House Rules
Alina's order is the easiest: strong coffee, a stack of pancakes with maple syrup, a glass of orange juice. No specific temperatures, no particular instructions. Just "a lot of syrup" underlined twice.
You balance the tray carefully and knock on her door. Nothing. You knock again.
A muffled sound from inside. Not quite a word.
You open the door slowly. She's buried under the covers, dark hair spread across the pillow, phone already in her hand despite being clearly still half asleep. She cracks one eye open, looks at you, then at the tray, then back at you.
She points at the nightstand without saying anything.
You set the tray down. You're almost at the door when she speaks.
"More syrup tomorrow."
You're not sure if it's a request or a warning. You close the door quietly and decide it's probably both.