Sir Clayton and the Coffee

Brandon Judah
Jul 30, 2017 · 6 min read

“Sir Clayton, the king is dead, and the entire army is at your command!”

Sir Clayton sat tall on his brown, Arabian horse. He observed the thousands of men gathered around him. They were beaten, worn, and bleeding from the battle. The rushing river in front of them laughed in betrayal. The violent waves whispered defeat to each other and mocked the army. The enemy army was advancing, and Sir Clayton and his army were cornered. Sir Clayton watched the enemy army and glanced at the river. He moved his head back and forth between both vices before he charged, “Forward!”

“Into the river?” A soldier cried in hysterics. “We shall die!”

“Keep your faith and strength, man!” Sir Clayton encouraged. “Stay with me, and you will go home!”

The men cheered and followed behind their new leader. Sir Clayton led his horse into the cold water. The waves lapped against them and tried knocking them over. Sir Clayton held his balance and continued moving. He looked back and saw the enemy army sprinting after them. They were losing ground, and the entire army had to cross before victory. His horse swam, and the water rose to his chest. An arrow whizzed past Sir Clayton’s side. Sir Clayton ducked and lost his balance, falling into the water. The weight of his armor began drowning him. He gasped for help and tried clutching anything to help him to the surface. Sir Clayton began trying to take off his armor. His horse kicked before…

“Welcome to Starbucks!”

Clayton blinked. He was standing at the counter with a large line beginning to form behind him. A businessman in line scoffed at the inconvenience Clayton was causing for everyone. The overly enthusiastic barista kept her large smile and waited for Clayton to respond. He said nothing.

“What can I get you?” She asked.
“Umm…I’m not ready yet, actually,” Clayton said. He stepped aside. “Go ahead, sir.”

The businessman rolled his eyes and ordered as Clayton walked to the end of the line. Clayton looked at his watch.

“Eight.” He thought to himself. That’s how many minutes he had to get in and walk back to the office. He would never make it. Why did they give him a large order with only ten minutes to spare? Right, because he was the intern. Probably another one of their tests. Clayton took a deep breath.

Sir Clayton gasped for air as one of the captains dragged him onto shore. Their army had crossed, losing not one soldier. The enemy army tried crossing the river, but the river rose higher. Floods of water tackled the enemy army. Sir Clayton and his army were victorious.

“Victory!” The soldiers yelled in triumph. Sir Clayton took off his armor and mounted back onto his horse. The army chanted his name as Sir Clayton rode among them.

“Soldiers…men…brothers!” Sir Clayton began. “Today, we defeated our enemy! Today, we live in peace! Today…”

Sir Clayton stopped and his jaw dropped. A large figure flew over the mountain and straight towards them. Its gigantic body covered the sun, and the shadow covered the grass. The smell of sulfur wisped the air and covered the army.

“Dragon!” A captain screamed. The dragon breathed out a rush of fire straight at the army. The flames danced to the men.

“Run! Run!” The men cried. Soldiers and horses sprinted towards the mountain, pushing and running over each other.

“Excuse me…Excuse me!” An annoyed customer said, trying to push past Clayton.

“Sorry,” Clayton replied and moved back. He bumped into a shelf of merchandise and almost knocked over a shelf of mugs. The clanking mugs commanded the attention of the entire coffee shop. Clayton smiled, trying to keep everything cool and under control. He fixed what he had moved and resumed his place back in line. He checked his watch. Six minutes. There was no way he would make it back in time. Clayton looked at the people in line in front of him. An older couple…teenage girls…why were they even there? They ordered a venti Java Chip Frappuccino. That’s so expensive! A runner…a soccer mom. Clayton yawned then snapped to attention. A beautiful girl with dark brown hair was ordering at the counter. Clayton’s eyes widened, and he inched closer to the counter to listen.

“Name?” The barista asked.

“Rebecca,” she replied as she handed over her gold member card.

Sir Clayton looked behind and saw the dragon soaring towards him. His Arabian horse was losing stamina.

