Searching for a Perfect Day

Mean Streak Part One

Chapter 18: Mean Streak Part One

Anna loves her studio. There’s no other real, tangible place in the world that she loves best than this dingy, wide, kinda smelly (in the artistic paint and lacquery kind of way), but homely building. Aside from wherever Elsa may be, there’s really no other place she wants to spend time in. Everything that she needs is here…and the fact that Elsa’s here, makes it easily, the only place she really wants to be. 

One of the best things about it is the rooftop. There’s really no view—the other taller apartments and other dwellings encompassing the streets shield anything worth viewing, but it still gives her a sense that she’s the only person in the world regardless of any eyes privy to peek behind the many curtained windows. There’s a strange isolation here, under the umbrella blocking out the sun that’s already making its way down the horizon and the noise of the city as a single thrum in the background. 

It makes the chore of studying just a tad more bearable than if she were, say, in a library or even her bedroom—the silence would irk her more than anything. The outdoor table is large enough to house her notes and books and the fast winds are blocked by the towering buildings. The patio chair under her is plush and soft—ideal to lounge into and read a boringly large textbook and all that really distracts her is the occasional refreshing breeze that doesn’t merit the use of paperweight. 

She’s been hitting the books since they’ve arrived home, Elsa promising dinner in a few hours so she doesn’t have to worry about being hungry or even making it. Judging from the smell wafting from the blower, it’s going to be fantastic and the growl of her stomach reminds her just how much of her lunch she had managed to eat that afternoon prior to Kristoff’s cadaver story and of course Ethan and his goons’ arrival. The latter is more to blame, but she can’t really complain as to how it ended. Regardless, she still has to speak with her sister (and thank her as well) for thinking of a protective detail ahead of time; Anna certainly wouldn’t have.  

The cranking of the pulley system takes her attention sometime in the middle of hour two of studying, and she decides a small break is needed anyway, stretching languidly at her spot before putting her notes down and seeing what Elsa had decided to crank up. She waits until it stops making noise before getting up from the plush patio chair, walking to it, and opening the door, her eyes opening widely and heart warming in tandem when she sees a sliced sandwich (chunky peanut butter and banana) atop a small plate, a tall glass of iced tea with a lemon wedge atop the rim, and a note in her sister’s curvy writing: 

Take a small break and rest your mind. Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half; I’m making lasagna. I’ve invited Mel and Sidney for dinner. If you’d prefer we dine alone, I’ll cancel. 

Anna rolls her eyes, but the wide grin that follows it is probably brighter than the sun. 

“I love you!” she yells through the cubby, hearing a small giggle elicit from the other end that pulls her lips up even higher. 

Studying gets a tad easier after that, one hand gripping a half of a sandwich and taking swift, careless bites while her eyes roam through a textbook, greedily taking in information she knows she’s bound to forget after tomorrow. Elsa knows to leave her well enough alone—her concentration is shoddy at best, and ADD at the very worst and they both know she needs to do well on her final tomorrow. Anything less and she may not be able to face her professor properly, especially after the small talking to Elsa had expounded on her after they had arrived home from school.