the butterfly effect | l. garmadon

one

  But now that I was living in the city again, surely I'd get to see more of them? What were the chances of it happening on my first day back of living in the city? That was wild, and it left my head spinning with questions I knew I couldn't get answers to.

  Speaking of living in the city - the streets of Ninjago City were as busy as usual, cars and taxis and busses zooming past, while the sidewalks were crammed with people in business suits and other students enjoying the first day of break. Like me, they were making the most of the pleasant morning.

  As I wandered down the sidewalk, I spotted a bookshop café that had grabbed my interest the last time I had visited the city. A smile pulled across my lips - it was the perfect place to waste time in. Coffee and books; oh, be still my beating heart.

  The sign above the door was ancient, a simple sun-faded wooden panel that hung from an ornate, iron railing that matched the barely illegible writing. Bukku Kafe - that meant book café in Old Ninjagoan, right? I was rusty on the unused language.

  Subtly humming to the soft rhythm flooding from my headphones, I entered the café with a ding from the vintage bell that clanged above the frame. I was immediately hit with the cool waves of air con and sighed with bliss.

  The place smelt like muffins, coffee and old books, which meant that I had immediately fallen in love and would die here. The tables had piles of well-nursed novels and mismatching, wooden seats that added a charm of cozy chaos. A massive grandfather clock sat flushed against the back wall, taking up the only space that didn't have a bookshelf overflowing with pieces of literature or potted plants or posters of the ninja. Dried daisies sat in a vintage vase on the counter.

  I softened my tense shoulders and inhaled. Yeah. This is my kind of heaven.

  I made my way up to the cashier; a girl with her hair dyed a pretty shade of blue and pulled back from her face in a bun that was coming loose - but my attention was truly snagged by the pile of worn books on the coffee machine. Jane Eyre, Rebecca, The Boy Who Steals Houses, A People's History of The Vampire Uprising, and ironically enough, The Book Ninja, among others.

  I pushed my headphones back, dangling around my neck. The song that was playing weakly spilled from the speakers.

  My gaze drifted to the menu, darting between the cold drink menu and the hot. I kind of felt like a hot chocolate, but would that be silly? It was the first day of summer. Maybe I should've just gone with the lemonade-

  While I was tossing up my options, a person I didn't notice behind me cleared their throat. I jumped.

  "Hot chocolate!" I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

  The girl with the blue hair lazily scrawled out my order on a paper to-go cup.

  "Will that be all?"

  I quickly nodded my head.

  "That'll be four-fifty."

  I paid and anxiously shuffled away, claiming a seat by the window to wait. I cursed my awkwardness while settling in the booth with burning cheeks - I had panic ordered and began to regret my choice; I didn't even feel like a hot chocolate anymore.

  I bit my lip in disappointment and absentmindedly tapped my fingers against the wooden table. Well. C'est la vie, right?

  I gazed around the quaint café to settle my nerves and focus on something other than the sudden pit in my stomach. There was an old, torn poster of the green ninja behind the door. I dragged my eyes away from the masked face and pulled out my phone.