"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Neel was sleeping in his bed and found the alarm annoying. He stretched out his hand onto the alarm on his bedside table. He accidentally knocked over the alarm, so he had to get up and switch off the alarm.
"Yawn."
Neel covered his mouth with his hand and sat on his bed. He looked at the alarm clock in his hand. He leant back and started thinking.
"It's 5:30. The café opens at 7. I have an hour and a half. But I also have to get her ready for school. Damn! Maybe I should wake her up."
Neel stood up and got out of his room. He entered the room right next to his. Inside the room, there was a single cot bed. Neel went to the side of the bed and knelt down. On the bed was a girl, sleeping smugly with a blanket wrapped around her.
Neel blew some wind on her face. The girl shivered slightly.
"Sarah, wake up."
Same heard her name called and slowly stirred. She slightly opened her eyes and saw Neel in her room. She looked at him for a second and then closed her eyes again.
"Sarah. Todays the first day of school."
Neel whispered to Sarah.
"What's the time dad?"
Neel looked at the watch and said, "5:32."
Sarah whimpered a little and turned away from her father.
"Wake me up later."
"Sarah. If you want me to drop you, you have to wake up now."
"Fine don't drop me."
"If I don't drop you, who'll take you to school? You'll miss your first day? What will your classmates think?"
Sarah whined a little and finally got up.
"Fine. I got up."
Neel smiled and said, "Get ready. Maybe we can have breakfast in the café."
"Really?"
Sarah's face brightened and she got out of the bed. She rushed to the bathroom and started brushing. Neel smiled at this and went to his own room. He went to the bathroom and went straight to the shower.
30 minutes later, Neel and Sarah were in front of a café.
"Gimme a minute. I have to look for the keys."
Neel rummaged through the pockets of his pants to find the keys to the café. After a minute, he found them and unlocked the door.
The café was very clean, and well organized. The place was square shaped. When someone entered through the door, they would find a colored wall to their left, and a counter to their right. Past the small counter were six tables for four. The café wasn't huge, but it was enough for the people in Sector 2999.
Neel walked to the counter. the counter had a lot of space behind it. Neel opened the drawers and found the flour.
"Is pancakes okay?"
Sarah nodded. She took a chair from the nearest table and sat in front of the counter. She knelt onto the seat so she could increase her height. She then watched Neel cook.
Neel took out a mixing bowl and poured a cup and a half of the flour into it. Then he took two eggs from the side and cracked them into the bowl. He also poured some water and started mixing. After the mixing was done, he lit the stove next to him. He took out a pan and placed it onto the stove. Once the heat was enough, he started making them pancakes.
It took him 15 minutes to make the batter, and another 15 to cook the pancakes. He made a few pancakes for him and then turned down the stove. He ate with Sarah on one of the tables till 7. Once both their plates were empty, he took them and placed them in the sink.
Then he walked to the door and changed the sign from 'Closed' to 'Open'. Then he sat down with Sarah and waited.
"So are you excited about school?"
"Not excited. I'm scared."
Neel was surprised.
"Scared? Why?"
"Well, my school starts at 8, and you opened the café. So who's going to drop me?!!"
Neel suddenly understood that he hadn't planned properly. He went to change the sign, but he noticed that a customer had entered the café.
Neel looked at the person who entered. She was a woman in her early twenties with red hair. She was dressed in a long skirt with a loose jacket on top.
"Can I get a coffee?"
Neel stared at her for a second, deep in thought, and then came back to reality.
"Yes, sure! Please, have a seat."
The woman sat next to Sarah while Neel started making her coffee. To pass time, she started speaking with Sarah.
"Are you his sister?"
"No. Neel's my dad!"
Sarah giggled lightly.
"So, where do you go to school?"
"I'm joining at Westview Elementary School today!"
The woman was surprised.
"What a coincidence. I teach there! Which grade will you be joining into?"
"The third grade."
"I hope to see you in my class then."
Neel joined into the conversation.
"Your coffee Ms.-?"
"Evergreen. You can call me Alicia though."
Alicia took a sip of the coffee, and her drowsiness vanished. It wasn't that the coffee was bad, the opposite actually. The coffee was so good, it vanished all of Alicia's drowsiness. The coffee had a good balance between it's bitterness and it's sweetness.\
"This coffee is really good!"
"Thank you."
She checked her watch and realized that she was running short on time.
"I have to rush now. How much do I owe you?"
"9 credits, but if you drop my daughter at your school along with you, I'd be eternally grateful and would put it on the house."
"You should have asked earlier. It's not a bother. She's a sweet companion. I would feel bad if I didn't pay you though."
"If you insist, I will take 3 credits. That's the same cost as the ingredients, so please don't feel bad."
"Okay."
Alicia took out her card and swiped it to the card machine. Once the payment was completed, she took Sarah's hand and started walking out of the door.
"Could you wait for a second?" Neel called out to Alicia.
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