Someone Like Safiya

Part 1

It's early September. The skies are darkening with everyday, and the cold winds are coming in. Nobody likes this time of year; when the weather is changing quickly before your eyes. It's so rapid, and out of anyone's control, just spiraling into piles of snow or rainy days.

Two people are walking down an unevenly paved sidewalk, cuddling into each other in hopes to retain warmth from their bodies. One of them is much shorter, creating an endearing contrast between the two. The shorter girl stops and begins a statement, "Mason! This is actually the best coffee shop ever, you have to try the iced tea." The taller one's, who we now know as Mason, lips form a gentle smirk, "Okay, but I'm not paying," he responded. The shorter girl lets her eyes roll back in her head, and make a full circle. "Not like I expected you to," She laughed playfully and lightly hit Mason's coat bearing shoulder. "C'mon Levi," Mason has now revealed her name, "Let's just go in before I freeze to death."

The two pushed open the door to the coffee shop. Walking in, they were greeted with warmth and the smell of coffee grounds. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made out of a dark wood, giving the place homey and inviting vibe. There were several big brown chairs here and there and a couch near the back. Little chachkies were scattered among every open counter space, some even hung on the walls in big shadow boxes. Levi stepped up to the counter, she adjusted her heavy square brown glasses and began to order, "Hey, can I get two iced chai tea lattes please?" She forked over the 6 bucks while Mason found a seat on the brown couch in corner.

Soon enough, an employee handed levi two cups with her name on them, "Thanks," she said while picking up the cups, trying to balance them with her phone, wallet and her glasses, now slipping off her face. Levi managed to get a few steps before grunting, "Hey, Mason, could you help me out!?" Mason looked up from his phone and got up to help. He strolled over to Levi, but not in time. She had already tripped over nothing in particular. Everything turned into slow motion, as Levi caught herself before she fell, but the drinks were sent flying. Before either of them could really comprehend what was happening, they heard a confused yelp. Baffled, Levi looked up to see that the drinks had fallen, and spilt, on a girl that they didn't even realise was sitting in front of them.

The girl looked in shock. She was holding a book in her left hand, which cover read, The Sound of Fury. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was ever so slightly cracked, forming a loose O shape. As her mind caught up to the situation, the girl then leaned forwards, taking her feet from the chair to the ground and standing up.

Mason began apologizing profusely, not really knowing how to make up for such an incident. Levi however, gave into a wave of nervousness that fell upon her. She had no idea how to get out of the trance that the girl had put her in. She couldn't take her eyes off of her. There was something that made her a magnet to Levi. Maybe it was her long ginger hair, that fell so smoothly down her back and to her belly button. Maybe it was her piercing blue eyes that were so heavily hooded under sculpted eyebrows. Whatever it was, Levi couldn't seem to shake it.

With a hand on her shoulder, Mason managed to bring Levi back to reality. She blinked a few times, triggering her ears and eyes to work again and bringing her back to her normal alert state. Levi also realised that the girl had latte spilt all over her. "Oh my god," She was having difficulty forming her lips into the shapes they needed to create words. "I'm really, really sorry about that! You have um uh- such a pretty top on, I can maybe like dry clean it for you. Not that you should take it off, um, that's not what i mean..." Levi shook her head and looked downwards in embarrassment at the statement she had just directed to the girl.

"Apologies surfaced clearly in conversation near the end of the 16th century. This form of communication has then obviously been relevant for hundreds of years, I'd think you two would be better at it by now." The girl said with a simple expression on her face. Both Mason and Levi were at a loss for words. They didn't want to apologies again, because the girl obviously didn't appreciate it, but they didn't want to just not say anything.

Levi piped up, "For lack of better words... I am really sorry about that. Is there anything at all I can do to help?" The girl nodded approvingly, "That's more like it," she picked up one of the cups from the floor, "Levi, I presume?" Mason gave her a sideways glance, a sort of, what-is-wrong-with-this-girl look. Levi nodded her head, "That's me. Do you mind if I ask your name?" Her heart was still beating faster than it ever had before. The girl responded with holding her hand out towards Levi, "Typical introductions are tedious. My name is for me to know and for you to find out." The girl then took her hand and shook it. The girl's hand was soft and unfamiliar to Levi, but in a way, strong and welcoming. The girl dropped her hand as quickly as she had taken it. Without any further notion, she walked out of the shop, tea covered clothes and all. Mason leaned close to Levi, needing to bend over to reach her small stature. "That was the weirdest conversation I have ever witnessed, and I have 3 sisters," he whispered in her ear. Levi's eyes were still open wide, "That was the most interesting girl I've ever talked to," she said mouth hanging open.  

A/N: Hello. You probably aren't reading this because I know that nobody reads authors notes, I know that I don't. I personally hate them, and this should be one of very few that I write. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for reading this. I plan on this being a fairly long story, so I hope that at least someone will stay with me through it. Later on, I might explain my inspiration for this story, and maybe even who the main characters are based off of in my own life. Until then, thank you once again, and I hope you continue to read.