The City Girl & The Seaside Boy

Coffee Shop Chaos

The smell of coffee and freshly baked goods was enough to make me hungry as I passed by the Coffee Shop. I stared in through the window at the couples huddled in little booths and friends around small tables. The line wasn't too long, surely I could just nip in to get a coffee before heading back to my aunties house? The twins of mayhem wanted another trip to the beach. I had only taken them yesterday! I wondered if I would get a single day away from them while I was here. However, it was too early to guess yet.

I decided I had more than enough time to get a coffee and dashed inside, relishing in the cool, air conditioned shop. I was glad I had packed so many sleeveless tops and shorts, the only thing bothering me was my hair. It was a light brown, curly mass, almost like an Afro in humid weather. At the moment it was tied back in a tight pony tail, my sunglasses acting as a hairband on my head to keep back any stray strands. I eventually reached the front of the line and smiled at the girl serving. "Hi, are you ready to order?" the girl asked. She was quite pretty, I thought. Dark skin, and black hair braided down her back with colourful ribbons and beads. "Yes please. I'll have a coffee to go. Milk with two sugars, and uh...two dark chocolate cookies. My cousins with kill me if I don't get anything for them," I shrugged and the girl laughed.
"Yeah, I've got cousins like that," the girl started making my coffee. "Hey, are you Ms Jeffrey's niece?" she asked and for a moment I was taken aback.
"Yes! Has she mentioned me?" I questioned and the girl nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, she's in here quite often. Talks a lot with me and the rest of the staff. Said she was really looking forward to you coming to visit," she explained and I grinned.
"Aww. I've been looking forward to it as well!"
"I hoped so. My name's Tatiana, by the way," the girl said.
"I'm Ariadne. Or, uh...Aria, I prefer that," I shrugged and Tatiana grinned.
"And I prefer Tina," she handed me my coffee and I smiled back.
"It's nice to meet you. And thanks for the coffee."

After collecting my cousins cookies and paying I  made my way to the door. There was an engine revving outside and the sound of boys laughing. Great, I thought. More annoying boys. I had met plenty of those in my home city. I pushed the door open and stepped back into the heat of the sun, squinting my eyes in the light. I lowered my sunglasses back over my eyes and began to walk when something hard hit mu back, startling me and knocking my coffee out of my hands. "What the hell?!" I spun around and found a boy racing towards me. He scooped up the motorbike helmet at my feet and gave me a half-grin. "Sorry 'bout that, miss," he said, sounding like he was about to laugh.
"Sorry? Why don't you watch where you're throwing your stupid helmet?" I exclaimed in annoyance and his grin grew wider. He was about to say something else when another boy ran over. "Leave her alone, Toby. She's a city girl, she doesn't understand," the boy said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. It was the delivery boy from the day before, his smug face towering a few inches over mine. "City girl? Who told you I was from a city?" I demanded angrily.
"I've heard rumours," the boy shrugged, his mouth quirking up at the corner. Just that expression was enough to wake up butterflies in my stomach and I  didn't like it.

I scowled at the boy and waved a hand at my spilled coffee. "Well, how about you forget your rumours and pay for another coffee for me?" I suggested and the boy raised an eyebrow in amusement, crossing his arms.
"That's a pretty rude thing to demand, you know. Especially since I wasn't the one to throw the helmet," he said and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Who was it then? Him?" I glanced over at the boy I  believed was called Toby. He gave a shrug of his shoulders and shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. The other boy smirked, locking his dark blue eyes on my green ones. The remainder of his friends behind him were all shouting and laughing, watching the scene unfold. There was something in his eyes. Something that said: What are you gonna do about it?

I knew exactly what I was gonna do about it. I kicked him in the shin, turned around, and ran.