Member-only story
HOW TO SPOT A PSYCHOPATH
A Flash Fiction Piece About Coffee
Elizabeth has heard it said that your coffee defines you.
She looks down at her uncomplicated Americano and wonders if it’s true.
At the counter, two women place their orders — their coffee seems complicated: non-fat, tall, skinny, no-foam, no-whip something or others.
Both women look complicated, Elizabeth thinks. They are also tall and non-fat, so it may be true.
The bell above the cafe door tinkles, and another woman enters the shop, this one gourd-shaped, middle-aged with strawberry blonde hair.
She orders a pumpkin spice latte, short.
Hmmmm, Elizabeth thinks.
When the hipster comes in, Elizabeth is immediately curious.
He orders dark roast.
Black.
Didn’t she read somewhere that people who drink their coffee black are more likely to be psychopaths?
Yes. In the New York Times. She is sure of it.
The hipster sits near the window.
Takes out his iPhone.
Sniffs a lot and has a very twitchy foot.
