Chapter Text
The keys jingled in the cafe door as Kat pushed it open in the morning. The cafe was warm, filled with sweet smells and peaceful music. The space was small but cozy. There were plush chairs, and a small couch by the window. There were high tables in the middle of the room, just big enough for one or two people to sit.
“Be right back Mama Ana!” Kat calls to a short, curly haired woman rolling dough behind the counter, as she steps through the screen door, into a sunlit backroom.
“Ay! Quickly chica!” Kat hears Mama Ana respond as the screen door closes behind her.
Kat crosses her legs as she plops down onto the fuzzy carpet. The sunrise is just beginning to shine through the windows surrounding the room. She smooths her skirt over her knees and opens her school bag. She pulls out a small paper bag that rattles when she shakes it.
“Obi!” She calls out in a sing-songy voice as she shakes the bag “Ven aqui Obi!” As she speaks, a sleek orange cat hops down from the top of a cat tower and saunters over to where Kat is sitting. His tail flicks lazily in the air as he rubs against her side, purring.
“There you are, you cheeky thing. Are you hungry?” Kat asks as she scratches under Obi’s chin, which only makes him purr louder. She opens the paper bag and pours some treats into her palm, which Obi takes from her with a contended meow before leaping back up to his perch to devour his prize.
Kat shakes her head with a smile. Sometimes she thinks Obi only likes her because he knows she brings snacks. She stands and cleans the cat hair from her clothes before returning to the main cafe. She tosses her school bag in a small closet before stepping behind the counter. She washes her hands and ties an apron around her neck and waist. Her long, wavy, brown hair is contrasted by her pale, freckled skin as she wraps her hair into a bun.
“Ay, Kat. You spoil that kitty.” Mama Ana scolds, but there is a smile on her face as Kat looks up, “He will get fat like me if you keep feeding him like that!” The older woman says with a warm laugh as she hands Kat a rag. Kat takes the rag and laughs as she moves to wipe down empty tables,
“You’re not fat, Mama Ana.” Kat protests with a grin. The older woman simply smiles and shakes her head as returns to baking pastries..
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Kat spends the morning filling drinks and mopping up spills. She slips a few pieces of discarded pastries to Obi when Mama Ana isn’t looking. As she bends down to mop up a spill, the bell above the cafe door jingles and four teenage girls walk in.
“Look, it’s that weird, quiet girl from the library. I didn’t know she worked here.”
“I saw her in the chem lab, does she go to our school?”
“No, she doesn’t go to a real school. She…” As the girls walk towards the counter to order, their voices trail off and their conversation gets lost in the chatter of the room.
Kat sighs softly, but tries to ignore their words. Her family moved to New York a few months ago, just before the start of her senior year. Kat has always been homeschooled, so she’s used to comments like those girls made.
“Not real school,”
“Sheltered snowflake,”
“You get A’s because your mom grades your papers.”
The words don’t get easier to hear, but Kat has learned to ignore them.
Kat is clearing the dishes from a recently vacated table when two teenage boys walk in, engrossed in conversation,
“Peter, come on man, you can’t be serious!” the boy wearing a hat says with a laugh.
“I’m telling you, Ned, this is gonna work! If we just recalibrate the– woah!”
The second boy, Peter apparently, was walking backwards while talking to his friend and backed straight into Kat, causing her to stumble and drop the tray of cups and plates she was holding. The dishes shatter as they hit the floor, and Kat kneels with a sigh to mop up the coffee that splashed everywhere.
“Oh no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Here let me help!” The boy rambles on as he drops to the floor to help clean up the broken dishes.
“It’s fine, I’ve got it.” Kat mumbles, keeping her eyes on the floor as she mops up the spill.
“It’s not fine, let me help! I’m so sorry, I should have been looking where I was going, I was talking to my friend Ned and…hey are you okay?” Peter grabs Kat’s wrist. When she tried to catch the falling dishes, a shard of broken porcelain had sliced her forearm, leaving a trail of red trickling down her arm.
Kat freezes the second he touches her arm. Her brain short circuits as she tries to force out an answer,
“I-I it’s f-fine, I’ll clean up, then I-I’ll…” she trails off as Mama Ana comes rushing over to see what all the commotion is.
“Kat! What happened, chica?” Mama Anna kneels with a rag, shooing their hands away as she cleans up the mess herself.
“No, no! Sharp! You go.” She points to a backroom that Kat knows contains a first aid kit.
“I’m sorry Mama–” Kat starts before she is shushed.
“No sorry. I clean. You wash up.” She points to the cut on Kat’s arm. Kat slowly stands and heads to the backroom. After being shooed away from the mess by Mama Ana, Peter and Ned follow Kat.
“Hey! Do you need help?” Peter continues to ramble on loudly “I’m really sorry about this whole thing, I should have watched where I was going, but I’m really good at first aid, I’ve taken classes and–”
“Sure, I guess.” Kat interjects, in an effort to get him to stop making a scene.
The whole cafe is staring at them as they walk across the room, and Kat does not like being the center of attention. Peter and Ned follow as Kat pushes open the door to the backroom. Ned busies himself with skimming the titles of a bookshelf while Peter grabs the first aid kit that Kat is opening.
“Here, I’ve got this.” he guides Kat into a cozy swivel chair in the corner and gently takes her arm in his hands. He cleans her arm with a washrag he found by the sink and sprays some antiseptic on the area. “Sorry!” He says quickly as Kat hisses from the sting. “I’m Peter by the way! That’s Ned over there.” Ned waves awkwardly. Peter presses gauze against the cut. “I’ve seen you around Midtown, haven’t I? I don’t think we have any classes together, but I’ve seen you in the library right?”
“Um, yeah. Well, I’m homeschooled, but I take an art class there…so I get to use the library and stuff…I’m Kat, by the way.” Kat speaks shyly, staring down at where Peter is holding the gauze against her arm.
“Cat? That’s a cool name! Is it spelled like a cat…like the animal?” Peter grins widely as he looks up at her.
“Um, no.” Kat tries not to roll her eyes, it’s not like this is the first time she’s heard that question. “It’s Kat, K-A-T, like, short for Katelyn.” She meets his eyes for a few seconds before looking away.
“Ok! Kat. Oh, I don’t see any bandages…” Peter searches through the first aid kit, which seems to be missing bandages. “That’s okay, I have some in my backpack! Ned, can you grab them for me?”
Ned turns away from the bookcase and retrieves the bandages from Peter’s backpack, spilling a few other supplies on the floor as he does so.
“Um…why do you have so many bandages in your school bag?” Kat asks curiously.
Ned quickly starts cleaning up the supplies he spilled, tossing Peter the bandages.
“Oh, uh…I”m…clumsy. Yeah, uh, I trip a lot!” Peter laughs awkwardly, focusing on bandaging Kat’s arm.
Kat wonders why Peter’s tone changed suddenly from how upbeat he’s been since he walked in the door, but she decided not to question it.
Peter finishes bandaging Kat’s arm and stands up. “There, good as new.” He smiles, “Again, I’m really sorry for knocking into you. I–Hey!”
Peter yelps in surprise as an orange cat lands on his shoulders.