Excerpt: Cosmic Coffee House

This time of day it was unlikely I’d be able to sneak a bath in, but if I was lucky, I might be able to get a shower in. Unfortunately, with a house full of young women, an early morning shower almost certainly meant a COLD shower. Well, at least it was a good wake-up call. That, paired with a bottle of soda, and an onion bagel made breakfast, and a reasonably good start to the day before classes started. I won’t bore you with the details of my morning, or of the classes for that matter. Trust me, nothing interesting happened beyond the physics class sending a hover chair crashing down the hall.

What? Don’t they do that sort of thing at your college? Huh. . . what about the vampire obsessed world religions teacher? No? . . . Alright then, weird school. Well, most of those people wind up at Madam Zolas anyways, so I’m sure they’ll pop up sooner or later. The early crowd is normally what I deal with. College students, the occasional teen, and a few of the older folks, just out of work, that’s the type that comes in before dinner time. Afterwards, the tables fill up a bit more, and the more interesting people come out.

“Hey Kit! Get any sleep last night?” Was Roberts greeting as I walked through the door, the old bell chiming above my head. I looked over to the tall owner, and shook my head slightly, tossing my backpack beneath the counter.

“A couple of winks. What in the world are you playing?” I gestured vaguely towards the computer in the corner that controlled the music of the coffee house, which was currently playing something bouncy and screechy. It sounded like some trumped up pop chick sped up and remixed to Mozart or something.

“Her Majesties Army. It’s the latest from Canada, what, don’t you like it?” Robert grinned, sliding a lidded cup of hot cocoa my way. If I knew him. . . it probably had a shot of espresso in it too. Perfect for the start of another long night.