A Stranger, Some Coffee, and a Story

What makes a coffee shop so interesting? I mean, it’s just a coffee shop, of all places. Just a place people go to sip on drinks perfectly crafted to their tastes, eat the occasional sweet or savory snack, and do work. The answer is simple; it is people. People make coffee shops interesting.

The fascinating thing about people is that they are all different. No one person looks the same, thinks the same, or even behaves the same. It’s just like American TV personality Tila Tequila said, “I think every person has their own identity and beauty. Everyone being different is what is really beautiful. If we were all the same, it would be boring.”

Everyone has their own life. Everyone has their own problems and concerns. Everyone has a story.

So, as I’m sitting in the corner of the bustling coffee shop, can you guess whose story piqued my interest? No, it wasn’t the couple arguing over what to do later. No, it wasn’t the group of friends occupying a table, laughing, and joking around. It was the girl who sat all alone in a room filled with people. She occupied a singular seat inside this imitation of a plane’s body. Yes, you read that correctly this coffee shop had a fake body of a plane you could sit inside of. That alone should have been interesting enough, but this particular girl emitted an aura unlike anyone else around her.

Maybe it was confidence, as she sat with her legs perfectly crossed and shoulders squared. Maybe it was boredom, as she sat with no bookbag or computer in sight. Or perhaps it was curiosity, as she occasionally looked around the room at people giving an occasional smile here and there. Whatever it was, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

As I sipped my coffee, I would periodically observe the girl seemingly staring off into the distance as if daydreaming about something. Daydreaming about exactly what I could not guess. My best guess would have to be daydreaming about being on an airplane and going to an exotic location like the Bahamas, Caribbean, or even Hawaii. Perhaps she longed for a change of scenery or a vacation. Had the stress of college gotten to her? Did she have too many assignments? Too many tests? Did she have friend drama? Relationship drama? Question after question poured into my mind as I tried to decipher what was going on in her own world she had created.

It wasn’t until the girl accidently spilled her drink on her hand that she snapped out of her daydream. From what I can assume, her drink was hot because she pulled her hand back in a manner that one would only do if burned by something. What I found really interesting was that as she looked at her hand, she didn’t let out a curse at being burned, or even let out a scowl on her face. When I looked at her, a slight smile was adjourning her face. She even went as far as letting out a couple of laughs at her predicament.

Though at first, I could not distinguish the emotions flashing through her eyes, there was one emotion that I did recognize, hope. There was hope in her eyes. Hope for what you might ask. Well, that still remains a mystery. Perhaps the hope in her eyes was for her daydream to be a reality. To be able to do all she wants to do, to accomplish her goals, or to achieve the life she always wanted. All I know, is that as I threw away my cup of coffee and walked out of the building, I had one thing on my mind, what’s her story?

About them beans
Who: The quiet observer in the corner
Where: The Starbucks in Cottrell
When: Wednesday afternoon in January
What I’m drinking: Caffé Misto