Chapter 82

                                    

                                          
Once school let out for the day, and it was officially the start of the weekend, Clay and Justin said goodbye to their friends before heading back home together to get changed for work. The two teens had been on the lookout for jobs - Clay wanting to have another job to help save up some money, and Justin wanting to have a way to make his own money so he didn't have to feel guilty anymore about asking Matt and Lainie for some cash. Once the two boys found out that the small establishment had two job openings, the brothers were pretty quick to apply for the jobs. The manager of the business had also responded sooner than the two expected, and they both were equally happy when they had been hired. 
                          
After getting home and changing into a pair of jeans and their matching dark brown business-logo-labeled t-shirts, the two brothers went through the house, stopping briefly to talk with Matt and Lainie before heading off for their shifts at the local establishment known as Monet's. The journey there was developed in a comfortable silence, with small talk being shared between the teens every so often. Once they arrived to their destination, Clay and Justin headed towards the counter - the Foley teen went behind the cash register while the Jensen male began helping out in making desired beverages or retrieving snack foods for their patiently waiting customers.
                          
Since her boyfriend had to work after school, Hannah decided to meet up with Jessica and Alex, and the three friends had agreed to have a spontaneous FML meeting in the office, despite one group member not being able to attend the meeting this time around. Walking towards their usual meeting place, the trio stayed silent as they didn't really want to talk about the subject of today's meeting, because talking about it would make it that much more real to them. Being in front of the two girls, Alex opened the door, being a gentleman and holding it open for his friends before entering the coffee shop behind them. The place wasn't too crowded, surprisingly, so Hannah and Jessica headed off to grab a table while they waited, and the Standall teen made his way to the counter to order their usual drinks. 
                          
As the decently short line moved along pretty quickly, Alex soon found himself at the front, with Justin Foley standing on the other side of the counter. "You work here?" The boy asked, sounding slightly surprised to see the Liberty High basketball player. "Gee, did the shirt give it away, Standall?" Justin questioned back, smirking slightly. After their exchange, the customer moved on to order the three drinks before paying for them and heading towards the table where Hannah and Jessica were patiently waiting for him. "Hey, did you guys know that Justin works here?" The boy asked as he took a seat between the two girls. "He does?" Jessica asked as the two females looked towards the counter to see the boy in question busy manning the register. 
                          
After a few minutes, the three teens began conversing about the dreaded news that Nora Walker had informed them about. It was looking slightly more possible that Bryce would be set free a little early, because the Judge had seen some change in him so far. Though, before any decisions were made, more evidence of change would need to be presented to him. As the group kept talking, they paid no mind to the employee who came by with their drinks, only muttering a quiet, yet still audible, "thank you" to the worker. In response, the person didn't say anything to the group before leaving to serve the next round of beverages and snacks to other awaiting customers. Alex had asked for their drinks to be in to-go cups since they wouldn't be here for too long. Rather, they planned to hang around for a minute or two before heading back out again. 
                          
Picking up her drink, Hannah took a small sip of the warm hot chocolate. As she did so, Jessica watched her before giving her boyfriend a nudge and smiling to herself. When Alex gave her his attention, the Davis girl gestured to their friend's cup. Looking at it, the Standall teen soon smiled once he realized what decorated the cardboard sleeve that rested on the to-go cup. "Hey, Hannah?" Jessica spoke up, gaining the girl's attention as she set her cup back down on the table and looked at her dark-skinned friend. "I think there's something on your cup." The Davis teen said with a small smile as she pointed down at the Monet's to-go cup.