Richmond Building, C floor, half past noon, frequenting the coffee shop. Line's short, thoughts evaluating the benefits of shortbread over overpriced sandwiches, deciding on shortbread; reading the ingredients and the like while in the queue waiting. Time to purchase, Highland Speciality Traditional Shortbread Fingers, oh and a large Hot Chocolate. Cost: £2.39, always higher at Fair Trade. Chocolate's made in double quick time, perhaps too quick. Chocolate's hot, hotter than normal; no thermal covers to protect my hands from heat, nearest table, move quick. Pity it's a wonky one. 1
Hot Chocolate spills, tissues needed, spills again, more needed. Back and forth and back and forth from tissue dispenser to wonky table. Every knock, another spill; table hunting required. Thoughts arrive to complain, complain like so many consumers against so many low paid shop staff, putting up with the planned and thoughout speeches on customer rights. Best not, especially not against Fair Trade, they’re doing their bit. Just shout at the Hot Chocolate, after all it’s its fault, not your own, complain to the cup, to the brown liquid, put there by a rushed job. 2
Sit somewhere else, a smaller table, all to your own. Write some observational prose and title it ‘Shouting at your Hot Chocolate’. Eat the shortbread slowly, wait for the Hot Chocolate to cool, apparently defying its namesake purpose; now with the spillage marks upon the cup and on the liquid; a skin growing atop. Go to retrieve a brown wooden mixing stick and drag the lake of the liquid of its skin. It’s cooled now; drink it up fast. Shortbread pieces are eaten all the while; using the cup as a bin for its crumbs. Resources depleted, but for the muddy chocolate sauce mess at the bottom of the cup; trying to drink it all down, despite the impossibility due to its syrup-like nature. Throw away into the rubbish bin all the problems and hassles of the last half hour; designed and shaped for coffee cups. Then quietly exit the building.3
Author notes
Some observational prose based on an experience (by me) of overly hot Hot Chocolate at one of the many University Coffee Shops. - Not an assignment, to which I'm sure Dan will be pleased.
If you want to see what the richmond building looks like you can see it here if you click the approriate link from the list.
www.brad.ac.uk/external/geninfo/tours.php
However it's an old photo, they're changing the design currently. THe coffee shops on the first floor, wish I could have a picture of that, you could probably imagine the situation.
7.
What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
1 - 11 of 11
-
I wrote it directly after the 'incident' happened in the coffee shop, so it was very clear in my mind. I wrote it rather quickly and while I was still drinking it, some parts of the writing still developing while I was writing it, so in a sense it was stream of consciousness, but not entirely, just elements of it.
-
just curious, but is this a stream of conscioussness (dont know if spelled correctly or not) work? even if it isn't i loved it. stream of conscioussness is very intresting and thats what i got from it...really nice
-
you have an original way of writing and I enjoyed it very much . well written well done
-
Thoroughly enjoyed this little rant...over wobbly tables...too hot a choc....burnt hands never enough tables when 'you' go there tc.....great concept...Why hasn't anyone invented self adjusting tables for coffee shops yet......they nearly all wobble...LOL....loved it...
-
Jeans, Jeans, a form of trousers, sorry, just had to make that point. Curt Ion?
Anyway cheers. -
coffee beans!!!!!!!!!!!!! I like coffee it makes my tummy full ^_^ your writing style is very different and was full of almost poetic word choices in your story. You stopped short and gave the reader pause though throughout the piece you had plenty of flowing words. Wonderful work and congrats on a great piece of writing!
-
ouch!!!! scorching the tongue on that stuff is pure and utter torture. i could see this entire thing playing out before me. i am sorry--you also wore white pants and that is even worse with the wonky table.
your sentences seemed a bit curt ion places---but it works here.
think i am going to make some chocolatye. lol. yhanks for writing this. viyanna -
thamks very much, you be sound and stuff.
-
Amazing
Teehee, this amused me - this type of writing always does. Writing about something so simple yet so effective. I'm sure it wasnt intended to make me giggle quit as much as I did... but it made me think of my boyfriend (part time coffee shop worker) and the abundance of spilt hot chocolates, smoothies and moca-choca lattes... by me and my friends waiting on him to finish work on a freezing cold day! I'll do that again soon. Thanks for putting a smile on my face, and for sharing such an amazing piece. -
Yep we shall have to have a big talk about all the little mishaps in life. Be sure to read my next submission, it's a bit stupid (again). But I must be off now, I say fairwell to thee.
-
lol, oh so many experiences we must share at some point, your observations are so true, "syrup like nature" what are u supposed to do with that, drink it or just throw it away?, baring in mind your wasting fair trade produce, a moral dilemma
Adding your comment:
1 - 11 of 11
