Private Caffeinated Only Please

Kalvin shrugged one shoulder to adjust the heavy backpack as he entered the Rush Cafe. It was after his usual classes, and the next agenda he had was work. Before he could clock in, Kalvin needed some much-needed coffee first. Maybe he should get three or four cups more than usual. Like the other night and the night before that, last night had been a rather sleepless one. "Stupid ghost," he muttered, eyes dark and heavy, as he stepped in line.

After days of insomnia, Kal was so ready to crash at this point. If he didn't have work to do, he'd be glad to get into a booth here and doze off. If his pride would let him sleep in a public area, he probably would. Idly, Kalvin looked around the place. They had comfortable-looking seats at least. Maybe he could go to that empty corner booth and take a nap. Kalvin checked the time on his phone. He had about an hour and a half before he needed to clock in. He can squeeze in enough time for a power nap, right?

Kalvin was too engaged with his own thoughts to notice that the line was moving forward. He was slow to react and walk up to the counter when he realized that it was his turn to order. He looked at the employee behind the counter. He bent forward, his already terrible posture becoming more curved. Tall as he was, the way he was standing was bringing him down to the same height as the female employee. "Hey, tell me. If I ordered a cup with more sugar, would that reduce the effect of the caffeine?" he asked quietly, hoping she'd keep the inquiry between the two of them. He already knew in the back of his mind that the question was quite stupid.

@Oliver

"Oh, okay. Right, right," Kalvin said, the shame and certainty that it was a stupid question now slowly consuming the edges of his mind. Yeah, of course, it didn't. She probably thought he was dumb for even asking if the giggle said anything. His speech was probably already dull and slow from the lack of sleep. If he was prone to blushing, he'd probably be a dark shade of pink by now. Luckily, he wasn't. He made a small nod and shifted his eyes to the menu above. Despite raising his gaze, his form remained slouched. If sugar wasn't going to give him a boost, he may as well skip it.

"In that case, can I get two large cups of caffe macchiato and one medium cinnamon latte? To go, please," he said before quickly adding, "Actually, can you add one medium macchiato for dine-in?"

With that, Kalvin began to pull out his wallet. As he often did, he used the stub of what remained of his left hand to pin the wallet to his body. He used his right hand to open the wallet, pull out some bills, place them on the counter, and tuck his wallet back in his pant pocket.

Kalvin waited until the employee took his payment. He nodded and headed to the booth in the corner that he'd been eying. As he walked to the booth, he looked back at the stare the girl had given his stub. He was used to people staring at it. He couldn't care less for how they thought of him, but the sympathy was what really got under his skin. When he was much younger and more temperamental, he couldn't stand other people's sympathetic looks at the sight of a missing hand. Every time he knew he could win a fight, he'd bare his teeth and challenge the sucker who looked so damn sorry for his condition.

Kalvin sighed, internally cringing at the stupidity of his younger self. He was lucky to encounter people with enough sense to avoid a one-handed teenager's challenges. Now, it was easier to look past the stares and sympathy. For some reason, however, his sleep-lacking brain chose to notice that last one. It was strange to think about those things again. It almost felt like someone else's problems whenever he forgot that he was disabled by a missing hand.

Getting comfortable in the quiet booth, Kalvin leaned against the table. He looked around. Not many people could see him if he snuggled into the corner for a nap. Although, that would be quite suspicious, wouldn't it?

It wasn't so much the ruckus that came after the accident that woke Kalvin enough to stand on his feet. It was the sight of his backpack absorbing coffee that placed Kalvin into total awareness. He immediately took some of the paper towels on the table and dabbed them over the most coffee-stained areas, the apology rushing in from one ear out to the other.

After he got the worst of it out, he opened the bag and pulled out his laptop. He checked that it was free of any unwanted wetness before he set it down on the table carefully with a relieved sigh. Thank god for small miracles? After that, he rounded up on the employee who did the damage. It was difficult not to keep his voice low and his patience long, but he somehow managed. "Can I get more paper towels?" he said instead, unable to entirely hide his frustration at the turn of events.

Kalvin shook his head, suddenly very aware of the stares from the nearby tables and from the rest of the people in the cafe that had a clear line of sight to them. He felt himself sitting down on the table and somewhat shrinking behind the cover of the back of the chair he was on. "It's fine," he said, not entirely believing the statement himself. "There's no need for that."

He glanced at the girl who spilled the coffee on his backpack--by accident, he reminded himself. She seemed genuinely apologetic about what happened. Still, that didn't change the fact that he'd have to get the bag to a cleaner's soon. "Look, it's okay. I got this," he said gently, looking at the girl. "Can you take care of the floor and the new batch of coffee?"