Alina was sitting behind the cafe counter, her chin slightly raised, trying to look like the kind of woman who spends her whole life making coffees and managing all kinds of cafes and bars, the kind of woman who knew the difference between a latte and a cappuccino, who could casually spell macchiato without Googling it first. Unfortunately, she was not that woman.
Forget that she doesn't even know how to grill her sandwich. In fact, Alina didn't even know the *C of coffee. Literally. She had once spelled cappuccino as *capichino on a grocery list, and Maya had laughed for two full minutes, and the bunch of people who were in the line laughed at her. Even though she tries to forget that incident, thanks to her friend who keeps reminding her by sending her a coffee emoji as daily bullying.
After that incident, how can Maya expect her to handle a whole cafe on her own? But here she was. In charge of an actual cafe. Technically babysitting it. Maya had disappeared after a very dramatic, ''I HAVE TO GO'' and then just ran away, leaving Alina in a war with only a gun, a Gun who's weight she cannot lift.
For the next hour, Alina drifted from corner to corner, pretending she belonged there. She picked up abandoned cups, checking the size and colours of the cups. Straightened chairs, offered nervous smiles. Slowly, she began to notice small details she hadn't before, like the rhythm of the caf.e
The way customers lingered, how the music was always soft enough to encourage conversations, how the scent of baking carried. And in those details, she began to understand, Maya hadn't asked her to run the cafe. She had asked her to feel it. To see it as more than just tables and coffee beans.
After roaming here and there, she started to feel bored, then red. Then real chaos began when she decided to learn about coffee.
Just as she began to motivate herself to she can do it without bursting the whole cafe, a teenager came up to the counter. To pour fuel into the fire
''One caramel latte, please''
She froze.
The coffee machine hissed as if mocking her, It's okay, People drink this stuff every day, it can't be that terrifying, she told herself. It's just a coffee, what's the big deal about it? All I just need is GOOGLE.
But in an instant, she remembered how she just wanted to make a pancake, but somehow managed to declare war on the entire kitchen.
No! I can't! And why should I make a coffee for someone? Am I a servant
Maya didn't say anything about actually making coffee. She just said.... look after the place
That's not my business, she told herself. She opened her mouth to explain, but....
Then came the interrogation. - RISHI
Rishi is tall, serious-faced, and always there to doubt the whole of mankind in the world. Who always screamed I actually know how to do my job stood with his arms crossed. Behind me
"So," he said, voice full of suspicion, "do you even know how to make a caramel latte?"
"Of course I do," Alina lied, giving him her best fake-manager smile. "It's child's play."
"Really?" He leaned forward. "Then tell me—milk first or espresso first?"
Her brain did mental gymnastics. Milk? Coffee? Which came first? She remembers the famous question, " Who came first, the chicken or the egg? She blurted, "Together! At the same time!" By saying that, she laughed aloud
Rishi raised an eyebrow.
What have I done now? Just a little joke, why is he behaving in such a way, raising his eyebrow so high it can reach the ceiling fan? sShemurmured
"Uh-huh," he said. "And where's the sugar?"
Not again.
She gave a casual shrug. "Oh, sugar? That's… a secret."
"You don't know where it is, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" She flashed him a confident grin. "It's… somewhere.... she thought for a second and said
'Don't waste it on me if you doubt me. Why don't you make it yourself? She leaned more and said Otherwise, cash will go away By saying that, she sat down on the chair.
Later, when Rishi wasn't looking, Alina decided to redeem herself. She pulled out her phone, Googled "How to make coffee like Starbucks easy no fail", and started reading the step-by-step procedure.
She tried to do everything that was written in the Blog; she had so much confidence in what she was doing. For a moment, she believed it would taste sweet.
"This," she whispered proudly, staring at the steaming cup in her hand, "is going to taste like heaven."
Perfect, it's my turn to taste the sweetness of my hard work
She took a sip.
And instantly made twenty different faces of pure horror, one after another.
Her tongue screamed.
Her soul wept.
Her stomach threatened
"EWU! How do people even like coffee?!" she gagged. Without hesitation, she hurled the entire cup into the sink like it was radioactive waste.
Unfortunately, someone was there to witness her crime
"What are you doing??!!"
Alspinsspin around. Rishi stood there, eyes wide in disbelief at what he had just witnessed. "Throwing the coffee," she admitted shamelessly.
