bloom (josh's place of work) is a lot like the dot from degrassi next gen if that means anything to anyone here! well, it's a lot like the dot pre-emma nelson catching it on fire. like a step up from a café, but not a full-blown restaurant or eatery if that makes literally any sense at all

ALSO... I am once again asking for lots of comments in desperation... am a tad bit insecure when it comes to writing again and it doesn't help when my brain sees that fat number of reads on blossom in comparison. but if u are reading this... after I was gone for soooo long... thank u <3

"Okay... I have one matcha lavender oat milk latte and one iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle and cold foam, correct?"

Josh looked at the table in front of him, a drink in each hand as he waited for the two customers to verify that was what they had ordered. After receiving head nods from each, he set them down with a polite smile. "Awesome, well... if you guys need anything don't hesitate to ask."

He heard them each mumble a "thanks" and took that as his cue to leave, making his way back over to the front counter.

"Why can't anyone just order like... a black coffee?" Josh asked his (without a doubt favorite) coworker, shaking his head. "I don't even know what I just made in all honesty. I think I just blacked out."

She let out a laugh as she finished washing the mug in front of her before setting it on the drying rack to... well, dry. Dish duty was definitely one of Josh's least favorite job tasks, and he was appreciative that his coworker offered to take care of the current round of it. Josh knew he'd be responsible for the last load before close, however, and almost grimaced at the thought. He understood why his boss decided to only use disposable dishes for to-go orders, but it didn't mean he was any less annoyed by the consequences of that choice.

His coworker turned the sink off and dried her hands off as she spoke. "Now that would just be too easy, Josh. Plus, making drinks with names as long as their list of ingredients is literally the only life skill you'll ever need, duh."

Josh cracked a smile at that. "You've got me there, Bea."

The mentioned laughed once again as she moved to grab a bottle of cleaner, spraying the counter. "Hey, I have a proposition for you."

"Go on..."

"I'll do the closing set of dishes," she turned to him with an innocent smile on her face. "If..."

"If...?"

"You clean the bathrooms?" She finished, hope in her voice while she reached for a cleaning rag and avoided making eye contact with Josh.

"Fuck no, dude!" He laughed out. "I've cleaned them the last how many times we've closed together?"

Bea hesitated, visibly in thought. After thinking for what seemed like forever, she finally had her reply. "Hm, don't have a number for that because I'm not a weirdo who keeps track of the last time I cleaned my place of work's bathroom," she decided as she completely dodged Josh's question.

"Exactly," he hummed out cheekily.

"Ugh, c'mon Josh," she whined, pausing her counter wiping. "You know I hate cleaning the bathroom! And you hate doing dishes! Seems like a win-win situation to me," she continued. It was obvious she was trying to convince Josh that this was the deal of a lifetime.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if you consider cleaning bathrooms a win for me and doing dishes a win for you then you should probably get out more. Pick up a hobby or something."

It was Bea's turn to roll her eyes at that, but a smile made its way onto her face. She turned back to resume wiping the counter. "Thank you," she replied, dragging out the second word much longer than needed.

"Yeah yeah," Josh joked, smiling now as well. "Hey, I'm gonna go take a smoke break. Will you be okay if I'm gone for like 5-ish minutes?"

"Oh yeah, of course. Go ahead."

Josh watched her continue to wipe the counter for a second, the smile still on his face.

Bea seemed to realize this as she finished her task, giving him a look. "I don't think taking a smoke break includes staring at me like a creep, weirdo," she teased.

"Thank you," Josh simply said.

"For what?" Her eyebrow raised while she moved to the sink to wring out the excess cleaning solution from her towel over it. "Letting you take a smoke break? I'm not your mom, I'm not going to tell you no," she joked, chuckling a bit.

Despite those words hitting a little too close to home, Josh continued. It wasn't Bea's fault. She didn't know. "Thank you for not being a shitty coworker," he answered with sincerity in his voice. "If I'm gonna be stuck here all the time, I'm glad it's usually with you."

Her body visibly softened at that. She set the rag down on the edge of the sink before completely turning to look at Josh. "Of course," she responded gently. "Thank you for that too."

