“So, I tried again, and I just couldn’t connect with the Fulcrum, it was like it was someone else’s.” Lucas said, talking about class from earlier in the day.
Garrett Grant sighed and shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to keep practicing.”
“Practice? Come now, you really think that’s what I need? If I practice that just leaves less time for other things. Things th...” Lucas kept speaking, but Garrett’s attention had drifted away from the unstoppable hurricane that was Lucas’s style of one-sided conversation.
His eyes fixed on her again, the waitress who had served the tea Lucas and he shared. She was talking with a pair of academy professors, taking their orders presumably. The two of them chuckled, perhaps having told a joke, and she giggled along. By the three, even in the subdued candlelight, her smile was truly magnificent. Then she left, weaving her way through the tables past his own like a dancer tiptoeing her way across a stage. Her black and white dress, and pristine white apron rippled as she moved. As she passed, the scents of vanilla and lavender filled his nostrils, mixing with the aroma of the earl grey before him. He grinned dumbly, watching as she slipped behind the counter where all manner of tea, coffee, and other beverage making apparatus could be seen.
“...ey what are you smiling about? S’matter with you? Think it’s funny that I lost my pet hamster?” He heard.
Then Garrett snapped his attention back to Lucas. “Oh, I, uh… well no, that’s horrible.”
“Forget about it, it happened ten years ago anyway. But you,” Lucas pointed an accusatory finger, his bushy brown eyebrows lowering as he narrowed his hazel eyes. “You were watching her again, weren’t you?”
He looked back over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of her as her deft hands carefully placed just the right amount of tea leaves in the fine teapot in front of her on the counter. “Who wouldn’t?”
“Jesus, man. You watch her in class, you watch her here, hell, the whole reason we come here after class is because she works here in the first place. Why don’t you just ask Tabitha out already?” Lucas said, taking a sip of tea. His lips curled in disgust.
“Oh… But I…” Garrett shook his head. “No. Just no, Lucas. She wouldn’t want to go out with someone like me.”
“Gary, you better do something. I mean, geez, what the hell is this stuff anyway?” Lucas said, sniffing the tea disapprovingly.
“Earl grey, her favorite. She lets it steep longer than normal to bring out the exact flavor she’s looking for.” Garrett said, watching Tabitha set a full tea set on a silver tray. She had a way of placing things that just felt… so right. Like that was exactly where it should have always been.
Lucas scoffed. “Well, it tastes like I’m eating a flower with a side of grass clippings. Why can’t we drink coffee?”
“She doesn’t like coffee…”
“Great for her. I like coffee. You like coffee. We should drink coffee.” Lucas said. He could hear him take another sip.
She put a plate of tea cakes on the tray, along with a cream and sugar cup.
“Gary, damn it, look at me.” And Garrett did so, finding Lucas a bit more red in the face than usual. “Buddy, I’m not coming anymore if you don’t do something. This is sad to watch. The least you could do is man up and ask the girl.” He gestured wildly, hands over his heart. “Take pity on me, Gary. Do it for me. I just can’t watch this anymore.
And then her sweet, sing-song voice rang in his ears. “Did you need something?”
Garrett looked up, and there she was. Smooth, pale skin, large dark brown eyes, and long blonde hair held up in a bun. A loose curly lock of hair framed the left side of her face. She held the tray she had set up at the counter by the handles on either side. She was looking to Lucas, his waving and flailing must have caught her attention.
He smirked mischievously to Garrett, and then looked to Tabitha. “Oh, dear, not me. But, my best bud Gary really needed to say something.”
Garrett’s heart plummeted. He could feel the blood in his veins turn to ice as that wonderful face turned his way, her eyebrows raised expectantly. His mouth made half-noises and sputtered, completely unhelpful in the light of her eyes. All he could really manage was to smile, and raise his teacup.
“Are you trying to say you like it?” she said, tilting her head to the side. That stray lock of hair swung out free in the open, tense air without a care in the world.
He nervously nodded. His vocal cords had apparently decided to rebel against him, disobeying any demands he made. Though, his jaw and lips were not much better.
She beamed, and what a glorious smile it was. “Thank you! Just let me know if you’d like more! I’d be more than happy to brew some more!” And then she was off, weaving her way through the crowded café.
“Jesus Christ, Gary. I think that was the most painful, awkward thing I’ve ever seen in life,” Lucas said, setting his cup down. “You are hopeless. I don’t say that about anyone, but geez, if anyone is, it is you. You can’t even talk to the broad.”
“Don’t talk about her like that. She’s a goddess.” Garrett said, perhaps too sharply.
Lucas held up his hands. “I surrender. No need to threaten me with a teacup, of all things.” Garrett hadn’t noticed he had pointed the delicate cup towards the Brooklyn native. “Look. If all you do is watch her, how are you going to get to know her?”
“I know a lot about her. She’s in the top ten of our class, her favorite food is—” Garrett started.
“Buddy, this isn’t no questionnaire. No pop quiz,” Lucas interrupted, “Sure you might know some facts about her, but you don’t know why. Why does she like what she likes? Hell, do you even know why she works here?”
Garrett looked down at his teacup, watching the brown, mirror like surface of the tea reflect his face.
“I think I’ve made my point.” Lucas said, as he got up from his plush leather armchair.
“Where are you going?”
Lucas chuckled. “I’m going home, Gary. You should too, if you are just gonna stay here and stare at the poor girl like a creep. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Garret waved a goodbye, watching his friend leave through the stained glass front door. He scanned the café for Tabitha, but couldn’t see her. Perhaps she had gone in the back to take a break.
Lucas was right. He had tried to talk to her multiple times, but he always froze around her, too afraid he would say something wrong. Who was he kidding? Everything he ever said was wrong. He took another sip of tea, but even it’s soothing warmth and aroma wasn’t enough to make it any less true.
And then, the most miraculous thing happened. From seemingly nowhere, an angelic figure came to sit at the armchair Lucas had sat in, and set her apron down at the table between them.
It was Tabitha. As their eyes met, she smiled, and said “Do you mind if I keep you company while I take a break?”
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Avalon Academy #2, Tea Time