Ashton's POV
"Hi, um, can you give me directions? I have no idea where I'm going," I asked shyly, chuckled nervously and watching as the air from my lungs created clouds in the crisp air around me. The woman in her car sent me a sweet smile and nodded. I smiled gratefully and dug through my bag for my map.
"Where you going?" the woman asked in a loud, confident voice. I spotted the 'x' James had marked on my map and looked at the little title.
"Um, I need to find Orlyn. How would I get there?" I asked shyly, the map rustling due to my shaky hands. I really had to work on my social skills.
"Oh, the town? That's simple! All you have to do is go North down the 210, East onto Charleston Avenue and then North down the number 12 highway!" The woman chirped happily, as if it were the easiest, most obvious way she could have said it. I furrowed my eyebrows at the directions she had just given me. How was I supposed to remember that?!
"Uh, how many miles is that?" I asked, not sure if I should ask her to be more specific or not.
"Around thirty, I suppose. You're not walking there, are you, dear?" she asked, concern filling her face. How could she be concerned about me when she just met me? I brushed off the thought and turned my attention back to the map.
"No, my brother took the car to go get food and left me to find directions," I lied, "would you mind marking where we are right now on the map for me?" I asked, holding out the map and a red sharpie marker to her. She nodded and took the paper, marking the spot on the map. She handed it back to me, not a sign of suspicion on her face. I guess she believed my lie. I took the map and marker from her and thanked her, watching as she drove off down the icy road. I sighed, looking down at the map to see what she had marked. There was a red 'x' on the town called Jaro. Weird name. I shrugged it off and looked around the area I was standing in.
It wasn't a large town. I was standing in the small little town square area, where there were sidewalks all around, covered in around a foot of snow. In the centre of the walkways there was a fountain, which obviously wasn't operating at this time in the year. All around the sidewalks there were various buildings. Cafés, a bank, the town hall, a library, and others. There was also a snowplough going down a street leading to the little town square. I couldn't help but notice that aside from the cars, I was the only person crazy enough to be outdoors in this weather.
I returned the map and marker to my bag and sighed, comforted by the sight of my breath in front of me. I couldn't help it, I loved snow. I couldn't imagine living somewhere where it never snowed. I decided I should get off of the sidewalk and let the plough go by, so I made my way through the snow to the small little café a few buildings away from me. As I pushed my way through the foot of snow, I lost my breath, panting as I walked towards the café.
Once I had arrived, I caught my breath and walked inside of the small little building. It was a cute little café, tucked between the bank and the town hall. I looked around the café, smiling at the sweet little decorations and the festive set up of the café. Each table seated either two or three people, and there were little paper snowflakes and decorations strung up on the edges of the tables, and hanging from the ceiling. The windows were also stamped with stickers of snowflakes, gift boxes, and stars. There was also a small Christmas tree located in the corner of the area, with a few gift boxes underneath the tree.
I smiled slightly at the sight and made my way through the empty room to the little counter. There was a little old lady standing behind the counter, as well as a teenage boy sitting further from the counter, looking bored out of his mind. The woman smiled sweetly at me, and asked what I wanted to order, "Hello there! You must be some kind of crazy to be out in this cold!" She laughed slightly, making me smile at the remark. "What can I get for you, dear?" I read the little menu behind her, which was written on chalkboards pinned up on the chocolate coloured wall. I read through the two boards before deciding on what I wanted to order.
