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Savanna

The same jazz tunes play over and over in The Coffee Grind, the little coffee shop where I work I know the songs by heart They get stuck in ht, but I can’t tell you the artist who plays the coffee, the hiss of stea milk, and the chatter of customers is the soundtrack to my nine-to-five day I’ve been here for six months The job was supposed to be te out résumés It’s an impressive résumé, if I do say so myself I’ve been valedictorian of every school I’ve ever attended, going all the way back torecoetting a job with a law fir out to be so incredibly difficult?

I don’t knohat else to do My parents are lawyers, but I don’t want to ask them for help, and they’ve never even volunteered I want to show them I can do this on my own There’s no one else to ask for help from, and even if there were someone, I honestly don’t know if I would ask It’s a pride thing I got into law school onup to this point without any help

I was on h This job pays e and the tips on coffee are pretty lousy I’raduated, the banks are starting to reach their hands out for loan repay to lose what little I do have People who graduate with honors froious law schools aren’t supposed to contee of twenty-five

The line at the counter starts to stretch out the door The lunch rush pounces onobsessively aboutby the hour People start to co line which doesn’t helphot enough; another says it’s too hot

I plaster a smile on my face and redo their orders If I can’t handle the stress of a coffee shop, there’s no way I could handle a courtroo can break me Especially not a bunch of whiny over-caffeinated custo to be the best damn barista this store has ever seen

I finally start to catch up When I get back to the cash register aftera soy latte, I see a tallthere with broad,down at his phone, tapping out a text ister as I study the familiar stature With his head down, it’s hard to tell at first why he looks so fa at the tee, like he’s been working out all his life, but not bulky like soly handsome and my body instantly reacts to him I desperately want him to look up My heart lifts into nition sets in

“Lonnie” My voice is barely a breath of air when it comes out The sound sticks in my throat

“Savanna, is that you?” he says His eyes travel up and downbelow er than a few seconds

His grin when he recognizes er with my first major crush Lonnie is raduation I was obsessed with hie They were so iahts ould talk for hours about politics and all the things I cared about He was smart and deep, but he could also be silly and adorable

I used to flirt with him relentlessly He was flattered by the attention, I could tell Whenever I’d co at his jokes, his face would turn the e s, but hurt feelings were inevitable At least they were onand not experienced in heartbreak, enified, and if you’re not careful, you can burn up under the flare of those emotions Like what happened to me I was completely infatuated with him, then one day he just moved away and never came back