"You what?!" His voice cracked like an angry mom catching her child breaking a vase. "Do you even know how expensive coffee beans are?!"
"They're just beans!" ''Tiny little beans'' Alina argued. "How costly can beans be?!"
"They're not rajma!" Rishi shouted. "They're imported!"
"Okay, relax, Mr. Coffee Wikipedia," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
Rishi marched over and snatched the cup remnants from her hand. "Let me see." He sniffed, then nodded knowingly. "As I suspected. Awful. Because this is a black Americano. Of course it's going to be bitter!"
Alina blinked. "But that guy ordered the same thing. Look," she pointed at a customer, happily sipping away, "he isn't making faces. He's enjoying it! So I thought it would be good and I tried it too."
"You…" Rishi pressed his temples. You're the dictionary definition of clueless''
"It's fine!" she said cheerfully. "Totally fine!"
"Hello, it's not fine!" Rishi snapped. "Look at this mess! Coffee powder everywhere, milk splattered on the counter, what do you think this is? A painting competition?!"
"Now it's your turn to clean up."
"Excuse me?" She glared.
"Hello! I'm not here to be a cleaning beauty," Alina said proudly. "I'm the manager here."
"Manager??!!" Rishi repeated, laughing so loudly that the customer turned to look
"Yes," she said with a confident pose, chest puffed like a pigeon.
" I am the Manager," she declared.
"Really?" Rishi smirked. " If you're a manager, then you must know the duties of a manager; then tell me… what are the duties of a manager?"
Her brain went blank.
Duties?
Like HR?
Was she supposed to say something about team building and vision statements?
"Uh… hmm…" she tapped her chin dramatically. "Well, there are many. Too many. I'm just… counting."
"Counting?" Rishi tilted his head, clearly enjoying this. "If you're struggling, why don't you just tell me five? That should be easy, right, Mrs. Manager?"
Her lips opened and closed like a fish. She was about to bluff something then.....
"Excuse me, one iced latte, please," a customer interrupted.
Alina lit up. "Yes! Great, I'll make it!"
But Rishi lunged like a secret agent, blocking a bomb. "Wait! Stop right there! If you make a coffee, we might lose all our customers in a single day."
Alina gasped, scandalized. "Wow. The audacity. Do you know what? I'm not even interested." Tossing her hair, she strutted away from the counter.
She moved from there, picking up the notepad and heading to the tables to take orders. Her heart raced with every step, yet she was clumsy, as if her body was screaming I don't belong here. "
But she didn't notice him.
Rishi's eyes were fixed on her every move. The way she walked, the way she avoided eye contact. It was all too… suspicious.
He leaned against the wall, half-hidden, peeking from the espresso machine, and slowly pulled out his tiny pocket diary, scribbling in it as if he were a soldier on the battlefield. Each stroke of the pen sounded like evidence sealing her fate. He whispered dramatically, clicking his pen ''walks like she's avoiding landmines''
Note 8: Subject restless. Walks like she's
carrying the weight of a secret.
Then—
Tap. Tap.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"AHHHH!" he shouted, nearly dropping his pen.
It was Maya. She narrowed her eyes. "What on earth are you doing, Rishi?''
He fumbled, trying to hide the diary, but it was too late.' 'Investigating…. I mean, um…. noting inventory?''
Maya raised an eyebrow, then spotted the notebook. With one swift motion, she snatched it from his grip. Her eyes darted over the words, her lips parting in disbelief.
''She spilled the beans?'' Maya read aloud. ''She wears her bracelet on the right hand? Her bag is black.
Her voice got louder with every sentence until she practically shouted ''RISHIII''
Rishi flinched, covering his ears. "Boss! Listen, I can explain! She doesn't know anything. She looks more like… an impostor! I'm telling you, something is fishy."
Before Maya could respond, Alina walked over, panting slightly from moving between tables.
''I'm tired,'' Alina said with a low voice, hugging her friend, putting her chin on her shoulder
. Sit there, I'll bring you a hot chocolate." She practically shoved Alina toward a seat. "Rishi, make a coffee. Now."
"But, boss, I really need to—"
"Shut. Up." Maya growled.
Rishi groaned, muttering to himself while grinding beans. "Mark my words, one day you'll thank me when this whole secret-agent-truth-bomb explodes…"