Five o’clock during the weekdays is a time of transition for business in the local Starbucks. It separates two distinctively different groups of people. From three to five the students from the neighboring high school come to partake in food, beverages, homework, and conversation. During the five o’clock hour, the establishment gradually shifts from harboring a social climate to possessing a quiet and focused air. After six o’clock, one can find adult Homo sapiens who have most likely come straight from a long day at work. Still clad in business attire, they tap their fingers against the letters and numbers of laptop keyboards. They sit staring at screens after a day of sitting in an office or a cubicle staring at screens, coffee often beside the portable work device that occupies their attention.

There will be the occasional adults who are there to socialize, or the sporadic appearance of teenagers, but for the most part it’s late-shift visitors are the focused workers. The lack of human interaction results in the employees talking behind the counter and the machines being the only sounds heard in the small building.

Starbucks is a gathering place for many people who share the space, but not the time.