The coffees and cookies India had brought were still on the table, Lainey and Paige were still at their meeting, and the woman she liked had just left because she hadn’t felt comfortable telling Maisie that she had a brother who was running against her in the election.
When the door opened and the bells jangled, she stood and went to the front, where she saw two customers walk in, unaware of what had just happened or the fact that Maisie was running a campaign in the back of the shop.
“Do you have a bathroom that we can use?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Maisie said. “Back and to the left.”
“Great. Thank you.”
“Any water?” the guy who was with her asked.
“No, we don’t sell water. Sorry,” Maisie replied.
“Yeah, okay,” he said and followed the woman back to the bathroom.
“Want to go get some from the place next door?” the woman asked him. “The Southern Roastery?”
“Yes. Let’s get some coffee, too,” he replied.
“It’s not a café,” Maisie offered. “That’s just their headquarters. And the coffee shop inside it is employees-only, but there’s another one down the block.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks,” the guy said.
The woman went into the one-stall bathroom first, leaving the guy to look at the books on the shelves next to it.
“So, how did you hear about us?” Maisie asked, trying to take her mind off the fact that India had just left.
“Hear about–” The guy turned to her. “Oh, we were just walking by and saw this place.”
“Oh,” she said. “Right.”
“Do you sell any manga here?” he asked.
“Uh… No,” she said.
“Too bad. I would have bought some.”
“Sorry,” she replied.
The woman came out of the bathroom then, and her companion went inside, closing the door behind him.
“Thanks,” the woman said to Maisie.
“No problem,” she replied and sat down at her table.
Minutes later, the two visitors left without purchasing anything. Maisie really needed to post a sign that the bathroom was for customers only, but she’d always resisted doing so because when someone needed to go, they needed to go, and for the longest time, they’d been the only business in the areawitha bathroom.
“Hey, we’re back,” Lainey said, walking in behind her. “You can go vote if you haven’t already.”
“That was quick,” Maisie noted.
“We’re just coaches, so we only had to find out that one of our players played a role in the stupid prank and is now suspended for a match. Well, that wasmydecision, but they caused damage to the school, so she’s lucky she’s not off the team. She’s one of our best midfielders, though, so I need to rework our lineup for the next match. Why are teenagers so dumb?”
Maisie laughed and replied, “I don’t know, but I’m not sold on the fact that adults are much smarter.”
“Why? What happened?” Lainey asked, sitting down next to her.
“Where’s Paige?”
