He ended up ordering a black  coffee . That was what he had begun the tale with. Before all the lattes and  cappuccino s. It had been black coffee he started with. He liked the idea of it. Pure. Enjoyable. No complications.

That's what he needed in his life now. To...

The  cappuccino hit differently. He didn't find himself enjoying it. Instead he was rushing through it.

Well Max knew he would drink the first fast. He needed the caffeine, a little pick me up. But he didn't expect to be so dis-satisfied by it.

He was already looking ahead to the second...

He didn't have time for this. More than time, he didn't have the mind. A coffee. He needed a damn coffee. The first one from earlier in the morning had worn off. This he could feel now that the andrenaline of McKayla's accident had worn off.

Max said a sort of...

"No fucking way. That's got to be made up, man."

"I'm telling you," Johnny said with a grin as he leaned forward to drink the  cappuccino , and then leaned back while looking off over to the side. The grin was still pasted onto his face. "Sometimes strange things happen like...

rewrite of: on her way to visiting a high school friend Yours Truly

-----

There was snow, but not like she remembered growing up. Her memories of Decembers were whiter than Decembers today. Her mind pictured weeks, sometimes months, of total whiteness enveloping...

"What do you mean it wasn't that nice?"

"I just thought it was, hmm, meh I don't know."

There was a long pause as Shelly and Tom were walking. 

"I just can't believe we played there, and..." Tom was saying. 

She wasn't really listening to what Tom was saying she was imagining...

The  Blue Man was on a boat. He let the thought swim around in his head. He hadn't thought of himself like that in awhile. Had been Marc Love. Marco to everyone on the trip. Through various means he managed to escape it all to  Italy the sun surrounded him...

These days he woke up early. He'd made his money on a different schedule. Late night studio sessions that didn't end until morning. Going on the road and performing in front of crowds. It didn't matter if those shows ended at 10 or 11. By the time you got back...

"What are you doing here?"

Jack didn't know the answer himself.

"Nevermind, you know that everybody has been crazy worried about you?"

He never did consider this part when running away. He was too filled with his own emotions. Confronted with the question he felt childish.

"Sorry. It's nice to see you."

Professionally speaking, It...

Starvation. That's what people on the other side of the world faced. Keith read about it everyday in the news. He read a physical newspaper everyday with a cappuccino . Somehow K Man the barista convinced him to order a tall black.

The news felt less enjoyable alongside this abomination of...

The coffee this time was supposed to taste different. The barista told Keith. 

"Yeah, so this is like actually, my favorite drink atm." He pronounced each letter.

"Its supposed to be like an americano, but like more flavor right away." 

Keith now listening to him talking about this regretted his decision,...

It was the first cold morning of the fall. The summer must be over for good, thought Carol as she tugged her shirt trying to keep warm. Usually she got hot easily. Was the one trying to turn the thermostat lower. But today she had not anticipated this chill. Had...

Keith didn't mind the change. The change he'd just learned about from Ezekiel was beginning to sound even more optimal as he thought of it more.

He preferred doing the most difficult in the morning anyhow. From his observations, Group A did jack all in the afternoons so long as they...

So nice to see you, Jean greeted me with a hug.

After our pleasantries and a moment of silence where the both of us looked outside at the gentle snow fall she asked me something. Something real. Definitely the first real statement of our conversation.

I'm surprised to learn you're in  Westcity...

The next morning I went to the cafe just like I did every Wednesday around 9AM. The music was cafe-smooth Norah Jones . I ordered a black cup of house roast coffee , just like I always did when Norah was playing. Something about her made me enjoy that dark...

In wintertime I saw a woman in her 50s more often than not anytime I went to the cafe. Besides Sundays, I went everyday so she noticed me as well. Go to the cafe that often and you begin recognizing who comes regularly. Begin to notice out of those regulars...

It was after dropping off Sal for his afternoon Chemistry class that she had a day to spare. Just a few hours more honestly, but hours in the afternoon seemed to stretch on for her these days. Mornings and evenings would fly by but the liminal space of sunny, summer...