Tess: “I was kind of a military brat so I’m from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but then we moved to Virginia then Baltimore then we kinda settled. I do like the Pittsburgh Steelers but—"
Student voice interjects: Do you know where the bathroom is?
Tess: “Yeah, end of the hall and make a left.”
I’ve never seen Tess without her black Einstein Bros. Bagels apron on. Her voice is almost overshadowed by the block letters written across her chest: “HAPPINESS IS A WARM BAGEL.”
As the barista at a coffee shop in a classroom building at Georgetown University, Tess gives hundreds of caffeine-addicted students their fix each morning. She watches the girl turn the corner to the bathroom.
Tess: “We weren’t just talking, like really?" (Chuckles).
All the students who go to Einstein’s know who Tess is. She’s there everyday from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, standing at the cash register, swiping students’ cards.
*Sounds of the coffee shop fade into the background, tables moving, voices chattering*
Boy in the coffee shop: “I don’t have to tell her my name anymore, she just gets my order together.”
*Sounds of coffee shop fade out*
Even though Tess knows some of their names, though, none of them seem to know hers. When I ask about Tess, they are confused, even though her name tag is pinned right below the word BAGEL on her apron.
*Sounds of the coffee shop fade into background*
Girl in coffee shop: “Oh, the lady at the register? She’s always really nice to me.”
Girl’s friend: “Yeah she’s definitely pleasant for 9 am.”
*Sounds of coffee shop fade out*
They don’t know her, though, because she likes it that way. She’s polite to a tee, but she’s not warm and fuzzy. She’s matter of fact and professional. But every once in a while she lets out a huge laugh from the bottom of her throat. And her eyes light up. It’s almost like she builds these laughs up over time—they’re rare, but when she lets them out, they’re contagious.
Tess: “We used to get to play our own music at work but now we have CDs that we have to play. Yeah we were a little upset about that at first. Probably like a month ago, but it’s okay it’s still kinda poppy and top 40 like whatever. But it’s not what it was. Like the students would come in bobbing their heads and everything it was hilarious.” (laughs)
Tess wanted to be an actress until she was 18, which seems kind of strange at first. She is very reserved at times, almost aloof. But she is also an observer of how people act. She chuckles at the kids who dance to her music, at the girl who asks where the bathroom is when she’s mid-conversation. She thinks carefully about why people act the way they do. She used to work at a coffee shop in the Supreme Court, and she talks about how Georgetown students treat her better than the government professionals did.
Tess: “Outside of the cafeteria they were just, they wouldn’t even acknowledge you. Here with the students not so much, it’s almost because the students call it home they’re more friendly, at least that’s how I analyzed it.”
There’s so much going on behind her big brown eyes. She is always watching, always listening, but she doesn’t always show that. The morning after I interviewed her, she acted like she didn’t know me, swiping my card and kind of shuffling me along so she could help the next person. But when I went to the counter to pick up my order, she had given me a large iced coffee with a Sharpie smiley face, even though I had paid for a medium.
