Pink
I stared up at the art wall. Starbucks Reserves, Seattle, Washington. The art wall in the coffee reserve showcased all the countries where Starbucks imports their coffee beans from. Each card had an individual design and facts about the different countries.
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My cousin’s boyfriend, TC, looked at me, “If you ask the barista, they’ll give you some cards.”
I gazed around the coffee shop, the hustle and bustle of tourists and coffee-goers made it almost impossible to navigate the ground to the front counter. When we had entered the reserve, we couldn’t even find a table let alone any chairs to sit in! We had settled in two arm chairs by the art wall and ordered one coffee as a wake-up call for my cousin.
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I looked back up at the art wall and replied, “I only want the Vietnam card.”
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The Vietnam card was pink and outlined in gold, glimmering faintly in the sunlight. The pink was a background for the icy blue mountains and hot pink line art flowers. Besides the design, I wanted it because I was Vietnamese, and it wasn’t everyday I got to see something dedicated to Vietnam.
I sat down on the arm of the chair where my sister was sitting, and sighed. The cards that came with the coffee we ordered seemed to be from the same pile, repeating itself over and over.
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TC said, “I’m going to exchange this one for a different card. I’ll go ask for more too. Hey, you guys, drink the coffee. It’s good—“
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“Ew, no,” my little sister winced. “It’s too bitter.”
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I followed TC to the counter and flagged down a baristas.
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“Sorry— excuse me— I was wondering if you have a Vietnam art card?” I asked. “We keep getting the same ones over and over— do you maybe have a different pile you can pick from?”
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I wasn’t expecting much. Maybe a simple “no, sorry” could have been enough. But the barista huffed and rolled her eyes. She spun around and sifted through the pile of cards and said, “We can’t open another packet until we give all of these away first.”
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“Oh, okay…”
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Without a second thought, she turned away and attended to someone else.
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I tucked my hands into my pockets, looked at my feet, and walked back to the art corner where my family was waiting.
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“The barista doesn’t have any other cards,” TC sighed, shaking his head.
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I joked, “Nothing’s protecting the cards on the wall, I could just slide the card out and replace it with one of these repeats.”
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“If you want it so bad, you should do it,” TC smirked.
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I rolled my eyes. The Vietnam card was just in reach, but high enough where people would notice a girl standing on the tips of her toes trying to slide a card in and out of the art wall.
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But the card was beautiful, and I was here. If I didn’t get it now, I would never get another chance.
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“We should go soon,” my cousin commented, checking her cell phone. “Hey, do you guys want to try poke for lunch?”
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“They’re not going to eat it,” TC shook his head. “You’re related to them, you should know that.”
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“But they can try something new!” my cousin argued.
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“It’s raw fish,” my sister scoffed. “We can’t eat raw fish—“
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As they argued about what to have for lunch, I took one of our art cards, stood on the tips of my toes, and pushed the card beside the one I wanted. I could barely reach. I nudged the card with my finger, the Vietnam card slowly inched out of its case. When it slid out enough, I grabbed the thin card and quickly pocketed it.
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“Let’s get out of here,” I announced. “You know, poke doesn’t sound so bad.”
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“Hey— wait— wait—“ someone called out.
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The voice could have been calling out for anyone, but someone grabbed my hand, causing me to jerk in surprise.
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“Hey— you— don’t take from the art wall,” the barista sneered. “You should know, we can give you the cards for free if you ask!”
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People have told me my entire life, “If you want something, you have to ask for it.”
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It was a simple thing, really. If I wanted to eat, I should ask about breakfast, lunch, or dinner or go out and get it for myself. If I wanted help in class, I should ask ask a teacher or a classmate. If I wanted the stupid art card, I should have asked the barista—no, I did ask for it.
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I smiled despite my racing heart and pink cheeks and said, “I know.”