Not being fond of how vulnerable the space now felt, Josh began to walk towards the break room. "No problem. How else am I supposed to get out of the hell that is dish duty?" He joked.

Bea let out a playful scoff at that. "Go take your smoke break, loser."

"Yes ma'am," was his reply, even if Bea couldn't see the smirk on his face while he said it since he was already halfway to the break room by then. He heard her laugh in disbelief and that smirk turned itself into a genuine smile.

Entering the break room, Josh glanced at his skateboard that was leaning against the side of the row of employee lockers. He quickly twisted the lock on his to input the combination, swinging it open with a sigh.

He picked up the carton of cigarettes he had haphazardly tossed on the top shelf when he got there and pulled one out. He took mental note of how many he had left, reminding himself to get more before he ran out entirely. He knew the frequency of his habit would only increase in the coming weeks— just like it did around this time last year.

Feeling in his pocket to make sure his lighter was still in there, he nudged the door shut with his elbow before beginning to make his way out of the break room. He was stopped right in front of the doorway, however, when he realized that walking any further would've caused him to bump directly into his boss and owner of the business.

"Oh shit, sorry Josh," he apologized as he stopped in his tracks, registering the almost-collision at the same time.

"All good, Taylor," the mentioned assured.

"Hey, while I have you here," his boss began. "I wanted to double-check something you put on the availability form you gave me for the upcoming school year..."

"What?"

"You're really looking to work 30 hours a week?"

"Yeah," Josh sighed. "If possible. I know I'm not full time so if that's pushing it then I understand, but—"

"It's not that," Taylor interrupted, clarifying. "It's just... it's your senior year."

"Okay? And?" Josh followed up, annoyance clear in his voice. He didn't mean to sound so irritated, especially not when talking to the person who kept him employed, but the tone slipped out anyway.

Taylor didn't seem to take this personally, though. Josh's worked for him for over two years, and he could tell that Taylor knew he didn't mean to come off as disrespectful at all. His boss didn't press the matter any further. "I'll see what I can do, okay? I can guarantee you at least 25, but I can't promise you 30. Even if you are 18 now. Ignoring the fact that the other employees need hours too, I don't want you to overwhelm yourself. And like I said: it's your senior year. I'm sure you have upcoming activities that you don't want work getting in the way of."

Josh shrugged. "Not really."

Taylor looked at him, trying to hide the sadness in his eyes. Josh hated that. He hated the fact that he wasn't hiding it well enough and that Josh could see it. Josh didn't want to be pitied. "I'll try my best, alright?" He repeated gently.

"Okay," Josh responded awkwardly.

"Okay," Taylor copied with a nod. "Are you and Bea gonna be okay if I head out for the night?"

Josh offered him a half-hearted smile. "We always are."

"I know," his boss acknowledged with a more genuine one on his face as he continued down the hallway. Josh followed him out and watched him reach the counter before stopping and turning to look at him. "Hey, Josh?"

"Hmm?"

"Have a good first day of school tomorrow. You too, Bea," he added in the mentioned's direction.

"Thanks!" Bea replied perkily as the sound of the espresso machine was heard.

"Thanks," Josh echoed, not wanting to be rude. He was sure as hell going to try and have a good first day. Even if it meant he had to make it for himself.

Taylor offered his two employees one last kind smile and a wave before walking out the front door.

Josh let out a slightly agitated breath he didn't know he was holding. He really needed a cigarette now.

Bea didn't seem to hear the noise over the coffee machine, humming quietly to herself as it ran.

"Okay, the 5-ish minutes start now," Josh told her. She nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. He chuckled and turned to walk the opposite way down the hallway, pushing the door open to the back area by the trash.

He stood off to the side that the dumpster wasn't located on and pulled out his lighter. Igniting the loose cigarette he had kept in his hand, he instantly brought it to his mouth and inhaled.

It was when he was shakily exhaling that a thought crossed his mind. He reached into his other back pocket and grabbed his phone out. A few taps on the screen were all it took before he had it pressed to his ear.

