Layout

The Grindhouse is a one-story coffeehouse located on Lakewood’s quaintly-appointed Market Street, the hub of its local businesses. The coffeehouse is aggressively hip, with an open floorplan and a lack of uniformity in its design. Guests sit on imitation leather sofas around three-legged tables. The walls are decorated with artistic prints of faraway cities, rendered in Art Deco style. A television set is mounted on the wall, directly opposite the counter. A garbage bin is positioned adjacent to the door. A brass bell hangs over the door, heralding the arrival of customers.¹

History

Emma Duval was a barista at the Grindhouse at the time of the 2015 Lakewood Slashings. The slashings happened to coincide with the release of a viral video depicting Emma’s former best friend Audrey Jensen making out with her until-then secret girlfriend, Rachel Murray. The video had been recorded by Nina Patterson in full view of Emma and the rest of their friends. Despite Emma’s protests, Nina uploaded the video, forcibly outing Audrey and Rachel and making them the targets of considerable hatred and mockery.²

The following day, during Emma’s after school shift, Nina approached her, ostensibly for a favor. She never got a chance to describe what she wanted, however, as Emma took her to task for uploading the video despite her objections. Nina was unsympathetic. The altercation was witnessed by Audrey who, seeing Emma and Nina together, took off in disgust, to Emma’s distress.³

Grindhouse Groove

The Grindhouse has an in-house playlist playing curated indie music.⁴

1. The Story so Far, Vol. I: Chapter 1, Scene 29 ↩︎
2. The Story so Far, Vol. I: Chapter 1, Scene 2 ↩︎
3. The Story so Far, Vol. I: Chapter 1, Scene 29 ↩︎
4. The Story so Far, Vol. I: Chapter 1, Scene 29 ↩︎