“Keep going, keep going!” Sir Clayton urged. “To the mountain!” Sir Clayton needed to reach the mountain and out of the open field then he could find shelter against the dragon. The creature breathed again and a stream of flames barely reached the back of Sir Clayton’s neck, only singeing a small amount of his air. Sir Clayton and his horse had reached the mountain, and they ran through the mountain forest. The dragon hovered over them, waiting to catch its prey. Sir Clayton and his horse tiptoed deeper into the forest. A castle tower appeared before them. A lady was sitting at the window. She was the lost Princess Rebecca.

“Princess!” Sir Clayton exclaimed. “I will save you!”

The dragon heard Sir Clayton and released more fire at him. Sir Clayton kicked his horse and charged towards the tower, dodging the balls of fire.

“Do your worst, fiend!” Sir Clayton charged at the dragon. “You are no match for Sir Clayton!”

The dragon swooped down and wacked its tail at Sir Clayton. The princess shrieked. Sir Clayton was knocked off of his horse. The dragon opened his mouth and an ocean of fire blasted at him. Sir Clayton grabbed his shield and covered himself from the fire. The heat grew intense, but Sir Clayton held his ground. He grabbed his sword. There was only one way this would end.

“Do you know what you want now?” The barista asked politely but with a forced smile.

“Me?” Clayton replied as he rubbed his eyes.

“Yes, you. The one who went back in line.”

“Umm…” Clayton saw Rebecca waiting for her drink at the end of the counter.

“Give me a Pike’s,” Clayton said. Simple.

“Size?”

“Tall.”

“Room?”

“What?” Clayton said.

“Would you like room?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Name?”

“Since when did you all ask so many questions for a simple drink?

“Sir, it’s Starbucks,” the barista replied.

“Right,” Clayton said. He saw Rebecca checking her phone.

“Name?” The barista asked adamantly. Her enthusiastic spirit and patience quickly left her body.

“Clayton.”

“Thank you, Clayton. That’ll be $1.80.”

“Here,” Clayton said as he tossed over a gift card. Another barista handed Rebecca her drink. She sipped it to make sure it was done right.

“Sorry, Clayton,” the barista said. “But, you have nothing on this card.”
“Seriously?” Clayton said in frustration. He fumbled for a five-dollar bill in his wallet. He slid it across the counter. “Keep the change.”

“Wow! Thanks!” The barista exclaimed with a sudden change in attitude. She turned to make his coffee.

“Please, hurry up!” Clayton screamed internally. He watched Rebecca as she strolled out the door.

“One Pike’s!” The barista said with a smile.

“Thank you!” Clayton rushed.

“I thought I’d make it a Grande instead,” the barista beamed.

Clayton snatched his coffee and rushed out the door.

“Excuse me, sir,” an elderly woman stopped him.

“WHAT NOW,” Clayton yelled inside his head.

“I believe you dropped your card.”

The woman pointed to the golden card on the floor. Clayton picked it up and read, “Rebecca Ricci.”

“Thank you!” Clayton said. “It’s actually my friend’s card.”

Clayton dashed out of the Starbucks and into the parking lot. A blue car pulled out and began to drive away. Rebecca’s silhouette framed in the window.

“Excuse me!” Clayton yelled, waving the car down.

Rebecca stopped her car and cracked her window down. Clayton approached her car, but slowed down, realizing how creepy this could look.

“Hi…I…I’m Clayton.”

“Hi, Clayton, what do you want?”

“You dropped your card.” Clayton handed her the golden card. Rebecca smiled in gratitude and rolled her window down further.

“Thanks! Well, have a good day,” Rebecca said, and she began to drive forward.

“Wait!” Clayton exclaimed. Rebecca tapped on her brakes and raised her eyebrows at him.

“Yes?” She said.

“I was wondering if…”

Clayton’s Apple watch lit up and began ringing. It was his supervisor calling him. Clayton’s face fell in a sigh and began to contemplate if he should ignore the call or not. Before he could decide, Rebecca smiled and drove away as she rolled up her window. Clayton had lost his chance. He picked up his phone.

“Hello…yes…I’m here still…yes…the line is fairly long…you ordered a lot of drinks…yes, I know you said ten…I’ll be there soon.”

Clayton sighed. He started whistling and turned back into Starbucks for another adventure.

Charlie, Will, & Lew

A collection of stories

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