Tenses | LRH

Breaking Plans

I FOUND myself seated inside a small cafe in the brighter side of town. I observed the bright lights hanging from the ceiling and the walls. It felt like home.

"You know, we never really had a proper introduction," I told Andi as I chewed my toast. Her face scrunched into a look of disapproval, gesturing for me to finish my food first.

"I thought we had? I mean, you know my name and I know yours," she replied, sipping from her cup of hot cocoa.

"True." I shrugged, taking a sip from his cup, too. "But I don't know anything else about you other than that."

She bit her lip and tapped her fingers on the table. She shrugged. "Alright. You go first, Hemmings."

My mouth formed into an O. "How did you know my last name?"

"Saw it in your wallet," she answered smoothly, a smirk plastered on her face. "Luke Robert."

"Don't call me that," I immediately whined and made a disgusted face, even sticking out my tongue.

"What? Luke Robert?" A few giggles came out of her mouth as soon as she said that.

"Yes, that," I told her and gave her a stern look. "People at home call me by that name and I don't like it. It's so annoying."

She crossed her arms against her chest and leaned back. "Whatever. Go on."

I nodded and flashed her a grin. "Well, you already know my whole name. I was born on the sixteenth of July. I'm eighteen. I have two annoying brothers. I love music a lot." I paused. "I guess that's pretty much everything."

"Your life is boring," she told me, resting her chin on the table as she boringly eyed the bread on her plate.

Well, I'm in a band and I time travel sometimes, I wanted to tell her but decided against it. Instead, I said, "What about you? Tell me something I need to know."

She sighed and sat up straight, looking directly at my eyes. "Just to be fair, my full name is Verdandi Sophia Styles."

I gave her a funny look. "Verdandi? That is a very strange name," I said. "But it's unique, which is great," I added in an instant, just to make sure she would not get offended by my first statemenent.

She did not seem to mind, though. "I know right," she replied. "It means happening or present."

With a small smile on my lips, I took in this new information. "That's cool." We both took the last sip of our hot drink and decided to go.

"Tell me more," I said as soon as we stepped out of the cafe and started walking again.

"I'm also eighteen. I can play the guitar. Actually, I love playing it and making tunes. I love travelling a lot."

"You're into music?" I was excited. I wanted to hear her play.

"Ah, yes. It's the love of my life," she told me. I imagined how passionate she was just by hearing her talk about it.

"That's a great thing to hear," I said, smiling. "Where do you live?"

"Oi, aren't you so intrigued about me, Hemmings?" She smirked and nudged me on the ribs. She chuckled when I yelped in surprise. "Somewhere far away," she muttered moments after.

I leaned to her and whispered, "Are you a tourist?"

She shrugged her left shoulder, accidentally bumping my chin. "Yeah. Well, something like that."

I contemplated her answer as I scratched my chin. "You're so -"

I was cut off by a loud sound of horn coming from a car right in front of me. A head stuck out of the car's window and the teenage boy looked like he was the same age as us. The boy put up his middle finger. I gave him a flabbergasted look.

"Step aside, you idiot," the boy boomed, beeping the horn countless times.

I was about to protest but Andi pulled me aside, muttering the word asshole under her breath as the obnoxious boy parked his car on the spot where we were standing a while ago.

"Isn't that the sidewalk? They aren't even supposed to park there." My right hand reached for my hair and I tugged on it in annoyance. I glanced at Andi, expecting her to be upset as I was. However, instead of complaining like me, she kept her eyes on the red car.

She faces me and her lips formed into a smirk. "Are you up for a car ride?"

"Are you inviting me in your thievery activity again?" I questioned, wiggling my eyebrows.

She laughed and grasped the handle of the car's door, quickly opening it. We were inside the car in an instant. I stared at her in amazement. She stared back at me with amusement. I saw triumph in her eyes.

"What about the key?" I slumped on my seat.

She held out her index finger, signalling me to wait as she fished out a piece of metal from her pocket. She put it in the keyhole and the engine magically started.

My eyes widened in bemusement. My hands reached for the strange object. "What is this thing?"

"It's a cotter pin clay. You insert it in keyholes and it molds into the shape of its key, and then you unlock," she explained, caressing the cold metal between her thumb and index finger.

"Where did you buy it?"

"My dad made it," she told me.

I nodded. "Cool dad," I said. We faced in front. "Where are we headed today?"

"Wherever the wheels take us."

I glanced at her smiling face. I never knew this would happen at all; I never would have thought that I would found comfort in a stranger's company.

"Stop staring," she said, making my heart beat fast as the car picked up speed.