HANNAH

The smell of coffee hung in the air, making my head throb. “Avery, how come you chose THIS coffee shop? You know how sensitive my headaches are.” I touched my hand to my forehead tenderly, wincing at the pain.

“Shit, I’m so sorry Hannah! I totally forgot.” Avery gave me her “sorry” face, with her upturned eyebrows and sad puppy eyes, but I could tell she didn’t mean it. I sighed and glanced towards the door.

“It’s alright. Get me a black coffee, will you? I’m gonna step outside.” Avery nodded and bounced on her heels excitedly. Avery was a fall fanatic, and her favorite coffee shop just announced the official release of their pumpkin spiced lattes. I opened the door and breathed in deeply as the cool autumn air hit my face, relaxing my muscles and easing my headache. I looked out at the foggy afternoon, taking in the scenery and everyone around me. There weren’t many people out yet, since it was before five and most everyone was at work. I hoped Avery would hurry up, because I was really craving some coffee.

AVERY

I was waiting in line for my coffee, eyes darting around excitedly. I loved autumn and cold weather and Halloween and everything, and I mean everything, fall related. I dragged Hannah along for the ride but honestly didn’t expect her to stay except for the reward of caffeine at the end. I was just about to go outside to tell Hannah we could come back later since the line was too long when I spotted her.

Her, in question, was the most beautiful woman of all time.

Zendaya.

Let me tell you, I LOVED that woman. She was my idol. And to see her in a small coffee shop in northern Minnesota? Practically impossible. When I first saw her, I did a double take. I must’ve been seeing things. Zendaya didn’t even live near here. But no, it was definitely her. It was surprising, though, because she was wearing absolutely no makeup and joggers. But she was still gorgeous. I frantically texted Hannah that Zendaya, yes, THE Zendaya, was in the coffee shop right behind her. I took out a coupon, the first thing I could find in my backpack, and cautiously approached Zendaya with the Little Caesar’s coupons and a dying pen in my hand.

“Um, hi, are you Zendaya?” I asked, like a total dumbass. Zendaya looked me up and down and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“No, I’m sorry. Not Zendaya.” Now it was my turn to look her up and down. I knew what I saw, and what I saw was Zendaya, in the flesh.

“Really? Cause you look a whole lot like her.” The meekness in my voice was gone, replaced by annoyance. She just had to sign the coupon and move on. It wasn’t that hard!

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Not-Zendaya said dryly.

“Well, what’s your name? You’re cute.” I slid a bit closer to her, and she leaned away. I frowned and then, when she didn’t respond, rolled my eyes. “C’ mon,” I groaned. “Just sign the damn coupon!” I yelled that last part a lot louder than I meant to, and everyone was looking at me and Not-Zendaya. “Sorry,” I muttered, shrinking away from Not-Zendaya. I went to go pay for Hannah and my coffee and quickly dashed out the door.

HANNAH

“God, that took you long enough,” I grumbled, taking a sip of my coffee.

“Dude, I shit you not I just saw Zendaya. She refused to admit it was her!” Avery was rambling on and on but I tuned her out. This wasn’t the first time this happened. Once, she was totally convinced she saw Zac Efron in a run down gas station in the middle of Georgia. I shut that down real quick.

“Avery, come on, let it-“ My sentence was cut short by Zendaya walking out of the damn coffee shop. After both Avery and I ogling at Zenday for a few seconds, all I manage is a weak “Oh.”

After that, Avery wouldn’t let it go. All she could say was “I told you so,” and all I could say was “whatever.” We never saw Not-Zendaya ever again, but Avery did eventually get Real-Zendaya’s autograph, and she was fine with that. To this day we both wonder if Not-Zendaya was honestly Real-Zendaya.