Summer Coffee

The doorbell rings, strange considering I didn't order any package today. As a woman who has lived alone most of her life, I taught myself to always be cautious. I quickly grab the kitchen knife and I look through the peephole. I realize it's my landlord; I put down the knife on the counter  and I open the door putting on a polite smile in front of the old woman.

"Hii Mrs.Cornwill." She gives me a smile, her wrinkles appearing, I realize just how old she is now. I've been in this apartment for the last 2 years and I've never paid her properly since I stayed, yet she let me stay and she's been so kind.

"Hello dear, have you eaten yet? Here! Have some pie, I cooked it myself." She says while holding out the pie with her  hands.

"Shouldn't you be resting Mrs.Cornwill?" I ask her while guiding her inside.

"Oh  I've rested enough, I slept from 5am until 12 pm dear." She sat on the chair beside the table that was in front of the balcony. "I'm sorry I don't have enough money to pay today." I said feeling guilty, I've been feeling this way for 2 years now...

"Oh please dear I would let you live for free. You're always  there when I need a helping hand." She smiled warmly at me. She reminded me of one of the old nuns that looked after me at the orphanage.

Mrs.Cornwill has always been checking on  me, but she enjoys it I can tell. Her own children don't spend time with her, it's just me and her. We check on each other from time to time, we're basically family now.

"So do you need any help today?" I ask while sitting beside her.

"Not me, rather a friend do you mind?" She placed her hand on mine

"Not at all who is it?"

"He owns a coffee shop and they're short staffed, since summer is starting they're going to have a lot of customers soon, I would like you to go help them." I nodded and smiled and after a few minutes of talking she left. "Wait..coffee in the summer?"I was quite surprised people would drink coffee in such a hot season although maybe it's their iced coffee that sells. I started to contact this friend of hers that I would be helping them and he was kind enough that he would pay me every week.

Meanwhile with Mason.......

Mason repeatedly looked at his reflection, unable to accept his new form he sat there staring into the abyss.

Suddenly a woman's voice started speaking

"Oh dear you poor thing." She picked Mason up and in her dark eyes grew a green light, her long Luscious dark wavy hair draped down all the way to her knees and she wore a black leather coat. "Who are you? Are you the one that turned me into a rat? Disgrace on you woman don't you know witchcraft will be punished by burning on a steak? You should only use magic for good!" He angrily said. The woman smirked

"For good?” She laughed her voice deep while echoing through the streets.

“Coming from you Mason? I'm baffled.”

He glared at her trying to get out of her grasp but she held him tight not letting him escape from his grasp.

“You dare address a prince by his first name? Are you perhaps uneducated or maybe you simply don't have manners!” He kept trying to free himself from her grasp, wiggling his body and kicking his feet.

"Don't move too much, do you want me to squeeze out the air from your lungs?" She said while eerily smilingly.

"What do you want?." He asked her as he stopped struggling. 

“I'm offering a way out of this place. As you have noticed this is not your world, they don't treat outsiders here very well. Not even royalty.” She put an eerie smile on. Mason felt a hill go down his spine.

“All right then how do I get back to my world?” He asked while eyeing her up and down, wondering if he should even trust her sudden offer to help.

“It's simple, go down to that cafe near the beach and you will find a woman who is not of this world either. You will know it is her from the pendant that she is wearing that has the symbol of your kingdom.” She set him down then pulled out her pocket watch.

“ And how do I know that you're not lying?” He asked distrustingly.

“It is your choice. Take the risk or forever be stuck in this world.” She then left, not letting him ask anymore questions.

“Great. I'm stuck in a rat's body in another world now I have to find a woman wearing a pendant. Definitely the easiest way to get back home.” He said sarcastically.

Back at the Cafe.....

Hello sir, I'll be working here today.

I faced the old friend of Mrs. Cornwill. He's a kind looking man probably around his 50s or 60s but he is surely younger than her. "Ah you must be the young lady Alita told me about." He said while shaking my hand. Alita was Mrs.Cornwill's first name, something I'm not used to hearing. I've never heard anyone use her first name before. "Yes sir my name is Alice and you are?" He then smiled.

"You can call me John." He handed me the uniform a black polo shirt and denim pants with a brown apron.

"They will be your co-workers." He pointed to the two employees bickering behind the counter. "This is Mark." Mark had blonde hair and multiple piercings on his ears. He shook my hand while smiling.

