Outsiders and Percabeth

Kendall Vukona

Kendall above

"Vanilla latte for Kamila?" I called out loudly and held the drink up with my hands. When no one moved forward to claim the drink, I rolled my eyes and looked around the busy café. "Vanilla latte, no cream for Kamila!" I called again but still, no girl came forward. 

Suddenly there was a shout from the back. "That's mine!" A teenage boy with elegant winged eyeliner and red lips pushed though. "Hey," he said and picked the latte up. "Thanks." He smiled. 

"You're Kamila?" I asked, shocked. The boy's smiled faded a little and his expression turned defensive.

"Yeah. You've never seen a transgender person before?"

"Sorry, ah of course I have," I said and smiled sheepishly. "Have a nice day, Kamila." 

Kamila took a sip of her latte as she left the café. I turned to face the next customer. A boy around my age with jet black hair and striking green eyes was scanning the menu behind me, a frazzled expression on his features. "Hi, what can I get for you today?" 

They boy looked up and frowned in confusion. It was kinda cute. "Hi," he said and pointed at the strawberry sensation on the menu. "Is this one nice?" 

"Um yeah," I said and looked at the growing cue of customers in caution. "It's very sweet, you might not like it too much."

The boy's eyes met mine suddenly. "Not for me. I'm getting something for my girlfriend but I forgot what she asked for. I'm such an idiot." 

I smiled and pointed at a coffee near the bottom left of the menu. "If it's coffee that she wants then I'd go for this one. The caramel frappe. It's got coffee in it but also a little bit of sweetness." 

Percy scratched his head absentmindedly, his eyebrows scrunching together as he scrutinised the picture of the drink. "No," he mused, "too milky. She likes the strong stuff." 

I scanned the menu again, that time pointing at a dark coloured drink with a milky surface. "A flat white with two or three expresso shots would be perfect for her then." I glanced behind the boy where customers were growing impatient. 

"That sounds good," the boy said then shrugged, "I think." 

"Can I have a name for that please?" I asked, holding a take-away cup in one hand and a vivid in another. 

"Percy Jackson," the boy said and pulled out a wad of cash. "How much?" 

He paid then moved to the side of the café and waited for his drink to brew. I manned the coffee machine so my co-worker Drew manned the till and got through about seven customers. She poked her tongue out at me and I laughed. We had some sort of competition going to see who could get through the most orders in a day and I had failed spectacularity with Percy. He took ages. 

A minute passed and a hot cup was pushed into my hand. I read the name and held it up. "I have a flat white for Percy" 

Percy's head whipped to the side so fast I thought he'd get whiplash and strode forward. He took the cup from my hand, eyes widening at the hot temperature of the cup. "Thanks, Kendall," he said, reading my name tag. I smiled and waved as he exited the store.

I sighed in content and smiled, remembering the way he looked when he was deciding what to get for his girlfriend. It was adorable. I cooed softly to myself and got back to work.

"Hi, how can I help you?" I asked, turning to face my next customer. She smiled back and pointed at the caramel frappe. 

"My boyfriend doesn't know I'm here. He had to duck out somewhere so I snuck out to buy us coffees." She grinned at me and I couldn't help but grin back. "I'll take a a caramel frappe for him, but what to get for me?" 

I pointed at one of our top-sellers and looked at her questioningly. She shuddered, and rolled her sparkling grey eyes. "Ew no, flat whites are the worst." 

She pushed her long, blonde hair behind her ears and pointed at the strawberry sensation. "That one for me please."

I took my notepad. "So that's one caramel frappe and one strawberry sensation. Is that all?" The girl nodded. "Can I have a name for that please?"

The girl paid and smiled again. "Annabeth Chase."