Valkyries Wish

I don't know what I am doing here. Why the hell did I leave Australia? At least in Australia I wasn't as conspicuous, here I'm a giant amongst scholars! I am almost twenty-five and I still don't feel comfortable in my own skin Kalliope thought as she walked across Cambridge universities verdant grounds towards her part time job. Sighing, she clung tighter to her library books hoping the drizzle would stop long enough to see the sun. It was the one thing she missed most about Australia, the harsh fiery sunlight that permeated every cell of your body. I was like being wrapped in a golden cocoon, comforting and invigorating. Here, in England, there was almost no sun and summer was anything above ten degrees. What do the English know of a true summer, a summer that literally melts roads and forces the strongest men to their knees in submission and reverence. She was really homesick, pulling her thoughts back to the present she strolled up the street, making sure to check for cars as she crossed the road, entering the cafe where she worked.  "Jesus! It's absolutely pelting out there!"  "It's what?" said Lewis the barista staring at her blankly. "Pelting! Oh, come on! pelting... It's not an Australian thing, it's an English speaking thing..." Lewis continued to stare at her, clearly perplexed. Kalliope couldn't tell if it was her accent that made it almost impossible for him to have a conversation with her or that he was a med student, she thought it might be the med student thing because he was burning his hand with steam and had yet to notice. "AHHHHHH!" screamed Lewis, suddenly retracting his hand from the coffee machine "Holy hell! Mary Mother! FUUUUUCCKKKKKK!"  "Language!" yelled Laura the manager from her office.  "Sorry Laura." Lewis and Kalliope said in unison. Kalliope rushed behind the counter and dragged Lewis over to the sink, holding his hand under cold water until he stopped swearing under his breath.  "Thanks Kal, I don't know what I'd do without you." Smiled Lewis. Kalliope took in his face, he looked incredibly tired. He shouldn't be working.  "Hey Lewis, when was the last time you got some sleep?"  "About twenty-four hours ago, why?" Lewis looked dazed.  "How about I take your shift today, I wasn't going to work but I need the money. You'd be doing me a huge favour." She hoped that excuse would be enough, the last time Lewis was like this she'd been called in to take over on short notice and he refused to leave. It resulted in him falling asleep on the counter whilst serving customers, spilling boiling hot coffee on himself and customers who then called an ambulance. Since then, Laura had relied on Kalliope having no life to come and rescue the cafe when Lewis had, had a long shift.  "Oh Kal, I don't know, I really need the money too." said Lewis, not convinced. "Alright, how about this, you go home and set your alarm for 1:30pm come back and do the second half of your shift then we can split the pay and you still get some rest."  "Mmmm, you're a genius, I can't always understand you but you're a genius." Mumbled Lewis as he took his apron off and stumbled to the back of the cafe.  Kalliope had been working here for two years, ever since she moved to Cambridge to do her PhD in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic literature. The university had been impressed with her previous work through ANU and had been more than happy to accept her... Unlike her own family, Cambridge was the family she chose. Pulling on the blue and white striped apron she strode out of the kitchen and towards the counter to continue cleaning the coffee machine before opening. The cafe opened at 10am, it was 9:45am and already there were people waiting to get their morning coffee. It didn't matter to them that it was raining, they needed caffeine. Quickly wiping down the tables and benches, she walked over to the doors and flipped the sign to open whilst unlocking the door. The small frozen crowd bustled in, filling up tables and standing by the counter to have their orders taken. Laura had come out from her office and was manning the coffee machine so that Kalliope could take orders and serve tables. They were short staffed at the moment, the majority of their workers had gone on holiday but not Kalliope or Lewis, the medical school had different holidays to the rest of Cambridge so they were the only ones left over the Easter break.  Kalliope sped through the orders, giving them to Laura, receiving payment then swiftly handing the patron their beverage and onto the next. She worked through the morning rush with ease. This was nothing compared to breakfast back on the farm. Twenty women all under one roof, all related, all insane and agressively vying for the cereal, fighting to the death over toast and screeching at each other over who got coffee or tea first. Kalliope had always been the peace maker. Standing at over 6ft her cousins and aunts couldn't reach her and she was just as well trained as they were in self defence. By the time she was fifteen, she was able to take ten of them at once and pin them all. So inevitably she was called on to settle disputes, which, as she got older led her towards books. The older she got and the more complex the issues became in the family the more knowledge she sought. This was discouraged, a Holt woman didn't need book learning especially book learning that had nothing to do with agriculture, breeding or animal husbandry. Her interest in literature was lost on her family but she convinced them to send her to Ascham and from there to ANU and eventually to Cambridge. Cambridge had been a huge adjustment but she was finally settled.  "Kal! KAAALLLL!" yelled Sera, waving her hand in front of Kalliopes face. Snapping back into the room, Kalliope realised that once the rush orders had been taken she had zoned out staring into space thinking about home.  "Hey Sera! How're you? I didn't see you come in last night." "Yeah" Sera smiled blushing slightly. "My date went really, really, REALLLLLLY well. I'll tell you about it when you get home later. She ordered her usual hot chocolate with a peppermint twist, grabbed it off of Laura as soon as it was made and was gone in a flash.  With the morning rush orders done and the table orders waiting Kalliope left the counter and began waiting tables. She moved fluidly through the cafe, writing as she went. She was incredibly graceful for such a tall woman. People often remarked how she almost floated through the cafe. Any attention made her uncomfortable so hearing comments about her everyday was a lot for her. She practiced her pranayama, breathing deeply for eight counts, holding for eight and exhaling for eight. Focussing on her breath helped her to move past the anxiety to a place of intense focus. Her hyper-fixation on her task allowed her to drown out any comments and do what she needed to. Often by the end of the morning rush, she had no memory of her work but was told by Laura that she was the best employee she had ever had.  By 3pm the crowd had dwindled and a peace settled over the small cafe. Lewis had of course completely ignored his alarm and did not make it back to the cafe. Kalliope smiled as she sat down for a cup of tea, drawing one of her Norse mythology books out of her leather backpack. He never woke up once he was asleep. For him to get to his internships on time it took Kalliope and Sera screaming and shaking him awake together daily, they would have to coordinate schedules the week prior. He was hopeless. As she opened her book, she felt the tension in her shoulders ebb. Reading was her safe space, the cafe was quiet, all was right with the world. The first chapter spoke of Oden, Freya and Valhalla, Kalliope loved these stories. They seemed so familiar, so real, she could see Valhallas great halls and Freya smiling at her, arms open. It wasn't like a dream it was almost like a memory...