City of Stars & Shadow | Three. Coincidence

This is the third part of the story. Read Part One here, or Part Two here.

Ara wiped down the to-go cup before she handed it to the customer in the blue sedan. The guy driving didn’t say thank you; he just sped off, nearly crashing into the bollard that stood guard against drivers like him. She shook her head and ducked back into the building to grab the next drink.

It had been a long day already when she woke up, and now, just three hours into her double shift, she was ready for sleep. She hadn’t last night; she was too busy looking over her shoulder for witch hunters.

Maybe the mugger didn’t know I was a witch, she thought to herself as she worked. Maybe he bought the knife because he thought it was cool. Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s for.

Ara shook the maybes from her head and tried to focus on work. It didn’t work. She needed something that would take up brainpower. Working the drive-thru of a drink hut didn’t take much brainpower. It was hard work, but not very cerebral.

She picked up the next drink and turned to hand it to the next customer when she dropped it.

It was the mugger from the night before.

Did he recognize her? Was he here to finish the job? Did he know she was a witch? How did he find her? Was it really him? Why was he here? Was this the end?

The questions swirled around her like flies to a corpse.

He honked his horn and swore.

No, she reasoned. He’s just here for an over-priced energy drink…which I just dropped. Ara apologized to the mugger and asked him to pull around with the promise of not just another drink, but a cookie, too.

He grumbled but agreed, pulling his car around and parking in the fire lane.

Ara turned to her manager, tears brimming in her eyes, and told her what happened. Morgan shook her head and said, “I need you to pull it together.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ara hated how small her voice sounded as she spoke. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Well, get it together. We’re here all day, and I can’t have you dropping every other drink!”

For the third time that day, Ara thought about quitting. This was her second job, she only needed it to eat. She could cover rent and all her other bills from her first job, and she could stand to lose a few pounds.

Instead, she said, “Yes, ma’am.”  She passed out more drinks, thankful that Morgan took her attacker’s drink and apology cookie to him herself.

It has to be a coincidence. Dallas is really a small town. He’s probably local.

When it was time for her break, she drew a protection sigil in her complimentary drink with whipped cream and stirred it with intention. It would keep her safe until it was time to clock out in another eight hours. Goddess protect me.