Awks. ✓

Chapter 22: Maroon Lagoons.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

I hurriedly topped off the maroon coloured drinks with whipped cream and caramel sauce I had dyed red with the extra food colouring that I had. I sealed the six cups in front of me with their plastic lids and let out a sigh of relief. "Done."

I picked up the cups, two by two and handed them out. To my luck, everyone showed up today, including Mr Ramirez himself. I called him as soon as I left the house this morning, telling him that I had something urgent to talk to him about; something to do with his café. Needless to say, mentioning his baby got him running down here faster than The Road Runner.

I watched in anticipation as they all sipped on the drinks I had prepared. Watching their faces for any sort of sign that could reflect what they were thinking.

Darn you all and your poker faces!!

"Ria, this is awesome!"
"This is amazing!"

Thomas and Dylan shouted simultaneously, followed by complete silence. They both then turned to each other and had one hell of an awkward stare down.

"It is." Claire mumbled, breaking the uncomfortable silence and Alexander nodded to that in agreement.

"It's okay." Bethany shrugged, not making eye contact with me. She's been keeping it on the down low ever since my little 'outburst' a couple of days ago.

So the feedback was pretty great if you ask me. But whose opinion mattered most was the man still sipping on his drink agonizingly slowly.

"So, what do you think Mr Ramirez?" I asked, trying to sound much more confident than I actually was and the outcome was an overly shaky sounding question. He continued to suck on the straw, the slurping noises getting louder as the content of his cup decreased.

"I like it." He finally said, putting the now completely empty cup down on the table next to him. "Marie-Annie, this is a wonderful drink."

I grinned tightly and refrained from replying because I'm pretty sure my brain wouldn't be able to stop the amount of swear words rolling off of my tongue if I didn't.

One of these days, I'm going to change my name, just to have the peace of mind people with averagely simple names get to have. Something so simple not even Ramirez over here could get wrong. Maybe something monosyllabic. Or better yet, one letter? Like L from Death Note. L who liked cake, ohhhh I want cake..

"Do you think that's a good idea?" He asked.

"Huh?"

I absolutely hate zoning back in right after being asked a question!!! I can't even pretend like I was listening to him or nod or anything!!! Uggghhhhhh..

"I'm sorry, what do I think is a good idea?" I asked timidly, rocking back and forth on my tiptoes.

"It's rude not to pay attention when someone's speaking." Thomas whispered into my ear. When the hell did he get up and stand next to me?

"This nice, famous mister wants to advertise the new drink for us." Mr Ramirez repeated.

"Oh, really?" I asked in a mocking tone, turning to look at the devil himself. "And what's in it for you?"

"Sometimes people do things out of the kindness of their own hearts." He replied, placing a hand over his chest. "You should try it some time."

I scoffed. "Right." I gave Mr Ramirez a thumbs up before taking Thomas' seat.