I closed the door quietly, and snatched my Parrot apron from a stand, then tied it around my waist. I follow Marj, into another part of the kitchen which is an average sized room filled with supplies of milk and water, and  automatic drip coffee makers. There is a twin refrigerating system, though one of it is positioned very close to the counter, in the cafe.

"Marj" I drawled, as I  tried one of the pumps and walked round the kitchen, to where a few plastic cup were stored in a glass container. "I, owe you one".

He stepped away from the coffee grinder he was working on, and his red hair fell to side like slanted flames as he flashed a lopsided grin and winked, "I stayed like three minutes behind the door, and was like damn I can't let Huey go now, how is he going to get a hot college babe".

"Shut up" I whined, and collected a list of coffee and drinks order from him. I take a look at it, then sigh. "This list is something else".

"Too bad" He commented, "Your crush, Rita, managed to tamper with the machines outside, believe me when I say that girl is a klutz".

I nodded, and added a warning. "Just for today, considering how tired i'd be after all these orders".

✏✏✏✏

I slumped into a sofa in the cafe, it was one of my favorite; it was slightly hidden and was completely soft. I was done with all the orders in the list and even the impromptu orders Marj added after I ticked every thing off the first list.

The diner outside was very much alive with people chatting outside whilst making and receiving orders. The same cannot be said, for the cafe. I looked around, the persons inside the cafe, (excluding me and Rita who is standing by the counter) would sufficiently be a third of the crowd outside.

My workplace, parrot is a conception of my uncle's idea and the desire of his charming wife.  My uncle wanted to run a diner, he had a knack for architecture and practically loved the art of cooking while his wife, aunt Marina, wanted a mundane coffee house.

The whole town fancied the idea, as parrot remains a hot place in Sepia. The main building in Parrot is the much loved coffee shop I am currently seated in, while the open court outside is a diner. The combination is safely possible, owing to the wide area of land that Parrot is located on. It also possible with the level of security present, the fence around it and the miniature yellow and ash polka dots gate.

The exquisite diner outside, otherwise known as the open court, is adorned with varying colour of bright lights and laconic furniture made from light coloured warm woods. There are various potted plants, neatly arranged along window panes (curtsy of aunt marina) , and the floor is basically a fancy and hard tile, slightly different from the bland floor of the area surrounding the gate. The only strenuous thing in maintaining the diner, is the plastic shade we put on, as per customer request.

The coffee house is by far the easiest to maintain, it is like any other coffee house, with a bit of advanced equipments. The kitchen, which is literally the brain of the whole scheme, is very wide, with one part dedicated to serving the diner fully and another part that meddles with the diner and food order from the cafe. The room in which I was sweating in, barely five minutes ago, is a room that houses duplicates of machines present in the coffee house, and it is a safe storage for cups and other amenities.

My uncle is the only person with an office in Parrot, though it barely serves as an office since he is always in the open court. We, the staff use the place as a changing room, together with the small storeroom connected to it.

I asked a random customer for the time, and stood up after the reply. I dragged my feet into the kitchen and returned my apron. I bid Marj and a few staff goodbye and through the back door, I stepped into the open air.

Fun fact: I eat free cakes in Parrot.