Just Because of a Cup of Coffee...

It was a breezy autumn day in Paris, France. People bustling on the streets, cars honking, birds chirping. Just a regular day. A young girl, Ava, was looking for a coffee shop to stop by. She wanted to find a peaceful place to do her homework, since she had a pop quiz the next day. Then she noticed a little coffee shop hidden in the shadows. It was almost smaller than an apartment house, and was painted a soothing brown color. Planks of wood lined the walls, and a a sweet but bitter aroma of coffee came through the windows. She could see people gathered together buying drinks in the corner, a bench with cream and sugar, and polished tables. There were also a few light red and white umbrellas in front of the shop, above some wooden benches and a round table. But one thing caught her eye. It was a sign, and neon letters were written on it, along with drawings of leaves and drinks. “NEW AUTUMN BASED DRINKS! LIMITED OFFER, ONLY $4.99!” it said. “Mm, that sounds delicious! And it's a little shop too! A perfect place to study!” Ava thought. So she entered the store.

It was dark at first. After her eyes adjusted to the light, the first thing she heard was studying music playing quietly. There were people buying frappuccinos, people wearing headphones and just laying there, people typing on their computers. The coffee machine was grinding in the background. Ava immediately loved this place! She walked to the front and looked at the menu. There were so many things to choose from! Hot chocolate, Americano coffee, lemon tart, cookies, tuna salad, espressos, cappuccinos, sandwiches, macaroons, frappuccinos, drinks for dogs, and finally, the special autumn drinks. 

There were three to choose from: the Pumpkin Spice Latte, the Hazelnut Frappuccino, and the Autumn Coffee Special. “The Autumn Coffee Special sounds most appetizing,” thought Ava.  

“Hello, welcome to the Coffee House. What would you like to order? My name is Noah.” Noah said through the counter.

“I would like to order the Autumn Coffee Special, and a tuna salad please.” Ava replied.

“Umm...t-that will be $3.99 please…”

“Okay?”

Ava was very confused. Why was Noah acting like that? It was just a purchase. Later, Noah handed her a paper bag with the company’s logo printed on it. When Ava looked inside, there was only a tuna salad! There was no Autumn Coffee Special! She stormed to the front desk again, staring at a nervous Noah. “Why is there no Autumn Coffee Special?” She demanded, but still kept her cool.

“I’m very sorry, but we are out of stock! It turned out that this drink became very popular.” Noah exclaimed.

“Oh, then in that case, that’s alright. Thank you for telling me and giving me the tuna salad!” Ava replied nicely. 

Then she walked away. Noah gave a sigh of relief. He thought Ava would get mad and report to the manager! Then he would get fired!

 “Heh, why did I ever think that Ava was trying to get me fired? She’s such a nice person!” Noah thought happily. 

On the other side of the building, Ava was thinking too. “It was just a drink after all. Nothing to be sad about,” she whispered. She settled down at a nice desk to study for her quiz.

A young man named Benjamin was sitting right next to her, signing some documents on his laptop. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a yellow t-shirt below that, a pair of dark ripped jeans, and blue sneakers. He had blonde hair, mixed with hints of blue from his previous hair dye.  He had heard the whole conversation between Noah and Ava, and he felt bad. So he got up and exited the store. 10 minutes later, he came back and had a cup in his hand. It was full of a drink of some sort. He went to Ava and lightly tapped her shoulder. “Hey, umm I heard that you wanted the Autumn Coffee Special so I bought you one from the other store!” he said. 

Ava was stunned. She couldn’t believe that somebody would do that for her! And especially someone she didn’t know. It's not like she wanted it that much. Ava blushed, and accepted the drink with a warm smile. She was very embarrassed, and to thank the stranger for his generosity, she invited Benjamin to talk the next day. She wanted to buy him a drink and talk about their day. Benjamin happily agreed, and they went their ways for the day.

