•Maxine•

Great people come from humble beginnings. My grandmother's favorite quote. Her words had shaped me into the woman I was. Her daily motivation was what gave me the strength to purse my dream of studying fashion designing.

“4 iced coffees, 3 cappuccinos and 5 matcha lattes.” I reread the order one more time before placing my phone back into my pocket. 

I was in my final year of college at York University. Apart from working part-time in a fast-food restaurant, I also ran small errands for my mates. They would ping me whatever orders or errands they had through a chat group I had made. The errands usually ranged from buying a few drinks, to helping with assignments and what not. It didn't earn me much but it was something. I quickened my pace to the cafeteria, aware of the limited amount of time I had before my next class. 

 “Can I have a…” I place my order once I reached the cafeteria. The cafeteria was rather scanty with only about five people present including me.

The attendant told me to wait while they got my order ready. I found a chair to sit on before pulling out my phone and checking to see if I had any new orders. Working multiple jobs in college was never really a plan of mine. The realization that my grandmother's pension would not be enough for I and my younger sister's education made me look for other avenues. I would do anything to ease her of the burdens of taking care of us. Life was definitely not fair. My phone vibrated with an incoming call from my best friend.

“Girl, where the hell are you?” Imogen’s voice yelled into my ear making me flinch. 

“Can you not scream into my eardrums?" I winced, still feeling the impact of her voice.

I heard Imogen huff. “Are you seriously not done with the order?”

“No, your majesty.” I rolled my eyes. “But you can come help me if you want.”

Her groan was enough to make me start laughing. For all I know, Imogen would fake a concussion to escape doing anything that required effort.

“Lazy ass.” I snorted. 

“Your order is ready.” The attendant called out to me. I gave her a nod before walking up to collect my drinks.

“I have to go now.” Imogen mumbled a quick bye before ending the call. I put my phone back in my pocket before grabbing the tray which had about 12 drinks lined up.

I slowed down my pace as I walked through the halls of the school. The drinks had been ordered by different people which meant I would have to find each one and deliver it to them. I paused to check my phone for the location of the first person before moving on.

“Thank you.” A girl grabbed a matcha latte from the tray in my hands. 

I simply smiled, waiting for her to transfer my money. My bank account number had already been pinned in the group chat since day one so hassles rarely occurred during a pay up time like this.

I checked my phone to verify the transaction before moving on to my next order. The person who I was to deliver to next happened to be in another building entirely. I let out a shaky breath as I round different corners. With the deadline for the payment of tuition fees, I had been an anxious wreck for a while now. I would have to work harder if I had any intention of paying those fees on time. Maybe I could ask for an extension of the date.

I didn't know how deep of a thought I was in as I rounded another corner. I accidentally slammed into something hard dragging me out of my thoughts. One minute I was walking with a tray of drinks in hand. The next, all the drinks were spilled all over the floor.

I look up only to lock gazes with irritated blue eyes. The owner of those eyes was a man dressed in a blue suit. The custom dark blue fabric hugged his body like someone sewed the material onto him. His black hair was styled without a single hair out of line. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his eyes read pure irritation. Forget the irritated look, this man had the beauty of an angel. Another man dressed in a grey suit stood beside him. I suddenly remembered what remained of all the drinks and the anger immediately rushed into me.

“You literally just spilled all my drinks.” I stated the obvious wondering what his reply would be. His silence only infuriated me.

My left eyebrow twitched. “Well you can at least apologize. You do have a mouth plastered on your face, yeah?” I folded my arms, glancing between him and the spilled drinks on the floor. 

His lips pulled into a frown, his eyes appearing darker than before. I felt my anger starting to increase. What entitlement did he have to get angry?

“I don't care who the hell you are. The least you could do is apologizing for spilling my drinks.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “It's called bare minimum.”

“Oh really?” My stomach did a flip. If I wasn’t so angry, I would have probably swooned at his voice alone.

“We're really sorry. Let me play for the drinks.” The man standing beside him brought out his wallet. I took the crisp hundred-dollar bill, about to tell him it wasn’t worth that much.

“Keep the change. You look like you need it.” The jerk wearing a blue suit spoke again. 

He walked away from me before I could say anything. The other man mumbled another apology before running after him. 

I leaned against a wall, slowly sliding down onto the floor. My face felt hot and I didn’t understand why.  I'd be lucky if I was still able to attend my class. If I made it through the day, I’d pass out on my bed for the next two days.