Extra Shot of Espresso

[Ziggy Plath]

There are certain smells that have coaxing abilities on individuals. Ziggy, for example, has three: freshly cut grass, roses after a rainstorm, and coffee. Her senses were overwhelmingly soothed as she entered the cafe.
She was in desperate need for a revival in the form of caffeine. Withdrawal of the liquid heaven became too much of a burden when mixed with the side effects of power overuse. Her other vices just made her sick to her stomach to think about, being that they're derived from plants.

The tension in her shoulders, which stored the stress of developing her powers, just barely relaxed as she joined the line to give her order. Ziggy was growing impatient as the wait for a miniature escape in a mug grew tedious. She needed a distraction from getting her main distraction.

She began counting the people in line, then went back through and gave each person a story. The man ordering at the counter had the power of duplication, being able to make at least a dozen copies of himself. With all of his selves, he would get into mischievous acts, pulling pranks whenever he felt the need. Behind him was a short man, his cheeks rosy. The tiny many was able to self destruct, started by his anger. He was even given the name Volcano by his much taller friends. Next in line, just before herself, was a woman. Ziggy gave her the ability of telepathy, due to the snicker she hear just seconds ago from the woman.

Finally, the line moved. Ziggy glanced over her shoulder, seeing if there was any other stranger to use as a distraction. The space behind her was empty, forcing her to deal with the reality of her impatience. The short man gave his order and exited the line, waiting at the other side of the counter to receive his drink.


The door opened, notifying those who were inside by the bell on the handle. Automatically, Ziggy turned to attention to the door and smiled at the new person, never truly looking at whomever. 

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina sighed a bit as she saw the line at Cool Beans, but she knew by now that the wait was well worth it, especially with how cold it’d gotten recently. She was wearing a thick sweater over a flannel shirt and a long sleeved shirt even underneath that, yet she was still feeling the cold.She could have worn a coat, but… well she just preferred a slightly less bulky way of existing. She inhaled the gloriously rich aroma of the coffee as she stepped inside and grinned, the warmth from the shop seeping into her bones and helping her feel a bit less numb.

    Selina walked over to the line and stood behind a lovely young woman who seemed around college or highschool age, she wasn’t sure. “It’s definitely a good day for a hot cup of coffee, yeah?” she asked with a friendly smile as she brushed snow off of her face. There was still a good amount of the frozen flakes lingering in her hair, but she wasn’t too concerned over appearance. For right now, all she wanted was a nice hot cup of caffeine to help her get through the rest of the day.

    Selina would lying if she claimed to not love the snow and the cold Montana winters, but sometimes even she could use a break from it all. She sighed happily as she rubbed her hands together, her fingers, still red from the cold, finally getting some feeling back. “The chill is enough to take your breath away,” she admitted with a rueful grin. She glanced up as the next lady got her coffee and was relieved she wouldn’t have to wait too much longer for a warm cup of jo to hold in her still relatively cold hands.

[Ziggy Plath]

The slow crawl of the chilly breeze that had sneaked in when the door open reached Ziggy's back, and she shivered. She closed her eyes, waiting for the icy touch of outside to melt as quickly as it stunned her. Her body welcomed the warmth of inside again, her body relaxed.

Sighing deeply as the lady in front of her was tapping her chin, humming as she stared at the options to order from, Ziggy repeated what she intended to get in her head, hoping the speed up the process when it was her turn at the counter.

Ziggy turned around, nodding with a smile. "Technically," she started, adjusting her posture to better face the stranger, "everyday is a good day for coffee." With a gentle chuckle, she caught a loose hair and tucked it behind her ear in a self-conscious manner. She was growing more flustered than she had grown impatient. The woman was pretty; beautiful people have this way of making Ziggy foolish.

"Next" the elderly lady on the other side chimed in. Ziggy smiled at the woman behind her and then turned on her heel, hurrying. "A medium coffee with an extra shot. Please." Her eyes intently watched as the pencil scribbled down her order, waiting for it to be confirmed. She dug into her pocket and pulled out crumpled bills and some coins, quickly counting them before placing on the table. "Thank you," she muttered, stepping out of the way to wait for her drink. 

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina grinned at the girl and laughed, “Excellent point. I can’t argue that,” she agreed easily. Selina watched her in interest, recognizing the signs of self-consciousness easily enough. Her expression softened a bit, and she was about to speak when the woman at the counter interrupted her before she could get a word out. Selina waited patiently for the girl to order and smiled warmly at the older waitress when it was her turn.

    She’d never been shy with wait staff and she ended up engaging in a small conversation with the woman. Selina wasn’t one to linger or hold up the line however so it was brief but still friendly. She then quickly ordered her dark chocolate mocha and nodded to Ziggy, “I probably should get an extra shot for energy but I’m feeling lazy and I don’t want to ruin the mood,” she teased lightly. Selina could feel the cold from another customer finding their way to the heated haven and grinned. She’d always liked the cold, even when it was inconvenient.

    The younger girl was lovely, and Selina wondered if she was affiliated with BA. She didn’t ask though, as she knew such questions didn’t often lead to lighthearted conversation in these darker times. Unfortunately Kalispell wasn’t exactly welcoming these days, and her dear friend had had to pay quite a high price for merely existing while being a mutant already. Selina suddenly felt slightly protective of the young girl in front of her, though she didn’t do anything about it and she likely wouldn’t. It was merely an emotion that she couldn’t quite repress.

[Ziggy Plath]

Raising an eyebrow, Ziggy smirked, “I usually make pretty bullet proof points.”



Ziggy collected the to-go cup from the batista and thanked her. Wrapping her fingers around the cup to steal its warmth, she watched the interaction between that stranger and the woman at the counter. An uneasy sense of jealousy boiled, minorly, in the pit of her stomach. The confidence radiating off of the slightly older girl was the same she had, but wasn’t able to express due to other’s attractive level. Ignoring the unhealthy emotion, she smiled at the girl once she put her order in. “Were you going to say something or. . .?” she trailed off, nonverbally apologizing for interrupting her spiel on a necessity for caffeine but the desire to enjoy being mellow.



Unable to stifle a laugh, Ziggy giggled at the woman’s statement about being lazy. She gave a half shrugged and then gestured to a table, stalling while trying to find her voice. “Would you like to sit with me? Not too far of a walk, of course, wouldn’t want to ruin the mood.”