"And this is Sherley." A pink haired girl with a bubbly smile hugged me. She smelled like strawberries, and it certainly  suited her appearance.

"Hi I'm Sherley finally they decided to hire someone new!" She gave Mark a side eye as he scoffed at her. I looked at John confused with the situation as he chuckled.

"They don't get along." John smiled as he told me. I nodded, understanding the situation, then I followed John as he gave me a tour of the place and taught me how to operate the machines.

"And that's all if you need any help just ask me or your coworkers." He smiled while wiping the table.

"Thank you, I'll try my best to help you." He then chuckled and gave me a pat on the back. He then left later on.

5 Hours later…..

As Alice was cleaning the tables and mopping the floors Sherley and Mark were arguing while they washed the coffee machines and the dishes she chuckled as she remembered how the kids back at the orphanage used to bicker. She breathed in the air as the breeze blew gently at her face. The cafe had an outstanding view because it was close to the sea. The only problem was the customers that swam in the beach, they got the floors and furniture wet and covered with sand, which was hard to clean but that was what made the cafe so famous they did not restrict wet and sand covered customers from entering the cafe. Talk about employee patience and effort.

Meanwhile with Mason.....

As Mason made his way down the street down to the cafe where the strange lady had pointed him to. As he kept walking he soon started to encounter the new things in this world that he considered strange

"What in the world is this some kind of mechanical carriage? This must be a rich country. One of these mechanical carriages back in the kingdom costs a fortune!” He referred to the cars that were slowly passing by.  “Where is the horse? Come to think of it, I haven't seen any horses, oh dear, have they gone instinctively in this world or do they not exist here?! No no they must simply have no use of them anymore with all of these mechanical carriages."

He looked around him trying to spot some horses and when he failed to find any he crossed the road avoiding the cars. He saw the cafe and headed towards it.

"Hmm, do they perhaps sell sweets here." He asked himself as he peeked through the window. He squeezed through the open window and looked around while inhaling the smell of coffee and pastries.

"My goodness me! Does the royal family of this world dine here!?" He looked around and saw stairs going to the second floor. He struggled to climb the stairs and after what seemed like an eternity, he laid down on the floor trying to catch his breath.

He stood up and as he looked up a woman shrieked and jumped over and ran downstairs.

"Ahh!!! Alice, help! There's a rat upstairs!"

Sherley quickly got up into the counter.

"What are you doing? I just wiped down that counter!" Mark shouted he carried sherley as she hit his back with her fists. He put her down and groaned in pain as she got back up the counter.

"Are you an animal!? Why are you even on the counter?"

"There's a rat!" She shouted at him, and his eyes widened.

"Where!?" He quickly got up on the counter.

"This better not be one of your pranks again" He shouted at her.

"No it's not. There's a rat upstairs!" She shouted back.

Alice sighed and went upstairs quietly. She looked around and made sure to check every corner as well but she didn't see any rats so she went back downstairs to calm sherley down.

"Well if there was a rat it's gone now. We should be more careful about putting away the food at night." Sherley and Mark got off the counter and went back to their work while Sherley mocked him for being a scaredy cat. Alice went to take the trash out and as she tossed it in the bin she heard a faint squeaking.

"Hm?" She turned around and saw a small light brown hamster.

"Oh it's just a hamster, this is no rat Sherley." She carried the hamster in her palm showing it to Sherley as she cooed to the hamster in a high pitched voice, Sherely whined and her expression filled with disgust and fear.

"It's still a rodent Alicee ewww get it away..Shoo! Shoo!” Sherley went back to her work, serving customers and cleaning the place. Alice went to put the hamster in a box, serving as a temporary cage for the rodent.

Mason….

“Great, now I'm stuck in a box. The woman even dared to touch a prince so lightly. When I get out of here I will surely punish all of these peasants!” Mason tried to jump out of the box, but it was deep. He tried to dig a hole as well but the box was too thick as well that he was soon exhausted. He stopped trying to catch his breath. Alice then put a little bowl of water in the box, noticing that he was tired. Mason was then trying to avoid her hand.

“Great, what is this peasant trying to do now? Tch! A prince does not drink from such an ugly bowl!” Alice could only hear loud squeaks from the rodent and as she found it amusing, she started laughing and smiling at the angry little hamster but on the other hand mason was already fuming.

“What's so funny huh!? You dare laugh at me!? I tell you when I get back to my kingdom and reclaim my inheritance I will send my army here and cause destruction and torture! Then we will see who gets the last laugh, peasant!”

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