The First Night

The Lantern Café is small. It has eight tables, one long counter and a big window on College Street. On the other side of the street there is a hospital with hundreds of lights. The café never closes. Not at night, not on Sundays, not at Christmas.

Maya started work there on a cold Monday in January. Her shift began at ten at night and finished at six in the morning.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked. He was the manager, a tall man with grey hair and a calm voice.

"I think so," Maya said. She was not ready. She was very nervous.

"Good. The first hour is quiet. After midnight, the hospital people come. Nurses, doctors, families. They are tired, so be kind and be fast."

He showed her the coffee machine. It was big and silver, with many buttons.

"This one is for espresso. This one is for hot water. This one is for milk. Don't touch the red one."

"What does the red one do?"

"It cleans the machine. It takes twenty minutes. If you press it at two in the morning, forty people will be very angry."

Maya laughed, but she looked at the red button carefully.

At eleven, a man in a yellow jacket came in and sat at the counter. He had a big smile.