My hands were shaking as I held the slip of paper in my hands.

To the parents/guardians of Kimberly Constance and Whom it may concern,
                 We were highly impressed with Kimberly's test scores. She has shown to be a bright young student, and a conscientious member of the community. The University of Rochester would be honored to give its Scholarship for Academic and Artistic Excellence to Kimberly.

The letter went on about all the opportunities at the U of R. A huge grin appeared on my face as I clutched the letter.

"Mom!" I shouted, running down the carpet padded steps.

"I'm in the kitchen!" My mother's voice chirped.

My mother had the same dark brown wavy hair, except hers was graying and cut short. She was chopping vegetables on a cutting board. A persistent, rhythmic beat. The aroma of her famous beef stew made my stomach growl with an urgency to grab a bowl and inhale it immediately.

The woman smiled warmly, and wiped the sweat off her brow with her sleeve, "What do ya need?"

"I got a letter from the U of R," I said nonchalantly, trying to hide my smile.

She grabbed a dish towel, and wiped her hands and face. She hurried over to my side, and like a giddy school girl she asked, "And....?"

"And I got accepted!" I smiled, jumping up and down, shoving the paper into her hands.

"Oh my gosh! I knew you would!" She laughed, swatting me with the towel. Her eyes swelled with pride as she read the words; her lips mouthing them.

"Oh honey! I'm so proud of you," she gushed. Her eyes glistened, and she hugged me tightly.

"Mo-om!" I whined with a laugh, "don't start crying. It's not that big of a deal!"

"Yes it is! My baby's got a full ride to a University in New York, can't a mother be happy?" She teased, wiping under her eyes before the tears would fall.

"Mom," I said exasperated, giving her a you-know-what-I-mean look. "It's Rochester, not New York City."

"Don't you get smart with me University girl," she teased, making sure to grab a wooden spoon then.

I rolled my eyes in amusement. Sometimes I couldn't believe my mom. She acted like such a teenager.

"Hey, I'm going to go tell Jason the news, 'kay?" I said more than asked as I walked over to the mudroom.

"Okay, just be home before dinner! Carter's coming over for dinner. He'll want to here the news!" She called from the kitchen.

"Thanks Mom! Love ya!" I shouted, slamming the door shut as I headed to my car.

~~~

"Hey, meet me at our spot. I've got something important to tell you, we need to talk asap," I spoke into  my phone.

"This isn't the 'we need to talk, I'm breaking up with you, it's not you it's me' speech, right?" Jason asked.

I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh.

"I don't know, the sooner you get there the sooner you'll find out!" I teased.

"Leaving me in suspense I see?"

I hung up him then, just for the hell of it.

I ended up finding a parking spot quickly in the little town of Coopersfield. The autumn breeze made me shiver in delight. I always loved fall days where it was just cold enough to wear a sweatshirt, but not too cold to have to actually wear a jacket. The feeling of the wind chilling your bones ever so slightly was like diving into a cold pool on a hot day. It just re-energized you.

A smile captured my lips at the sight of the quaint coffee shop. Jason and I have been going to 'Not Your Average Jo' since Sophomore year of high school.

The little bell rang above the door, and the smells of coffee made my heart swell. It would be one of the places I'd miss most. I couldn't help but laugh at the new side of the store.

A banner read 'Compliments of Joe', and the wall was a giant book case.

"'eh! Dere's our favor-ete costumer!" A heavily accented European voice embellished.

"You say that to everyone Joe," I laughed, looking up at the bald man. He had Where's Waldo glasses, and he always was wearing a black turtle neck. Everyone tried to guess where he was from, but no one really knew. And Joe would sooner die then tell anyone where he originated. He was quoted for saying 'De mystery behind me origins is part of se mag-netic forc-es zat bring peo-ple into me shoop. Vithout it, zere'd be no attract-tion.'

Jason and I used to suspect that he was just a really good actor, but he hasn't broken character.

"Ja, but I only mean it vit you," Joe smiled, causing his dark mustache to rise at the corners, and winked. "Jason no coming?  

"He'll be here soon. But hey, do you mind just glaring at him when he comes in? Something like that. Scare him a little," I asked.

He looked at me with an amused expression, "I'd ask vhy, but I don't sink I vant to know." 

"You're the best Joe," I said, giving him a hug.

"'eh, germs! Pesticides, hormones! Get zees sings off meh!" He teased, squirming.

I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. I guess you could say it was a typical Joe! I thought, and ended up laughing at my bad joke.

~~~

I was sitting out our booth for about a half an hour when I got a text from Jason.

Jason: (2:30) Hey, sry gonna b late! ;( Grab ur coffee, again so so sry!

