Muse (h.s.)

CH1 | 02: Coffee on the stove

"Welcome to Gill's Sushi! What can I get for you today?"

              DESPITE ITS DECREPIT exterior of peeling paint and fading menu signs, the ambience inside Gill's Sushi is welcoming and warm. The lighting is a soft yellow and the walls are covered in art and decorations associated with Japanese culture. Clusters of paper lanterns dangle at different heights from the ceiling; their eclectic colours are illuminated by the artificial tea lights inside of them. The restaurant is cluttered but not suffocatingly so.

A slim Asian woman with dark hair slicked back into a low bun stood at the counter, adjusting her black apron. Her pretty face shows signs of exhaustion; her sunken eyes and hollow cheeks age her beyond her years but the friendly smile she perpetually displays outshines them.

Violetta steps up to the counter, mirroring the woman's beaming smile in a silent greeting, "Can I get a portion of the shiitake mushroom Inarizushi and a bowl of garlic fried rice without the egg please?"

The cashier immediately begins writing down her order on a small notepad, using abbreviations for speed and convenience.

"Of course, anything else?" She questions.

Violetta hums, peering up at the menu, "With two coffees and two glasses of water,"

Harry quietly chuckles behind her. Violetta had borderline demanded that he consume at least one cup of coffee and a glass of water to sober him up before driving home tonight. Part of him was taken aback by how serious she was.

"Our hot drinks machine is currently out of use but we can make the coffee on the stove?"

"That's perfect, thank you,"

Violetta takes a couple of steps to the side to allow Harry access to the front counter, using the time to further appreciate the decor around them. Upon gaining a proper look at the young man and his award-winning smile, an impossibly wider smile stretches across the older woman's thin lips.

"Harry!" She cries, "I wondered when we would see your handsome face around here again!"

Harry's cheeks flush pink as he chuckles with a boyish grin, "Hello Mai, it's good to see you. How are you?"

Mai scoffs at his formality and lunges her petite body as far as it can reach across the counter to wrap him up in a tight hug. Immediately, Harry's arms envelop her small frame to give her an affectionate squeeze. Mai pulls back from the hug just enough to place her hands on his warm cheeks to get a better look at him, "You need a haircut, you're beginning to look like a Neanderthal again,"

Harry rolls his eyes, not in the least bit surprised or offended by her forwardness, "You're looking good too, Mai,"

She pats one of his cheeks lovingly before focusing her glistening eyes on Violetta again but this time with a curious and somewhat playful glint, "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Harry blushes again, for a moment forgetting that Violetta was watching their exchange. Before he could speak on her behalf, Violetta steps forward, "I'm Violetta, it's lovely to meet you,"

"And you, darling," Mai replies, letting her grip on Harry drop to place her hands on Violetta's upper arms, holding her at arm's length so she could examine her properly, "Oh my, you are gorgeous,"