𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘌𝘔𝘗𝘛𝘠 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘔𝘌 - HOZIER

I

ONE.

Vivienne shifted uncomfortably in her wooden seat, her knees pressed against the metal supports of the table, sure to leave deep imprints in her skin. As the woman in front of her talked away about the opportunity she offered, Vivienne silently wondered how any patrons sat here, overwhelmed by the horrifically bright ceiling lights and the constant background buzzing of the old machines. She endured it every day for barely above a livable wage, but the idea of paying to sit in this place made her shiver.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Gwendolyn's accent laced voice cut through Vivienne's thoughts like a knife through butter, pulling her from her internal ramblings and back to the conversation she had pulled her into on her break. Gwen had been a customer at the coffee shop for a while, always getting the same complicated order. Eventually, the sight of her flame red hair bouncing down the sidewalk made Vivienne's hands go straight for the cold foam and sugar free vanilla.

"I- Uh." Vivienne wiped a bit of avocado from her lip with her tongue. "What was his name again?"

"Jesus, Vivienne.... Where did you zone out?" The British woman giggled, not even caring of the other's shitty behavior. Vivienne marveled at how she did it— how she looked past horrible social skills and bad manners and still pushed to be somewhat close to her. Sure, their relationship was limited to the hours Vivienne spent stuck behind a counter, roasting coffee beans and serving the notoriously nice people of New York City; but she was the closest thing she had to a friend in a while.

Vivienne cleared her throat, dropping her sandwich onto the plate and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "There's some guy, he needs a drummer, you think I've got the skills, so you want me to audition or whatever."

"Not audition— I've shown him one of the recordings you sent me, the Red Hot Chili Peppers song? He loved it- practically drooled at your coordination."

Vivienne groaned, rolling the knot in her neck. "Those were private, man..."

"You're the one who emailed them to me knowing I've got a big mouth!" Gwen's words created a symphony with her sweet laugh, and Vivienne couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

"You're damn right." She took another bite of her sandwich to rest her stomach's rumbling, her mouth still full as she continued to talk. "But how do you expect me to fit this gig into my schedule?"

"Your schedule?" Gwen questioned, and Vivienne gave an even more confused expression.

"I've got every shift here under my belt, this place would crumble without me!" She gestured around to the shop, it's counters shining like polished gold under her solo supervision.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Quit this, hon."

"And what? Eat sleep for dinner? Fuck that." She scoffed, chowing down the rest of her sandwich embarrassingly fast. To be fair, she was barely eating a meal and a half a day on her pathetic salary, but it was better than what she previously made as a freelance drummer. "As much as I would love the job, I'm not going back to that shit. Playing drums full time ruined my life."

"And you're much better now?" Gwen cocked a brow, and Vivienne's mouth fell open. It was a low blow, sure, but sadly she wasn't wrong. The deep-set, indigo bags under her eyes told enough.

"Fucker..." She grumbled, "Fine, I'll take one day and meet this...."

"Andrew-"

"Andrew. Fuckin' shit name, too..." Vivienne picked up her plate and walked behind the counter, throwing it into the sink, ignoring Gwen's disapproving look along the way. "I'll meet him, but I'm not promising some bullshit fairytale to you that I'll become his drummer. Got it?"

"Fine. Tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow?" Vivienne whipped around to face Gwen, retying her gray apron around her neck as it had gone loose. Gwendolyn simply gave a shrug, as though her request wasn't outrageous.

"He's a busy man."

"You're his fuckin' publicist, clear his schedule for god's sake!" Vivienne fiddled with the worn down machine as she tried to start her 3rd caffeinated drink of the morning, her face twisting with annoyance as the hunk of metal began to buzz loudly at her.

"Can't. I'm busy too."

"Oh, you cunt..." Vivienne murmured.

"Me, or the machine?"

Vivienne slammed her open palm into the side of the machine, causing it to finally start dispensing rich espresso into the cup beneath it.

"Currently? You, because this piece of shit is keeping me alive right now." She pointed to the machine with a smile she couldn't hold back, and Gwen reflected it. "Now scram, I've got a lunch rush coming."

While the final word rolled off Vivienne's tongue, the bell rang as the front door was pushed open.

"Hello! Welcome to the Great Bean, what can I help ya' with?" Vivienne put on her best chirpy tone, words still under minded by her aggressive accent, but enough to get the customer walking in to not bitch at her as most did.

Gwen began to grab her things as Vivienne wrote down the patron's order. She waved to catch her attention as the man scanned the menu, mouthing the word "Tomorrow" as she turned to the door. Vivienne pretended to readjust the pencil in her hand, sneakily flipping her off before turning her attention back to the man.