Coffee Shop Futuristic Meet-Cute

Chaiu looked down with disgust at the coffee spilled all over the linoleum tiles. Her socks, once white winter stockings, were now splattered with brown, stained with her boss’s lost cappuccino. Her shoes, white loafers, would need replacing as well. She sighed, annoyed with herself. After two months of being an intern, one would think she’d have learned to carry a coffee. Her green eyes scanned the coffee shop, searching for paper towels. She didn’t see any, however, there was a large, silver box of napkins next to the cream and sugar on the additives table. She walked briskly toward them, averting her eyes from the other people in the shop, who were surely judging her for dropping a cup of coffee as an android. No failing human grip, just pure incompetence, she thought bitterly. She reached the table in a few strides, and began to tear napkins out of the box with a vengeance. Once she’d gathered a few dozen, she turned and walked back to the spill, again averting her eyes, ruined shoes squeaking slightly on the linoleum. 

She knelt beside the spill, and began shoving the wad of napkins into the brown puddle, muttering angrily under her breath. Suddenly, a pair of black winter boots came into view. Then, dark gray snowpants, bent in a kneel. Then, a navy blue winter coat, a pair of light blue mittens tucked in its pocket, two pale hands clutching paper towels. Chaiu looked up. A human girl was kneeling beside the spill, silently helping to clean it up. Her hair was jet-black, tied into a ponytail, and she was wearing fluffy white earmuffs and a red scarf wrapped around her neck, tucked into her navy blue coat. Her eyes were steely-blue, focused on the spill, and her lips were slightly parted in concentration. Her face was quite round, and her nose small and button-like. Chaiu realized, after a few moments of staring, that her earmuffs were noise-canceling- likely why she wasn’t talking. It was only when the girl began to get up and move away, back toward her table, that Chaiu realized the spill had been cleaned. She got to her feet quickly, making to go and thank the girl, but by the time she’d turned around, the girl had gone to the counter and ordered a drink, the exact same one that Chaiu had ordered for her boss. Curious, Chaiu tentatively walked over to her, and asked, “You can hear through those things? Oh, I’m sorry, thank you for helping me. Wait, did you remember me ordering that drink?” 

The girl looked scared, cornered, and responded with two stilted nods, black hair bouncing slightly on her forehead. Chaiu found herself momentarily mesmerized, staring at the girl’s face. They waited in silence until the barista handed the girl a drink, proclaiming, “Here you are, Kiamo.” 

The girl proceeded to turn exactly ninety degrees to Chaiu, and hand her the coffee. Chaiu reached out to take it, and their fingers brushed. The girl’s eyes flashed in recognition, and she mouthed one word, noiselessly- “Android.” Chaiu’s eyes flashed with anger, and she yanked her hand away from the girl’s, pulling the coffee with it. She drew herself up in anger, and growled, “So? What’s it to you?!” 

The girl looked confused, staring coolly into Chaiu’s bright green eyes with her own blue-gray ones, without a hint of malice. She quietly, with a slight stammer, responded, “I-I am sorry. I did-did not mean anything.” 

Chaiu’s anger left her quickly. This girl really did not mean her any ill will, she was just surprised. Chaiu softened, and dropped her voice. “Oh, it’s okay. I just got a little defensive, that’s all. Do you want to sit down with me?” The last eight words she spoke had not been conscious, but rather more like the expression of some emotion, rollicking beneath the surface of her subconscious. The girl nodded once, and walked a few strides to a booth in the corner. She sat down precisely, in an upright, straight-backed posture. Chaiu followed her, sitting beside her in a decidedly less disciplined position, slouching slightly, sprawled a bit across the booth, one hand on the coffee that she’d placed on the table. They began to talk, the raven-haired girl listening more than talking, eyes locked on one another, and stayed talking until Chaiu commented that she had to go to her internship, as it was 7:45, pulled out a pen from her pants pocket, scribbled something on a piece of napkin, and handed it to the girl, fingers lingering ever so slightly over the girl’s as she placed it into her palm. She then got up and left the shop with a wave and a smile, orange hair whipping over her face, holding her coffee, bell tinkling as the door shut behind her. Kiamo’s eyes followed her through the glass in the door until she got into her car, a red pickup truck, then looked down at the paper resting in her hand. It read, “720-478-9247     Text me later with ‘Hello, this is the beautiful woman from the coffee shop’ if you want to talk. xx Chaiu” Kiamo smiled ever so slightly, tucked the napkin scrap into her coat pocket, pulled out and unlocked her phone, and proceeded to create a new contact: “720-478-9274: Beautiful Woman From The Coffee Shop”.