HARI'S POV:
After school, I went to the bus station to catch my bus. It arrived on time, and I got on, standing near the pole, holding the handle. My headphones were in my ears, volume low, peaceful music playing as always.
The crowd around me slowly faded. I always get off at the last stop. No one really goes that far. Only me, because the café where I work is there.
When the bus stopped at the last station, I got off and walked toward the café. I held my book in my hand. Why waste ten minutes? I could revise for tomorrow's class test.
I opened the café door, my eyes still on the book. As I stepped inside, I finally looked up and saw a girl cleaning the tables.
I had never seen her here before.
Her eyes looked… familiar.
Our eyes locked for a brief moment. Then Liam walked over and greeted me. I asked him who she was. He told me she was a new staff member.
I didn't expect anyone to apply here. It wasn't a big or popular café, just a small local one on a street corner. Even the coffee wasn't that great, mostly because Liam made it. And the place was far from any educational or working institutions.
After changing into my work clothes, I walked over to her.
"What's your name?"
"Ciara Lorren Rosewood. Yours?"
"Hari… just Hari."
"Give this to me," I said, taking the cleaning cloth from her hand, "and go inside to check if that couple's coffee is ready or not."
"Okay," she nodded and went inside.
---
At night, it was closing time. I packed up my things but noticed she was still cleaning. I walked over to her.
"You should go now. It's late."
"Okay," she said, then went to pack her things.
When we stepped outside, I spoke again.
"Do you go by bus?"
"Yep."
"Let's go together. It's not safe for you to walk alone on these quiet streets."
She nodded and started walking beside me.
After a moment, she spoke.
"Are you Chinese?"
"Yeah… how do you know?"
"Your face."
"Yeah. My father was Chinese, and my mother was Filipino, so I'm half Chinese, half Filipino."
"Oh… what about you?"
"I'm an orphan. I don't know."
"Oh, sorry…"
"It's okay."
"By the way," I asked, "why did you join here? There's no educational institution nearby."
"I applied to several places, but only this one accepted me. That's why I had to."
We got on the bus. It was almost empty, except for a few people. We sat together. After a while, when her stop came, we got off and walked toward her street as we gave me the directions. While walking I asked her,
Did we met before?
No..... ofcourse not...
I raised my one eyebrow
"Actually I used to live in province before, I just shifted here a few weeks ago that's why....."
"Oh.....okay...."
When her street came, I stopped, until she went to her home and then start walking to mine.