried to control his laughter.

It was close to night time now. The shop was almost about to close. Brandon still sat there, looking down. Suddenly he saw a hand place a plate on his table. It had some mini-cookies of different flavors. He looked up to see Jessie. She smiled at him. "You looked so down. I thought some sweets might cheer you up." He gazed at her and saw the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life. He just sat there staring in wonder.

"I hope you have a better day tomorrow." She was about to walk away when he grasped her hand. She looked at him, startled. He immediately let go.

"I'm sorry." he said. "Would you mind if I drew a picture of you?"

Jessie smiled and nodded. She sat down across from him. He felt his fingers tingling. The inspiration had finally returned.

It was closing time now and the girl had not left. Erica saw her as she was cleaning and went up to her.

"Miss, it's closing time now." she said.

"Oh I'm sorry. Thank you." she gathered her things. Erica looked at her in wonder.

"Miss, if you don't mind me asking, who were you waiting for?"

She stopped what she was doing. "I'm sorry." Erica said. "I shouldn't be so nosy."

"It's fine." The girl replied. "My father used to love coffee, but I hate it. He's the one I'm waiting for."

"And why has he not come?" Erica saw the girl's smile wither.

"He's at a place from where he can never return." she said. She fiddled with her hands. Erica began to finally grasp the situation.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't know..."

"He used to tell me that if I ever missed him, I could just go to a coffee shop. Since he loved coffee so much, it would be like he was there in person. This was his favorite coffee shop, and that's why I wait for him everyday. But, I have still not felt his presence like I thought I would." She sighed and then looked at Erica. "I was wondering, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, could you make me a cup of coffee? Any kind will do."

Erica nodded and rushed to her station. She prepared her favorite latte with the most care she had ever put into it. She placed the cup in front of the girl. The girl looked at it for a minute. "It's beautiful." she said. She took a sip and immediately put it down. "Just as I thought." she said in almost a whisper. "I don't like it."

The girl paid for the coffee and left. She never came back again.