Highschool Romance

"You know... Your hair looks really nice tied like that." he said, looking away. Was he blushing?

"Thanks. I..."

Rachel woke up abruptly as her alarm buzzed inhospitably. Lazily. she reached out, turning it off. For a second she considered going back to sleep, to relive that moment again. But she also knew what happened next. Nostalgia chased the sleepiness away. She looked at the wrapper of cinnamon bubblegum. It was amazing how that scent always brought memories back. As she finger brushed her dark brown hair she remembered a quote her grandpa used to say, today is worth more than yesterday or tomorrow. And today was a big day.

It was almost an hour before she reached her little corner, "The Old Library Cafe". Irene was already there, in the process of opening up.

"Morning. Ready for the big day?" she asked cheerfully while going trough the item list.

Rachel just nodded while yawning.

"Whoa, please, calm down, you are too excited. Wanna sit down?" both of them laughed at the remark. Despite not being the morning person, Rachel did appreciate sharing shifts with Irene.

"Ok, I'll finish up here, you, hit me with your best shot!" Irene demanded as she zig zagged, cleaning up the tables and setting up a few newly acquired old books before officially opening for customers.

The new drink she came up with for the season was warm to fight the growing chilling winds, with a spice mix of her secret pumpkin pie recipe with a few additions she discovered over the years... It smelled like... coming to a warm home after a rainy day. It made you think of reunions by the orange glow of the fireplace. She didn't have a fireplace in her home when she was young, but this mix sure made her feel as if she did!

Irene suddenly appeared beside her, humming in appreciation before wordlessly taking the drink for a test. She was silent for a while, permitting herself the time needed to fully get immersed in the taste and the smell. Rachel meanwhile took the chalk and blackboard that usually hang in the front window, scribbling today’s specials.

“A bit too much caramel syrup, could use some bitterness underneath it all, but otherwise great. I think we have a new trendsetter here.” Irene took a second to just smell it again. “Very comforting. Despite my nitpicking, this may be your best drink yet. Have a name?”

Rachel felt a sting of awkwardness, her glow of pride turning into a soft blush as she turned the blackboard. Her friend just tilted her head with a chuckle and gave her a few romantic-like blinks.

“It’s just… a really nice name, you know?” seeing that Irene is having none of her deflections, she sighed and continued. “Some smells just get imprinted with certain memories. Back when I was in highschool, I wasn’t really timid, but I certainly wasn’t, you know, dating much. Always a friend that was a girl, but not quite a girlfriend… And for the most part I was completely fine with that. I was just not into it I guess? Buuut… One summer I met a boy who was visiting family here for the summer. And he was an annoying, attention seeker.”

“A boy in highschool, attention seeker? I am shocked!”  

“Heh, yeah… But still, he didn’t have any friends here, so bit by bit, he got a feel for our group and hung out with us quite a lot. Matt had his birthday part and since he was with Stephany at the time, he made it “couples” themed party. Not the show, just, you know, you had to come with a date of some such nonsense. And since we were both single, we kinda went together. He was awkward and weird and I heard him saying I have fat ankles or something stupid like that. My God, I am embarrassed how angry I was with him. I stormed out, but not before calling him a friendless loser. It’s so stupid… Anyway, I didn’t talk to him for a few weeks, I was just so angry and embarrassed… But then one august day he came over and offered a sincere apology. Mom always insisted I accept apologies when given - a parenting survival tactic of having more than one child - so, we reluctantly started hanging out again. Most friends were traveling so with fewer friends around, he was… a lot nicer. He stopped calling me names, he was actually more open and kind of sweet. He was my first kiss and first summer romance.”

“Aw, Raych, I never pegged you to be so romantic.”

“Yeah. Well September came too soon and on his last day here he invited me to come over to his place. To a pie he made! It was such a dorky thing, but I won’t lie...It was amazing. He left and I never saw him again. We were pen pals for a while, but you know… Away from heart and all that jazz. It took me years to figure out the right mix of spices. And...” Rachel finally stopped talking and looked at Irine’s’ empty glass.

“That’s so sweet. And such a good origin story gor the drink. I get it now. I think it fits. “Highschool Romance”, sweet, comforting, nostalgic.  And with a hint of love… Let’s put it up, see how the people like it!” Irene side hugged Rachel and took the blackboard and set it up, opening the cafe for business. 

Be it the influx of college freshmen or the rumors about the new drink, or just people looking for a warm respite from the wind, the day was busier than usual. There was some trial and error, but overall people really seamed to enjoy the drink, a few of them even providing constructive criticism along with praises. 

As the work day was slowly coming to an end, Rachel was beat, but very satisfied with her success. As her shift was coming to an end she was instructing the second shift worker how to make the drink, when the bell on the door chimed. One last customer for the day.

“Well hello. Haven’t seen you here before.” she greeted the newcomer.

“Yeah, first time here. Actually I was just passing by, but the smell was just too nostalgic. Something with cloves and cinnamon?”

“That’s our new special for the day. The -”

“Highschool romance. I saw in the window”

“Right. Coming right up.” She fixed the drink with a grace of full day practice.

"You know... Your hair looks really nice tied like that." he said, looking her in the eyes as she handed him the warm drink with a smell of nostalgia.

It is surprising how subtle things, like summer love and scents from years ago, can make your heart skip a beat.