The Girl He Never Noticed

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the faint scent of aged paper and worn leather in Mrs. Chang's small coffee shop. It was early morning in Manhattan, and you, Jade Collins, adjusted the thick black wig and heavy-rimmed glasses that hid your real features. Another day of work began, a familiar routine of serving customers, enduring the quiet hostility of Suzanne and Kurt, and sending money home to your mother and sister in the South Bronx.

Today felt slightly different. A quiet tension lingered in the air, a subtle shift you couldn't quite place. The city outside hummed with its usual chaotic energy, but inside, the morning felt suspended, waiting. You polished the counter, the rhythmic movement a comfort, while your mind drifted to the hundred-dollar tip left yesterday by two mysterious men – a sum that felt like a fortune and a puzzle piece you couldn't fit.