Coffee Shop

The weather outside reflected Kaitlin Anderson's mood. Cloudy. For the first time in months, rain poured from the sky, causing the temperature outside to finally feel like the time of year it was - winter.

Kaitlin would have much preferred the sunshine.

Said teen nervously sipped her coffee, staring out the rain-streaked window of the small coffee shop. It was noon on a Sunday, and Kaitlin had nothing better to do. Not that she ever did, of course. Not since her mother had moved her to this small town. While she knew the people who had lived here all their lives didn't think the same, it was hard for her not to find this place excruciatingly boring on the best of days when she compared it to her old home in the city.

She was honestly surprised that this place had a coffee shop - she hadn't thought they'd even heard of things like this out here. Granted, it was no Starbucks, but it was better than sitting at home.

There weren't very many people out and about on Sundays here; they were either in church or at home, seeing as almost everything was closed. Still, there were a few people milling around the small shopping complex that held a grocery store, a movie rental, a pizza place, and this little coffee shop.

Kaitlin attempted to amuse herself by watching them. There was an elderly couple, neither of which looked strong enough to be out of their home, a worn-looking woman with three children of ages roughly three through nine and one baby, and some redheaded guy who looked like he had an attitude

Of them, only the guy appeared to be heading toward the coffee shop.

'Great. I hope he doesn't hit on me.' She'd had too much of that in the past week. Apparently, any new girl in the town got the boys attention.

Draining the last of her coffee, Kaitlin made her way to the counter, intending to get a refill. Seventeen was too young to be a coffee addict, Kaitlin decided, yet she was. Her dark brown eyes scanned over the menu. Before she knew it, she was next in line, and the girl at the counter looked extremely impatient. "Can I help you?" She muttered in a bored tone.

Kaitlin hesitated for only an instant. What did she want. As she opened her mouth to reply, a voice behind her spoke up. "Yea, I need a iced-hot chocolate. To go, please."

She whipped around to face the speaker, finding the boy from the street staring down at her. He's sort of cute... The thought quickly left her mind as she glared at him. "I was next in line, you know."

"Yeah? And you were taking too long. Good Lord, it's a coffee shop. You tell the people what you want, get your order, and drink your coffee. It's not a difficult process."

"I didn't know what they had!" Kaitlin protested, watching as the girl at the counter handed the red-head his drink. Flustered, she turned back to the counter. " I need a caramel latte."

"New in town?"

She turned around, to find the teen still behind her. He took a sip of his drink, staring at her through blue eyes. He was short for a guy, probably no taller than 5'10, Kaitlin would have guessed. Thin, with shaggy red hair... and was that blue tips at the end?

The girl blinked for a moment, taking her order from the girl, and nodding slowly. "I moved here a few weeks ago."

"Where from?"

"Las Vegas. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, "Just curious. You look like you're from a big city."

She nearly choked on her latte.

"Just what is so obvious about that?"

He rolled his eyes, "You obviously know nothing about small-town life. Otherwise you wouldn't be staring out the window of Rio Java looking like you're about to fall asleep."

Brushing a strand of hair out of her face, Kaitlin blinked up at him and replied, "You mean that there are actually things to do around here?"

The teen nodded, "If you know where to look." Dark blue eyes scanned her up and down, before he gave her a slight smile, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Caleb Motomiya, by the way."

She nervously took his hand, and shook it lightly, feeling a little more than uncomfortable. "Kaitlin Anderson."

"Starting school on Monday?"

The question startled her, though she wasn't sure why. "Yes. Monday morning, bright and early." She gave him a fake smile, which caused him to snort, and chuckle slightly. Alright, so he might be rude, but he did at least have sense of humor.

"Cool, I'm starting again on Monday. Haven't been there at all this school year. Looking forward to going back." He opened his mouth to say more, before a sound filled the air. He let out a small curse, looking down at his cell phone before answering it. Kaitlin was intrigued he didn't even answer the phone in English.

"I gotta go." Kaitlin watched as Caleb stood, and brushed a piece of hair away from his eyes. For the first time in the hour that she had known him, he gave her an honest to God smile. "It was nice meeting you, Kaitlin. I'll see you Monday?"

And with that, he was out the door.

Kaitlin twirled a lock of hair around her finger, anxiously waiting for the person who was supposed to show her around her new school. Why she needed anyone to show her around a school that would fit inside her old cafeteria she didn't know, but she was forced to wait by the office until her guide showed up.