Notes

It was a very dreary afternoon. Brooke's clothes were sticking uncomfortably to her skin for the rain pouring from the sky, and she scowled at the fact that the weather said it wouldn't rain. But here she was, hustling through the streets trying to find a good place to stop and dry off. Brooke tended to take the train everywhere due to it being generally cheaper, but this is one of the days she did not find this very helpful.

She tried to keep her eyes peeled for a place she could stay and sit down at, a calm restaurant hopefully. After strung out minutes, Brooke thought she might have to resort to a bar. She was glad her bag was waterproof, because she needed to email her boss the reason she couldn't make it to the meeting today.

Finally, a shop came into view that seemed promising.

She couldn't get a great look at it due to the amount of people also trying to get to their destinations passing her shoulders, but it's bright colors seemed to shine against the murky atmosphere of the rest of town.

She shouldered her way inside, pushing the door open, and took a sigh of relief. As she closed the door, she shivered at the sudden change in temperature, and noticed the small ring above the door frame.

The best way Brooke could describe the store she walked into was /cute/. Even with how narrow the shop was, it felt cosy. The shop was painted in soft pastel colors, small vases of flowers sat at every table, which there weren't many of. At the back, a counter stuck out from the back wall. It held a small glass case, with mouth watering pastries. No one was manning the counter, but Brooke could hear clutter and light speech coming from a door behind the counter, presumably the kitchen.

Then, Brooke noticed the sign about the counter: /Demon's Cafe/ it read. The name was awfully the opposite the vibe of the quaint shop, Brooke chuckled lightly about the contrast.

This seemed to alert whoever was in the kitchen, as the talking ceased. A stillness settled over the shop, before the door behind the counter was swung open.

A short, thin girl walked through, with a round face, feathery light hair, and the deepest of brown eyes. Brooke was stunned when her eyes landed on the other lady, she was quite pretty. Her clothes complimented her too, (I forgor) Though, Brooke's thoughts were broken through when the barista furrowed her brows. She cleared he throat, cheeks blushed pink. "Do you have a menu?" Brooke asked, stepping closer to the counter.

Nodding, Christina stepped aside and pointed to a chalkboard behind her. It was split in half between drinks and food. She had already decided that she was going to get a black coffee as soon as she entered the shop. As she glanced over the food options, the lemongrass muffin caught her eye. She hadn’t had one in a while.

She stepped back from the counter now that she no longer had to squint to see the letters, “A black coffee and a lemongrass muffin, please.”

“Be with you soon” Christina gave two thumbs up before heading back into the kitchen.

Brooke chose the seat closest to the counter, then remembering she was still soaking wet. She pursed her lips, trying to figure out what her next move should be. Ultimately, she decided to leave the problem for later. She sat her messenger bag onto the table, and pulled out her laptop. Thankfully, no water had seeped through.

Brooke quickly typed in her password, and opened her email. She typed a short message to her boss, letting him know she wouldn’t be able to make it to the meeting today due to the pouring rain.

She was glad that being a detective was remote, most of the time. There were the few occasions that she’d had to fly out to talk with a family or investigate the scene, along with the meetings with her boss who also lived in her town.

It was mostly her twin brother that did that anyway. Cyrus enjoyed traveling more than she did. Don’t get her wrong, seeing new places is amazing, but flying is expensive and stressful. So, she tried not to have to go any place too far from home.

“I got your food” Brooke startled, and whipped her head to the side to see Christina carrying a small tray with a mug and a muffin in one hand, and a towel in the other. “It’s not fun being soaked, so I brought you a towel too” She gave a small, sweet smile. Brooke didn’t expect to get butterfly's, maybe she was just hungry.

She gratefully took the towel as Christina set the tray down behind her computer. Then she was left alone again.

The muffin was amazing, better than she had remembered. Or maybe they were just better bakers here than the chain resonant she went to. The muffins were light, buttery, and fluffy, with the perfect amount of flavoring. The coffee was okay, not the best thing she’s had but it’ll boost her energy fine enough.