She sat quietly at the computer, the mixture of jazz, classical, and funky new pop music flowed around her as she worked. The tables near her were full of coffee-swilling professionals in all states of consciousness. The majority of them were only briefly aware of others around them. It’s as if they were riding in cars, oblivious to the humans that surrounded them. It amused her to listen as she worked. It was as if the TV was on in the background, innane noise. The intriguing part was that this was “real.”

Her name was irrelevant as were the names of the patrons around her. Starbuck’s is always full of two-dimensionals. She listened as people discussed topics with which she was familiar. It always made her smile to see egos manifesting as aggrandized knowledge. Wow, look at the huge brain on that one. Of course, she was well aware that this was her own ego, asserting its self-importance. She could do nothing but laugh.

Over the hours, the patrons came and went and the conversations remained the same. Grandmothers with their pre-school charges, mothers with strollers, men and women meeting under the pretext of “work” (the flirting was odd, if nothing else), and the lone computer geek, like her, typing away without a care for coffee or king: all of them suffering from a sense of caffene and life withdrawl. Better to be around people and not talk than to be around no one at all. Starbuck’s shaved the lonliness off their lives.

She took a moment to pause and reflect on the warm sun filtering through the shade. Her breath was shallow, not comforting at all. The air was cool and calm, if the rest of the atmosphere was charged. It felt good to be in such a place and feel the sun. Roxy Music accompanied nostalgia and longing. What is that, she thought, that repetative feeling of more? Looking around, she was positive that it was there, somewhere, for other people. She was positive it was always there for her.

The barista smiled as he called out the Latte. The long walk to the bar stood in shadow and she was soon to forget…