Me: (2:31) It's okay, quit texting while driving! People die that way, and I don't want u to get caught for manslaughter

Jason: (2:31) I pulled over at a gas station geez! Good to know u'd b concerned if I died

Me: (2:31) ;)

I put my phone in my back pocket and walked over to Joe, who was manning the Barista counter.

"Still, Jason no?" He asked, raising a graying eyebrow.

"He's a little late. I kind of sprang coffee onto him spontaneously. He told me to order without him," I shrugged not thinking too much about it.

"Vhat can I get ju?"

"Hmm, I think I'll get the fall special," I said, after contemplating the many choices.

"Vich von?"

"Surprise me," I said, feeling a little daring.

A few minutes later he came back with a cinnamon smelling Latte.

"Here's ze s-ugar and spice Latte," he said, handing the mug to me.

"Thank you," I chirped, turning on my heel, coffee in hand. I was heading over to my booth, which was by the front door.

"Anytime, and make sure Jason comes on time, ja?" Joe said.

"I'll lay it into him Joe," I laughed, giving him a wave in thanks.

The Sugar and Spice Latte was warm in my hands, until it wasn't. There's moments in my life where I forget that the world doesn't revolve around me. In this case, I forgot that other people come to 'Not Your Average Jo' for coffee too. And that these people don't expect teenage girl's to not look where they're going before they turn around. And they certainly don't expect these young girl's to trip over their own two feet and flail their arms everywhere until said person is covered in a Sugar and Spice Latte.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so, so sorry! I'm such a klutz! My parents should seriously not let me out of the house!" I Immediately blabbered, as I grabbed fist fulls of napkins.

I looked up to find a pair of dark, striking blue eyes. The boy had to have been early twenties at most, but he couldn't have been younger than a senior in high school. His blonde hair was ruffled by the wind, and his cheeks were kissed by a rose.

"It's fine," he said tiredly.

"No it's not! You probably have somewhere to be, some job or college or something. And now you're behind schedule because I'm not aware of my body parts. And god that sounds weid, and I probably should've shut up by now. This is quite the first impression I'm giving you. People don't usually find out I ramble when I feel guilty until the third date," I tried to joke, but then I realized how that sounded. "I didn't mean that were dating or going out or anything. God, out of all the days I had to sound like a complete mess it's today. Anyway, I'm sorry about the coffee. I'm Kimberly."

His blue eyes glowed with amusement, "It's fine, really. I'm Ash."

He extended his hand, and I shook it.

"And you know, it's not completely your fault. I should've noticed you were walking there, and not have been so stalkerishly close," he shrugged.

"So, where you off to Ash?" I asked, walking back up to the Barista for another Latte.

"Well, I'm here on my break. Then I have to get back to the Office," Ash said, taking a moment to tell his to-go items.

"Oh, so your not a college student," I said out loud.

"You tell me what college student dresses like this for school?" He teased, gesturing to his now stained white collared shirt, striped tie, and black pants.

"The Valedictorian," I guessed, shrugging, as I laughed at my stupidity. "So what do you do at the 'Office'?"

"I'm a secretary," Ash said, grabbing his to-go bag. "Here, let me pay for your coffee. It was kind of my fault."

"That's not necessary. I tripped and ruined your shirt," I justified.

"Let me buy your coffee, it would've been fine if I wasn't in your way," he insisted.

"Yeah, but even if you weren't there, I would've tripped anyway. And then I'd have to buy my own coffee again," I smiled.

"Stop it! I've hat enough of your bicker-in, dis coffi is on meh," Joe stated dramatically, giving them the stink eye.

"Thank you Joe," I laughed, shaking my head.

"Well, I guess that solves it," Ash smiled. "However, I've got to give it to you, now I'm curious. What are you doing here at 3 on a Saturday?"

"Well, I just found out I got a scholarship to a college, and I came here to meet my boyfriend. He was supposed to be here an hour ago. You don't think anything bad could've happened to him, right?" I asked out loud, worriedly.

"I don't know the guy, but I guess it would be very unlikely. Maybe he's stuck in traffic," Ash offered.

"I hope so. I was supposed to tell him the news. Anyway, I'm really sorry about your shirt. Here," I handed him a twenty. "There's a store called Jenny's and they probably have a shirt you can wear to work. It probably won't look good if their Secretary has a coffee stained shirt."

"You keep it, it's fine. It was an accident, unless you were secretly trying to plot against me," he joked, feigning a wary look.

"I guess you'll never know, will you?" I teased.

"How will I be able to go to sleep tonight not knowing your true intentions," he said sarcastically. "Well, I better get going, the office calls. It was nice meeting you Kimberly. Maybe I'll run into you again sometime, and maybe not quiet so literally!"

"Maybe," I laughed, giving him a small wave as he walked out.

"Oh boy, I smell treble," Joe muttered.

And then Jason walked in.