Musical Barista Girl dialog 1 - Six-Oak-Tree

[Sound of applause fading, silence, a cup clinking]
[Music stops abruptly, doorbell rings, shadow through the window]

[Spoken — Voice behind the door, muffled]
Open?

[Spoken — Eloisa, laughing, shouting]
Come in! Everything you need is already inside!

[Door opens, sound of rain, footsteps, an umbrella closing]

[Spoken — Jerome, quiet, to himself]
The city is waking up...

[Spoken — Eloisa]
What?

[Spoken — Jerome, quickly, embarrassed]
Nothing. Coffee. Please. Cappuccino. To go.

[Soft piano begins — intimate, sparse]

[Spoken — Eloisa, behind the counter, not looking at him]
To go? In this weather? You should dry off.

[Spoken — Jerome]
I'm... in a hurry.

[Spoken — Eloisa, looking up]
Where can you be in a hurry in this weather?

[Spoken — Jerome, pauses]
...Somewhere dry.

[Spoken — Eloisa, laughs, taking a cup]
Then you need to sit down and close your eyes for a couple of minutes.

[Chair scrapes, silence]

[Spoken — Eloisa]
Your cappuccino.

[Sound of footsteps, a cup being placed]

[Spoken — Stephanie, quietly, only to J;r;me]
You come here every morning. Drink cold coffee. Leave. People will think you're strange.

[Spoken — Jerome]
And you?

[Spoken — Stephanie]
I think you're a poet. Poets are afraid of hot things. Afraid of getting burned — and not being able to express it beautifully.

[Spoken — Jerome, looking at Eloisa]
I'm not a poet. I'm... ordinary.

[Spoken — Stephanie, smiling]
Then tell her about the yard. About what grows there. She loves the world and its colors.

[Piano continues, St;phanie moves to the counter]

[Spoken — Stephanie, quietly, to herself, almost singing]
Everyone says: she makes the best coffee...
But the truth is — it's just an excuse...

[Music swells — reprise starts]

[Reprise — Stephanie, soft, singing]
...To take one more sip.
And stay a little longer.

[Music fades to gentle underscore]

[Spoken — Eloisa, behind the counter, looking at Stephanie]
It's all about the cafe I've always wanted to ask: why did you name it 6-0-3? Do you take the same train I do?

[Spoken — Stephanie, quietly, reminiscing]
No. Once upon a time, six oaks grew along this alley, but they decided to cut them down. So I built my caf; under the sixth, and it saved it. That's how Caf; "6-0-3" came to be.

[Spoken — Eloisa, puzzled]
I don't get it.

[Spoken — Stephanie, smiling]
It's a pun. "Six-Oak-Tree."

[Spoken — Eloisa, joyful]
Then this really is the best caf; — because it didn't just save a tree, it created a place for meetings and warmth.

[Upbeat jazz piano begins, rhythmic]

[Spoken — narrator or action]
Eloisa steps out from behind the counter. She walks through the room, smiling at some, winking at others, gently touching someone's shoulder. She moves to the center of the caf; and begins to sing.

[Music builds, customers join in humming, clapping]

[Outro]
[Sound of applause, laughter, Jero;me watching, a single "clack" of a cane — perhaps a hint of the next scene]