peppermints & coffee

Her name was Alyssa, spelled whichever way you took a fancy to. Alyssa, Alissa, Alisa, Alysa, Alica, Allisa, whatever. Her birth certificate clearly stated: Alyssa Rachel Henser-Tweed. Again, just say it how you like, Hensertweed, Hencertweed, whatever float your boat. Whatever made you happy. For Alyssa, she always spelled it the way her birth certificate had been written. Something nostalgic about that, wasn't there? To write it the same way her long-lost mother had written it, yes very nostalgic.

And, although all of this is just as relevant to the character of Miss Alyssa Henser-Tweed as anything might be, we should really be getting on with this post. After you, dear.

Alyssa was looking in the mirror in the girls' bathroom at the Green Bean Coffee Cafe, cocking her head of blonde hair. She took a step closer and squinted. She laughed a silent, evil laugh, studying the way her face molded the expression. Very interesting. But wait, she simply had to get out of the deplorable loo. Alyssa hated bathrooms, really hated them. They were always dirty, unsanitary, and the amount of water a single toilet flushed each time someone pissed a few tablespoons was entirely atrocious. She gave the mirror one last sneer and left.

Today, Alyssa was wearing a short knitted dress made entirely from naturally dyed wool. She had knitted it herself and quite proud of the shapefitting, soft sexy dress that had come of it. Truth be told in my opinion, the dress did not qualify as "sexy" but more in the catagory of "very interesting and a little see-through, but not sexy." It was a little see-through, too, so she had thrown on a green and brown skirt she had made on her Mom's sewing machine, some striped tights and a pair of bright red converse shoes. Her hair, naturally white-blonde, was messily pulled into a very loose braid and tied with what looked to be a string from a sweatshirt. Little whisps of hair mussed around her head, making any perfectionist want to tie her up and comb it out.

She walked over to her table, where she had a jumble of books, papers, pens, a sock, two mugs, a glass of water and a opened and spilling bag of red & white peppermints. She sat down and immediately settled into the utter mess, feeling peaceful and happy. She pulled a peppermint out of the pile and unwrapped it, tossing the paper towards the back of the pile and popping the candy into her mouth. Okay, so where was her English Lit book? Ah, there it was... The dog-eared page was still dog-eared. Ah, good.

Her college homework was nasty, grueling, loathsome, unsavory, malevolent, even. Bleck! So before she got started on this next Assignment, which asked her to write a deplorable essay (with correct spelling) on the two main themes of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, she would simply have to get another coffee. Oh sigh.