He inhaled the nicotine again as he waited for the line to be picked up, basking in the momentary relaxation the toxin provided him.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Josh greeted through an exhale of smoke. "Everything going okay?"

"Uhh... yeah. For the most part."

"What do you mean by 'for the most part?'" Josh questioned, anxiety now replacing the relaxation that was in his body just seconds earlier.

"Abbie's backpack finally broke. The left strap's starting to rip off and the zipper to the main compartment split."

"Fuck..." Josh sighed, letting the cigarette dangle between his fingers for a moment. "I'll stop at Walmart on my way home from work."

"Already tried— they're literally out of everything except little kid backpacks."

"I am not walking around with a Bluey backpack in the 6th grade," a voice interjected in the background. "I would literally rather carry my stuff in plastic sacks."

"Abbie," the original voice sighed in frustration.

"Besides, they didn't even have any more Bluey ones," a second voice contributed.

Josh couldn't help but smile, even through the frown that was trying to make its way onto his face as a result of this situation. "Have you tried Target yet? Definitely more expensive, but we don't really have a choice at this point, do we?"

Josh flicked the cherry on the end of the cigarette while he waited for a response. "Already sitting in the parking lot. Just wanted to double-check with you and make sure it was okay."

The smile on his face grew as he brought the cigarette up to his mouth. "You're the best, Ashley. You know that, right?" He complimented as he inhaled yet again.

"Of course I do," the mentioned assured with a playful tone.

"Let me know if, for whatever reason, Target doesn't have anything, okay? Worst case scenario she borrows mine for a bit. It's not like I'm gonna use it," he joked. Well, half-joked.

Josh could almost see his 16-year-old sister rolling her eyes at that. "Uh-huh, whatever you say."

"Seriously though, keep me updated, okay? I might not be able to respond right away, but I always have my phone on me. Were you able to get everything else you guys need? I really fucking dropped the ball on this... getting school supplies the day before it starts is definitely... not ideal," he expressed guiltily before taking another drag of his cigarette. "And I'm not even the one taking care of it," he realized. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay, J," Ashley promised him in a gentle voice. "I got off of work early today, I don't mind. And yes, we got everything else squared away."

"We sure did!" Abbie yelled, probably trying to make sure Josh could hear her through his end of the call. "I got some glittery gel pens from the clearance section too!"

"Yeah! And I got some new earbuds," His 13-year-old brother Jordan added contently.

Josh's heart warmed at the confirmation that his siblings were all taken care of. "You too, Ashley?"

"All squared away," she repeated proudly.

"Good," Josh flicked the cherry of the cigarette again when he noticed it was getting too long, watching the ashes gracefully land on the concrete in front of him.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't need anything? Pens? Notebooks?" Ashley asked him worriedly.

Even if Josh did need any new school supplies, he would've had no idea. He hasn't even so much as glanced at his backpack since May, let alone gone through it to see what he had left. He hasn't had the time to in all honesty. Plus, he had no idea what he'd need for any upcoming classes; but if he did need anything for them, he'd take care of it himself. There was no need to stress his sister out about anything else— especially something so unnecessary. "All squared away," he copied in what he hoped was a convincing tone of voice.

It was apparently not convincing enough. "Okay..." his sister trailed off, audibly unsure of his answer. "We're gonna go inside now to check on backpacks so I have enough time to get home and get everything ready for tomorrow."

"I'll be home by like 10, okay?" Josh reminded as the call wrapped up, inhaling smoke one final time. He's definitely been outside longer than 5-ish minutes. "If you need any help."

"Okay."

"And keep me updated."

"I will."

"Okay..." Josh sighed. "I love you. Thanks for taking care of this."

"I love you too. I told you, I don't mind. You're the one working a 10-hour shift today."

"Yeah, well..." he trailed off with a humorless laugh. "Bye, Ashley. I'll see you when I get home."

"Bye, Josh."

He pulled his phone away from his ear and ended the call before slipping the item into his back pocket.

Josh took one last deep breath, stubbed his cigarette out on the side of the building, tossed it in the grass, and went back inside to finish his shift.