The Pre-Dawn Rush
By Sage Collins
“16-ounce caramel no-foam macchiato, half-soy, half-almond milk, add one shot of espresso, extra caramel drizzle on top, in a 24-ounce cup.”
My fingers, though oversized compared to a human’s, fly across the screen with the dexterity of someone who’s often dealt with the modifications every customer seems to have. And humans are the worst.
By the purpling of the sky, my next customer’s cutting it close. “Blended blood latte, no whip, AB-negative. Unless you have Rh null?” the vampire asks hopefully. Honestly, vamps are no better than humans.
I shoot him my best withering look—my towering stature makes me intimidating, but sadly this is my only superpower—and he slinks to the pick-up counter. I place a rush on the order, even though the baristas hate making blended drinks. If this vamp doesn’t get to shelter soon, he’ll be taking up occupancy in our bathroom, and as the only non-human scheduled today, I’ll be the one who has to babysit him every time a human wants to pee.
Only a slightly worse job than taking increasingly complicated orders all day.
A werewolf joins the line, fresh off last night’s full-moon if her disheveled state’s any indication. It’s attractive in a tousled-hair sorta way, and I only wish my fur looked half as good after a wild night. I envy the werewolves and their ability to pass as human most of the time. I can’t tell you how many humans sneer as they see me at the counter, imagining my fur in their drinks. Look, I’m working the cash register instead of making drinks for a reason.
Werewolves always have the wildest orders, so I sigh when she finally reaches the counter, my fingers poised over the screen for the inevitable modifications.
“12-ounce black coffee.”
I think I’m in love.
By day, Sage Collins is an aquatic toxicologist, keeping water safe from polluters, viruses, and supervillains; by night, she’s a supermoderator on Absolute Write Water Cooler’s forums, where she runs the Flash Fiction Challenge. Along with haunting Rat Bag Lit, her stories appear in My Galvanized Friend, Novellum, and Starspun Lit.