She comes into the cafe after opening the door. The wind chime that hangs near the door made her presence known to the people in the cafe by emitting a beautiful, low sound. The sound is the best resonance of the soft smile Ethisha is wearing.
Her steps are easy and confident, which tells of her familiarity with the place. She goes straight to the secluded table closer to the wall and the indoor plants that are placed near the table, covering her hiding spot from the people coming to the cafe. The table is also placed at such an angle, she can easily observe the street through the glass window.
The waitress placed her Mocha Iced Coffee and Chicken Bacon Sandwich on the table before she even placed the order.
"Oh, you remember my order?"
"Hard not to, when you never order a different thing," she replied with a chuckle.
This is Elisha's usual routine on Saturdays. She comes to Nugegoda for her classes. And the first place she stops at is this book cafe, that situated in a less crowded area, with a small customer base. She studies an hour or so before her classes start. She finds this isolated, hidden place with books and plants and the smell of delicious food to be peaceful.
Today, it seems, is not a day of peace. The cafe became a little too crowded for Elisha's liking. Almost every table was occupied by people when she checked.
'I should leave early," she thought to herself.
On her table, the sandwich is gone, and the coffee is almost over. She's revising the last pages of the notes from the previous week.
"Hello! Is it okay if I sit here?" A silvery voice cut through her deep concentration.
She looked at the person the voice belonged to and blinked, while processing what he said.
"Other tables are full. That's why"
"Oh! Okay. Please sit," she's still a little dazed by the sudden approach. But she did not want to be rude.
She adjusts her items to make space for the newcomer and goes back to her studies.
'He has a really nice voice.' Ugh! Her thoughts are a little troubled by the boy in front of her.
She silently observes what he does and sees he's also reading something related to biology. His eyes look like they are closed, but when she looks closely, she can see he's reading with his eyes towards the book.
'He has long eyelashes!'
'His eyebrows are softly angled'
'Is his lips that pink naturally?'
She shuts her book so suddenly that she makes the boy in front of her startle.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked.
"Yeah! Yeah! I am late for the class. I have to go." She lied and packed her belongings hurriedly.
She did not forget to say goodbye to the boy and the cafe staff before she left.
She had to calm her mind before she went to the class. She did normally find boys to be attractive. But she never did find any boy this attractive.
Now that she left the cafe earlier than she would, she has a lot of time before the class starts. She thought of going to the bookshop nearby before leaving for the class.
She was looking for a journal. A hobby suggested by her best friend, Opalu. To clear her mind.
One would think, why would Elisha want to clear her mind when the only thing she does is studying. Ah... well they don't know she does more than studying. She's working while studying to earn some money to help her family.
She's the only child of a middle-class family. Her father's job is the only income source of the family, as her mother is a little weak in health.
Her greatest wish is to be financially stable and retire her father and let them live their dream life. So she has to study hard and go to a university to build a stable base for the life she's planning to build.
That's exactly why she can't even think about a relationship right now. She is not stable enough to maintain a love life. She wants to achieve everything else before she goes into a relationship.
She finds the journal she's looking for. A leather-bound book with lots of paper inside. She's planning to use it for a long time, after all.
She arrives at the class premises 30 minutes before the class starts. She's too early, and there are no other classmates to see.
She sat down at a bench in the shade of the large mango tree. The tree has its branches spread to the sky in a neat and chaotic pattern at the same time. The tree bore no fruit these months of the year. Only green leaves. This is the start of August.
If the A/Ls were to take place like usual, it would have been this month that the seniors would face the exam. But, it seems like the new usual will be the exam not held in August.
Ethisha did not think much about it. It's not really important to her. She's a hard-working student, so she will get 3As no matter when the Exam is held.
Thinking about the exam only reminds her of the boy she saw at the cafe. He studied a biology lesson that she had yet to learn. She can only guess he's a year older.
He looks like a diligent student. Studying with such a concentration. It did not go unnoticed by Ethisha that he seemed to be rich. The watch he wore screams the generational wealth.
She was lost in her thoughts that she did not notice Opalu approaching her. So she got startled when she suddenly touched and shook her shoulders.
"Where's the princess traveling today?"
"I almost had a heart attack! And what traveling"
"I don't know, you tell me. Only your body was here when I came. I had to shake you to bring your mind here, too," Opalu replied with a light laugh.
"Ugh... nothing really. I was thinking about A/Ls"
"Ethisha, you should relax a little. The exam isn't even near for you to go bold over it."
Ethisha only hummed to that. As she didn't have anything to say. She knows she has to worry. And it's not like she has anything to do other than worrying.
"By the way, I bought a journal like you told me to. I don't know what to write yet. But I'll figure it out soon," she said while showing the journal to her friend.
"And you had to buy something that looks like it's stolen from a dead philosopher," and she laughed.
The easy chatter followed until it was time for the class.