They met every single day from that day on. They would talk about how they failed on tests, how their day was, how they forgot that their lunch was on the stove! They exchanged numbers and addresses; sometimes they even went to each other's houses to have lunch or to study together. Soon, Ava caught feelings for Benjamin, but she didn’t tell him. She was too worried that he didn’t like her back. Sometimes she would show signs, but she didn’t think that Benjamin noticed. In Benjamin’s brain, he noticed everything. He thought it was cute of her to do that. But he never considered that she liked him.

One day, Benjamin didn’t come to the Coffee House. She waited all afternoon, just sitting and waiting. She even bought some salad and just stared at the door. She sat there until one of the workers came and asked   Finally she had enough and went to his house. 

His parents answered the door. “Where is Benjamin? He always comes to the coffee shop with me, is he alright?” Ava asked.

“Oh yes, he didn’t tell you? He’s going out with-” his parents replied, but was cut short.

Ava stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her, just as Benjamin’s parents finished the sentence. “I can’t believe I ever loved him!” Ava shouted to no one in particular. She ran to the closest bench, sat down, and cried. She thought that Benjamin was having a date with some other girl. Ava didn’t care if people were staring at her. She was just so mad at Benjamin! “Calm down, Ava. It’s not his fault, you never even knew he liked you or not.” Ava thought. She then buried her head in her arms, crying in distress. 

Benjamin was running as fast as he could. When he got back home, his parents told him what had happened. He thought that the only place that Ava could have been to was the coffee shop. So he ran faster than the wind to find her. On the way, he heard sniffling and loud crying. At first, he thought it was just a random kid crying over a lollipop or something. But then when he slowed down, he recognized the voice. It was Ava’s! He found her crouched up on a bench, crying her heart out. 

“AVA!!!! It’s me, Benjamin!!!” Benjamin yelled.

Ava looked up, wiping away her tears. Then she got up and turned the opposite direction. She didn’t even want to see him, let alone talk to him.

“Ava, PLEASE, let me explain what happened!!!” Benjamin pleaded.

“What is there to plead about?!?! You were out with a girl who’s got to be your girlfriend! What else is there too?!?! Get away from me!” Ava screamed.

“Just let me explain! And please lower your voice down people are staring at us a lot-”

“I DON’T CARE IF THEY’RE STARING!!!! All I care about is getting away from you, jerk!”

Finally, Benjamin had enough of her. He wanted to explain what really happened!! He didn’t want her to take it the other way!

“If you won’t listen to me, I’ll just tell you!” Benjamin replied with the slightest hint of a smile, then grabbing onto her arm.

“Hey stop it! Get away from me-”

“I was out with my little sister on her field trip! I needed to volunteer because they needed a counselor!” Benjamin blurted.

“H-huh?”

“Yes, and I’m very sorry that I didn’t tell you!” 

“Oh in that case that’s alright, I forgive you!” Ava exclaimed, smiling.

“W-w-what? One moment you're super mad at me, and now you're all smiling and forgiving me?!” Benjamin stuttered.

“Yeah, but you're just volunteering right? So that’s no problem,” Ava said, “But, don’t, ever do that again!”

“O-oh right, yeah!” Benjamin said, putting on a smile even though his brain was whizzing with confusion.

Then Ava skipped right down the road, a big smile on her face. Benjamin, on the other hand, was in complete confusion. Ava was just yelling and crying at him a few seconds ago! And now she’s all happy?!

“Enough of this nonsense,” Benjamin thought, “It’s time to do my real job now…”

Ava stopped in a dark alley. There was a person dressed all in black- black hoodie, black sunglasses, a black mask, black shoes, black pants, black hair, and even black socks! 

“Well?” The mysterious person asked. “Did you get him?”

“Yes,” Ava replied, “Come on... let's go kill him.” Ava finished with a grin.

Benjamin looked around for anyone staring at him. Then he casually walked to a nearby corner behind a building. He took a walkie-talkie out of his jacket. 

“Is she ready, sir?” Someone asked through the walkie-talkie.

“Yes,” Benjamin replied with his eyes closed. “Let’s go finish her.”