“ And we’re just gonna shake shake shake shake shake, shake it off, shake it off,” Taylor Swifts voice filled the small space around me as a pop beat reverberated the frame of the car. The sky was white, the in-between of the pitch-black night and dazzling sunrise. I shifted around in my seat, pushing my glasses up on my nose so that I could focus on the road. My eyes began to droop again and I shook myself, lightly tapping the volume button under my fingertips on the steering wheel, pumping the bass until the seats of the car were shaking back and forth, forcing me to stay awake.
As I jolted to a stop at a red light I hadn’t noticed my hair began to fall in wisps out of the mass on top of my head. I assessed the situation. The light would give me about 2 minutes maximum to deal with the dilemma, my record was way under that. Expertly I let the frizzy mess of hair down and it floated around me irritatingly, stimulated by the static generated from my new North Face. In under fifteen sections after 3 bobby pins and an intricate hair tie maneuver I had a bun that was just the right amount of messy piled up, adding 3 or so inches to my normal height.
The light shone green and I gunned it, now trying to maintain a solid posture, thinking that would help me stay alert better. My eyes darted over the fluorescent letters passing quickly to my right, scanning for the familiar pink and orange emblem. After what seemed like endless highway with only golden arches framed by a dull russet and dim streetlights dotting the surrounding neighborhoods I spotted my destination.
With a gasp I checked casually out the side mirror for cars to my right and swerved into the next lane over, focused on only one thing and one thing only, caffeine. The turn into the parking lot was sharp and I had to break hard, skidding slightly and receiving several honks from behind me, but I could’ve cared less.
I parked slightly crookedly, the Jeeps bulky exterior extending over the limits of the spot by a foot or so but I paid no mind. I snatched up my Vera Bradley wallet, in the Ziggy Zinia pattern, and rushed inside. I’d been bummed out that I had to get the wallet in last years pattern, but they were out of stock in Flutterby so I had to settle.
Once I’d entered I didn’t even need to look at the menu, a voice piped up from behind the massive stand of brightly packaged beans, “ Medium Caramel Iced and Coffee Cake Muffin?”
“ Sounds perfect,” I replied, and in an afterthought, “ Could you add a turbo shot, I just don’t think I can make it through the day without it.”
Suddenly the voice was attached to a body as Kenny appeared, brightly smiling, from behind the racks, “ I’m so sorry, we’re out of turbo.”
My eyes went wide and my heart sank, could the day get any worse? I regretfully told Kenny to cancel my order and that I’d see him tomorrow. As I walked back to the car, dodging puddles as to not get my sleek virgin Uggs stained, my dismay grew into a panic. I can’t go without my coffee, not any time but especially not today. There were only a few miles between me and school and I couldn’t recall a single Dunkin Donuts in between.
With an exasperated sigh I slid back into my car and hit the highway once again. Now I was not tired, I was alert. My eyes hungrily darted from sign to sign, hoping to see the pink and orange combination once again. The miles began to tick down and I was cutting it close, only one mile away when I saw it. Off in the distance there was a bright sign, like a beacon of hope calling me in. The contrasting color, however, was a forest green. Starbucks. I cringed.
It physically pained me to do it, but I pulled in and entered the establishment. Filling the line and seats were people of every sort, trying their hardest to be the most different. High waisted shorts and maxi skirts, large “quirky” glasses and colored strips of hair surrounded me and I held in a small noise of contempt. As the line began to move I realized that I would actually have to study the menu. Being a frequent of Dunkin the language was simple, but Starbucks was a whole other ball game. Here every drink had a full name complete with suffix and prefix.
The line moved faster than expected and too quickly I was faced with an employee sporting a thin shiny nose hoop. Trying not to stare I grumbled, “ Can I just have the biggest size of whatever drink you make with the most caffeine?”
The girl looked at me with confusion and then it dawned on her. After observing the Pink yoga pants and quilted wallet she asked in a low tone, “ You’re a Dunkin girl aren’t you?”
I nodded quickly, hoping no one heard. She smiled and rung me up. I slid into a chair, waiting to hear my order be called. While I anticipated the sweet success of the introduction to caffeine into my system I took out my iPhone 5. The battery life was so bad now that I had to keep it plugged in at virtually all times, but it didn’t really matter considering my upgrade was in a month. I’d probably get the 6, hopefully. My fingers raced across the screen with ease, explaining my morning struggle to the world.
“ Julia!”
I looked up and saw a caffeinated concoction wrapped in a neat plastic package skewered with a green straw awaiting me. I preferred my pink straw but this would just have to do. Before getting out of that mediocre café I quickly snapped a pic for insta, because if you don’t post a picture did it even happen?
On my way out to the car I took a large gulp, sucking down as much as I could get. The taste was bitter and I was unhappy but the coffee was doing its job. In the last mile of my drive it was as if someone had cleared the cobwebs out of my head, now I could actually think. As I got to the end of my drink and neared school a very important question crossed my mind, “ Did I wear the right underwear for these yoga pants?”