Another day, another soul sucking shift at ye olde Starbucks. It’s not like the work was terrible in itself, but when you had anxiety as bad as mine, it really took it out of you. Still, money was money, and learning how to make tasty coffee was a decent bonus. I’d taken this job a couple months ago, and I was getting pretty good at it. I had all the lattes down to a science, the refreshers were simple, and even the frappuccinos weren’t too bad once I got to know them. The only thing I really struggled with were the people, most of the time it was pretty simple, there was a formula to it: I greet them, they rattle off their order, I put it in and ask for their names, and then I start making their drinks once they pay. Mix in some small talk and ask any relevant questions and there you have it. Simple.

Sometimes there were exceptions though. Some people just wanted to talk, wayyyyyy more than I was comfortable with, some people came in looking for a fight, and would start yelling over the tiniest mistake, those were my least favorite, and some people came in with their “secret menu” items pulled off of instagram or something. I had nothing against any of these people (except the yelly ones) but extended social interactions and complicated orders really took it out of me. One of those last people stood in front of me now, some kind of goth in all black, with her nails painted the colors of sunset, and some kind of purple smokey eye makeup. Basically, she looked way the hell cooler than I could ever dream of being, not that I’d want to look like her, I was a guy, after all. She had someone else with her, a tall skinny girl(?) in a baggy hoodie with a blue, pink, and white pin on her(?) purse. Even though the goth was way shorter, the tall one seemed almost like she(?) was hiding behind her. I could relate.

Stepping up to the register, I gave them both a smile.

“Hi there! How can I help you today?”

The goth stepped forward, glancing down at her phone, before she said the words I was dreading.

“I actually have a pretty complicated order, can I just walk you through it?”

Seeing that there wasn’t currently a line behind the two of them, I gave her another, slightly less warm, smile.

“Sure, I’d be happy to help you with that. Can I get a name for the cup?”

Suddenly, the tall one behind her spoke up, barely rising above a whisper.

“Kenzie… My name is Kenzie.”

I nodded towards her (I was pretty sure she was a her at this point), and wrote her name on the cup. She seemed nervous, and that made me feel just a bit more determined to make sure she had a good experience, even if it meant some extra work for me.

“Alright then, let’s see what we got.”

What we had was a shaken espresso, an exceptionally complicated one, but still a shaken espresso at heart. In all, the recipe actually sounded pretty tasty, with oat milk, a bit of white mocha, and half a dozen other ingredients besides, it seemed like Kenzie had good taste. There was something odd about it though, the goth was muttering under her breath with her eyes locked on what I was doing the whole time, and I could’ve sworn the drink heated up briefly as I was shaking it. Ah well, I was tired and probably just overthinking things, my shift was almost over anyway. Just another hour, and then this place would be the closer’s problem. 

When I finally finished shaking the thing, I poured it into a grande cup and added some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The absolute monster of a drink was complete. I checked my phone as I set it on the counter. In all, this beauty had taken me just under 10 minutes to make. I made sure to thank a couple random gods that these two showed up in a slow part of the shift, you’ve gotta cover your bases, after all. Kenzie picked it up, almost reverently, not taking her eyes off it for a second. The goth gave me a long look.

“Thanks, uhh…” She looked at my nametag “Isaac”.

I gave her one last big smile.

“You’re very welcome! This was actually a pretty fun one to make! I hope Kenzie likes it.”

She gave me a sly grin, glancing over at her friend, who still remained transfixed by her coffee.

“Heh, I’m sure she will.” She draped her arm over Kenzie’s shoulder “C’mon girl, let’s head back to my place. You can give the coffee a try.”

I had a little chuckle as the two of them wandered out. What an odd interaction. I had a nice long stretch before I set my eyes on cleaning up after this. As I did though, I happened to notice something. There was a little bit of the drink still left in the shaker, just enough to fill a tall cup half way. This always happened with these custom recipes. There was always just a bit too much. Getting to sample these frankenstein’s beverages was one of the few plus sides to having to make them, and this one did look good. I poured what was left into a cup before I cleaned up the mess, and once I had made the counter fairly presentable again (and made a cinnamon dolce for some teenager), I once again beheld my prize. I deserved a treat after all this, I picked up my little cup and downed it all in one go.

HOLY SHIT!

Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! HOLY SHIT!

This damn drink didn’t just look good, it tasted goddamn divine! It was like all my favorite drinks rolled into one, but somehow none of the flavors clashed. I had just sampled the divine nectar of the gods! There was chocolate and cherry, cinnamon and sugar, there was even salt and vinegar, and somehow that didn’t ruin it! I could see why Kenzie treated the damn thing like some holy relic, it was absolute perfection as it rolled over every single one of my senses. My reality dissolved into pure bliss and I lost all notions of time and space. Then, just as quickly as it happened, that glorious feeling was gone, and I was left reveling in the aftertaste. Holy hell, that was something else.

Dimly, I registered someone’s voice off to my left. With an incredible force of will, I managed to bring the voice, and its source, into focus. It was one of the closers, Alex, and she was speaking to me.

“...you good? Hello? Earth to Brie! Yo, Brie Brie Brie!”

I shook my head to try and get it working again. What the hell was she talking about? And since when was she taller than me? Was I high right now? Did some kind of crazy chemical reaction happen when I was shaking up that coffee? I managed to voice all these concerns gracefully and efficiently.

“Huh?”

“I said, are you alright, Brie? I’ve been trying to get your attention for a couple minutes now, do you need to go home a bit early or something?”

My voice sounded different, and I was feeling really weird all over. What the hell was in that drink? I mean, I knew what was in it, but what the hell was in it?!? And who the hell was Brie? Why did Alex keep calling me that? Was this some kind of prank or something? Once again, my words in that moment were nothing if not concise.

“I… Um… Alex, I- what?”

Alex looked really worried about me. I guess I would be too, in her shoes.

“Jesus girl, I’m like two seconds away from calling an ambulance. I need you to use your words and tell me what’s wrong, I'm worried about you.”

…

…

GIRL? She called me GIRL? What? Why would she do that? And why did I like it? Fuck, alright, ok, I guess we’re just rolling with this for now. I took a deep breath before I looked her in the eyes.

“I’m uh… I don’t know. I feel weird and I’m not sure why… I think I might have eaten or drank something weird. I, um… I might want to go home early today, yeah.”

My voice was really pretty, it was soft and light and perfect and why was I focusing on that right now?!?

Alex gave me a little smile.

“Good girl. You go home and take care of yourself, ok? If you start to feel worse, please go to a hospital or something. You were making me hella nervous for a second there.”

“Ok, I will. Uh… I’ll keep you posted if anything happens.”

I took off my apron and started towards the door. I’d go home, figure out exactly what just happened, and then go from there, I guess. That’s all I really could do.