Impromptu

Machines whir as they spit out hot liquid, permeating the air with scents of fresh coffee. As the coffee machines quiet down, something else hums as loudly as the soft music. One of the baristas chuckles at a joke her coworker shares while pouring cream into a blue to-go cup. Her laugh is the kind that takes over her entire body, proving that she really is enjoying the humor.

Caffeine-addicted students form a short line, only two or three people long, so that they can order their iced vanilla lattes and medium campfire mochas. The wait time is short at this time of the morning, with people waiting only a minute or three. One girl stands in a statuesque position, her headphones taming her hair and cream-colored backpack dwarfing her. A smile never cracks her face the entirety of the wait time.

The joyful barista offers a woman her beverage while saying, “Have a good day!” The barista’s hair is tied tight on top of her head with the fly-aways hidden underneath a branded visor. She makes the blue t-shirt and brownish-gray apron look fashionable as she moves from one side of the small shop to the other.

In front of the coffee shop, students diligently work on their laptops. A few tables house groups that spend more time socializing than finishing homework. One such group has not even opened their backpacks, instead spending their time talking about today’s Wordle and translating English into Portuguese. Once the small talk is done, each person pulls out their phone and focuses on solving the New York Times Games.

Suddenly the baristas lose whatever downtime they had earlier. The line grows longer, and customers take a little longer to order. Each barista makes a coffee, packages a baked good and washes some dishes. The manager checks on everyone working, making sure they do not have questions or need help as clouds of steam rise from machines.

Just as quickly as the rush showed up, everyone disappears. Even mobile orders appear to have come to a halt momentarily. Sometime during the rush, one of the baristas left and a new one joined the fray. He did not have enough time to grab an apron right away, so he takes this break to put one on. Machines and tools are cleaned and food is prepped once the baristas find themselves standing around before finding something to do to prepare for the next rush.

—Sara