Chapter Text
Brooklyn walked out to her car on a cold November morning with her head held high. She had been through a lot through the past few weeks. Months, even. Oh, let’s be honest. Years. She felt like she was finally on the other side of the pain. She had “made it.” Work was good, she let go of people that she no longer needed, and she had never been so confident. It sounds like there’s no story to tell. She didn’t think there would be, either.
This is her favorite time of year. The air is just cold enough to turn her cheeks a rosy shade, but it isn’t making her shiver. She pulls the black cardigan a little tighter around her body with one arm as she sips her triple espresso with the other. It’s going to be a good day, she thinks. It has to be. She has a habit of convincing herself that the universe “owes her” a good day. She’s had too many bad ones in a row. Usually, she’s right. She opens her car door, briefly realizing she forgot to lock her car again last night when she got home. In my defense, it was late. And the pit bull next door was growling at me again. She sets down her now quarter-empty coffee in the cupholder as she pushes the start button to her car. She’s eternally grateful that her mother got tired of her car and decided to give it to her 16-year-old daughter. She buckles up, takes one last sip of her coffee, and heads to work.
She’s tired of listening to the same two songs that the radio plays, so she makes yet another mental note to take the time to set up her bluetooth connection with her phone before she drives home later. Her mind wanders to the day ahead. She’s prepared for a fairly typical day. She works at a local restaurant. It’s a mom-and-pop place, except mom and pop both died, leaving it in the hands of a silent partner named Scott. He’s quite detached from the establishment, and he’s missing a thumb. It’s irrelevant, but it’s the first thing Brooklyn thinks of when she hears his name. Anyway, she started out as a host about a year ago. She’s worked her way up to waitress, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is one of her biggest accomplishments. She’s the youngest person to work there. Her parents aren’t exactly the most hands-on people, but her coworkers, or her plethora of work parents and siblings, more than make up for it. If she’s being honest, Brooklyn is more comfortable in this restaurant than she is in her own home. She uses it as an escape from her complicatedly “perfect” home life. Plus, she gets paid to be there. What could be better?
The drive is short and one she’s convinced she could make in her sleep. She pulls into her favorite parking space and takes a deep breath. It’s going to be a good day. As she gets out of the car, she immediately smiles and greets the people sitting outside with genuine happiness. Even though she was here just last night, she had already begun to miss some of the people she works with.
“Morning, Brook! Another coffee? Really?” Elle moved to give her a hug but gave her a disapproving glance. She knows the crash will hit around 1, and she’ll find Brooklyn asleep at the bar.
“I know, I know. I can’t help myself, Elle. I’m tired.” Brooklyn always tells everyone that she’ll stop the dramatic caffeine intake, but she knows she never will.
“Yeah, yeah. Aren’t we all? Okay. News on the street. We got a new guy.” At the news, Brooklyn audibly gasped. New hires weren’t anything abnormal. The turnover in this business is insane. But, they always tried to make a big deal out of it.
“Ooh. Is he hot?” By the look on Elle’s face, she knew the answer was no.
“Brooklyn. You HAVE to stop asking that every time someone new walks through the doors.” Although she was being serious, Elle couldn’t help but smile.
“Okay, but one day, the answer will be yes. I want to be ready for that day.” Brooklyn’s smile grew brighter as she thought about the more attractive coworkers that have come and gone.
“You’re more than ready. You’d flirt with a rock if it would banter back.” She had a flirty personality, but that’s an exaggeration.
“Stop, I’m not that bad.” She smirked, knowing there was some truth in what Elle was implying. She’s had some fun conversations.
“B, remember your last boyfriend? Did you want to be in that relationship?” Brooklyn didn’t have the best track record with guys. Her last relationship lasted a month, and it was a case of what she called “flirting gone too far.”
“Stop, I remember. It wasn’t my fault. I mean, it literally was, but it was an accident.” She hated talking about the situation. She wasn’t proud of it. But, it did happen.
“Okay, but you know that there shouldn’t be accidental relationships, right?” Brooklyn rolled her eyes and pulled Elle towards the door. “Right.”
—
“Brook! Thank God you’re here.” Brooklyn was generally seen as an unofficial manager. If there was a problem, she paid enough attention that she probably knew how to fix it. Everyone relied on her. Even the real managers. For example, the manager on duty was already asking her questions. “Do you know how to fix the TV? I think Scott might stop in today. You know how he gets. I would mess with it, but I have to figure out where the closet keys are to get the new guy a shirt.”
“Yeah, no problem. Just let me go clock in. Oh, and the extra key should be the one with the green cover on the spare set.” She didn’t mind helping out. She really didn’t. But, sometimes the work got tedious. She finished up her coffee as she prepared for the day.
“Chris, shut up. Stop goofing off. It’s your first day. Get to work.” Daniel was the one person Brooklyn was still kind of scared of. He had long hair, sounded like he smoked ten packs a day for the past thirty years, and yelled if things weren’t up to his standards. (Spoiler alert: They usually weren’t up to his standards.) Brook looked at the lanky teenager standing in the dish room. She’d never seen him before, so she could only assume he was Chris, the new hire. How could Daniel already hate this guy? Now didn’t seem like the best time to stick around and talk to either of them, so she turned away and fixed the TVs without a second thought.
—
She stood next to the back wait station waiting for the tea to finish brewing when she heard the kitchen door swing open beside her. Chris made eye contact with her and reached in front of her to get a to-go cup. She found herself noticing that he had nice eyes. And, damn, he was tall. She shyly smiled and thought about introducing herself, but as she opened her mouth, he smirked, turned away, and returned to the kitchen. She spent a few moments lost in thought about the odd interaction that just took place, but as she heard the tea stop brewing, she blinked a few times to clear her head and reached for the sugar container. What just happened?